I've watched over 1,000 makeup tutorials on YouTube and these are the best tricks I've learnt

As a self-proclaimed YouTube addict, I spend most evenings cuddled up on the couch with a cup of tea and my Chihuahua Pumpkin, ready to stream all the latest makeup tutorials from my favourite beauty gurus.

Whether you love them or couldn’t care less, it’s undeniable that beauty influencers have completely changed the way we learn about makeup, skincare, hair and more, reaching millions of beauty lovers around the world, using techniques and tricks traditionally reserved for makeup school.

Thanks to YouTube, the everyday man or woman can now become a self-taught makeup artist, gain an in-depth understanding of products and formulas, and participate in an industry that we interact with on a daily basis but previously knew very little about. It’s accessible in a way it never was before and the knowledge that’s shared everyday on the platform genuinely helps viewers to look and feel their best.

And I can vouch for that!

Almost my entire makeup application knowledge has come from watching tutorials and I’ve also picked up many interesting and quirky techniques that have become staple aspects of my routine. From foundation application to eyeshadow blending, here are 12 of the best (and most unique) makeup tricks I’ve learned from watching YouTube.

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Start your winged liner from the outside

Alexa Chung, aka queen of the cat eye, does her liquid liner from the outside in. She said in her Vogue Beauty Secrets video that it’s this section that gives you “the perfect cat eye” which is why it’s important to start with It first. She follows the line from her under eye and creates the wing as an extension of that.

Via Vogue, Alexa Chung’s Genius Trick for the Perfect Cat-Eye, 2019

It’s all about a transition shade

It’s standard amongst makeup artists to use a transition shade when doing an eyeshadow look. A transition shade is usually a matte neutral shade used to help shadows blend seamlessly together. It’s the first colour you put down (typically in the crease) and is picked up throughout the process to help prevent skipping, patchiness, and disjointed colours. While basically every single beauty guru uses a transition shade, this technique was brought to the mainstream public very early on by Jaclyn Hill.

Via Jaclyn Hill, summer bronze makeup tutorial, 2012

Create a “V” with your eyeshadow

Instead of going straight into the eye crease with colour and blending out with a windshield wiper motion, Samantha Ravndahl swears by creating a little “V” instead. Whether she’s going for a smoked out cat eye or not, this base acts as a guideline for her shadow placement and can be blended out to suit any eyeshadow look. She’s been doing this technique since her first eyeshadow tutorial in 2014.

Via Samantha Ravndahl, Eye Look From “The Contour 101” Video, 2014

Don’t be afraid to use your hands

Wayne Goss is a huge advocate for applying everything from foundation to eyeshadow with fingers. He says the warmth of your hands helps the product blend in with your skin rather than sitting on top, to create a more flawless, natural application. Applying eyeshadow with your fingers also preserves the colour, creating brighter more pigmented looks.

Via Wayne Goss, STOP DOING YOUR FOUNDATION LIKE AN INSTAGRAMMER!, 2019

All you need is one good palette

Beauty influencers each own hundreds of eyeshadow palettes and often use multiple per video which isn’t very realistic for the rest of us. Jamie Genevieve, however, often does one-palette looks and stands by the fact that it’s about how you use a palette rather than how many palettes you have. Eyeshadow palettes are designed to provide a number of looks, so get creative with your combos!

Via Jamie Genevieve, PINK CUT CREASE MAKEUP TUTORIAL – URBAN DECAY NAKED CHERRY, 2018

Always keep a clean brush on hand

Tati Westbrook always has buckets of extra brushes on hand. And while the average person doesn’t necessarily need that, it is helpful to keep a couple clean ones available to help with blending. Tati explains that one of the best ways to keep a look quite natural is to use a completely clean brush to blend it out. This goes for any powder products, including eyeshadow, bronzer, highlight, and contour.

Via Tati, NYX LUXURY???… $35 EYESHADOW PALETTE, 2019

Brush your brows down before applying your product, then brush them back up

Martha Hunt revealer a unique trick she learned from celebrity makeup artist, Georgi Sandev. She brushes her eyebrows down, fills in the spaces with two different brown pencils (one darker, one lighter) and then brushes them back up. She says it gives a more natural, fluffy look.

Via Vogue, Supermodel Martha Hunt’s Guide to Night-Out Glam, 2019

Don’t go in with a sponge on your first go

Another tip from, Wayne Goss is to always apply your base products first with a brush, and then once you’ve built some coverage, blend it out with a sponge. Sponges pick up too much product and don’t allow you to build up coverage where you need it, so you should only be using them to lightly blend everything together.

Via Wayne Goss, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO APPLY CONCEALER FLAWLESSLY!, 2019

Powder before foundation

Jackie Aina has notoriously oily skin, so to prevent her foundation from getting too greasy throughout the day, she often applies powder to her freshly cleansed skin before putting on foundation. She says this also helps to stop her foundation from wearing off or getting cakey throughout the day.

Via Jackie Aina, Full Coverage CAKE FREE Foundation Tutorial!, 2017

Mix foundation with illuminating drops

The Lip Kit kween herself also has a few tips when it comes to your base; Kylie Jenner swears by mixing her foundation with illuminating drops. It’s hydrating, helps your foundation to blend out smoother, and gives you that youthful glowing finish many of us desire.

Via Vogue, Kylie Jenner’s Guide to Lips, Brows, Confidence, 2018

Apply bronzer under your nose

Kim Kardashian revealed to Vogue that NikkieTutorials taught her to brush bronzer or contour the underside of her nose (basically right at the nostrils). This makes your nose look shorter and the end more tapered like a small button nose.

Via Vogue, Kim Kardashian West’s Guide to Viral Holiday Glam, 2018

Don’t wash your face in the morning

Bella Thorne has been open about suffering from bad cystic acne for years. In her Vogue Beauty Secrets video, she mentioned that she now doesn’t wash her face in the morning because she found out she had been overwashing it, leading to irritation and more severe breakouts. Instead, she goes straight in with her skincare and claims it has helped her skin clear up so much.