We shop online while at work (shh, don’t tell the boss). Apply makeup while cabbing to a party. Read our favourite blogs while commuting. And yet, when we’re such excellent multitaskers, we only use our makeup in the way they’re made to be used? Big mistake. “Many of us are lugging around giant makeup bags in our purses, but the truth is we only need about a third of all the beauty products we carry around with us all the time,” says Anna Nenoiu, a Toronto-based makeup artist. “Most of our makeup, from mascara to lipstick, can double up as something else.” Read on for multitasking tips and tricks used by the pros.

Beauty product swap: If the product is creamy, experiment with it

That’s MAC Senior Artist Melissa Gibson’s advice when it comes to using makeup in other ways. “Some makeup will only be one thing—a blue eyeliner will only be a blue eyeliner,” she says. But if you’ve got a fairly neutral shade that’s in a creamy format, it becomes something you can play around with in different ways:
lipstick as blush, a foundation used to contour, a bronzer as eye shadow, and so on.

Beauty product swap: Use your mascara as eye liner

We all have
mascara in our makeup kits. But have you ever used it to line your eyes? “Dab a small amount of mascara from the end of the wand to your hand and then apply it using a thin
angle brush to the base of the lashes using a thin angle brush,” says Nenoiu, and then smudge with your fingertip or a cotton swab.

Beauty product swap: Use eye shadow primer as “lip liner”

When wearing
a bold, bright lipstick, we all worry about feathering. For a softer look than using lip liner, Lancôme Canada Official Makeup Artist Lora Spiga opts to use an eye shadow primer. “Aquatique is a nude cream to powder eye shadow base, but use it on the outer edge of your lips to keep your lipstick from bleeding,” she says. “It stays smooth on the surface,” she adds, so there’s no need to worry about it highlighting fine lines.

Make better use of your highlighter, shimmer and Vasaline on the next page …
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Beauty product swap: Use Vaseline in many ways

You may only employ this staple for keeping your lips hydrated, but you’re missing out. “Vaseline doubles as an excellent makeup remover, especially for heavy eye makeup,” says Nenoiu. You can also dab a bit onto the apples of your cheeks, brow bone and lips for instant illumination, she says. And, rather than add yet another item to
your makeup bag by purchasing an eye gloss, just use Vaseline when creating a smoky eye. To do this, dab on Vaseline using your fingertips to your dark rimmed eyes and smudge the eyelids using fingertips, says Nenoiu. If you want a more glamorous look, she suggests adding a shimmer or sparkle powder overtop (“The Vaseline will help bond the shimmer to the eyelids,” she says).

Beauty product swap: Use a shimmer eye shadow as a highlighter

Yes, that stunning neutral shadow looks fantastic on the lids, but if it’s got just the right amount of subtle shimmer, why not also use it to highlight your cheekbones or cupid’s bow or bridge of the nose? Spiga’s favourite eye shadow for adding light to the face is Lancôme Color Design Eye Shadow in Filigree.

Beauty product swap: Mix a highlighter cream with just about everything in your makeup case

If you have a highlighter cream in your makeup case, this product can be used to transform almost every other product in your kit. Spiga can’t live without Lancôme Éclat Miracle. “It has microscopic light reflectors that are not sparkly like mica can be,” she says. She mixed it with eye shadows to create a different effect and blends with lipstick to create a different shade (“It can change a red lip colour to one that’s more apricot, she says). Spiga also says mixing it with foundation or self tanner can give the skin a luminous, angelic glow.

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The key brushes you need for any hair style

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