Everyone has their own haircare and skincare routine, but sometimes you can fall into bad habits.

Knowing some of the more common beauty mistakes (and quick fixes for them) is a simple way to ensure you always look flawless and put-together, even if you’ve been strutting your stuff on the dance floor for the last two hours.

Here are some common errors to watch out for…

1. Not prepping your skin for foundation
Heat, wind, humidity and the natural oils released by our skin all work against your foundation, meaning your perfect make up look might not look so sleek by lunchtime. Ensure you use a primer as a good base for any foundation, and if you have oily skin, set your make-up with a powder. For even better staying power, try a weightless makeup setting spray.

2. Neglecting your exfoliant
Exfoliation might seem like something that you only need to do every so often when you have the time, but it should be a regular part of your skin care routine, particularly for your face. It’s the only way to ensure your skin stays smooth, with no dry flaky skin or pesky blackheads. If you find your skin feels tight after exfoliating, use one that is gel-free, and be sure to apply a good layer of moisturiser directly afterwards.

3. Not applying mascara correctly
The easy fix when in a rush is to apply mascara in one long upward stroke. All this does is coat your lashes – your mascara isn’t even getting a chance to show off its lengthening and volumising capabilities! Apply two to three light coats of mascara, wiggling the wand from the base to the tips of your lashes as you go.

4. Letting your lipstick slide off
Lipstick can be a tough one to get the hang of – you can’t just whack it on like lip gloss. Using a matte lip balm or a very light coat of foundation underneath ensures that your lipstick stays in place and doesn’t smudge or feather. It’s also wise to bring some make-up wipes in your bag in case your lip colour does go awry – just wipe off and start again!

5. Allowing your eyeliner to smudge
Applying an eye primer under your eyeliner is a surefire way to keep it in place, but you should also consider the type of liner you’re using. Gel and liquid liners have far more staying power than pencil ones. If you find them difficult to apply and don’t want to make the switch, choose pencil liners that are smudge-proof or waterproof. 

6. Applying conditioner all over your hair
An intensive conditioner is such a great quick fix for dry and damaged hair, but apply it sparingly! Hair at the top of your head is new and doesn’t need to be conditioned – using it all over will just weigh your hair down. Instead just use your conditioner on the bottom section of your hair, from where you would tie a ponytail.

7. Matching your eyebrow colour to your hair colour
Brow pencils are the best friend of the patchy eyebrow, but be careful when choosing a shade! Our brows are naturally a couple of shades lighter or darker than our hair. If you have fair or lighter hair, choose a pencil that’s 1 -2 shades darker. If you have dark hair, choose a colour 1 – 2 shades lighter. Easy!