How to Apply Makeup for Teens

Age-appropriate teen makeup

While a girl who is a novice to makeup can unknowingly go overboard when applying eye, cheek and lip color, a mother need not worry once her daughter begins to express an interest in cosmetics. Instead of forbidding your teen from wearing makeup, teach her to focus on defining her features. If she does this rather than caking on the color, she will have a basis for cosmetic application that she can use to create attractive makeup looks even as an adult. Used with a light hand and the appropriate color and texture choices, makeup can be an effective tool to enhance--rather than hide--natural beauty.

Things You'll Need

• Tinted moisturizer with SPF or sheer coverage foundation
• Undereye and camouflage concealers (optional)
• Brow gel or brow color
• Eyeshadow base
• Midtone eyeshadow
• Creamy eyeliner pencil in black or brown
• Cotton swab (optional)
• Eyelash curler
• Mascara
• Creme blush
• Colored gloss or lip stain and clear gloss
• Translucent powder

Instructions

1. Even out your complexion by applying a tinted moisturizer with SPF on clean skin in the daytime, or a sheer coverage foundation in the evening. If you have dark circles under your eyes, blend a creamy undereye concealer onto the area. Target blemishes on the rest of your face with a camouflage concealer that matches your skin tone so that the color disappears once applied.

2. Hold your brows in place with a brow gel if they are free from sparse areas. Otherwise, fill your brows in with a brow pencil or powder that matches your brow color. Work the product in with soft, small strokes for a natural look with no hard lines.

3. Apply an eyeshadow base all over the lids to keep your eye makeup from creasing and fading, as well as to help your eyeshadow pop. Smooth on a midtone eyeshadow in the shade of your choice from lash line to just slightly past the crease. Blend the color upward up to just under the browbone to create a softly fading effect. For school, you might want to stick with more natural shades, such as flesh tones, pinks and peaches, although darker-skinned girls can get away with more pigmentation. Outside of school or for special occasions, you can experiment with more playful colors, such as greens, purples and blues.

4. Bring out the shape of your eyes and prevent your eye makeup from appearing unstructured by intensifying your lash lines. This is an alternative to lining your eyes thickly--which may be too much for teenagers--to define them. Work a creamy eyeliner pencil in black if you have dark lashes, or brown if you have lighter lashes, into both top and bottom lash lines. Get the product in between your lashes to make them appear thicker. If by mistake you go slightly past the lash lines onto your eyelids, smudge the color with a cotton swab for a slightly smoky effect. Curl eyelashes and apply one to two coats of mascara, dislodging any clumps with the wand as you go.

5. Find the blush and lip color that suit you by examining your skin's undertones. Warm undertones will come to life with a peachy blush and lip color. Cool undertones are flattered by pink-based blushes and lip colors. Apply a creme blush onto the apples of your cheeks for effortless blending. On lips, use a colored lip gloss or a lip stain topped with clear lip gloss.

6. Dust a translucent powder on forehead, under the eyes, on your nose and on your chin to keep shine away and set your makeup for the day.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute tinted moisturizer or sheer coverage foundation with mineral foundation if it works better for you. Many mineral foundations have SPF for convenient use in the daytime; read the label of your mineral foundation to make sure. You may choose one feature to focus on--for instance, your eyes or your lips--instead of wearing an overall balanced makeup look. Do this by using a slightly more intense color or texture on the feature of your choice, while keeping the rest of your face understated. Use lipstick only if it is sheer, as waxy formulations can appear too heavy on teens.

Resources

• Buying makeup for teens
• Applying the no-makeup look for school
• Smoky eye makeup for teens