Wearing makeup means walking a fine line between improving your natural beauty and looking overdone. Most women learn how to properly apply makeup in their teens with a bit of trial and error, but far too many still make some mistakes, that spoil their look, without even realizing.

Using the wrong colors is easily done if you don’t take care when shopping for makeup and take your own coloring into account. Foundation that isn’t the right shade for you is a common mistake. A color that is too pale can make you look like a ghost, while one which is too dark can make it seem like you’re wearing a dirty mask. Make sure you adjust your foundation if you get a tan during the summer, or if your color fades during the winter. The aim is that you should never be able to see a line where your foundation stops and bare skin begins.

Over applying makeup is another big mistake. Makeup is great for emphasizing your best features but too much emphasis spoils rather than enhances. If you’re trying to draw attention to a certain feature of your face, don’t do so with too much bright color. If you like your eyes, use a little eyeliner to bring them out, rather than putting the entire color palette on your eye lids. Very colorful makeup is best left for a fashion shoot or catwalk. Though you can use a bit of color for a party, avoid trying to use every eye shadow in the palette at the same time.

For a balanced look, emphasize just one area of your face, even if you like every feature! If you’re going with an intense lipstick, go easy on eye makeup, and vice versa.

Learn how to apply blush correctly, as blush is one makeup item that can really make or break your whole look, giving you a soft glow and bringing out your cheekbones, or giving you a clownish appearance.

Be conscious of the occasion, when deciding how much makeup to wear. Wearing full makeup all the time is unnecessary and looks overdone. If you’re going to an evening event, your makeup would be different to a professional look for work, or the makeup worn to the store. Being aware of what is appropriate gives you a classy look, just layering it on all the time isn’t beautiful; just overdone.

Finally, don’t forget to remove it all at night. Not removing your makeup properly is worst things you can do to your skin on a regular basis. Don’t make excuses, just do it. Make it part of your routine, have your supplies nearby, and remove makeup every single day, no matter how tired you are.