make up poll -and- teach me how to apply makeup

[seaworthy]

what are your favorite makeup products?

what one product could you not live without?

My favorite product is lip gloss and I could not live without lip gloss.


I'm a bit of a tomboy and only recently have I started to wear makeup. Foundation, I mean, because I've been using lip gloss and mascara for years, but I always hated the "I'm-wearing-plaster-on-my-face" feel you get with foundation. So here's my problem...

1) I want a natural-looking face. I want other people, girls included, to think that I just have naturally flawless skin

2) I have really bad skin- monster zits and red spots from old blemishes and just generally not-so-nice skin. Oily too.

3) I have really sensitive skin, so I always either have clear skin that's peeling or zits but not irritated skin

4) I like the weightlessness and natural look of sheer makeup, but it doesn't cover the blemishes. I need a happy medium

So, what type of makeup would you recommend, and how do I apply it? Fingers or sponge, pat or circular motions? Does all makeup clump up and look cakey around zits, or can I avoid that somehow? How do I make my bad skin go away without looking like I'm wearing the entire JC Penny's makeup counter? Does any makeup really look natural, or do I just have to get used to the made-up look?

[cherry]

My favourite products are my eyelash curlers that are Japanese. I think if you have nicely shaped eyebrows it makes a huge difference with how your face looks anyways. I tend not to wear mascara because I don't need it. For foundation, I found Black Opal (if you have darker skin) to be very good depending on the coverage you need. Also MAC Makeup has come a long way in improving their foundations/concealers/ studio fixes so I recommend that. Prescriptives also makes some foundation formulations, but are a little sheerer. I also wear liquid liner that comes in a container where you apply with a brush and water, both from MAC. Lipsticks/glosses are from wherever, L'oreal, Mac, Stilla (which makes a nice tinted lip gloss). The best pencil black eyeliner I've found so far is from Sephoras own line. As far as having clear skin, I’m not sure, I use products to wash my face with from Neo Strata and Reversa glycolic acid cleansers a few times a week, all other times I use Cetaphil.

I recommend just going into a store like Sephora or the MAC counter and asking for a demo or trying some of the products on.

[medstar]

I hate the deathmask appearance of liquid and cream foundations as well-- I use Bare Escentuals Mineral makeup in #3. This is a finely milled powder that you apply sparingly with a brush and buff it in. The color blends in with my skin and it feels elegant on. I've got pretty good skin and the makeup covers whatever flaws I do have very well without being too much. You might want to watch TV for the infomercial to order it or you can find the line at an Ulta salon. Go in with a bare face so the makeup artist can help you with color selection.

That being said, I think you're putting the cart before the horse. You said that you have red,blemished skin that is oily. You should consult with a good dermatologist and use a good skin care regimen consistently to get your skin in the best possible condition. HTH

[Eve]

Goodness. It all depends on your complexion, bone structure, coloring, age . . . "Less is more," of course, unless you're in your teens or 20s, which is the time for experimenting and looking a total fool so you can laugh at the photos in 20 years.

Me, I'm a middle-aged lady with pale skin and dark eyes and hair. I don't wear any foundation or blush--just powder, and a pale/medium pink lipstick. I used to wear pounds of eye makeup when I was young, but now just mascara (carefully combed to avoid clumps) and when I'm in the mood, a bit of brown powder eyeliner, smudged.

[Furry Mongoose]

I have really pale skin which looks awful when I plaster it with foundation... does get the occasional spot though.... I find it looks better if I do the whole cleanse and toning bit... but then use tinted moisturiser.. less heavy and gives a nice shine...

I'm a big fan of eyeliner and mascara...with a neutrally colour of eyeshadow... finishing off with a slick of clear lip gloss...

Natural but looks kinda nice...not too much effort too

[irishgirl]

The product I love most in the world is Dr Feelgood from Benefit.
It's a clear wax that you can wear alone, under or over makeup.
It makes your skin feel silky smooth, is matte and fills in pores and lines.
It's great for solving oily skin without powder, and giving a flawless finish.

Try not to cake your face in makeup, as it only makes spots worse, only wear makeup when and where you REALLY need it. Get a good concealer that matches your skin tone exactly, no point otherwise.

It's possible to look polished and groomed with 3 products, blusher, lipgloss and mascara. You only need to add eyeshadow and liner at night. You could add a concealer to that list and that's you.

Don't keep makeup for more than a year. It goes off and breeds germs.

Cheap makeup is harder to apply, doesn't last as long on your face and doesn't come in as many textures and tints as the more expensive types. Buy the best quality products you can afford. I'm a sucker for MAC and Benefit.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

I had horrible skin when I was younger, and I think that piling makeup on top of it (liquid foundation) only made it worse. Now what I use is a powder - Cover Girl somethingorover. It provides good coverage without that death-mask feeling.

To cover blemishes, get a liquid blemish cover. I can't think of the actual name now, but they come with a wand, rather than in stick form like lipstick. I still get the occasional breakout, and I'll use cover-up and blend it well, then powder.

I will say this - in my experience, crayon-style eyeliner tends to spread. My sister in particular has this problem. It'll end up dragging down the corners of her eyes to such a degree she looks like a sad clown. I've been using liquid eyeliner for years, when I bother with eyeliner at all.

Most days, it's only powder and mascara. If I'm going crazy, I may put on eyeliner and a peach-coloured shadow. Never blush, and usually lipstick. Nothing too drastic. Make-up is meant to enhance what nature has given you, not make you look like Ru-Paul. Unless, of course, you want to look like Ru-Paul.

[Dung Beetle]

I don't have pretty skin either. I used to paint over the whole mess with liquid foundation, but I found that the less makeup I wore, the less I needed. These days, I go with just a little concealer on the spots, then stand a few feet back from the mirror and give myself a quick look. If there's nothing on my face that jumps out and screams "Hey! I'm a big ugly pimple!" I'm happy with that. Remind yourself that your zits are a lot more upsetting and noticeable to you than they are to anyone else. The more you try to spackle over them, the more noticeable they get.
As for the rest, natural colors and blend blend blend. I wear liner on the top lid only (it tends to spread from underneath), then a little pressed powder and blush near my eyes, and some eye shadow, usually brown. Thank God I'm so darn gorgeous to begin with!

[Eve]

Why not go for the Queen Elizabeth I look?

"Egg white was painted over a white base to glaze it, cheeks were rouged with ochre pigment or mercuric sulphide. Lips were coloured with cochineal mixed with gum arabic or egg white. During this period, patches began to be worn, made from taffeta or velvet, to ward off headaches. Red hair, in imitation of the Queen’s wig, was fashionable, too. Some women powdered their hair with gold as well."

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Eve, it's not in imitation of Elizabeth I that I look like this. I'm just naturally ghostly with a carrot top!

[Abbie Carmichael]

The best foundation I have ever used is CoverGirl Tru Blend.

The nice thing about it is you can buy little teeny samples of it and try it out to find out what shade works best for you. The samples come with 3 shades to a pack, IIRC.

It's very light and it's the first foundation I've ever used that actually matched my (very pale) skin. Even if you used it with concealer (I do sometimes) you probably won't feel like a pancake in it.

[Ghanima]

Another vote for going to see a dermatologist. I am almost 30 and I went to one for the first time a few months ago, and I am so happy with the results. I also have had "red spots" from old blemishes, etc and those tiny capillary-things that come to the surface of your skin. I had many of them cauterized about a month ago (WOW that hurt!) but my skin looks better than it has in a very long time. I LOVE MY DERMATOLOGIST!

As for "daily" makeup, I pretty much stick to Burt's Bees stuff. I love their products. But that's the only "cheap" makeup I use anymore. The rest is Lancome or similar, it's worth the extra money.

[monica]

I'm going to second the Cover Girl Trublend recommendation, and I also agree that you should go to a dermatologist. Mine gave me this stuff that causes my skin to peel, thus getting rid of the dark spots and drastically reducing the acne problem.

[seaworthy]

Well I would go to a dermatologist, but I'm broke and have no health insurance at all. I mean, I've got a few moles I'd like to check out, a much more pressing problem than bad skin, and I still can't go. I'm currently paying off the bill for my bronchitis (about 500 bucks) so there will be no doctor visits for me for a long time. I should stop now before I get into a why-doesn't-America-have-universal-health-care rant.

Anyway. My skin's not horrible, it just tends to break out around my period, and I can't stop touching it (I'm working on that) and if I pick (I try not to) the blemishes take forever to heal. And then I get new ones in the same area from the touching. But I was on ortho-trycyclen a while back, and it cleared my face up a lot, so I'm going to go back on it. Unfortunately I also gained weight, which I'm trying to lose now, but when I get back to my ideal weight I'm definitely going back on it.

I'm using Neutrogena skin-clearing makeup right now, it's probably the most expensive makeup I've ever bought (I used to use Covergirl Clean makeup or something, just your average cheap, sheer foundation) and it works pretty well. I like the fact that it has an acne medication in the makeup.

Any opinions on whether a makeup sponge works better than fingers when applying makeup? And does all makeup kinda cake up around pimples? It seems like it clumps up on the flaky skin around it. On my face anyway.

[LorieSmurf]

There are two online sites I go to for makeup advice. icompact.com (www.icompact.com) has a message board that's pretty good. I hardly ever post there, but just reading other people's posts, and the reviews section, has me making better makeup/skincare choices.

Makeupalley.com (www.makeupalley.com) is a good place with reviews as well. You have to register there to read the reviews, but it's free, quick, and worth it.

[jellytoes]

I use my clean finger to apply makeup because I'm deathly afraid of germs in makeup sponges and I can blend better. For everything else I use a very good set of makeup brushes.

The brushes help with getting the natural look just right and it's hard to apply too much makeup with them. So they are great for the 'I have class in 15 minutes and don't have time to apply makeup properly but desperately need it because I'm going on 3 hours of sleep face'.

[Dung Beetle]

I always liked the sponges when I wore foundation because you could dampen them with water first, which allowed you to spread a very thin layer of makeup.
I use Bare Escentuals Mineral makeup in #3.
medstar, what do you think of that infomercial? Do you think it's fairly accurate? Because I saw it, and if it's for real, that mineral stuff is amazing!

[BiblioCat]

I would also recommend a visit to the dermatologist. I started breaking out in my late 20s, and the dermotologist said I was allergic to the cheap makeup (like Cover Girl and Maybelline, which I'd used for years), so I started using Clinique's Stay-True foundation. It's hypoallerganic, so it won't irritate your skin.
Just a little bit goes a long way. Make sure you get a shade that really matches your true skin tone. They should try several shades to get the correct one. I use 'Stay Ivory - 01', the lightest one they have.
I prefer the little sponges to apply it. I just dab a tiny bit on under my eyes and over trouble spots (a few broken capillaries and around my nose) with my finger, and then dab with the sponge to blend it in. Don't wipe or rub - dab it in.
I also use Clinique's moisturizer, the yellow stuff. It's great; not too oily, but good for the dry patches.

For blusher, get a big brush. Throw away the little wimpy one that comes in blusher case. You need a really big one. Swipe it across the blusher, tap it off on the edge of the sink, and then swipe it gently across your cheekbone.

[Eve]

For blusher, get a big brush. Throw away the little wimpy one that comes in blusher case. You need a really big one. Swipe it across the blusher, tap it off on the edge of the sink, and then swipe it gently across your cheekbone.

But for goodness sake, if you're going to wear blush, be careful—the biggest makeup mistake women make is to paint brick-red or clown-pink stripes across their cheeks.

[BiblioCat]

But for goodness sake, if you're going to wear blush, be careful—the biggest makeup mistake women make is to paint brick-red or clown-pink stripes across their cheeks.Oh, yes, of course. No stripes! That's why I said "tap it off" after swiping it across the blusher part. Someone told me to do that once, years ago - the brush picks up too many particles of the makeup, and tapping it off gets rid of the excess.

The best thing to do is go to a makeup counter, and find someone who looks good to you, someone whose makeup looks natural. Ask them to help you. Tell her you don't have a lot of experience with makeup, and don't like wearing a lot of it.
Don't ask Muffy the Hooker-Face or Nellie the Clown-Face to help. You'll just end up looking like them.

[Vision of Love]

Tinted gloss for me. I'm not really big on makeup. I'm more of a skincare person. I usually have pretty nice skin, but not today. I look so blotchy and have a couple tiny pimples from not sleeping right and not following my usual skincare regime.

Oh wait, I also love Biotherm's liquid foundation. I don't know what kind I'm using because it's actually a mini sample, which is great because I only use it on the apples of my cheeks. Sure beats concealer! It's actually my first liquid foundation because I was afraid of them for a while (whenever I put it on it looked so obvious) but now that I've learned to use it sparingly, I've decided that I'm not going back to powder. ;)

[Jennyrosity]

This might sound silly, but do you use a decent moisturiser? I didn't for years, on the grounds that my already-oily skin didn't need it, but then someone gave me a bottle of Clinque Dramatically Different Moisturiser and it made a huge difference.

As far as make-up goes, I use Nina Ricci foundation- it's very light and natural looking, and is the only one I've found that matches my skin-tone perfectly. I apply it with my fingers - as someone's already said, it's more hygenic, and a make-up artist told me that the heat of your fingers melts the product slightly and makes it easier to apply evenly.

I also swear by Benetint by Benefit - a red-coloured liquid (looks exactly like a bottle of nail polish) that, dabbed onto to the apples of your cheeks and blended in, gives you the most natural-looking blush around - you look like you've just been for a brisk walk in the fresh air. Another favourite is Bad Gal mascara, also by Benefit - my desire to look natural goes out of the window when it comes to my eyelashes, which I like to be as thick and black as possible!

[Miabella]

The only make-up I usually wear is foundation, mascara, and lipstick. Sometimes a little pressed powder to freshen up at the end of the day if I'm looking oily.

For foundation, I like Clinique Stay True Make-up or Neutrogena SkinClearing Make-up. I actually used the Clinique product for years, but I've recently come to prefer the Neutrogena.

Sorry to hear you can't get to a dermatologist right now. The one thing you must stop doing is picking at it. I'm not saying you can't drain the occasional egregious whitehead, but squeezing and messing around make a big mess of your face. I know, I used to do it as a teenager.

I would also recommend that you throw away any harsh zit creams that contain 10% benzoyl peroxide. All that does is dry out and irritate your skin. You can get just as good results from a product with much less such as Neutrogena's On-the-Spot Acne Treatment with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide.

[Silly Dog]

Another Bare Escentuals fan here.

I have medium fair, combination, really sensitive skin. I also can't stand that mask feeling. Bare Escentuals mineral makeup has no scent, which I think is important because I've never found a makeup that smells good to me. Their products are versatile: you can get very heavy coverage if you keep brushing the makeup on, although I don't really like that look. Also, they have a huge variety of product and colors. I don't break out from their stuff, I don't itch from their stuff and it doesn't seem to irritate my eyes any more than regular makeup.

My current favorite trick is to take my Burt's Bees lip balm and dip it into one of their all-over face colors -- makes great tasting, no fuss lipstick in a sheer color.

[DeVena]

I don't wear much make-up - I tend to look like MiMi if I do.

My 3 best pieces of advice...

1. Dermatologist - A clean, moisturized face is best. Wash at least twice a day with a pH balanced cleanser. Use a mild astringent - if it stings, it's too harsh. Moisturize twice a week and deep clean (masque) once a week.

2. Beautician - pH balanced cleansers are expensive. Shampoos are mostly pH balanced and are much cheaper. Yep, I wash my face and hair with Pantene and now I never have break-outs. And maybe only 2 pimples a year. (My dermatologist was fine with this.)

3. Make-up Artist - Shadow and contour are better than colors. Find colors that are good with your skin tone and stay with them. I have a very round face and even toned skin and good natural color. I use powder in the oily areas. Instead of adding a bright blush on my cheek, I apply a slightly darker color just below the apple of my cheek. I also apply this (lightly) to my brow and chin. I use brown eyeliner and a deep rose eye shadow. When I wear mascara (brown/black), I only use it to frame my eye - Never go all the way to the tip. It just makes me look like I've spider if I do.

[medstar]

I always liked the sponges when I wore foundation because you could dampen them with water first, which allowed you to spread a very thin layer of makeup.

medstar, what do you think of that infomercial? Do you think it's fairly accurate? Because I saw it, and if it's for real, that mineral stuff is amazing!


Dung Beetle, I'm glad you used the phrase "fairly accurate". I'm no makeup artist and I can't pick good colors for eye shadow, blush, lipstick, etc. I just buy what looks pretty in the display, for example, I love jewel tones so I buy blue eyeshadow, pink blush and fuchsia lipstick. When I get it home and try it on, I wonder why I look like a hooker. When it comes to applying the bare minerals, I'm a genius. The application is idiot proof. The minerals are packaged in a jar with a sifter insert. You invert the jar briefly so a small amount of product goes through the holes into the top part of the jar. You then shake the jar so that most of the powder falls back into the lower part of the jar. Then you open the jar and run the brush along the inside of the jar to pick up a small amount of the minerals. Tap the side of the brush to knock excess minerals back into the jar. Important note: close the jar and tighten the lid as soon as possible. If you knock the jar over, it's a big mess to clean up.

Brush all over your face, or just where you need the coverage. If you have basically good skin with only a few flaws and you've picked the right color, you'll be amazed at the transformation. My large pores are covered, freckles and small blemishes are covered. Put the brush down and further buff your face with a new, clean brush. This will buff off all but the smallest amount of minerals which is the effect you're looking for. If you need spot coverage, apply a small amount of minerals to your skin with a concealer brush and buff it in. When you're happy with the coverage, apply mineral veil to your face. The final effect should look like perfect skin, not masklike. The feel of the minerals is elegant, not plastic film like.

As far as the rest of the infomercial, I suspect that trained makeup artists picked out the most flattering colors for the models and applied them.

Sorry for the novel I just wrote, but I love Bare Escentuals and thought you'd like my experience. Silly Dog has a post which I agree with as well.