Having worked in the beauty industry for a global brand and having dealt with many consumer's questions, I have picked up a few tips over the years.

The 4 featured here are the ones that always surprised my clients.

Labeling expiration dates on your beauty products.
Getting the true color of a lipstick or eyeshadow.
Reconstituting a dried up mascara, concealer or cream eyeshadow.
Getting your products to give you a professionally finished look.

I hope you find these tips useful and feel free to comment with any questions.

Step 1: Labeling Expiration Dates on Your Beauty Products

Most of my clients were unaware that there is an expiration date on cosmetics and beauty items. It is normally on the back side of the product. It looks like a small compact or open jar. You will see a numerical value and a letter in it or next to it. See picture above. For example 12M is 12 months. Essentially once the product is opened, it is good for the amount of time it is labeled. In the picture above, the mascara onced used is good for 6M (6 months). An easy way to label them (and avoid using any possibly bad product) is to use a fine tip permanent marker and write the future expiration date on the product, on first use.

Doing this will help in avoiding possible eye infections and skin irritations from products gone bad.

Step 2: Getting the True Color of a Lipstick or Eyeshadow

When trying out colors of products, individuals will check the color on ones hand. When doing this we see the true color of the product. The issue here is that our eyelids and lips are not the same color as the skin on our hand. Our eyelids have discoloration, they may have pinker color,redness or brown discoloration. Our lips maybe naturally pink, violet or brown in coloring. These existing colors on the lips and eyelids will affect the tonality of the color we are applying. That is why the color on your hand is not the color on your lids or lips.

The solution: Eyeshadow Primer/Concealer. This applies to the lids and the lips. You can also use your foundation on your lips. Once applied,the product will have an appearance that is closer to the color of the original product. The primer/concealer will also help the color stay put longer.

Step 3: Reconstistuting a Dried Up Mascara, Concealer, or Cream Eyeshadow.

This is a fairly simple trick and works well. Many times I would have a client purchasing mascara frequently. I would ask if it dried out, if they stated yes, I would give them this tip. Products normally dry out quickly due to improper temperature storage and not being properly closed. To reconstitute dried up product, pass a hair blowdryer on low over the tube while holding the cap for about 60 seconds. The heat will create condensation in the tube. Bring the applicator wand up and down in the tube, this will mix the dried product and condensation. After that the product will be ready to use.

Step 4: Getting Your Products to Give You a Professionally Finished Look

This is one that surprised most of my clients. To get your products to give you a professional finished look, use make up brushes.

The brushes/applicators that come with products are the bare minimum. The images associated with most products show the product after being professionally applied with brushes. The foam applicator in an eyeshadow will load too much product and will not allow for precision. The brush included in most blushes will not be large enough to properly sweep your cheeks. I know brushes can be expensive, I recommend starting with a cheaper brush obtained at the dollar store, on clearance, or by a value brand like elf. Once you have mastered using these, you can choose to upgrade, if you wish. There are many types of brushes out there, I would recommend looking up what look you want to achive with your product and what are the brushes needed to do so.

For example, a smokey eye is best done with an eyeshadow brush, a blending brush and a stiff flat shadow brush.

Different brushes will deposit different amounts of product and create different shapes.