Everyday Makeup Tips with Ashlee McCann

Fresh-faced and fabulous: everyday makeup

Ashlee McCann started her career in makeup by working at a Bare Minerals counter in Baton Rouge, LA. In that part-time role, Ashlee came to love the excitement and satisfaction she felt while helping her customers discover their own confidence and empowerment through something as simple as makeup. Armed with that pride, she decided to pursue a career as an aesthetician and enrolled at the Aveda Institute. After completing her schooling, Ashlee worked at the Paris Parker Salon and Spa, where she spent countless hours with her mentor, Aveda makeup professional Sasha Ahart, honing her skills and learning a wide variety of makeup applications and techniques. Ashlee now works at Tonya Jones SalonSpa, where she is able to further her passion for making her clients both look and feel better every day. Ashlee’s tips for applying effortless, everyday makeup provide a great starting point for beginners and offer several insights that even the experienced aesthetician will find helpful!

Create flawless looking skin

Step 1: Always prepare your skin for makeup by first applying moisturizer. Using a moisturizer with SPF is also a great way to protect your skin from sun damage! (our model is StyleBlueprint Birmingham’s Anna Ballowe Aldag)

Step 2: Apply tinted moisturizer to your skin with a foundation brush. This will help further prep your face for makeup and will allow foundation and concealer to seamlessly blend into your skin.

Step 3: Conceal any redness or blemishes with concealer. Pay special attention to any redness around your nose, and conceal dark circles under your eyes. Just a few dabs of concealer instantly brighten your whole face!

Now your ready to amp up your eyes

Step 1: Prep your eyelids with concealer to cancel out any dark veins or shadows. Then, apply eye shadow from the crease to the lash line.

Step 2: Highlight under your brow bone with a lighter shade, then blend the two shadows together.

Step 3: Place color on the eyelid and apply along your lower lash line.

Step 4: Line your top and bottom lashes using a brown liner for a more natural, everyday look.

Step 5: Smudge the line slightly with a brush to soften the edges.

Step 6: Fill in your brows with brow powder. This is Ashlee’s favorite makeup tip for instantly transforming a look. “Adding a little bit of powder goes a long way to define the brows,” she says. “And always brush powder through the brow to blend.”

Step 6: Fill in your brows with brow powder. This is Ashlee’s favorite makeup tip for instantly transforming a look. “Adding a little bit of powder goes a long way to define the brows,” she says. “And always brush powder through the brow to blend.”

And now for the finishing touches

Lashes: Apply two coats of mascara to the top and bottom lashes.
Cheeks: Sweep a bit of blush onto the apples of your cheeks and blend it well. To find the apples of your cheeks, simply smile and apply to the high point of your face.
Lips: Apply lipstick.