Workplace makeup for beginners

I have started wearing makeup since I was 16, and through the years I have picked up many techniques of applying makeup. 

I remember the first time I put cosmetic substances onto my face was when I was 16. My school got this bunch of aunties from Shiseido to come down during our Aesthetics class to teach us how to apply makeup. I swear they all bathed in Shiseido because when they came down the entire Aesthetics classroom was filled with the scent of the Shiseido. 

Needless to mention, none of us 16-year-old girls managed to do anything right and all came out of that day were a bunch of teenage girls playing with chemicals and a lot of wasted cosmetics. 

And on the contrary can you look at how good 16-year-olds are with makeup these days OMG

Makeup application can be tough and this is why many young women who would otherwise want to wear makeup shy away from it completely, or choose to hire expensive makeup artists for their professional events. Therefore, I have decided to share some basic techniques I managed to pick up along the way.

Note: I am no professional makeup artist and you may disagree with what I'm writing here, but I find that this is what worked for me best, especially when I just want to get a clean, professional look done in under 15 minutes. I'm also not saying wearing makeup makes you better professionally (I do not wear makeup to work), but if you are interested and want to start off simple, or if your workplace says makeup is mandatory- then please continue reading :)

Step 1: Prep your face

Contrary to popular belief, you do not jump straight into applying your foundation. Rather, you prep your face first. Wash your face and ensure it is clean, before applying moisturiser and sunblock (if you're going to be outdoors most of the time).

As part of the preparation step, I actually highly recommend exfoliating your face with a gentle face scrub as well. 

Step 2: Eye makeup

No, you still do not start with your foundation yet. Many makeup gurus on Youtube actually start with eyeshadow, which makes sense because eyeshadow is the thing you really have a chance of screwing up. Therefore, if you need to wipe away your eye makeup and start over, you do not risk wiping your foundation/concealer away as well. In addition, some eyeshadows have a lot of fall-out, and you want to be able to wipe it off the rest of your face easily.

These are a couple of affordable nude eyeshadow palettes you can purchase from Watsons. I am not a fan of the usual blue/pink/purple quads that the other brands sell, so I recommend these as they are easy to work with and are not too crazy pigmented so they are perfect for beginners.

My personal go-tos: Tartelette Tease travel-sized palette & Blushed Nudes from Maybeline

For application, I actually prefer not to use the cotton bud thing that comes with most eyeshadow palettes. I like to use a fluffy brush for eyeshadow application so I can blend the colours away more easily. I own the Zoeva 224 Deluxe Defined Crease brush which blends super well.

FOR GOD'S SAKE THOUGH, please do not go and do the 1990s thing where people just slap nothing but a light blue/light pink all over their eyelids. It makes your eyes look small and infected. 

As eyeliner can be quite tough to work with, I recommend pencil liners for beginners. They are more subtle and mistakes are easier to correct with a cotton bud and some makeup remover.

If you are pressed for time in the mornings, you may skip this step!

Step 3: Face primer

If you have an uneven skintone (lol to be frank, who doesn't), priming your face before applying foundation is key. Face primer blurs out your acne scars and blemishes, and allows a smooth base for you to apply your foundation on.

I find the Velvet Skin Primer from The Face Shop pretty effective and affordable. I also own the Sephora house brand primer, but perhaps due to the humidity in Singapore, it tends to turn into lumps when I apply it on my face (and sometimes the lumps will go onto my hair, making it super messy to work with)

Step 4: Foundation and concealer

Choosing the correct type of foundation is extremely important. As a basic rule of thumb, if you have dry skin, liquid or cream foundation is recommended; if you have oily skin, powder foundation would suit you best. Personally, I have combination skin- oily forehead and nose with dry patches of skin. I always have a build-up of dead skin cells between my eyebrows and this will look extra obvious if I use powder foundation so I always go with liquid instead.

I use the L'oreal True Match liquid foundation and I find that it is great even in Singapore, so I'll likely stick with it.

Step 5: Set your foundation with finishing powder

If you use liquid foundation, add a generous layer of translucent finishing powder onto your liquid foundation after you have applied it on. This "sets" your liquid foundation in place so it will not slip and slide when you touch your face/sweat etc. Your liquid foundation also feels smoother and appears more matte, as opposed feeling sticky if you skip the loose powder.

Step 6: Bronzing/highlighting and blusher

If you prefer to keep your makeup simple and fresh, you can just apply blusher to the apples of your cheeks and skip the bronzer. For people who have warm-toned skin, it is recommended that you get a more orangey/coral shade of blusher, while if you are cool-toned, you can lean towards the pink-ish tones.

Bronzing and highlighting, simply put, is when you darken certain parts of your face to recede them, and highlight other parts of your face to "bring them forward". For example, people shade the sides of their noses with a greyish brown, and highlight their nose bridge to make their noses look slimmer.

Here's one of the simpler tutorials on contouring I managed to find on Youtube:


Step 7: Lipstick

For the longest time during my late teens I have always skipped lipstick because I thought it made me look ridiculous. But if you prefer to keep your look professional and clean, I suggest going for nude lipsticks.

The best lipsticks I've ever tried thus far would be from the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick range. They retail for $29 at Sephora and have numerous nude shades to choose from if you'd rather not don fierce, bold red lip. Go with the Sheer or Cream textures if you don't want something too drying, and Mega Matte textures for something with more staying power.

Hope this was helpful, and feel free to share any tips or advise on dressing for the professional environment in the comments below!