It’s no surprise that you guys may encounter one or two obstacles on your road to perfection, it comes with the territory.  The fact is that your makeup for men knowledge maybe somewhat questionable, but don’t let this dishearten you, after all, we’re only men!  Unless you spent your adolescent years practicing male cosmetic perfection instead of enjoying man time, FIFA and girls you may need someone to pave your way to a flawless complexion..  Let this not put you off gentlemen; because that’s where Mens Makeup UK and our team of experts come in.  

We’re here to ensure you don’t get caught up doing the same old faux pas and as well as offering expert advice via e-mail, the telephone or via letter, read our expert blogs designed specifically for mens makeup lovers and wannabes; looking for a little light in the makeup for men cosmetic maze.  

Today we’ve decided to highlight the ‘do nots’ when it comes to wearing makeup for men by publishing the official top 10 grooming and makeup for men mistakes made by Britain’s gentlemen.  Open your ears and listen to the experts, because we’re here for one thing: and that’s to help you achieve a fresher, flawless and more confident you.

So here goes...

 1. Always Remove Makeup For Men Before Bedtime

The truth is, pores need time to breathe!.  Your skin rejuvenates up to 12 times quicker during your sleep than it does during your day.  A large part of this is ‘skin regeneration’ and in turn a big factor affecting this processes’ success is your skins’ ability to remove dead skin cells, toxins and under skin foreign bodies.  By keeping your makeup for men such as; foundations, eye shadows and concealers for men on during your sleep, within 21-28 days you’ll have one hell of a fight on your hands.  Sufficient removal will enhance the performance of mens makeup when it comes to the time to reapply.  Warm soapy water will do the trick and leave your pores refreshed, nourished and ready for rejuvenation.  

2. Wear a Good Quality Mens Makeup Base Layer.

Never underestimate the performance of a mens makeup base layer.  Makeup bases protect and withhold your skins preservatives and nourishing enzymes.  Think of them as an invisible film.  A film that doesn’t improve the performance of makeup for men as such.  However, if you’re looking to build the perfect foundations to a flawless long term complexion, we strongly recommend you invest in a good quality makeup base such as Calvin Klein’s Makeup Base.

3. Never too much, too soon.

A common mistake made by makeup men is their willingness to want to be thrown in at the deep end.  Granted, if you’re a newbie, you’re enthusiastic, it’s only natural after seeing what these mens makeup products can do for you.  However, it’s crucial to step into the mens makeup world one step at a time.  Start off with a mens tinted moisturiser, foundation or concealer for men.  Unfortunately, as much as we can write in words to help you along your way; it’s doesn’t quite match physically practicing the art of mens makeup application.  Once you’re comfortable why not experiment by contouring with eye shadow,  using beard enhancers and manscara?  But, we’ll get there together in time.  We want to turn you into a masculine enriched flawless Adonis, not a Vegas drag queen.  Subtlety over enthusiasm  machismo over eagerness and precision over complacency, that’s what we all want..

4. Cleanse your enthusiasm and tone your skills.

Onto common mistake number four, and it’s now time to perfect your cleanse and toning mens cosmetic rituals.  The golden rule:  Never cleanse and tone more than once-a-day if you have a naturally dry complexion.  Cleansers’ and Toner’s for men rebalance your skins PH level and control oil retention and excretion.  They are perfect for removing toxins and deep impurities which often thrive in oilier complexions.  If you are not this guy, you don’t have to call on what I like to call ‘the clean up crew’ more than once a day.  If you do so; you may be removing all of the ‘good’ oils out of your skin; resulting in flakey, drier and even sore skin.  Your complexion will not benefit from this!  Once a day keeps us off your back.  

5.  Become a master in disguise.

A popular mistake made by fellas during makeup for men application is concentrating solely on the face.  We need our makeup looks’ to be natural and subtle, that’s a given.  A big step to achieving this is working your foundation and bronzer for men into your hairline and down your neck.  We’re not for one second suggesting applying the same amount of these makeup products for men onto these areas as you would your t-zone and cheekbones.  However, a gentle brush of makeup in these areas allows for expert blending and intensely promotes a secret mens makeup look, perfect if you’re looking for subtle perfection. 

 6. Stubborn Stubble...

Closely linked to mistake number five is a common men’s cosmetic cropper in the form of stubborn stubble.  Facial hair can disrupt the smooth and flawless look you’re trying to create.  A lot of men simply cover beards with foundations, bronzers and concealers unknowingly and almost instantly come across problems.  Without working your product against the grain of your facial hair it can become alleviated from your skins’ surface throughout your day.  Foundation for men can also get caught up in your facial hair which is a look no man craves.  A final common look is that of blotchy mens makeup riddled beards.  We don’t have to spell it out gentlemen, none of these are good looks’.

No! it’s not time to remove facial hair, or hang up your mens cosmetic boots so to speak:  It’s time to learn the tricks of the makeup for men world.  Beards add a new dimension to masculinity and a lot of guys prefer to showcase a bit of ‘man stubble.’  So, how do we professionally combine the two?  As previously mentioned, use your fingers or preferably a relevant mens makeup brush to work the product onto your skin applying against the grain and direction of your facial hair.  Continue and finish off with a medium pressured ‘dabbing’ style technique to pick up any excess product lurking in your beard. 

7. Conceal Your Enthusiasm

Recent studies involving the use of makeup for men have revealed 87% of men aged between 18-45 would happily use a mens concealer to cover up problem areas.  On the other hand, only 42% of men would consider wearing men’s foundation.  While both results are very positive and naturally growing as society adjusts to the new makeup man; you’ll have to read between the facts to find mens makeup error number seven; concealer exhaustion.  

Concealer exhaustion is a mens makeup phrase which refers to men wearing ‘too much’ concealer on his face, sometimes used to cover the most minimal imperfections.  We have to remember that although unparalleled products in many ways, concealers for men are best used when covering specific imperfections.  Some guys tend to apply in a ‘smearing’ technique all over their faces after seeing for themselves the transformations’ concealers for men can have.  

However, this is a big no no in the makeup man world.  Besides the extreme cost; a lot of concealers tend to highlight in order to cover imperfections meaning this technique will often illuminate your face if over used.  You will also notice a streaky look as imperfections are linked together by your concealer use, this isn’t quite what we had in mind when we set out to give you fantastic looks’  Finally, concealer over use can give you a ‘cakey’ look which certainly doesn’t help us in the subtle mens makeup and masculine makeup use stakes.

So, how do we deal with our eagerness to cover the slightest of imperfections in our pursuit of perfect complexions?  Welcome statistic number two:  If the detriments described above sound familiar it’s time to join the 42% of men willing to experiment with foundation. Although seen as a women only thing, foundation for men is causing more of a stir in the male cosmetic cauldron than ever before as men further intensify their relentless pursuit of perfection.  Open your eyes, and close your ears to the stigma and choose a matte foundation for men which will provide the same general coverage as applying lots of mens concealer will do, but brings with it a newer and fresher look maximizing subtlety.  

8. Brawn over Bronze

Many man choose to use a mens bronzer to add that final touch to your face.  This is perfectly fine, if used correctly you can achieve some superb makeup for men results.  However, be careful not to use too much.  A lot of guys get slightly bronze happy and these can leave you looking like a drag queen; which may not be on your list of looks’ you’re trying to achieve.  

Get exceptional results and remember; in the world of men’s makeup less is more and this is never more true than whilst using a bronzer for men.   

9  Shades on...

A very common mistake men make occurs before you’ve even opened the package.  We urge anyone to be totally confident of their skin tone.  The general mens makeup rule is that a man can go one shade darker and two shades lighter than your current skin tone to guarantee professional blending.  Use our man-palette and product colour guides to make this process as easy as possible for you.  If you’re still unsure of your correct skin tone and what shade is right for you then do not hesitate to contact us.  We regularly receive photographs from our customers whom are struggling with this issue.  Within minutes our professional makeup artists for men can judge and give you an answer as to what tone is right for you.  If you’re unsure then don’t commit makeup crime number nine and just guess.  If needs’ be ask your girlfriends’, wives  sisters or mothers as they will naturally have more experience with choosing correct skin shades of makeup.  Remember also, your skin tone is likely to change throughout the year especially through seasons, so your skin tone may not be the same in summer as it is in the winter, so don’t forget to factor these in.

10. The Change Up

The final in common makeup mistakes made by men resides in the eye department.  For a man using manscara and liquid guyliner it’s important to appreciate how long these products can last.  If you’re a regular user of these types of eye makeup for men then you’re likely not to come across this issue of the clumping and thickening of this product to an inapplicable state.  If you are however, an infrequent user of guyliner and manscara be sure to change these products every 3 to 4 months to be sure you’re not left with a nasty shock when you next come to open your product.  It’s a common mistake makeup men may face and let the be a warning sign to problems in this area you may face. 

So gentlemen, if you can relate to one or more of the before mentioned common makeup mistakes made by men then we hope this weeks’ blog has been useful.  If you’ve earned the swanky city pad, the lifestyle and the appearance; don’t let yourself down by clinging onto amateur makeup mistakes.  Support and enhance your appearance by reading and understanding the above common mistakes.  If you feel like you could be doing something wrong yourself which we may not have covered then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.  We’d be more than happy to solve your mens makeup queries.

Boys become men and amateurs become professionals with the aid of mmuk man.