Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir. - I want to put on a bit of makeup before going out.

In Spanish, object and reflexive pronouns usually go before a conjugated verb (me maquillo, me quiero maquillar), but they can be attached to the end of an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command.

Here we have:

quiero → conjugated (1st person singular, present)
maquillar → infinitive

With an infinitive, both positions are possible:

Me quiero maquillar un poco…
Quiero maquillarme un poco…

Quiero me maquillar is incorrect because the pronoun can’t go between quiero and maquillar like that. It must go either before the conjugated verb (me quiero maquillar) or attached to the infinitive (quiero maquillarme).

Is there any difference in meaning between Quiero maquillarme and Me quiero maquillar?

No real difference in meaning. Both mean “I want to put on makeup.”

In everyday Spanish (including Spain):

Quiero maquillarme sounds very natural and is perhaps a bit more common in writing or careful speech.
Me quiero maquillar is equally correct and very common in spoken language.

There is no change in tense, politeness, or emphasis; it’s mainly a matter of style and rhythm.

Why is the verb maquillarme (reflexive) and not just maquillar?

Maquillar by itself means “to put makeup on (someone)”:

La maquilladora maquilla a la actriz.
The makeup artist puts makeup on the actress.

When you put makeup on yourself, Spanish uses the reflexive form:

Maquillarme = to put makeup on myself
Maquillarte = to put makeup on yourself
Maquillarse = to put makeup on oneself (him/herself, themselves)

So:

Quiero maquillar a mi amiga. → I want to put makeup on my friend.
Quiero maquillarme. → I want to put makeup on myself.

In the sentence you gave, you’re clearly talking about your own face, so maquillarme is required.

Why do we say maquillarse instead of something like poner maquillaje?

Spanish often has a single verb where English uses “put on + noun”. Some common ones:

maquillarse = to put on makeup
vestirse = to get dressed / put clothes on
ponerse perfume = to put on perfume
ponerse crema = to put on cream/lotion

You could say something like ponerme maquillaje, but it sounds less natural; maquillarme is the standard, idiomatic verb used in Spain and elsewhere for putting on makeup on yourself.

Could a man also say Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir?

Yes. Grammatically it’s perfectly fine for anyone:

Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir.
I want to put on a bit of makeup before going out.

In practice, people who wear makeup (women, some men, people in theater, TV, drag, etc.) would say this. The sentence itself is not gender-marked; it works for any speaker.

What does un poco add here? How is un poco different from poco?

Un poco means “a little / a bit / some” in a neutral or positive way:

Quiero maquillarme un poco.
I want to put on a bit of makeup.

Poco (without un) means “little / not much”, often with a sense of insufficient amount:

Me maquillo poco.
I don’t wear much makeup / I wear little makeup.

So:

un poco = a little (neutral/okay amount)
poco = (too) little, not much

In your sentence, un poco makes it sound modest: you’re not going full glam, just a bit.

Can un poco go in a different position, like Quiero un poco maquillarme?

In this sentence, natural options are:

Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir.
Me quiero maquillar un poco antes de salir.
Antes de salir, quiero maquillarme un poco.

Putting un poco directly before the verb (Quiero un poco maquillarme) is not natural in this context.

So, keep un poco:

usually after the infinitive (maquillarme un poco)
or after a conjugated verb (me maquillo un poco) in other sentences.

Why is it antes de salir and not antes salir?

After antes de when it’s followed by a verb in the infinitive, Spanish requires the preposition de:

antes de salir = before going out
antes de comer = before eating
antes de estudiar = before studying

Antes salir is incorrect.

So the pattern is:

antes de + infinitive → same subject as the main verb
Quiero maquillarme antes de salir. (I want to put on makeup before going out.)

When the subject can change, you normally use antes de que + subjunctive (see next question).

When do we use antes de salir and when antes de que salga?

Use:

antes de + infinitive when the subject is the same in both actions:
- Quiero maquillarme antes de salir.
  I want to put on makeup before going out.
  (I = the one who wants to put on makeup AND who will go out.)
antes de que + subjunctive when the subject can change or you want a full clause:
- Quiero maquillarme antes de que tú salgas.
  I want to put on makeup before you go out.
- Quiero maquillarme antes de que salgan mis amigos.
  I want to put on makeup before my friends leave.

Notice the subjunctive:

antes de que tú salgas (not sales)
antes de que ellos salgan (not salen)

Why is the verb salir used here and not ir or marcharse?

In everyday Spanish (especially in Spain):

salir often means “go out” socially or just leave the house:
- ¿Sales esta noche? – Are you going out tonight?
- Salgo a las ocho. – I go out / leave at eight.
ir = “to go” (to a place), not specifically “go out”:
- Voy al cine. – I’m going to the cinema.
marcharse = “to leave / go away,” often a bit more formal or emphatic:
- Me marcho ya. – I’m leaving now.

In this sentence, antes de salir is the natural way to say “before going out / before leaving (home)” in a general, casual sense.

Sometimes I see salir a + infinitive. Why not antes de salir a algo here?

You use salir a + infinitive when you specify what you’re going out to do:

Salir a cenar – go out to have dinner
Salir a bailar – go out dancing
Salir a correr – go out running

If you wanted to be more specific, you could say:

Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir a cenar.
I want to put on a bit of makeup before going out to dinner.

In your original sentence, the activity is just “go out” in general, so antes de salir is enough and completely natural.

Is quiero here like the English future “I’m going to…” or is it more literal “I want to…”?

Quiero + infinitive usually expresses a genuine desire / intention:

Quiero maquillarme. = I want to put on makeup.

It can also imply intention in the near future, but it keeps the nuance of wanting, unlike:

Voy a maquillarme. = I’m going to put on makeup. (more purely future / planned action)

So:

Quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir.
Focus: I want to do it.
Voy a maquillarme un poco antes de salir.
Focus: I am going to do it (it’s my plan).

Can I say Yo quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir, or is yo wrong?

You can say:

Yo quiero maquillarme un poco antes de salir.

It’s grammatically correct. Spanish normally omits the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows the subject:

Quiero → it’s already clear that it means “I want”.

You add yo mainly for emphasis or contrast:

Yo quiero maquillarme, pero ella no quiere.
I want to put on makeup, but she doesn’t.

Where else can I put the pronoun me with these verbs?

With reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se), placement rules are:

Before a conjugated verb:
- Me maquillo todos los días.
- Me quiero maquillar un poco.
Attached to the end of:
- an infinitive: Quiero maquillarme.
- a gerund: Estoy maquillándome.
- an affirmative command: Maquíllate.

You cannot put it after a conjugated verb (like quiero me maquillar) or in the middle of a verb phrase in a random position.

How do you pronounce maquillarme and what does the ll sound like in Spain?

Maquillarme is pronounced approximately:

[ma-kee-YAR-me] in a simple English-friendly approximation.
In IPA: [ma.kiˈʝaɾ.me] or [ma.kiˈʎaɾ.me], depending on the speaker.

In most of Spain today, ll is pronounced like y in yes:

maquillarme → ma-ki-YAR-me

In some regions (especially older speakers or certain areas), ll can be a bit more like an Italian gl in famiglia, but for most learners it’s enough to pronounce ll like English y.