STYLE

Check out our quick how-to guide, complete with easy step-by-step instructions to master big-night-out looks. Discover your inner makeup guru and rock the night away with these fun and stunning beauty tricks. Psst: You can rock ‘em all at once or just pick and choose!

Remember, practice makes perfect! Before you go out on the town, do a dress rehearsal, especially with new makeup looks. Have cotton swabs and makeup remover ready to save the day (or more importantly, your night)!

1. Apply a subtle, shimmery, nude colored eyeshadow on your entire eyelid. Start at the base of the lid near the lash line and work up to the bottom of your brows.

2. Lightly dampen an angled eyeliner brush with water before using black gel eyeliner. Apply the liner with strokes that work outward, towards the outside corner of your eye. Really want to bring the drama? Try liquid eyeliner instead.

3. Time to fly! Apply some wings. Remember, smaller ones = sophisticated, while longer ones = trés dramatic.

4. Optional: Apply black eyeliner to your bottom lid and connect it with the upper lash line.

Brush-On Cream Liner, $15, clinique.com

2. Learn how to work a curling iron like a pro. If you have long hair, curl each section of hair twice, beginning with the top half (let the bottom half hang, uncurled) and then the bottom half. We generally recommend a 2-inch barrel for big bouncy waves, but you can also get a similar effect with a 1-inch barrel.

3. Use a sweetly scented hairspray to keep everything in place. If your hair is super resistant to curling, try spraying each curl immediately after you pull out the curling iron. Then, shake them out a bit with your fingers to create bouncy waves.

4. Already have curly hair? Sweet! Let those natural curls shine with some product designed specifically for curly hair.

Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray, $4, target.com

Garnier Fructis Style Full Control Anti-Humidity Hairspray, $5, drugstore.com

1. Apply clear lip balm, or even your fave untinted chapstick, to your lips.

2. Decisions, decisions.  Choose a lipstick, makeup pencil or lip gloss that is similar to the shade of your foundation (or natural skin color) and apply it your lips.  To keep things looking natural, be careful not to over-apply.

Ultra Shine Lip Gloss, $14, sephora.com

1. To achieve a nice rosy look, go with a shade that looks like the color that arises when you actually blush. Enlist your BFF (who has most def seen ya blush!) to help you find the perfect hue.

2. Use a fluffy blush brush to apply color to the apples of your cheeks and then blend slightly upward along the cheek bone.

3. When applying blush, make sure you begin with just a little! It’s way more challenging to remove blush than to add more. Play it safe and start with a minimal amount.

CoverGirl Cheekers Blush, $4, drugstore.com

1. Begin by rounding your nails slightly with a nail file. Long nails bugging you? Clip ‘em! Short nails are cute, too.

2. Apply a base coat. To avoid staining your fingernails, try clear or nude.

3. Pick a polish: This season, it’s all about the metallic burgundy. For long lasting effects, take the time and do two coats. Remember the three-stroke rule: one brush stroke on the left side of the nail, one brush stroke on the right side of the nail, and 1 down the middle of the nail.

4. Apply a topcoat with clear polish.

by Karin Elwood | 2/1/2016