Okay, are you talking about “you” as in, “all of you silly girls who aren’t doing their makeup to please me, the nerve!” or Diosa specfically?
I just want to know whether I should think you’re threadshitting or threadshitting while being nasty to a fellow poster.
OK, no threadshitting devilsknew. Everyone else: he’s been told.
Ellen Cherry
MPSIMS Moderator
I’m out of my makeup-wearing phase again (I go in and out), mostly because my face is 100% clear of acne for the first time in a year. And I don’t like to look pretty…? lol
I wash my face every night with Cetaphil, without a wash cloth. But I think I might need to exfoliate it every so often.
Should I use some sort of exfoliating cloth or an exfoliating wash? Any recommendations on either?
I am also noticing some dryness, which is weird because it’s spring now and I was fine all winter. I have a bottle of Olay Daily Moisturizer - which I never use daily for fear of over-oiling even though it’s oil-free - but it is expired and I need to get something new. Any suggestions? I never had any problems with Olay, but if you have something kickass I’d try it.
Just a quick drive-by - work is SO busy right now - but I wanted to say thank you! I copied all of your tips and will go shopping soon.
Damn, I’m so impressionable. I’ve been considering wearing makeup more often because I’m, sigh, getting a little older and starting to think I look tired a lot. I took a look at that Five Minute Face book and actually found it quite helpful - I’m her “porcelain-skinned redhead” although the red is from henna right now, and I’ve always avoided warm tones because that’s what, I dunno, my season says or something. I dropped by the drugstore last night and tried some of the peachier, more coral colors she suggested, and I do like the effect quite a bit.
I just suck at putting any of it on, is all.
ETA - also, in college and grad school people would always say in the same breath “seriously, you almost never wear makeup?” and “how do you get your skin so nice?” Well, duh, take some of the slap off and maybe your skin would thank you, was my underbreath answer. (And I do refuse to wake up in the morning with the assumption that something about my face needs to be “fixed”.) But I’m considering wearing something more often - is that going to be bad for my skin?
I guess I’ll have to post some pictures, but I photograph HORRIBLY and it’s embarrassing. Also I just got a radical haircut and I’m not yet sure if I like it.
Oooh, I’m going to take some photos of my face tonight. I haven’t worn make-up in years and I guess in part that’s been due to feeling like I don’t deserve to look nice, but I’d like to get past that. I also need to get a haircut but that’s another story…
I’m not a morning person so I’d need a ‘work makeup’ routine that was pretty quick and minimal (and would work with whatever colours I’m wearing that day), but I’d also be interested in learning how to create an evening look.
Back in my twenties, my look was very much heavy on the liquid eyeliner (top lid only), pale cheeks and a fairly dark lipstick. Slightly gothic/alternative, I guess?
I’d really like some tips on finding the right foundation.
In the past I’ve used a fairly pale foundation and slathered it on pretty thick, because I was wearing it when I went out at night, but for the daytime I really hate that ‘here is where I put my foundation’ look.
I feel my skin is several different tones across my face - if it ‘matches’ my cheek, it’s too dark around my mouth. I guess the solution to that is to put different foundations on different parts then blend?
Oh, and brows. I spent thirty minutes with my brows last night because of that stupid book. I think they’ve gotten lighter as I’ve gotten older - I’ve never paid very much attention to them because they’re not unruly and there’s two of them, you know? Once or twice in grad school I had them waxed, but more because my friend was going anyway. So I’m thinking maybe I should use some powder or something on them, but there are a bunch of fair, nearly invisible hairs under the arch. I can’t even see the bastards to pluck them. I guess I should go get them waxed off if I want to try something with my brows, right?
And then, how on earth do you find a good brow waxer? I don’t think I know anybody who gets it done.
I was born platinum blonde, but my hair changed over time, and I went to dyed red - sure enough, apparently I’m a porcelain-skinned redhead myself. I got the NARS Blush in Orgasm shade (it’s not quite glittery like the description suggests, more of a sheen) and it works quite well for me.
sandra_nz, I feel that way too - especially around my mouth, it seems like my skin is somewhat lighter in tone there (barring the imperfections I’m trying to work on).
The thing that I don’t get is, I do like the way the warmer colors look in makeup, but I look awful in corals and peaches when it comes to clothes. I’m cool colors all the way in fabric. That doesn’t make a lick of sense.
Thanks for the info Dio, I’m going to try to find some of that NYX pencil today. Hope they have really beige.
Same here! It really screwed me up when trying to figure out makeup. Oddly, though, I really seem to have an eye for actually picking out makeup shades. I grabbed the right Make Up For Ever HD foundation shade right off the shelf (which is described on their website as “porcelain skin with pink undertones”), and the gal at Sephora matched it to me herself, after trying a number of shades.
How can I find matte makeup? I have a real problem with my cheeks looking shiny in photographs (one photog called my skin hyper-plastic, I don’t know what that means exactly.) This also means that jaw line gets lost inphotos which is a shame.
Also, are there any lines which have monochromatic, matte colors? Ideally, I’d like to have the same gentle rosy blush/cantelope color on lips, cheeks and nails, with a very matte beige underneath.
Any suggestions?
Ha, I think we have the same skin. Or as the boyfriend says, “Like a pinky-pink rat!”
Zsofia I’m dying to see what you look like now!
ZipperJJ you have AWESOME eyebrows! (I just saw your picture trying to see what Zsofia looks like.) My eyebrows are sad little things. I tried to beef them up this morning on Dio’s advice and look at what crummy little puny things they are! Supposedly I had colored them in; I guess it all wore off between my bathroom and the office. :madface:
Dude. Like a pinky-pink rat, obviously.
Almay (drugstore) has a liner/highlighter pencil with the highlighter on one end and the liner on the other. I got mine in a set with a couple of cream eyeshadows. They’re broken out by skin tone, but the shades are soft enough that if you’re a Caspar type like I am, you could use one of the darker ones and be fine. And the highlighter side is more nude than white-white.
Okay, I’m heroically bored at work today and I just spent fifteen minutes trying to take a picture of myself with my phone that wasn’t awful. I didn’t succeed, but here’s the best of the lot - so should I start doing something to my eyebrows? And if I was going to do one or two makeup things daily, what should they be? (As usual, I’m not wearing any makeup today. Or, clearly, hair product.)
I’m not a makeup guru, but I wear contacts, touch my eyes a lot, and am very sensitive to mascara. As a result, I had given up on mascara completely until my mother had me try 100% Pure’s fruit pigment ones. I mentioned them in the other makeup thread, but I figured it was worth repeating if you asked. They don’t burn at all if they flake, which doesn’t really happen unless I rub them a lot. The only time I’ve ever had them give me any discomfort was when I poked myself directly in the eye with one. I’ve only used the blackberry and blueberry, so I can’t vouch for the others, but I doubt they’d be different.
As for Diosa, do you have any tips for where to learn the basics of contouring? I wear basic makeup and think that it would really help me out to, say, do something about my nose, but I’m having a hard time finding much from tutorials online.
Alright, so now that I have officially Facebook stalked you 
First of all, you’re very pretty! You look just like the wife of a friend of mine. Once again, another Doper with totally studly cheeks- love it!
So, the main issue I think you’d probably encounter with makeup is that you don’t have much in the way of lid space. My suggestion would be that if you’re looking for makeup examples, you might want to look at East Asian girls- it sounds crazy, I know, but you have similar lid styles, yours are just deeper. A good YouTube person to watch is MichellePhan- she’s a young little thing who sometimes does wacky things, but remember- you don’t have to do things exactly how she does.
Moving along! First, you’d want to do some spot touch ups with a concealer. As with any of these products, if your skin is sensitive, you may need to try a few products to find one you like and that works for you. For what it’s worth, Clinique has good stuff for sensitive skin, so you might want to pop over to their counter for some samples. Anyway, a little concealer along any trouble spots, along with a tiny bit of concealer under the eyes (you don’t have bad shadowing at all, but it’s a bit different toned than the rest of your skin). You have good skin, so you don’t even need foundation or powder, but I’d put a titch of silica powder all over just to control shine throughout the day.
I think you’d like great in a cream blush (all kinds of drugstore brands have their own versions, but I’m- of course- partial to Mac Blushcream). Cream blush will give you a nice healthy glow without being glittery or anything; in fact, it’s that dewy look that’s super in for spring and summer each year, plus it is youthful. I’d probably do something like Mac’s Lilicent, but very very very lightly patted on the apples of your cheeks, then lightly patted out around your orbital bone. I’d then take a highlighter (I think something like Mac’s Mineralized Skin Finish in refined) and dust it lightly over the high points of your face- tops of the cheeks, top of the nose, forehead and chin-- all just very lightly. I think a lot of Dopers would love those Mineralize Skin Finishes, but they only come out every few collections and aren’t permanent. If you happen to see them, though, give it a shot- they are great for easy highlighting. You can use the MSF as blush, a highlight, a contour, etc depending on what shade it is. Good stuff! The MSF as a highlight will just make your skin pop and glow in a not messy way, it’s very nice.
For eyes, I’d probably do something like Michelle’s in that video I linked to, but if it were just you doing your makeup, I’d say: if nothing else, just swatch a nice light shadow of your liking all over your lid. Then, take your eyeliner of choice (like I said, I adore Mac’s Fluidline with an angled brush because it is so easy, but it’s up to you!) and line the top’s of your eyes VERY thinly- this will take practice, but you can do it. A coat or two of your mascara of choice (again, mine at the moment is Mac’s Studio Fix Lash) and yours eyes should pop. If you want a little more pop, take the nude liner we were talking about earlier and line your lower waterline, which should open your eyes up even more.
Finally, I think a nice, natural pink lip that is somewhat glossy would look great with your skin. In addition to being generally flattering on almost everyone, that whole nudey pink look is totally trendy right now, so you’ve got that too! I’d pick something not too cool and not to warm, like Mac’s High Tea Lipstick or something like Chanel’s Darling Rouge Allure lipstick if you want to drop a little cash.
Easy peasy. You’ll look just like you, but more glowy and wonderful than you already do. Since you have smaller eyes, I think drawing focus to a nice glossy mouth will help give you a blam! feature, but really, your skin is so gorgeous that you’ve already got that going for you.
Hope that helps
Oh, in regard to having to use Ben Nye while it is clearly causing an allergic reaction to your skin-- I was thinking about that this morning and my best suggestion is to get a sample of that HD Primer from Makeup Forever (at Sephora) in whatever color you need, then testing to see if that breaks you out. If it doesn’t, apply a hefty layer of that before the Ben Nye glop, that way there is a silicone barrier between your skin and what is causing the problems. Short of that, if you’re required to use the Ben Nye, I’m not sure there’s much you can do :(.
Hey, there’s nothing more gorgeous than good skin. Congrats!
Once every week or two, I use an exfoliating scrub on my face, just to freshen it up a bit. I use Mac’s Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, but it looks like they don’t sell it right now. Boo. It’s super popular, so I’m sure it’ll be back. For drugstore stuff, the St. Ive’s Apricot Exfoliator is actually really good, cheap, and gentle. You might want to give that a shot, especially for $5!
When I run out of “good” moisturizer and am too cheap to buy more for a while, I get the Olay stuff on sale, so it’s not bad at all. Definitely not as hydrating as better stuff, though. Like I said before, I’m a huuuuuge fan of Lush and everything they sell (mmm, it smells so nice!), so my daily moisturizer is their Celestial Moisturizer (that little tub lasted me about 6 months of liberal usage on my face, neck, and chest).
Happy to help!
You need a good brush, but don’t worry! You don’t have to buy some ungodly expensive Mac brush- you can actually just use art brushes from Michaels! The Loew Cornell paint brushes they sell. The LC brushes are identical to the Mac ones in composition, the only difference being the length of the handle. This Youtube video explains which LC Brushes are dupes for Mac brushes and what they are good for. He’s got a funny accent, but he’s very nice Anyway, the extra cool thing about the LC Brushes is that Michaels regularly has coupons for 25-50% off a single item, so you can get a kick ass deal.
For what it’s worth, I use a Mac 150 for all of my blush and bronzer application. Having a good brush really does make a world of difference, because it will apply the color evenly. Don’t ever use one of those horrible little rectangle brushes that come in drugstore blush compacts, as that is how you end up looking like you fell out of the 80s :D.
Primero- I think you’ve got the right attitude, as no one should think of makeup as a way to “fix” something wrong with their face. I haven’t seen you, but I sincerely doubt you’ve got some major deformity that needs to be covered up. Fact is, everybody is beautiful, it’s whatever makes you uniquely you that makes you beautiful. Makeup isn’t to fix quirks, it’s to enhance that natural beauty you have.
Also, if you use good makeup and a good cleanser, makeup shouldn’t do any harm to your skin. Obviously, if you have some sort of allergic reaction, then you need to try a different product, but good makeup shouldn’t hurt you at all.
Oh hey, look! A picture:
You succeeded, m’lady! You’re so lucky to have such large eyes. In fact, did you know that in . . . I want to say Japanese culture. … having the white of your eye show below your iris is a sign of great power and success? Plus, I think it just looks awesome.
Anywho, I would suggest you try some of that Makeup Forever primer in green to counter a little of the redness in your skin, as that’ll make your eyes and awesome hair color pop more. I know it’s creepy because it’s green, but it really is a great product and doesn’t look green on. Like I’ve mentioned a few times here, I’d definitely pop over to Sephora and get a sample- which they are quite generous with. Try it out and see if you dig it. Also get a sample of their HD Finishing Powder (which is ungodly expensive), if you like how it looks, you can get the cheaper version I posted before from Coastal Scents. You’ve got nice skin, so I think with the primer and a little bit of that finishing powder, you should be good to go without much else in the way of foundation, concealer, or powder.
Because your eyes are so gorgeous, I’d suggest curling your lashes and piling on a mascara, because that would just make them pop. Because your eyes are nice and big, you can actually line both the top and bottom without looking funny (lucky lady!), but you certainly don’t have to.
Not too long ago, Mac came out with a Redhead Collection and something like that gloss in particular would look amazing on you if you really wanted to have a stand out lip, but you could certainly get something along the same color lines, but more sheer so more wearable.
