An expression that I have heard time and time again is “there are no rules in makeup, only rules of thumb”. In other words, women are encouraged to develop their favorite makeup looks that show their personalities and beauty preferences. Here is a list of some of those rules of thumb to guide you through the makeup process.

General

Start with your skin/foundation, then do your eyes
You may have heard it the other way around, but achieving that flawless complexion will likely keep you from loading on tons of eye makeup and lipstick

Less is more 
Makeup is designed to enhance your features, not create them! If you have a bright/bold color on your lips, keep your eye makeup more natural and vice versa.

Moisturizer should be minimum SPF 15
Hopefully you are already applying moisturizer daily, but unless it’s at least SPF 15 it’s not going to do a whole lot for you.

Lighter makeup and products should be used for daytime, and
heavier looks and products for nighttime
Firstly, your work makeup shouldn’t be overdone or heavy as that tends to look unprofessional. Secondly, wearing heavy products and more makeup during the day is going to wreak havoc on your skin.

Skin

Match foundation to your neck, not your face
Every girl’s nightmare is that visible makeup line along your jawline or neck. To avoid it, always check foundation against your neck instead of your hand/wrist to get the best match.

Change out foundation every 6 months
All makeup has an expiration date, and it’s especially important to make sure you’re not using old foundation that can damage your skin. 6 months is an optimal length to use foundations.

Brush on foundation in a downward motion
Even though a good rule of thumb for moisturizer is to blend it in an upward motion to prevent sagging skin, foundation is the opposite. Apply it in a downward motion so that it doesn’t catch on pesky peach fuzz.

Eyes

Align the start of your eyebrows with the edge of your nose, the arches with the tip of the nose and through the pupil, and the ends from the tip of the nose through the edge of
your eye
It sounds confusing at first, but it’s essentially just taking a pencil and using it to line up your brows with your eyes and nose. Hold the pencil at the tip of your nose, line it up with your pupil, and this will point to the spot in your brows where the arch should be. Then, move the pencil to the edge of your eye, and this will show you where the brow should end.

Lightest eyeshadow color goes under
the brow, medium color covers the lid, and darker colors go in the crease and
outer edge
Regardless of what colors you are using, follow this palette for the best eyeshadow look. The lighter color under the brow will accent your now perfectly arched brows and the darker colors closer to the eyes will make them pop.

Lips

Except for red, lip liner shades should be no more than two
shades darker than your natural lip color
This will help you avoid one of the worst beauty blunders of having dark and obvious lip liner. Red lips are the exception and they sometimes take more work, but in general a natural colored liner is the best way to go.

Do you tend to stick to classic makeup looks or do you love to experiment with new trends?