14 Life-Changing Makeup Secrets I Learned From Celebrity Makeup Artist Rae Morris

When you work in this business, you experience a lot of makeup tips. I’ve been to classes and demonstrations. I’ve had professionals do every type of treatment and makeup style imaginable on me, but ask me to replicate it, and you’re in for a nasty case of a panda face. It turns out I’m great with theory but not so great with the practice of it, which is why I was crazy excited to get a copy of Rae Morris’s new book, Makeup Masterclass.

If you’re wondering how I’ll be spending every spare night over the next few weeks, it will be sitting cross-legged in front of a mirror with this book perched on my lap and all my makeup strewn around the floor, practicing my little heart out until I finally nail actual eye makeup application and find a way to work around my shaky hands.

I also had the chance to meet with Rae Morris (AKA the Queen of Makeup!) to talk about her work with the National Academy Of Beauty, which included her spitting out knowledge and tips at such a crazy speed that my notes look like an alien language. Apart from learning that Rae Morris is a bit of a nerd (who is obsessed with the Fibonacci Sequence) and a rev head, I also picked up a bunch of tips and tricks that I’m happy to share with you guys now, even though it will make my newfound makeup prowess less impressive (lucky I love you guys!).

1. Extend The Eye Out

We all want bigger, bolder eyes, and Rae says the trick is to think of extending the eye out. So rather than pile all your makeup on within the confines of your eyelid, extend the lines and the color out towards the ear (although not all the way!). She also said one of the most popular eyes looks people want is Kim Kardashian’s, and this is how you get it!

2. Do Under The Eye First

If you want to lift the eye (if you have saggy or wrinkly eyelids), you should start by doing under the eye first. So if you’re doing a cat’s eye flick, start by doing the flick from under the eye first and then draw on your line to match. If you want to widen the eyes and make them appear bigger, you’re better off avoiding any dark lines or color along the bottom lashes.

3. Get The Right Flick

The perfect eyeliner flick should be in line with the highest part of the line. Any lower, and your eyes will start to look droopy.

4. To Powder Or Not To Powder

We’ve seen a lot of talks lately about setting makeup or baking it with powder, and so it was nice (as someone who isn’t a fan of powders) to hear that Rae doesn’t do this. She said touch-ups throughout the day, while more effort, will always look better — you don’t want to have dry and flaky makeup at the end of the day! If you’re using powder to stop yourself from getting shiny, then try matte blotting papers instead.

5. Practice Makes Perfect

Ever experience the pain of winding up full Cleopatra because you can’t get your lines even? It happens to everyone! Rae recommends doing your lining in shadow first and then going over it with your eyeliner afterwards, so it gives you something to trace over.

6. Play The Waiting Game

As tough as it is, try waiting 10 minutes after putting on your foundation before you continue with the next step; this helps the product to sink into the skin and last longer because you’re not just rubbing it off straight away.

7. Got A Dried-Out Gel Liner?

Revive a dried-out liner with Duraline. It’s a clear liquid that is made to turn any shadow into an eyeliner. This works for gel liners that are tough to use as well!

8. Get A Beauty Boost

Before all her beauty shoots, Rae does a quick beauty treatment with her models to get their skin looking amazing. Rather than use expensive high-end products, she mixes up bicarb soda and plain old Cetaphil moisturizer for an exfoliation and hydration sucker punch.

8. Ever Wonder How The Victoria’s Secret Angels Get Their Glow?

Yep, this has always been a mystery to me, so I was psyched when Rae shared this secret: apply a layer of rose under the bronzer for a more natural glow.

9. Gotta Have That Shine?

If you absolutely must add a little sparkle to your makeup look, then make sure you apply it last! Applying it too early will mean you’ll definitely use too much, and it will throw out the proportions of your whole eye look.

10. Brows Looking A Little Sparse?

While I might be full of Oscar The Grouch right now, others in my family suffer from very sparse brows. If you want to get in on the full brows trend, then Rogaine actually works! There’s also a Glaucoma medication that has the same effect (and will give you crazy long lashes), but it will also change your eye color to brown so maybe stick with the Rogaine.

11. If you Want To Disguise Wrinkles …

As someone who is getting very sensitive about my crows’ feet lately, I was all ears when it came to tips for disguising wrinkles. It turns out that dark grey helps to blur the lines while black can make them stand out (I don’t fully understand it but check out Cyndi Lauper for some of what I mean!).

12. Smudge It Up

A defined flick will also help to draw attention to those fine lines, so smudge up your look if you want to hide the signs of aging. A smudgy cat’s eye is still a totally gorgeous look, though!

13. Avoid The Shimmer

Yep, finally, if you want to disguise any signs of aging, stick with matte products as shimmers will not hide anything!

Rae Morris has partnered with the National Academy Of Beauty to help promote their courses and run workshops. Her book Makeup Masterclass is available to purchase from her website for $49.95 (it sounds expensive, but I’ve had atlases that are smaller than this!), or the digital version is available for $9.99.

If you’re interested in learning more about makeup or beauty therapy, you can head to The National Academy Of Beauty

Are you as obsessed with Rae Morris as I am? What do you think of these tips? Got any of your own? Tell us in the comments below!