Makeup Mistakes That Are Making You Look Like A Child

What makeup mistakes are making you look like a child? One of the most exciting ways to express yourself is to try out a new makeup look or product. For many people, putting on makeup is just plain fun, as doing so allows you to experiment with different aesthetics. But, if you aren't careful, there are quite a few makeup mistakes that not only make you look bad — they can also make you look like a child.

Truth be told, it can be hard to master the art of applying makeup. There are so many things that you have to be careful about, that it's easy to miss a vital step, which can have consequences. For example, you can't wear the wrong shade of foundation, or not properly prep your skin before putting on makeup, or you'll look pretty messy. And while there are a few makeup mistakes that make you look older, there are also makeup mistakes that make you look like a child.

Want to avoid those makeup mishaps that can make you look too young? Read on to learn all about them!

There are some makeup products that are necessary for every makeup enthusiast, and foundation is certainly one of them. After all, it's called foundation for a reason: you need a good base for the rest of your makeup regimen. However, if you apply too much foundation, it will make you look like you don't know what you're doing — and that mistake can make you look like a child.

As makeup artist Florrie White explained, she follows one rule when it comes to foundation: less is more. "For me, foundation should only be applied where needed," she told Good Housekeeping. "It is used to even out the skin tone, and applied directly to the areas of concern (redness, pigmentation, shadows, and blemishes), then blended out across the good skin," she said. 

So in a nutshell, foundation is important, sure. But it's not the end-all, be-all for a makeup routine. Plus, caking too much foundation on your face will make you look a lot younger, but not in a good way.

Whether you want to constantly appear as though you just got complimented, or if you just want to add a nice glow to your cheeks, blush is a serious must for most makeup users. On top of being fun, and relatively easy to incorporate into your makeup routine, blush is a subtle way to make you look healthy and young. That is, if you're using it right. If you make a mistake during your blush application, you run the risk of looking like a child, or even like a literal clown.

Makeup artist Laramie Glen told Good Housekeeping that the key to blush is all in the application. "You want a blended look since it's on more than just the cheeks," she revealed. "It should be diffused from the apples of your cheeks outward toward your temples, leaving you fresh-faced." 

Indeed blush should have you feeling young and bright, not looking like a 10-year-old child who sneaked into their mother's makeup drawer.

There are a few basic looks that everyone who dabbles in makeup has to master. There's the "no makeup" makeup look, the glowing and contoured look, and then there's the fashionable smokey eye look. But be careful — the smokey eye is something that can haunt you if never really nail it; it can make you look like a child if you have too heavy of a hand.

There are a lot of dos and don'ts when it comes to the smokey eye, according to Glamour. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. Just keep a few things in mind in order to avoid looking inexperienced and baby-ish when you rock the smokey eye look. First, don't make the mistake of applying too much dark eyeshadow, or you'll end up look like a raccoon. Second, be careful with any eyeliner you use, as a line too dark or thick will have people thinking you're younger than you are, thanks to your lack of finesse. Finally, always be mindful of the best eyeshadow colors to make your eyes pop.

One of the most fun makeup products out there is arguably lipstick. You can use it to look flirty, sexy, daring, or anything you want, really. But as exciting as lipstick can be, it can also get pretty messy — especially if you make the mistake of choosing a color that's too dark or bright for your face, and aren't meticulous in your application. Additionally, there's actually scientific evidence that wearing bright lipstick can make you look like a child (via Glamour).

According to a psychology study published by Medical Xpress, there's research that proves that bright makeup, specifically lipstick, makes others perceive you as younger than you actually are. Of course, looking younger isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if your bright lipstick is sloppy or not lined well, then you won't look young and full of life — you'll look like a child.

Thanks to Kim Kardashian, people everywhere have tried their hand at contouring with makeup. And while some people can totally pull it off, it's definitely not for everyone. The reason? Contouring can get complicated, so even if you watch the best YouTube tutorial in the world, you could end up looking like a child who got carried away at the free makeup counter in the mall.

On the other hand, when done right, contouring can make a huge difference in your face by highlighting your bone structure. So if you want to know how best to contour, makeup expert Amy Strozzi told Redbook magazine that she follows three simple rules. First, she says to begin with a matte bronzer at the top of your forehead, then apply it in gentle strokes to connect your forehead to your cheekbones. Then, go ahead and do your jawline. After that, blend it all together and you're good to go! But if you make the mistake of going overboard with the contouring, you'll end up looking like a tiny child, and that's just not a good look.

Lipstick and lipgloss are two of the best ways to make your lips look irresistibly kissable. Even if you have no plans for the day, or have no desire to actually kiss someone, making your lips pop is always a fun activity. But if you make the mistake of not moisturizing your lips before applying lipstick or lipgloss, you'll end up looking like a child. Specifically, you'll look like a child with a nasty winter cold who spent their allowance on a dollar store tube of lipstick. That's the reason you shouldn't put lipstick on chapped lips, too.

According to Redbook, the best way to get your lips ready for lipstick or lipgloss is to apply some kind of ointment, or even a face moisturizer, before you put anything else on your lips. Then, you can let it absorb into your lips while you get the rest of your makeup on. That way, when you finally put on your lipstick or lipgloss, you'll have a smooth surface that will hold onto the product much better. 

When you put on your makeup every morning, you want to put your best face forward, quite literally. But, even though all people really see when you do your makeup is the end result, the way you wash your face and prep your skin before applying makeup also matters. In fact, not properly prepping your skin for makeup is a mistake only pre-teens make, one that really makes you look like a child.

As a matter of fact, makeup artist Julia Dalton-Brush told Real Simple that prepping your skin is just as important as the makeup you use. "Unfortunately, many people see applying makeup as the only thing they need to do, and when they do not get the flawless look they are searching for, they blame the products," she explained. "A fully hydrated and prepped face will do wonders, not only for your skin under the makeup, but also for the end result." 

Failing to prep your skin before makeup is also a skincare mistake that can make you look older, so don't skip out on it.

Having a good bronzer into your makeup tool kit is a pretty good idea. Bronzer can prevent you from looking washed out, give you a nice glow, and arm you with that "just got a tan" confidence, no matter what the weather outside is like. But bronzer can also make you look like a child, especially if you mistakenly use too much of it, and don't apply it well.

According to Real Simple, makeup artist Julia Dalton-Brush explained that there is a right way to apply bronzer. "When adding bronzer to your makeup routine, think about where the sun naturally hits your skin the most: the tops of your cheekbones, gently around your hairline, and possibly around the jaw line," she explained. So if you just glob a ton of bronzer all over your face, then that's not going to look like a natural, sun-kissed glow — it's going to look like you don't know how to put bronzer on, and people are going to think you're a child. So, just remember that less is more.

Black eyeliner is great, and when done well, it can really give you an Old Hollywood vibe, or that Taylor Swift aesthetic you're aiming for. But as classic as a good cat-eye look is, it can also age you down in a majorly embarrassing way. To that end, if you over-line your eyes, you'll look like an angsty child who just got permission to wear makeup instead of a classic diva.

According to The Zoe Report, you should never use eyeliner (especially black eyeliner) all over your eyes, an eyeliner mistake you're probably making. Specifically, the site advises that you steer clear of the inner third of your eyelash line. Also, don't line your entire eye, as it will make the eye appear much smaller. 

To finish the look, add a lighter eye shadow or highlighter to the inner corners of your eyes to make them look bigger and brighter.

Look, makeup can be expensive, especially if you buy the high-end stuff. But even if you fulfill your makeup needs at Target, it can still cost a pretty penny. However, no matter where you shop for your makeup, it's important to make sure that nothing you buy is expired. And even after you buy makeup, make sure you don't make the mistake of letting it go past it's shelf date, as that could lead to serious skin problems that make you look like a fool and a child.

What really happens if you use expired makeup? According to dermatologist Dr. Hadley King, your reaction to expired makeup products could potentially be super bad. "All of the molecules in these products can break down into something else, and you can have a reaction to it," she told Women's Health. That, in turn, can cause inflammation. 

Expired makeup can also carry bacteria, which can lead to breakouts and even infections like pink eye. So keep an eye on that date!

If you want a full-coverage makeup look, then foundation is typically the way to do it. Foundation can make your skin look smooth, even, and bright, which are all good things. But plenty of folks don't know to blend their foundation all over (yes, even your neck and chest) to prevent an uneven appearance. It's one of the hardest lessons everyone who wears makeup has to learn, but not blending your foundation in will make you look like a child.

Fortunately, makeup artist Noreen Taylor gave Good Housekeeping some tips to ensure your foundation game always looks fierce. "Steer clear of thick foundations or concealers," she said. "Instead, choose fluid ones containing luminous particles, which will make your skin look healthy and natural without overloading, so it doesn't look like you're wearing a mask of makeup." 

Under-blended foundation always looks awkward, and people will definitely think you look like a child if you don't get it together. Here's how to find the right shade of foundation for your skin, too, in case you were wondering.

Experimenting with makeup can be super fun. Even a bright blue eye shadow can look amazing under the right circumstances, and so can creative eyeliner. But one thing that's so not mature? Wearing too many bright colors on your face, because that's something only a child would do.

According to Cosmopolitan, overdoing it with bright colored makeup won't do you any favors. Instead, the magazine says it's important to focus on one area of your face, like your eyes or lips, and have some fun there. In fact, here's how to pull off a bold lip. But, keep everything else fairly low-key. After all, makeup is supposed to enhance your natural beauty, not distract from it. And really, when was the last time you saw a grown adult wearing blue eyeshadow, bright pink blush, and purple lipstick and actually rocking it? Probably never. So, don't make that mistake, or you'll definitely look like a kid that's trying too hard.

It's not easy to nail a winged eye look, no matter how old you are. Even if you've been practicing for years, and have tried every trick in the book, it's hard to get it just right. But the thing is, if you can't pull off a winged eye look, then you shouldn't try, because it will just make you look like a child.

However, if you want to practice the winged eye look so that you can get better at it, beauty blogger Felicia Walker-Benson told Self that there are ways you can work on your application skills. "In addition to trying out different liquid eyeliner tools, it's also important to try out different techniques," she said. "Maybe it is drawing dashes and then connecting them, maybe it's a free-handed stroke coming from the outside in." She added that makeup always washes off, so you don't need to worry about mistakes. 

Walker-Benson isn't wrong; makeup is supposed to be fun! So go ahead and rock that winged eyeliner — just be careful that you don't look like a child when you're done.

If you were a teen, tween, or even a kid in the early 2000s, you probably made the mistake of over-plucking your eyebrows. For some reason, it was all the rage back then. However, years later, people have realized that eyebrows are good and you shouldn't be over-plucking them. 

Additionally, just as over-plucking your eyebrows is going to make you look like a child, so too is making the mistake of over-filling them. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation, but fortunately, makeup artist Maribeth Madron told Allure one go-to tip to help ensure that doesn't happen. "It's all about balance," she explained. "If you have small, petite features, like Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder, or Halle Berry, for example, your brows shouldn't be too large; and if you have big features like Keira Knightley or Sofia Vergara, your brows can also be bigger." 

So, evaluate your features, and do your eyebrows accordingly. Just remember that balance is key, and you won't look like a tween from the 2000s.