6 Makeup Tips I Learned From MUA David Goveia At The #BeautyUnited #MusicGlam Party

As you may remember, last week I was in Toronto for the #BeautyUnited #MusicGlam Grammy viewing party. The night was a blast, needless to say. Along with a bevy of other beauty bloggers, I tweeted, ate, drank, and learned exactly what goes into the red carpet-worthy looks we see at the Grammys from Pantene and Cover Girl pros Justin German and Veronica Chu, respectively. But one of my favourite personal highlights was having my makeup done by makeup artist David Goveia. Not only was he skilled and delightfully candid, his aesthetic aligns with my own "Less is more" makeup philosophy and I learned so much from chatting with him. These 6 makeup tips were big "Aha!" moments for me, and I hope they help you too!

1. To fake full, long lashes, concentrate mascara on the outer two-thirds of your lashline. "Lots of people think you need mascara on all your lashes, that they need to be fanned out, [and that] Asian girls don't have lashes," Goveia explained. "The truth is, if your lashes go like this—" here he gestured to how lashes fan out at the outer corners of the eyes "—you have lashes." Since that conversation, I've been swiping extra coats of mascara on the outer lashes and only applying one coat to the inner ones, which is much easier to do in the mornings and saves time. And guess what? He's totally right.

2. To cover blemishes, apply a thin layer of foundation, let it dry, and apply another. I have a few dark scars left behind from past breakouts which no foundation or councealer seems to hide adequately; every product seems to slide right off. The trick with these, Goveia showed me, is to layer your product. If the first layer doesn't stick, you have to let it dry and apply more layers—sometimes as many as 6 or 7. It's a time-intensive trick that demands patience, but the payoff is flawless skin.

3. Asian eyes—or at least ones shaped like mine—don't need a lot of eyeshadow. My eyes aren't very large and my eyelids are slightly rounded with a barely visible crease. Anytime an MUA has tried to do my eyes and used techniques better suited for Caucasian eyes, I've felt like I was overdone and wearing way too much eye makeup. By contrast, Goveia blended a dark shadow in the outer corner of my eyes, winging it out slightly, and in the inner corners to bring dimension to the inner eyelid and create depth near my non-existent nose bridge. The result was subtle and polished and complemented my red lips well.

4. Nude lips don't always have to be so nude. Goveia's favourite lip colour on a woman is "a nice nude," and when I countered that I always feel like I look terminally ill when I try a nude lip colour and I need something with a pinkish undertone, he nodded in agreement. For some women, a "nude" lipstick might very well mean a light pink.

5. To achieve flattering, flawless makeup easily, keep everything soft and smudged. Harsh eyeliner, dark lipstick, and dramatic eyeshadow require skill, patience, and a steady hand, and even if you have all three the result may photograph rather severe and unflattering. Goveia used a very light hand when applying blush to the apples of my cheeks, temples, and browbones for an all-over luminousness, and when smudging the faintest line of dark shadow along my lower lashline. He filled in sparse spots in my brows but left them looking like real brows instead of stenciled arches.

6. When in doubt, wear less makeup. "I know I shouldn't be saying this at a beauty event," Goveia muttered sheepishly. The thing is though, I agree with him. In this age of Instagram eyebrows and clown contouring, and skin that looks more like umpteen coats of silicone primer as opposed to real skin, sometimes I feel as if I'm crazy for prioritizing skincare over makeup and preferring a more natural look. Having a talented MUA tell me "All you need is this" instead of a litany of instructions and products was so refreshing. The #BeautyUnited #MusicGlam event may have been all about the red carpet looks, but I walked away with solid advice for real-life beauty.

Which of these tips will you be trying?

Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.