How to Brighten Up Your Makeup for the Warmer Weather Ahead

Brighten up your makeup by moving away from dull winter colors and bringing warmer and more playful tones into our appearance!

Dull weather dampens our mood. Have you ever felt particularly unmotivated during the colder seasons of the year? I know I have. Why bother doing ourselves up when the wind and rain will ruin our efforts anyways… Am I right? Well now is the time to put those feelings behind us.

Psychologically speaking the colors we surround ourselves with can make a big impact on our lives. We all know when choosing colors to paint our rooms that cool shades such as blues and lilacs can create a calming effect while warmer tones such as reds and bright pinks can keep us more alert and automatically attract our eye.

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So the question remains, why not become more daring for the summer?

Here are a couple of tips I have picked up on how to brighten up your makeup:

How to brighten up your overall complexion

Lighting up your face with some warm tones is crucial for creating that desired canvas for a more playful look in the warmer weather.

A great tip to start off with is to prime your face with a brightening primer. This will not only allow your makeup up to last longer, but to serve the duel function of illuminating your face as well. To learn more about how to apply primer correctly, see the video tutorial below:

This is a great pick-me-up and a must have for tired skin or skin that has suffered from the harsh winter months. Before you even begin applying foundation and concealer your face will already feel much softer and appear more awake.

The next step to achieving that radiating appearance is to apply a warm-toned foundation. Try searching for a brightening foundation and concealer to perk up your skin. Search for a tone that suits your skin type. The trick here is to find a shade that does not stray too much from your original skin tone- you want it to appear natural.

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If you have naturally fair skin then a foundation and concealer with a slight yellowish undertone can do the perfect job of illuminating your overall look.

If you have a darker skin tone, don’t rule out a bronzed liquid that is close to your own complexion. This can provide a warmer appearance that glows.

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A great tip for creating a healthy glow is to include bronzers and blushers into your makeup routine. A bronzer can do wonders for waking up your appearance. Apply some of this around the edges of your face to frame and contour. The points to focus on are the cheekbones, around your jawline and up around your forehead and temples, blending into the hairline.

A blusher on the other hand will add natural-looking rosy cheeks to really perk up your image. By applying a little blusher to the apples of your cheeks you can instantly feel and look much healthier.

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A final tip I would advise to brighten up your complexion is to include a little highlighting powder above the blusher on your cheeks and blend this up into your temples, down the bridge of your nose, on your cupid’s bow and a small amount on your chin.

Remember with highlighter, a little goes a long way- so don’t pack on this product- you want the soft effect. This will lighten your look by creating a dewy finish.

Making your eyes pop!

The main focal point that receives the most attention throughout conversation is our eyes. Without us even knowing, our eyes can tell a lot about us and our emotions. This is why the perfect playful look can rely so much on the eyes.

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A good eye primer or creamy base can make a huge difference to making your eye makeup pop. For strong eyeshadow colors such as bright blues, purples, pinks and greens a good base is required to give it the desired effect. Try choosing an eye primer or base that shares the same bright tone as your eyeshadow. By doing this you are sure to create intense eyes full of color.

As for the eyeshadows themselves, why not opt for something bold and daring. Think that greens are a little too out of your comfort zone? Blend a darker olive tone into your crease to soften the impact. If eyes full of drama are not your preference but you do like the idea of incorporating rich tones to your eyes why not try a bright eye liner? This simple method can instantly dramatize your appearance.

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Playful colors such as pinks, golds, blues, purples and even reds, if you’re opting for something a little more extreme, are great for adding loads of impact without being too makeup heavy.

A tip for emphasizing this is to add a strong winged eyeliner shape to your lid to really attract that attention.

Create that perfect pout!

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What bold look wouldn’t be complete without a bold lip color? Strong pinks and reds work wonders for constructing a cheeky grin. Leave a layer of foundation on your lips, fill your lips in with a good lip liner or apply a lip primer before adding your lipstick or lip stain, as this will allow your product last longer and create a good base for application.

If you decide to try out stronger lip tones then keep your eye makeup simple by sticking to eye liners and light, warm eyeshadows. The reason for this is to avoid over-doing it on your makeup. Bright looks will work best with one central daring feature-whether it be your lips or your eyes.

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If your eye makeup is heavy then why not opt for a bright candy pink shade for your lips? This will serve as a playful lip color and yet it’s tame enough to wear with intense eye makeup.

If you are looking for a softer eye application but a strong lip statement then try out some strong reds and pinks. Neon pink is great for the summer and spring.

Nails that attract with color!

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If you are creating a bold statement with lots of color why not glam up your nails with some bright nail polish? Bright tones are great for warm weather as they look cute and playful. A good idea is to match your nails to your lip or eye makeup to really make those colors pop.

You don’t have to stop there though. To allow your nails seem more intricate you can take a cocktail stick or a brush with a tiny tip to paint on beautiful flowers or elaborate designs. It really isn’t as difficult as you might think and just remember practice makes perfect!

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If you find you can’t get the hang of this then investing in some nail art stickers can be surprisingly cheap and effective. One tip I would offer here however is to run at least one coat of clear nail polish over any stick-ons to ensure they won’t budge during the day (or night!).

Pastel colors are also hugely popular and do a great job of brightening up your image without appearing too strong.

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Our cold, wet weather is finally becoming replaced by warmer winds and bluer skies so why not seize these conditions while they last! By applying bright and colorful makeup to our face, eyes and lips we can instantly lift our moods!

Don’t forget to check out the eyeliner Infographic we’ve made for you: How to Apply Eyeliner for Every Eye Shape.

About the author

Siobhan Carr

I live in a small town in Ireland and enjoy reading novels and magazines in my spare time. I am deeply interested in English and beauty therapy so writing about cosmetics is a huge passion of mine. I love animals, shopping, the theater and it is my dream to travel the world.

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