10 Makeup Mistakes Women in Tanzania Should Stop Making

Tanzania is known worldwide for its natural beauty - pearly white beaches, rich green forests, majestic wildlife and beautiful women.

And while Tanzanian women are stunning without makeup, many use makeup to further highlight their best features. While there is nothing wrong with this, when makeup is done wrong it can leave one looking like a cartoon character or scarecrow.

In fact, there are certain makeup mistakes that are very common and widespread in Tanzania.

To help our sisters out, we’ve highlighted the 10 most common makeup offenses, and how to fix them.

1.     Eyebrows (not) on fleek

Experienced makeup lovers know that having nicely shaped eyebrows makes a huge difference to your face. However, in Tanzania, there is a tendency for women to either wax or thread most of their eyebrows off – leaving only a thin line that they then darken with black eyeliner.

This beauty habit creates a very hard, severe and somewhat clownish look.

How to fix it?

• Instead of removing all your brow hair, only trim your eyebrows to create a shape.
• Don’t use a black eye pencil to fill in your brows, instead, use a dark brown color.
• For a more natural look, use an eyeshadow, eyebrow powder or gel, rather than a pencil to fill in eyebrows.

2.     Use foundation that matches your skin pigment

For some reason, women tend to buy foundations that are lighter than their skin tone. This creates a ghostly look and a painfully clear difference between the color of their face and neck.

While finding a foundation that matches your skin tone is hard (especially for darker-skinned women), most women struggle with embracing their natural color and hope to lighten themselves with makeup. Unfortunately, it never looks good.

How to fix it?

• Embrace your color – as you will look so much more natural and beautiful.  
• Our skin can get darker or lighter depending on the season (dry or wet), so it’s best to have two foundation shades that match the changes in skin tone.

3.     Go easy on the setting powder

It gets really hot in Tanzania, and setting powder helps prevent makeup from melting of our faces.

However, too many Tanzanians use talcum/baby powder as their makeup powder!  While it may stop you from sweating, it leaves your face looking like a sickly ghost.

Moreover, some people also think the more powder they put, the better they’ll look. What happens is that they look like they dumped their face in baking flour.

How to fix it?

• Use actual makeup setting powder that either matches your skin tone or is translucent (see through).
• Do not apply a lot of powder, as this will create a cakey look on your skin.

4.     Apply blush correctly

The inability to apply blush correctly is a universal problem.

How to fix it?

• Apply blush on your cheekbones and not the cheeks themselves. Once again, there is a thin line between looking like a clown and looking good.
• Moreover, if you have darker skin, then go for gold-toned and purple-toned blush will be more flattering that a bright red or pink color.

5.     Makeup brushes matter

Make up brushes aren’t just optional accessories, they are tools that help you apply your makeup properly and save the amount of product you use.

How to fix it?

Instead of using your fingers, here are the makeup brushes you need:

• Foundation brush
• Powder brush
• Powder buffer
• Blush brush
• Eyebrow brush
• Eyeshadow brush

6.   Don’t look fake in your fake lashes

Fake eyelashes add volume and length to your lashes, giving your eyes a more sultry look.

However, instead of buying quality lashes, many women use the very cheap ones that make their eyes look like those of plastic baby dolls.  

How to fix it?

• Instead of fake lashes, invest in a good mascara that elongates and thickens your lashes.
• Invest in good quality eyelashes that are made from sterilized human hair or synthetic fibers.
• Learn  how to apply fake eyelashes properly

7.     Purrfect the cat eye

A cat eye is a classic way to dramatize any makeup look, and add some sex appeal. However, there is a difference between a seductive cat eye and one that makes you look like an Ancient Egyptian drawing. Many Tanzanians are guilty of doing the latter.

How to fix it?

• It’s better to use a liquid or gel liner than a pencil if you are a beginner.
• Learn and practice  How to draw a proper cat-eye.

8.     Eyebrow problems….again

Yes, we already talked about eyebrows but unfortunately many women really struggle with this part of the face.

In order to create a clean and sharp eyebrow shape, some women apply concealer around the outline of their eyebrows. While this helps create a more defined brow, the problem arises when women use a concealer color that is too light in comparison to their skin tone. This makes the highlighted part very visible and awkward looking – especially in photos.

How to fix it?

• Like your foundation, pick a concealer that matches your skin tone, so that you don’t create a halo/circle around your eyebrow.
• Make sure to blend the concealer with a brush, so that is merges with your skin/foundation color.

9.     United States of Eyeshadows

The reality is, most women don’t take the time to learn how to apply makeup properly and instead attempt to follow the popular trends that they see in everyday life and social media without much practice. This is evident when it comes to applying eye shadows.  

Too many women in Tanzania apply an assortment or colorful and glittery eyeshadows, and they don’t blend them well. This leaves them looking like they have flag colors on their eyelids.

How to fix it?

• Use natural toned eye shadow colors like brown, gold and purple.
• Learn how to apply and blend eyeshadow colors properly, including:

1. The highlighter color that goes under your eyebrow,

2. The base color, usually darker brown: many Tanzanians don’t even apply this

3. The transition color:  Helps blend the base with the main eye shadow

4. The main eye shadow color: most people simply just apply this color

10.  Who wants to kiss cracked lips?

Have you ever been told your lipstick looks nice from a distance?

Well, that’s the case for many women in Tanzania who apply lipstick before making sure their lips have been exfoliated and moisturized with a lip balm or Vaseline first.

Lipstick can be incredibly drying, so make sure your lips are well moisturized before applying.

Don’t make a mess with your makeup

When it comes to applying makeup - less is more. You want to look like a better version of yourself, rather than a completely different person or like a two-year-old drew all over your face.  

Simply put, the best makeup job is when you don’t look like you are wearing any or much makeup. So keep it simple ladies, and let your beauty shine!