Prom season is here! The time has begun for prom dress shopping and preparations. Makeup is probably the last preparation on a girl’s mind, but it can be more time consuming than one might think. Finding the perfect products and achieving a flawless look can give a girl confidence on such an important and memorable night of the school year.

The first step is to find the “look.” It may be a brown smokey eye, a pretty shimmer, or even a pop of color to match the dress. It is important to find a makeup look that matches the dress; this makes the overall prom look appear complete and thought out. Makeup looks for prom can be found on almost any social media platform. Pinterest has a variety of images to use as inspiration. 

The second step is to establish what products will be needed to achieve the makeup look chosen. The easiest place to buy makeup may be the local drugstore, but that may not be the best option for the highest quality makeup. Sephora or Ulta carries high quality makeup and more variety than a drugstore would. Higher quality makeup is more expensive, but makes application much easier and overall looks better. For example, for a brown smokey eye, a brown toned eye shadow palette would be the right choice. Products needed are foundation, concealer, loose face powder, bronzer, blush, highlight, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, eyeliner, and fake eyelashes. Along with the makeup products, tools to apply it are needed. A makeup sponge and brushes carry out the look.

The third step is executing the makeup look on the face. Start with foundation and bounce it into the skin with a damp beauty sponge. Make sure it is evenly applied all over the face. Next, take the concealer and apply it under the eyes, on the eyes, in between the eyebrows, on the nose, and anywhere else that needs extra coverage, such as a pimple or blemish. Then, press your damp beauty sponge into the loose face powder and press it onto the already applied foundation and concealer. This method of powdering ensures the makeup will not move or sweat off. Next, take an angled brush and dip it into the bronzer. An easy way to know where to put the bronzer is to make a duck face. When doing this, the hollows of the cheeks are more easily seen. This is where the bronzer goes. Also apply bronzer on the left and right side of the forehead. After that, take a fluffy brush and sweep off the excess powder left on the face. Now, take a different fluffy brush and dip it in blush. Smile, and the apples of your cheeks will become more prominent; this is where the blush goes. Take a fan brush and dip it in the highlight. Apply this to the high points of the cheek bones, inner corners of eyes, under the eyebrow, and the nose. Next, take the eyebrow pencil and comb through the eyebrow hairs. Draw a faint line underneath the brows to make them look sharper and defined. Then, continue to fill the whole brow with a light hand. 

The fourth step is executing the makeup look on the eyes. Have the image of the makeup look available to look at. Start with a light or nude shade to set the eyes for color. Cover the entire eyelid with the light shade up to the eyebrow. Next, use a small fluffy brush and dip it in a slightly darker shade. (This shade should still be pretty light, though.) Blend this color all over the crease of the eye. This is called the transition shade. The goal is to keep building up color on the crease to create an ombre effect. Take another color slightly darker than the second shade. Apply it just barely below the transition shade. Continue this process for two or three more shades, each one getting darker. Once that is completed, take the darkest shade and apply it to the corner of the eyelid. Make sure there are no harsh lines of color, and everything is blended evenly. From here, it is a personal preference whether to apply a matte shade or shimmer to the middle of the eyelid. Either is beautiful! Now that eye shadow is completed, take a liquid black eyeliner and draw a thin to medium line that is hugging the lash line from the inner corner and wing it out. Fake eyelashes are optional, but takes every day makeup to the next level. Before applying fake lashes, apply black mascara to the real lashes to make the real and fake ones mesh better. Take the fake eyelash and match it up to the lashline to see if it is the correct length. If not, the eyelash will have to be trimmed. Apply eyelash glue to the fake eyelash and press it on the lash line. Hold it for about ten to twenty seconds. Apply black mascara to the lower lashes. The eyes are complete!

These steps make prom makeup simple. Plan ahead; practice doing the makeup a few weeks or days in advance. Do not feel discouraged if the makeup turns out bad the first time. It takes practice to get it right! Every girl deserves to feel beautiful on prom night.