Makeup Artists' Tricks of the Trade

Step Out Like a Star

Ever wish you had a team of stylists, hairdressers, and makeup artists fussing over you at the crack of dawn, spending hours just to get you ready for the day? Okay, neither do we -- not really, anyway. But it would be nice to look as if you went through all that trouble every once in a while. You know, without actually going through all that trouble! That's why we set out to discover the best tricks that celebrity makeup artists use to get their clients looking radiant. Armed with these easy-to-try-at-home tips, we promise you can shine like a star every day.

Rie Omoto, makeup artist to the likes of Rachel Bilson, Kelly Preston, and Portia de Rossi, uses Custard concealer from Nars ($20) under Shiseido's G1 gloss ($20) for a natural lip that glistens without stealing the show. Don't underestimate the power of a good moisturizer, because without it, the concealer will dry out your lips and leave them looking chalky instead of sexy.

For women looking for a luscious lashline without a heavily lined look, Genevieve, makeup artist to Christina Ricci, suggests gently dotting the lash line with an eyeliner pencil and then blending with a Q-tip. This thickens the appearance of your lashes without looking like eyeliner.

Want perfect eyebrows a la Ashley Judd? Try this tip Moyra Mulholland uses on the actress: Instead of using an eyebrow pencil or eyeliner to define brows -- these create a harsher line that can look unnatural -- use a 3B or 6B graphite pencil. Women with lighter brows should be cautious, because the dark pencil will create too much of a contrast for blondes.

If you're looking to give your brows a clean look between shaping appointments, try this trick Angela Levin uses on Nicole Kidman: "I pencil in her eyebrows and then use a highlighter around them. Underneath the hair or the pencil, I draw a line outward and I draw a similar highlighter line above the brow, and that really cleans up the edges of the eyebrow and gives the illusion of a lifted brow." To create a precise line, use a highlighter brush (or a flat eye shadow brush) with a highlighter stick. We love the Multiple stick in Copacabana from Nars ($36).

For a great curl without too much fuss, makeup and eyebrow artist Robert Bolanos, who has worked with Nicolette Sheridan, Teri Polo, and Regina King, holds a spoon against the upper lashline and applies mascara against it. This gives the lashes a little curl and also protects your lids, guaranteeing clean and goop-free application.

For another lash trick sure to make your eyes pop, try an individual eyelash curler. Bolanos uses one to curl just two to four of Kim Catrall's center lashes to make her eyes pop: "Drawing attention to the center like that gives the eyes a lift and helps to open them up more than curling all of the lashes together." Vincent Longo's Mini Lash Curler ($16.50) is an affordable and easy-to-handle version of these little-known miracle workers.