Some makeup sessions feel dull and frustrating. You try the same style of eyeliner, base, and lip over and over without seeing much improvement. This is a natural stage in making makeup that is worth bearing in mind, especially for beginners, because repeating the same action isn’t always the way to improve. When the mind is not involved and the practice is just about repetition, a plateau happens. You can end up just going through the same motions without paying enough attention to the shape, proportion, and finish. To get over it you don’t necessarily have to do more, you just need to do one thing in a more precise way.
A great way to avoid this stagnation is to isolate one problem from the look that you can spot. Then practice it with two or three solutions in the same session. If the wing of the eyeliner looks inconsistent, you can just make the wing of the eyeliner and not draw the whole look. You could also lightly outline the wing on both eyes, compare to see how much it leans, then darken it. Or erase the line and practice the wing on the eyes again adjusting the beginning position and thickness of the line. If the foundation separates near the nose, you can apply a smaller amount to that area, and apply a different pressure. You’ll be able to get feedback from just a small patch rather than the entire look. The comparison of two things, even if you do it on both eyes, can help you see what was done differently.
One of the main mistakes people make when dealing with a plateau is thinking they need to change a product or try a completely different technique in hopes of achieving an instant fix. In many cases it is not the product or style of the makeup that is the problem, but rather the inconsistency in its application or lack of preparation. If your blush color looks different every day then it is probably because you aren’t putting it in exactly the same position. It may be in the center of the cheeks today, and higher on the temples another day. You just have to make sure to find that mark in your mind that you want to apply it on before you put the product on the skin. If you do that you can apply it lightly with the brush and see if it’s the color and amount you want in natural light instead of just looking in a well lit mirror. If eyeshadow looks like patches then usually the fix is more blending and less product rather than changing the color.
When you feel in a rut, try doing a mini practice with one specific goal in mind. Set aside fifteen minutes. In the beginning, spend the first few minutes thinking of an observation you made yesterday. Maybe it is the product, maybe it is one of the steps of your process. You can try to remember it or you can check a photo you took the previous day. In this time, decide which one part of the look didn’t meet your expectations or what didn’t look right. Then, spend the middle portion working on that one step two or three times, or until you are satisfied with your result. You are not practicing the entire look, just the one feature that wasn’t working. Then in the last few minutes, look back and compare your results from your first attempt and the last time. Which one is better? Which step needs a little more work? It is really important to have this time of reflection. You won’t see where the progress is if you can’t look at it. Your practice is so busy with everything, and you can miss the small changes, which in turn helps you become more accurate.
One of the reasons that progress slows down is because most beginners correct themselves at the very end. You see things look off once you’ve completed the mascara, or the lips, or when you’ve set the entire look. But at that point it is often difficult to go back and correct one thing without it throwing off the rest. Instead, try to catch and correct your errors earlier in your routine. After the brows, after the foundation, after the eyeshadow, check your work and make sure things still look balanced. Don’t look too closely in the mirror. Look ahead. Making your adjustments when there is less to correct can keep them cleaner. And being aware of when things are looking off can become one of the most helpful skills that you can have as you advance.
The learning curve of makeup isn’t linear; it is a loop. You may spend weeks learning something but still get that result that you wanted. But if you take the time to analyze it you still learn from it. And you still can identify what went wrong, and what went right. Rather than think of a plateau as the end of your progress, try thinking of it as a signal that you just have to ask yourself better questions. Not “what am I doing wrong?” but “how am I making a mistake every time I do it?” This is why asking questions is so important to making your progress quicker. It just lightens up your practice and allows you to be more useful. If you practice a bit more with focus, you will begin to see your eyes get sharper, your placement become steadier, and your confidence increase. Your face will then start reflecting all of that.