How to make sure your prom makeup slays – guide by local MUA, Haley Smith

With prom being right around the corner, its time to tie up all of the loose ends that come along with it. From the dress and the shoes to the hair and nails, the final thing to pull your look together is the perfect makeup. I know today’s makeup may seem like an impossible math equation but it can be made very simple with these few tips. After being makeup obsessed for as long as I can remember, I’ve gathered a few tips and tricks along the way to help you look flawless on your special night.

BASE

First, make sure to prep your skin, use moisturizer to make sure the products don’t cling to your skin and follow with a primer. Depending on what type of skin you have, you’ll need different primers. For a person with more oily skin, Benefit POREfessional is a good choice, it fills your pores and keeps you matte to combat the oil. A drugstore dupe is Maybelline Baby Skin primer, it gives you almost the same look for less than half the price.

“Finding the right primer for my skin changed my makeup game, I didn’t realize how much of a difference it would make but it especially helpful for long days or events where you want your makeup to stay all day,” senior Alexis Thomson said. “If your skin is more on the normal side you have more wiggle room for primer and can chose to use a more aluminizing or matte finish. For my dry skin girls Revlon PhotoReady Primer would be a good choice and not to mention it will look great in all of your homecoming photos.

Foundation can potentially be the most important step in your makeup process so finding one that works well with your skin is crucial. Maybelline Fit Me foundation is my everyday ride or die foundation, it is medium coverage but can be built up for special events like homecoming. There is a normal one as well as a matte and poreless one which I use to combat my oily skin but I find that they both work really well depending on your skin type. I also am in love with the Fit Me powder, it adds a bit of coverage and works really well for all skin types. If your looking for something more full coverage for the special occasion there are many options from the drugstore that wont burst your budget. The Milani 2 in 1 foundation and concealer is a great pick, its under 10 dollars, has great coverage, and can be used for not only foundation but also concealer.

“My go to full coverage foundation is the Maybelline super stay foundation, it claims to stay for up to 24 hours so it would be a great option for a night as long as prom night,” senior Emma Thomson said.

CHEEKS

After you have your base face makeup done, you’re going to want to add some bronzer, contour, and blush to add some life back into your face and add some shape and definition. Contour is something that can seem intimidating at first but its a lot more simple you may think. The NYX wonder stick is an inexpensive option that makes contouring a lot easier for beginners. Since this is a cream product, you’re going to want to apply it before setting your face with any powders. The product should applied to the hollows of your cheeks, jawline, and temples, it can also be applied to the sides of your nose to create a smaller skinnier illusion to your nose, and the hairline to combat larger foreheads. Once your bone structure is defined, some bronzer will add some warmth to your face, the Physicians Formula butter bronzer is a great choice. You can apply apply the bronzer to the points of your face where the sun naturally hits (cheeks, forehead). My favorite drugstore blushes are the Milani baked blushes, they come in 11 different shades but the most popular one is in the shade Luminoso.

One step you don’t want to miss out on this prom season is highlight. You’re going to want to be glowing with your blinding highlight for pictures. There are so many drugstore highlights to choose from but some that really catch my eye is Makeup Revolutions baked highlighters. There are a couple different shades to choose from depending on your skin tone, but they will all have you glowing all night long. You can use your highlight on the high points of your face like on top of your cheek bones, tip of your nose, and the top of your lip.

“I really love this highlight because you can easily build it up and make either natural or blinding,” senior Kaitlyn Anderson said. “Since I am still a beginner with makeup, I find this product super easy to use.”

EYES

As far as eyes go, my favorite affordable eyeshadow brand is Morphe but its only sold online, so Elf is a great option from the drugstore. They have many single eyeshadows as well as quads to choose from and they all are really pigmented and easy to blend, you can go to Walmart, target, or even CVS to check out some color options. Some people may choose to go for a wing with their eyeliner, in which case I recommend NYX Matte Liquid Liner, I use it almost every day and I find it has the most pigment and is most long lasting as far as eyeliner go. Lashes can make or break a look so you want to make sure you find a good mascara that won’t run you broke and L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Lash Paradise is definitely the best option. It’s a dupe for the the infamous Better Than Sex mascara by Too Faced and it’s also waterproof so that it won’t budge when you dance the night away! To add a bit of extra attention to the eyes, false lashes are my go to trick, they can take a simple eye look and turn it into a glam look perfect for prom pictures. My favorite eyelash brand at the drugstore is Ardell, they have tons of styles to choose from but my staple pair I use on just about everybody are the “Whispies”.

LIPS

For your final touch, you can add some color to your lips, this step could pull your makeup and dress all together. If you want something you wont have to worry about reapplying later in the night you could go with a liquid lipstick, my favorite from the drugstore are the Milani Amore Matte Lip Cream and the NYX lingerie. If you want more of a glossy look the Soap and Glory Extreme Plump gloss works amazing and plums your lips as well. If you want something more comfortable to wear throughout the night the Milani lipstick and the Maybelline Creamy Matte lipstick have great pigment, formula and a wide range of color options.