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6 Hollywood Makeup Tricks You Can Do at Home

Easy ways to elevate your everyday look

Behind every perfectly-done-up celebrity is a makeup artist. And since not every woman can have one at her beck and call, we turned to Naimie’s--L.A.’s most trusted beauty source--to learn a few tricks of the trade. The Valley superstore is chockablock with stars like Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria, who stop by to pick up their own supplies. Here are six tips to apply to your routine, from the secrets of covering blemishes to making your hard work last all day. 

Naimie’s Beauty Center, 12640 Riverside Dr., Valley Village; 818-655-9933 or naimies.com

makeup shields

To Avoid Raccoon Eyes

Stick self-adhesive cotton half-moons on to catch any eye shadow or mascara that falls as you do up your peepers.

Shadow Shields ($10)

makeup palette

To Conceal Blemishes And Dark Spots

Hiding what you don’t want people to see takes more than a glop of single-tone coverup. Instead, color-code-conceal your flaws with swipes from a vitamin-E-enriched contour palette: Dot the green on any pimples, blend the lilac onto any dark areas and use the brown to contour.

Lise Watier color corrector palette ($32)

makeup blender

To Blend Foundation

The secret to natural-looking makeup depends on perfect blending of foundation, contour and blush. Use an egg-shaped blending tool to soften any hard lines of product on your face, then dampen the sponge and dip it into foundation, which you'll apply using short feathery strokes starting from the bridge of the nose, working back to the hairline and under your jaw.

Beauty Blender Micro Mini ($18)

makeup ben nye

To Even Skin Tone

After all your other makeup, dust a yellow hue over your face to tone down any redness and brighten any stubborn blue under-eye shadows.

Ben Nye banana powder ($12)

makeup seal

To Make Your Makeup Last

Spray this sealer over your completed look to keep everything--even lipstick--in place for eight hours. Really.

Ben Nye Final Seal ($8)

makeup brush

To Clean Your Brushes

Disinfecting brushes is a must to keep bacteria at bay. But cleaning them also needs to happen to keep colors from getting muddy, say, when you apply different shades of eye shadow. Pros know alcohol formulas, like this citrus-scented one, work the best.

Parian Spirit brush cleaner ($7)


dana dickey

Senior Editor

  • Writes about fashion, wellness, relationships and travel
  • Oversees all LA/California content and is the go-to source for where to eat, stay and unwind on the west coast
  • Studied journalism at the University of Florida