IF FOUND: Please lend a Qtip, Beauty Blender, or even a finger.  Reach out to friends and strangers alike AND JUST START BLENDING.

Yikes! This is the kind of makeup faux pas that haunts my dreams.

In case I was a little unclear, my BIGGEST beauty pet peeve is unblended makeup.  After all, the point of makeup is to let your natural beauty shine through, not to turn your face into a game board for the likes of Connects the Lines, Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers…you get the point.  While it is an easy beauty blunder to commit, the solution is quick and painless.

Here are some fabulous tools you can use to ensure even product distribution:

1.    Qtips- the perfect, cost-effective tool to guarantee seamless eye shadow and eyeliner application.  Another benefit to blending and smudging your eyeliner is that it takes away excess product threatening to melt down your face as the day goes by.

2.    Beauty Blender- available at beautyblender.net and sephora.com for $19.95, this tool is perfect for both makeup application and blending.  Its ergonomic elliptical shape makes it super easy to achieve seamless foundation, blush and even eye shadow.  Best when used damp and “bounced” or “stippled” onto the application area, no one will be able to tell that you’re even wearing makeup!

3.    Makeup brushes- there are plenty of tools out there devoted solely to blending.  For shadow and liner, try NARS Large Domed Eye brush ($33) and Sephora Brand Professional Smudge brush #14 ($13).  Made of squirrel hair, the Large Domed brush is a rounded shape ideal for mixing colors on the lid or in the crease.  The Smudge brush has compacted bristles great for achieving both a smoky eye and a more natural look.  I even use this brush to fill in sparse areas of my brows because depending on the look desired, it can deliver product with varying levels of intensity.  For a picture-perfect complexion, try NARS Botan brush ($75 and a favorite of Oprah’s!) to buff and blend.

Experience the luxury of NARS brushes while achieving flawless results

4.    Fingers- my favorite tool for both makeup application and blending, don’t underestimate them.  I have found that few brushes or sponges pick up and distribute products as well as your fingers can and to state the obvious, they’re free!  However, when using your fingers to apply eye shadow, be wary of tugging at the skin.  Added pressure and pulling will create worrisome wrinkles down the road, eek.

Jessica Alba is looking well-blended and beautiful

I frequently reach out to friend’s faces without warning to rub random lines of unblended makeup- it’s as natural a reflex for me as it is to scratch something that itches.  Make sure to utilize the blending tools above, or the next time I pass you on the street I may do the same to you…

Images courtesy of: pieces-zine.com; la-story.com; blushpretty.com; revolutionbeauty.com; hautedolleyes.blogspot.com