A Beginner's Guide to Makeup Terminology

When I started doing makeup, the most frustrating thing for me was trying to understand what each term meant. At the suggestion of my lovely mom I decided to compile a list of possibly tricky terms, and their simple definitions. If you have a term you want defined or think that it should be on this page, send me a message on the Contact Me page.

This page is constantly construction, so if it looks sparse that's why. I update it when I have time or think of something new to add.

There is no index to this, as it changes too quickly. You can always press the buttons CTRL + F to bring up a search bar and can type in keywords there.

ACRONYMS

"A Common Representation Of Names You Must Shorten."


BB

"Beauty Blender." Usually an egg-shaped sponge that is moistened and "bounced" on the skin for an even application of liquid face products like concealer and foundation. Some prefer them over brushes.

Credit to /u/ElizabethJulia for the definition.

CCW

"Constructive Criticism Welcome." Often used on makeup boards/forums, this means that the poster is welcome to receiving advice about their makeup so long as it is truly helpful and not rude or malicious.


EOTD

"Eye(s) Of The Day." The poster's eye makeup for that day.

FOTD

"Face Of The Day." The poster's full face makeup for the day.


HG

"Holy Grail." Meaning that this product is the best product the person has ever tried in that category, making it the only foundation/primer/concealer/blush/lipstick/etc. that they will ever need or want.

MLBB

"My Lips But Better." A subtle lip product that is very close to or the same color as your lips and accentuates them while still looking natural.

Credit to /u/ElizabethJulia for the definition.

UDPP

"Urban Decay Primer Potion." A very popular eyeshadow primer from the brand Urban Decay.

ADJECTIVES

"Wait, so is 'dewy' a good thing?"

DEWY

Dewy refers to your skin's finish. Dewy skin is characterized by soft, smooth skin texture and illuminated skintone.

MATTE

Matte is a term used as often in makeup as in regular life. It is essentially a non-shiny but still smooth surface. Lipsticks, eyeshadows, foundations, primers, powders, bronzers, etc. can all be matte as well as not matte. Matte is used a lot if you want a very natural-looking makeup look, since skin naturally is more matte than shiny.

MUDDY

A bad thing. This is when you blend your eyeshadows too much, such that the individual colors mix together to make an unattractive muddy color.

OVER-BLENDED

If you blend your eyeshadows together too much. See Muddy.

UNDER-BLENDED

If you do not blend your eyeshadows enough.

ANATOMY

"I didn't know that was a body part."

APPLES

This is the fleshy part of your cheekbones that fill out when you smile, right on either side of your nose. Generally people apply blush here, but there are some who insist that this should never be done.

CUPID'S BOW

This is the part of your upper lip, right on the top and in the middle. There is a groove running from your nose down your lip and connecting with the top of your lips, sometimes making a V or U shape. This shape is the Cupid's Bow.

WATERLINE

This is the part of your eye that is between your fleshy lid and the eyeball itself. There is an upper waterline, on the top of your eye, and a lower waterline. You can and people often do put eyeliner on their waterlines, just make sure that the product is waterline-safe.

This page on Makeupgeek.com explains lots of things about eyeliner, including the waterline(s).

LOOKS

"What do you call it when you wear makeup but it doesn't look like you're wearing makeup?"

NO-MAKEUP MAKEUP

Makeup that is meant to enhance your natural beauty and look soft and subtle. Tightlining, a little mascara, and a MLBB shade are good starters for a no-makeup makeup look.

Credit to /u/ElizabethJulia for the definition.

METHODS

"There isn't ever just one way to do something."

GOSS METHOD

Often raved about tip from Wayne Goss where you apply your moisturizer and primer first and then loose powder BEFORE your foundation.

Credit to /u/ElizabethJulia for the above definition.


Here is the video from Wayne Goss himself outlining the Goss Method.

TAPE METHOD

When you stick tape alongside your eye to keep a crisp line for your shadows.

Here is a tutorial outlining the tape method and how to do it.

PRODUCTS

"There really is something for everything."

BB CREAM

BB Cream should be thought of as a hybrid between foundation and tinted moisturizer. Generally, BB Creams offer a small bit or coverage (usually light to medium) and some added skincare benefits. BB Cream is a great everyday alternative to foundation, because it is easy to apply and evens your skintone without making you look like you're wearing makeup. BB generally stands for beauty balm, though there are some companies who use it to stand for something else.

BEAUTY BLENDER

Usually an egg-shaped sponge that is moistened and "bounced" on the skin for an even application of liquid face products like concealer and foundation. Some prefer them over brushes.

Credit to /u/ElizabethJulia for the above definition.

While Beauty Blender is a brand, the term is often used for any egg-shaped makeup sponge. There are many more affordable versions on the market, including my favorite the Miracle Complexion Sponge from Real Techniques.


BRONZER

Some people naturally tan well. If you like the tan look but just don't tan naturally, you have a very simple, temporary solution: bronzer. Bronzer is a powder that is supposed to make you look tan naturally, even if (like me) you aren't tan naturally.


Here is a wonderful video from the truly amazing Lisa Eldridge on how to choose the right bronzer and wear it well.

CC CREAM

BB Cream's stronger sibling. While BB generally means beauty balm, CC generally means color-correcting.

DUPE

Short for 'duplicate', a dupe is a product that is extremely similar to another. Sometimes you really like a product but it is too expensive, not vegan, not cruelty free, etc. and you just want another option for basically the same thing.

LIP PLUMPER

If you want a bit of extra oomph to your lips but don't want to overdraw, lip plumper may be your only option aside from Botox.

Different lip plumpers work in different ways, but they all have some sort of ingredient that draws blood into your lips. This ingredient often tingles, but should never sting or cause actual pain. Lip plumpers also make your lips more red because of the increased bloodflow.

POWDER

When I first heard about powder I thought, "Uh, what sort of powder? There are lots of powders within the makeup world." Yes, it is certainly true that there are a lot of powders but most of the time when people just talk about 'powder' they mean something in particular.

The sort of powder they are referencing is an often translucent powder that is meant to sit on top of your liquid or cream products and absorb the extra liquid. Some products just feel a bit slimy on your skin, and so if you tap this powder on top of it supposedly it shouldn't be slimy any more. If you have dry skin, powder may not be your best friend. If you have oily skin, you should stock up on oil-absorbing powders.

PRIMER

Foundation primer is usually a cream, sometimes a powder or spray, that you put underneath your foundation. Different primers offer different benefits, but generally primers are meant to make your foundation last longer or to protect your skin from absorbing the makeup. Some foundation primers claim to make your skin brighter, less red, less shiny, more bronzed, etc.

Eyeshadow primers are similar to foundation primers, except that you only apply it to the place where you are going to apply eyeshadow. Again, different eyeshadow primers offer different benefits but generally they stop creasing, make your shadows last longer, make your shadows more colorful, and keep them from smudging or transferring.

SETTING SPRAY

A spray that sets all the powders on your face and keeps them from flying away or smudging.

SPOOLIE BRUSH

This is one of those cylindrical wire brushes with stiff bristles, instead of a typical brush with a ferrule and soft bristles.

Here is a link to an affordable but decent spoolie brush.

VERBS

"You want me to do what to my face?"
All verbs are listed in infinitive form.

TO CLUMP

A bad thing. This is when mascara clumps together your eyelashes, making it seem like you have fewer than you actually do. This can also be when small clumps of the mascara stick to lashes, without necessarily making the lashes stick to each other. This can be avoided by running a spoolie through your lashes after applying mascara, or using more a mascara that doesn't clump.

TO CONTOUR AND TO HIGHLIGHT

Our faces naturally have light points and dark points when light hits them, depending on how your face is arranged. For a variety of reasons, people contour (darken) and highlight (lighten) bits of their face to change the appearance. I contour the hollow parts of my cheeks to make them look more 'sculpted', and highlight my cheekbones and nose to make them appear higher.

Contouring can be done with a specifically designated contouring powder or just a bronzer, but it does need to be darker than your normal skintone. It should be roughly the same color as the naturally occurring shadows on your face.

Highlighting can be done with specifically designated highlighters, concealers that are lighter than your skintone, or even certain powders that are lighter than your skintone.

TO COOK

Allowing your base (primer, foundation, BB cream, CC cream, neither, all, some combination thereof, etc.) to sit and settle into your skin for about 10-20 minutes before applying anything else.

TO CREASE

Sometimes your makeup will settle into the lines or fold of your skin, and create a sort of built up reservoir of makeup. When this part of the skin is spread out, you will see the lines that settled within your folds or creases. Most of the time creasing will be done by eyeshadow but it can also be done by concealer or foundation. Typically people try to eliminate creasing, using a variety of different methods.

TO OVERDRAW

This is when you take a lipliner and make your lips appear fuller by drawing outside of your actual lipline. To be done correctly, it should be very subtle.

TO TIGHTLINE

Tightlining is the brilliant trick of running your eyeliner through your upper lashline. Not on top or on the upper waterline, but really burying the pigment in the midst of your lashes. The reason why people do this is to give the appearance of fuller lashes, without having to have a steady hand or be able to draw a sharp wing.

For more help, refer to this guide by /u/hannypoppie on reddit.

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