20 Beauty Tips from a Celeb Makeup Artist That’ll Make Your Life Easier

After previously working in the bridal industry, makeup artist Ashlee Glazer helps celebs — including our friend Zanna Roberts Rassi — get red carpet ready for A-list events such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Zanna says she’s learned tons of beauty secrets along the way that have made her life easier. 

Here, Ashlee shares her tips, tricks and hacks with you, too. 

Check out her tips here: 

Under Eyes 

1. Use An Ice Cube to De-Puff 

“An ice cube is literally your best friend. It instantly de-puffs, feels incredible, and it boosts the circulation,” Ashlee says. 

2. Use Concealer 

Calling concealer “the magic stretchable tool in your makeup kit,” Ashely says she likes “to use it to conceal any under eyes or blemishes.” 

Eyebrows  

3. Do Your Eyebrows First! 

Ashlee says she likes to do her eyebrows first before applying skin care or makeup. 

“The eyebrow's job on your face is to protect sweat and bacteria from getting into your eyes,” she says. 

4. Prep Eyebrows with Powder 

“I like to put a little translucent powder on first, brushing against the grain of your hair to fill in those gaps of where the sweat will be. So that way, your eyebrow product will stay on and your brows will be on fleek all day.” 

5. Use Concealer on Your Eyebrows 

“[Concealer is] not just for pimples or dark circles. I love to use it to pop under the arch and above the brow for a lifted effect,” Ashlee says, adding, “I'll put a little bit above the brow [and] under the brow to define.” 

MORE: Best Eyebrow Products—17 of The Best Brow Pencils, Powders & Gels 

Eyeline 

6. “Wiggle In” Your Eyeliner 

According to Ashlee, people often use eyeliner the same way they did when they were a teenager. However, she says, “As you mature in life, your eyeliner needs to grow with you.” 

“It needs to get a little longer, it needs to get a little softer, and you can use more shades than just black to define your eyes,” she adds. 

Ashlee recommends getting “your eyeliner as close to the eye as possible [by] wiggling it in.” 

“Then you can use a brush to get as close as you can.” 

Ashlee says this technique can prevent you from seeing the skin between your lashline and eyeliner — “one of the most common makeup mistakes I see!” 

Also: 

7. Make Sure Your Eyeliner Goes to the End of Your Eye 

8. Use a Brightening Pencil on the Inside of Your Eye 

“Putting a brightening pencil on the inside of your eye is a major professional makeup artist trick that now a lot of people are catching onto,” she says. “It's like a concealer for the inside of your eye. It brightens you up, it covers any redness and it's an instant hack to looking more awake.” 

9. Use a Neutral Color on the Bottom of Your Eyeliner 

“People get nervous about using eyeliner on the bottom because they think it’ll make their eyes look smaller. Instead, use a neutral color like a brow pencil in a taupey gray color. It’ll simply fill in the spaces between your lashes and make your lashes look thicker!” 

MORE: Could the Secret to Perfect Winged Eyeliner Be Tape?! 

Lips 

10. Wear Lipliner 

“I think lipliner's huge. Everyone's wearing it. Everyone should wear it. I think it gives you definition and it creates a shadow.” 

11. Use Eyeshadow Primer Around the Outside of Your Lips 

“If you’re rocking a darker lip or have textured lips, or talk all day and don’t have time to touch up, I use a little eyeshadow primer with skincare properties to prep and prime the lip area.” 

12. You Can Also Use Concealer on Your Lips 

“After the lip goes on, I tighten the outer corners of the mouth with a little concealer for a little ‘nip’ for fullness and definition.” 

MORE: Best Lip Products—18 Of The Best Lip Glosses, Lip Balms & Lipsticks 

Face 

13. If You Don’t Have Foundation... 

Ashlee says she will use concealer “in place of a foundation in a pinch.” 

14. Use The “2 Finger” Rule to Apply Blush 

“If you have no idea where to put the blush on your face, a general rule is take 2 fingers, put them right next to your nose and apply up and out.”  

15. If You’re Going to Be Photographed, Go Brighter and Bolder with Your Blush 

“Because the flash will sort of cancel it out and can make you look washed out,” Ashlee explains. 

MORE: Here’s How to Contour with Blush 

16. Add Glow to Your Face with Liquid Highlighter 

Ashlee says the biggest difference between home makeup looks and professional makeup looks is whether or not there is dimension.   

“People get nervous and think that to give the face more dimension, they have to do crazy contouring.” 

However, Ashlee’s trick to adding glow to your face is by using liquid highlighter. 

“We’re just going to add a glow— not a glimmer, not a shimmer— a glow. We’re adding almost a wet texture to the cheek and bridge of the nose and under the arch of the brow. This is going to bounce light off your skin, adding radiance, dimension and a polished finished look. You can use a clear highlighter like I have, or even a clear lip balm!” 

Ashlee also says using a liquid highlighter gives your face “dewiness” aka “that wet look.” 

Body 

17. Don’t Forget About Body Makeup! 

“You spend all this time on your face being flawless and perfect. You always want to make sure that your glow is going head to toe.” 

This is especially true if you’re wearing a dress that is either short or has cutouts.  

“You always need to consider everything that's showing. It's not just head-on, it's not just facing one way. You are three-dimensional and the rest of your body and makeup should reflect that.” 

Ashlee says, “There are different options for every skin tone, but the general rule of thumb is green covers red [and] orange covers purple. Then, pop your regular foundation and dust with a little powder on top.” 

18. Also, Don’t Forget About Your Collarbones... 

OR any part of your body that hits light. That’s why Ashlee recommends using liquid highlighter on these parts.  

“If you're going on the carpet or if you're going out to a romantic restaurant and that candle's lit on the table, that glow underneath will hit these points. So if you're showing a little shoulder, your cheekbone, if you're blushing, it'll just make you look so romantic, and like a professional did your makeup.” 

What If You Mess Up? 

Ashlee understands that sometimes you’ll have blunders with your makeup. That’s why she recommends to... 

19. Use THIS Magic Makeup Eraser 

Let’s say you messed up doing a smokey eye (check out this video tutorial) or that perfect red lip. Ashlee says you can use MAC Fast Response, a caffeinated eye cream, to fix these mistakes. 

MAC Fast Response Eye Cream

MAC Fast Response Eye Cream

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“So if you have trouble getting a cat eye, or if you're on the go and you feel like no matter how much primer you put on, sometimes your eye makeup tends to smudge, use a Q-tip and this eye cream [and it will fix] any smudges,” she says, adding, “If you're having trouble doing that perfect red lip, you can use it to clean around the edges.” 

Ashlee explains that “the caffeine in it removes makeup without leaving an oily residue or creating a hole in your makeup, so it makes it super easy to adjust and correct on the go.” 

“It's our makeup artist magic trick. If anyone's doing your makeup and if you want to be in the industry, this is definitely something we all keep in our back pocket.” 

Last but not least... 

20. Set Your Makeup with Setting Spray 

From her experience in the bridal industry, Ashlee knows that your beauty look can be affected by days that “are long, emotional, hot [or] cold.” 

“Basically, there’s never a situation where I apply someone’s makeup and then they sit in a controlled environment.” 

That’s why Ashlee uses setting spray in between each step. 

“The secret is to use it to spritz each layer of makeup. So, by the time we finish, everything from skincare to lashes are set!” 

Ashlee adds that the only thing you need to touch up is your lip gloss.