The Best Makeup Tips I Ever Got...

Nives’ Beauty Secrets

(previously posted on phillystylemag.com; before the Niche Media takeover)

When I went to meet Nives Riddles at Rescue Spa, I was eager to ask her all about how I could update my makeup for this season’s trends. Instead, Nives taught me perhaps one of life’s most important lessons: Trends may be fit for clothing sometimes, but never are they appropriate for your face. 

Makeup is all about what’s right for you.

If you don’t have much time to apply makeup in the morning, Nives recommends feigning a flawless complexion before attending to your eyes, cheeks, or lips. To pull this off, pick an oil-free foundation and apply it with a brush, in small strokes, from your hairline down to your neck. Blending is, obviously, of the utmost importance, and the smaller the brush you use, the easier you’ll find this task. While applying Chantecaille’s “Future Skin” gel foundation (pictured above) to my face, Nives noted that often times, people use foundation in the same way they use cover up, when it is only intended to even out your skin tone.

Concealer should be applied with a tiny brush, almost as if your face was made of pixels. If you take your time and apply precisely, you’ll be as amazed as I was: my skin never appeared so close to perfect, despite that I was amidst a minor breakout. Even when I replicated Nives’ movements at home, the difference remained noticeably clear.

Think of your foundation as a spongy base that absorbs all the color you want to apply. With that in mind, you should be gently pressing your colored brushes into your base, not swooping or painting them.

For that rosy, energetic and youthful glow, Nives recommends a pink cream blush for the apples of your cheeks, carefully blended until it looks au natural, as if you’ve caught a bit of a sun. If you choose to wear a bronzer, don’t use it all over your face like you would a loose powder. Instead, use it to highlight certain features, like your forehead and right above your lips. Avoid orangey-skin by using a high-quality bronzer, like Chantecaille’s, available in different shades at Rescue.

For dramatic, but not over-the-top eyes, Nives picked out a lavender eye shadow, that she said was made for my auburn hair and fair skin, and applied it in small dabs all over my lid. (Be sure to use an extra base on your eyelid to avoid creasing.) Ed Note: Lavender looks great on all skin tones and hair colors because its hue helps to brighten the eyes!

On the top lid, she applied black Blinc's liquid liner in small, feather-like strokes. It’s genius formula allows it to slide right off of your eye in the shower, so you won’t have to fight with eye makeup removers any longer. For the inside of the bottom lid, Nives added a bit of glitz with Diane Brill’s eyelining pencil. The gold tint to the color is perfect for evenings.

After curling my lashes with an electric wand, Nives let me in on another insider tip: False eyelashes, ladies! They’re cheap, disposable, and easier to put on than mascara. Grab a few pair to keep in your vanity and wear them any time you hit the town to look super glam.

Hold the lashes up to your face to see if you’ll need to trim the length. Lightly spread an adhesive (Nives recommends Ardell) over the base of the lash and wait for about 25 seconds. Wait too little, the glue will still be runny and it wont’ stick to your eye; wait too long, and the glue will already be drying. Put it on as close to the your real lashes as possible. Hold it in place for a few seconds, pressing it firmly. To completely disguise them, add more liner after the glue has dried, and follow with mascara, blending your lashes with the false set.

To finish your runway-ready face, set with a loose powder, using a brush to gently press into your skin, or lightly dab. But be patient; sweeping movements will erase all of your hard work up to this point! And one last pro tip: Use a clean brush to remove any makeup that might have settled underneath the eyebrow during the entire application, then keep them in place with a clear gel.

Lastly, glide on a lip gloss in a natural pink, and you’re ready to hit the city!