House Of Makeup | Beginner's Guide
Beginner-Friendly Makeup Routine For Indian Skin
Modern makeup is all about enhancing your natural skin while staying comfortable. Gone are the days when you would layer heavy foundation and end up looking 10 shades lighter than your skin. In this guide, we will show you how to create a beginner-friendly makeup routine that uses minimal products, avoids waste, and stays lightweight and summer-friendly.
Shop The Base EditKnow Your Skin Before You Buy Anything
If you are an absolute beginner, here is what you should know about your skin before buying any makeup product:
- Skin type: skin types vary across oily, dry, combination, and sensitive. It is important to choose a formulation that suits yours. Non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic makeup products are better suited for Indian skin as they do not clog your pores or contain common allergens, making them safe to use.
- Undertones: undertone refers to the colour of your skin beneath the surface that is not affected by external factors like tanning. It plays a huge role in shade-matching your base products. Indian skin most commonly has warm undertones (golden, yellow, or peachy hues), though neutral and cool undertones exist too.
The quickest way to test yours is to look at the veins on your inner wrist in natural daylight. If they appear greenish, you likely have warm undertones. If they look bluish-purple, you are cool-toned. A mix of both points to neutral.
If you are looking to build a makeup kit that is beginner-friendly, has clean ingredients, and offers shades that suit Indian skin tones, then House Of Makeup is your one-stop solution.
What Is The House Of Makeup Difference?
- Our makeup products are infused with skincare ingredients that help take care of your skin, and not just sit on the surface.
- Formulated in compliance with EU Cosmetic Standards, which ban 1300+ toxic ingredients, ensuring we only use quality ingredients in our products.
- Our base products are carefully formulated to minimise pore clogging and are independently tested by accredited labs to suit acne-prone and sensitive skin.
- 100% vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulphate-free, mineral-oil-free, lead-free, and coal-tar-free.
Step-By-Step Makeup Guide
Here is an easy step-by-step makeup guide for beginners.
Start With A Clean And Moisturised Face
This is the most important step before you begin. Use a gentle cleanser and wash your face thoroughly to remove excess dirt, oil, and residual makeup or skincare. Pat dry, and use your favourite moisturiser in the suggested quantity, massaging it into your face. Let it absorb for 2 to 3 minutes. Top it off with sunscreen; for sufficient protection, look for at least SPF 50+++. Skipping this step in summer can damage your skin and disrupt your skin barrier. Once done, wait 3 to 5 minutes before you start your makeup.
Start With Targeted Coverage For Pigmentation And Acne Marks
If you struggle with stubborn acne marks or very dark under-eyes and want an even skin tone, start with the Spot On Anti-Crease Smoothing Corrector from House Of Makeup. This corrector is specifically designed to complement Indian skin tones. It is richly pigmented, so you only need a little product where you want extra coverage. Its non-comedogenic formulation has ingredients like jojoba oil and tomato juice extract that help keep skin hydrated and visibly brighten and even out skin tone over time.
Squeeze a tiny amount of corrector directly onto the areas where you want extra coverage. Lightly dab it into your skin with your fingertips and let it dry before moving on.
Conceal For An Even Tone
After colour correcting, the concealer's job is to cover, set, and give an even-toned finish. It camouflages any remaining discolouration and blends the area seamlessly into the rest of your skin.
The Zoom In Crease-Free Creamy Concealer from House Of Makeup is highly effective, especially for Indian skin tones. It is formulated for different undertones too, not just skin tones. Featuring star ingredients such as jojoba seed extract, gotu kola, and plant squalane, Zoom In gives your skin a rich burst of hydration without cracking or creasing.
Using the wand applicator, dab the concealer directly onto the areas you wish to cover and onto your under-eye area, then blend with your fingertips using a tapping motion. This gives you flawless, even-toned under-eyes and well-prepped skin for the base.
Achieve A Luminous Glow With Face Anything Skin Tint
As a beginner, shade-matching a foundation and blending it seamlessly can seem daunting. Indian summers are known for rising temperatures and humidity, which is why swapping foundation for a lightweight skin tint eases your routine and keeps you looking fresh.
A skin tint like House Of Makeup's Face Anything Luminous Skin Tint works perfectly as a foundation alternative. It combines the benefits of a BB cream, CC cream, and a tinted moisturiser. This luminous skin tint has a non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic formulation that is independently tested and suitable for all skin types, especially oily skin. Formulated in compliance with EU Cosmetic Standards, it contains none of the 1300+ flagged ingredients, so it is as clean as it is effective.
Face Anything is formulated to breathe with your skin, giving you buildable coverage without the weight. It is available in 12 shades to suit all skin tones from fair to deep.
Squeeze a few drops of Face Anything onto the back of your hand and spread it into a thin layer. Dot it all over your face and neck for an even light coverage. Repeat the process if you want more coverage. The skin tint enhances your natural glow while mildly blurring imperfections.
Add A Flush Of Colour With Dab N Glow Cheek Tint
Once your base is done, a little colour enhances your features and gives a fresh summer look. That is exactly where House Of Makeup's Dab N Glow Cheek Tint comes in handy. This creamy multi-use product is perfect for summer. Formulated with ginseng extract and vitamin E, it helps brighten skin, reduce inflammation, and moisturise while giving you a tinted glow.
Apply Dab N Glow directly to your cheeks, lips, and eyelids for a monochromatic makeup look.
Elegant Lips With Dawn To Dawn Super Stay Liquid Matte Lipstick
Lips are one of the most important features in your makeup routine. House Of Makeup's Dawn To Dawn Super Stay Liquid Matte Lipstick is a super-comfy matte liquid lipstick that stays on for 12+ hours without cracking, crumbling, peeling, or drying your lips. Its unique formulation sits gently on the lips without tugging or pulling.
It has a lightweight formula infused with hyaluronic acid, a blend of 5 nourishing oils, and vitamin E, which help keep lips hydrated, visibly fuller-looking, and locked in moisture. The non-drying liquid matte formula keeps your lips from crumbling, cracking, or settling into lip lines.
Once your lips are well-prepped, line them with a lip liner. Start applying your Dawn To Dawn Liquid Lipstick from the centre of your lips, working your way outwards. Follow the contour of your lips for that perfect application.
Define Your Eyes With Liquid Luck Eyeliner
A good winged eyeliner can add much-needed drama to your looks. Whether you are dressing up for a summer wedding or a brunch, the House Of Makeup Liquid Luck Silky Eyeliner is a must to complete your look.
The eyeliner is enriched with sweet almond oil, known for its moisturising properties; amla fruit extract, rich in antioxidants that help condition the skin along the lash line; and vitamin E oil, known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Liquid Luck is a transfer-proof, smudge-proof, waterproof liquid eyeliner, which makes it perfect for an easy, breezy summer look.
Glide the eyeliner wand carefully along your lash line for a smooth, bold, and chic look. Experiment with wings depending on your mood.
Add A Dash Of Starry Night Liquid Highlighter
If you love to highlight the high points of your face with a highlighter that does not smudge or transfer glitter everywhere, your search ends with the House Of Makeup Starry Night Pearly-Glow Liquid Highlighter.
Starry Night has a pearl-infused formulation that makes it ideal for textured skin, as it does not settle into fine lines or pores but lights up your skin with a radiant glow. Packed with skincare ingredients like Goji Berry extract, Sunflower Seed Oil, Cranberry Seed Oil, and Jojoba Oil, it promotes a youthful appearance while moisturising and minimising the look of fine lines. Starry Night does not smudge or budge once applied, thanks to film formers that give it a silky, satiny texture that glides on skin.
If you are using it for the first time, pump the wand a few times to release any air bubbles. Dab the product on your cheekbones, temple, and wherever you want a glow. (Tip: apply highlighter to the areas of your face that naturally catch the light.) Blend with your fingers by gently tapping, or use a highlighter brush or blender.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Here are five beginner-friendly common mistakes to avoid:
1. Skipping Colour Corrector And Going Straight To Concealer
Concealer is not designed to cancel out discolouration; it offers coverage. If you apply concealer directly over dark circles or pigmentation without correcting first, you will find yourself layering more and more product to get the same result, which leads to creasing and a heavy, unnatural finish. Always apply your corrector first, let it blend in, and then follow with concealer for a clean, seamless result with far less product used.
2. Applying Too Much Skin Tint In One Go
A skin tint is sheer and buildable. It naturally sits on the skin when applied with a light hand. A common beginner mistake is scooping out too much and trying to spread it all at once, which results in streaks and uneven coverage. Start with a few small dots across your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin, and blend outward with your fingertips. You can always add a second light layer where you need more coverage.
3. Rubbing Lip And Cheek Tint Instead Of Tapping And Blending
Creamy tints need to be tapped and blended quickly after application, not rubbed in. Rubbing moves the product around unevenly and can disrupt your base makeup. Instead, dot the tint onto the apples of your cheeks and use your fingertips to blend upward and outward in gentle tapping motions while the product is still fresh. On the lips, press it in rather than swiping back and forth for a more even, natural stain.
4. Drawing Eyeliner In One Single Stroke
Attempting a clean liner line in one confident stroke is a rookie mistake and often ends up wobbly and uneven. This intimidates most beginners into avoiding liner altogether. We have all been there. A safer, better approach is to slowly build your liner in small, connected dashes along the lash line and then join them. Start from the centre of the eye and work outward. This gives you far more control, and any small gaps are easy to fill in rather than starting over entirely.
5. Overloading The Whole Face With Product
More product does not mean a better finish, especially in Indian heat. Keep coverage targeted, build in thin layers, and let your skin show through. A light hand almost always reads as more polished than a heavy one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a skin tint enough coverage for Indian skin, or do I need foundation?
For most beginners, a skin tint is more than enough for everyday wear. In a daily setting like an office, college, or casual outing, you need something lightweight rather than a full-coverage foundation. A skin tint evens out your complexion, gives a natural, dewy finish, and pairs with a concealer on spots or dark circles for targeted coverage where you actually need it. Foundation becomes worth reaching for only when you want serious, long-wear coverage for events or occasions. In India's heat and humidity, a skin tint will also hold up better through the day without going cakey or patchy.
What colour corrector should I use for dark circles on Indian skin?
The right corrector shade depends on your skin tone. For fair skin, a light peach corrector neutralises the blue-grey tones under the eyes. For medium skin, a peach shade works best. For deep and dusky skin tones, an orange corrector is the most effective because it counteracts the deeper, more intense discolouration common in darker skin. Always apply corrector before your concealer, not over it. The corrector neutralises, and the concealer then covers and sets the area cleanly.
How do I stop my makeup from melting or going cakey in Indian weather?
The most effective approach is to keep your base light. A skin tint instead of a full foundation, paired with spot concealing only where needed, dramatically reduces the chance of patchiness in heat and humidity. Moisturise well before applying anything, as dry skin beneath makeup is the most common cause of a cakey finish. If you have oily skin, a light press of translucent powder on the T-zone helps control shine without heaviness. Avoid layering multiple thick products all over the face, and skip powder entirely on the cheeks and jawline to keep the skin looking natural through the day.
Can I use the same lip and cheek tint for both my lips and cheeks?
Yes, and this is exactly how it is meant to be used. A lip and cheek tint is formulated to work on both areas, which is what makes it one of the most efficient products a beginner can own. Apply it to the cheeks first, since it is easier to judge the depth of colour on a larger area, then use the same product on your lips. For Indian skin, shades in the beet and warm rose family double up particularly well because they read as a natural flush on cheeks and a wearable everyday colour on lips without looking mismatched.
Start Light, Build Slowly
A great beginner routine is not about owning everything. It is about a handful of forgiving, multi-use products, applied with a light hand, that let your own skin do most of the work.
Shop The Beginner Edit