Question for Dio: I have pale skin with cool undertones and a fairly pink cast, brown eyes, and medium brown hair. Makeup websites like to tell me to wear lipstick in the pink family… but I find that I really like coral lipsticks. I wonder if the coral makes my face look even pinker than it is…? But then, I suppose I don’t know what kind of lipstick wouldn’t.
My own answers to two previous questions in this thread…
My favorite mascaras are the Covergirl ones that come with the spiky rubber brushes. Because the brushes are well-spaced rubber spikes rather than actual brushes, these mascaras don’t clump. For whatever other reason, they don’t flake at all, unless I mess with my eyes.
My must-do list for makeup, in order of priority (for the question about the best three-minute face):
clear mascara on my eyebrows, to set and smooth them
long-wearing lip gloss, which is much less drying than long-wearing lipstick. I don’t use the clear “gloss” side of the stick, just the color side
mascara
eyeliner… I’ve been drawing on 60s cat-eyes and loving it
a single coat of pinkish eyeshadow to help the eyeliner blend, or a single coat of pale pink or gold shadow to make it pop, depending on my mood
darker eyeshadow for corners and creases
lip liner
I used to wear foundation. Then I started getting cystic acne, and stopped using it. I smeared it on my forehead, nose, and chin only.
So the primer is for all over, and it doesn’t need something on top if you don’t want to use powder? (In other words, is it a base coat or a finished thing?)
Do you have any magic tricks for determining what colours will suit different people? I am a natural redhead with very pale skin and freckles. I stick to the same brown shades with the occasional green and I get so bored of swampy colours! Any time I pick out a more adventurous shade it always looks ridiculous. Any ideas?
Also, is it true that anyone can wear a true red lipstick? If so, how do I know what that is? I am dying for a more dramatic lipstick!
I love that stuff, and it smells like buttercream frosting or something. But light, not overpowering. And it does not break out my already acne-prone skin! Lush rocks.
Also, this thread is making me want to go on a shopping spree at MAC - I haven’t tried any of their products at all yet. What are your one or two top MAC items that you’d recommend for someone new to the line? Anything goes, I like light foundation (I use either a mineral foundation or MUFE HD now). And I’m fairly pale & pink (MUFE #115)
Personally, I like threading over waxing, because that somewhat thicker but more shapely brow look is in right now anyway. I’d try looking on my local yelp for threaders or waxers, that way you can get good reviews. Be clear when you go in what your problems are or what you want and don’t want. This whole process really shouldn’t run you more than $20, even at a fancy place.
Good luck! Wet and Wild (the suuuuper cheap drugstore brand) has good eyeliners, too! So does Rimmel (I use a black Rimmel liner almost every day, actually!). The Rimmel will glide on easier than the Wet and Wild, so I’d go for that one if you’ve got it.
Mac, Macitty, Mac Mac Mac. They have tons and tons of matte stuff, but you’ll need to go into a free standing Mac store (better yet a Pro store), not just a counter in a Macy’s or something.
For shadow, this palette is great-- a 50/50 mix of matte and shimmer, definitely worth the price.
What I’ll tell you though is that there is no one line that is entirely matte, but many lines offer tons of matte stuff. Matte isn’t popular with regular folks because it is much harder to blend than shimmer, but makeup artists love love love matte. Personally, I wear matte almost every day (shadows and blush, I mean). Makeup Forever, Mac, Ben Nye, and others all have tons of matte products, you just have to take a look.
Very nice! I want to say I used that Almay by the eye color stuff a bit when I was in high school and liked it very much, but I just haven’t used it in years.
I really suggest picking up a used copy of Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces- it has a great section on contouring, which is where I learned everything I know. Amazon has a preview of the page in question here. Now, her contouring there is exaggerated (he explains this in the book), but it demonstrates where to highlight and contour. Personally, I do my cheeks, the perimeter of my face and then the jaw, and down my big Italian nose
Definitely pick up that book, though. It’s AMAZING!
Oh, and to everyone talking about warms or cools or whatever: don’t worry about all that stuff. Just pick out what you like. If you apply things right and wear it with confidence, you’ll look great. I wear cool shadows, warm shadows, cool lips, warm lips, cool cheeks, warm cheeks, etc. As long as you apply things nicely (which takes practice), you can wear any makeup you like. Don’t ever feel pigeon holed by standards that were set far too long ago to be relevant anymore.
For example, I really wanted the new Mac Lady Gaga lipstick, which is a cool toned pink. Being the tan Italian girl I am, I am most definitely a “warm” skin tone, so theoretically this lipstick would be a no go if I followed the old school guidelines. But here I am on the beach in February (haaay!) looking like a general dork, but enjoying my Gaga lipstick. Maybe I’m delusional, but I think it looks quite nice, actually (the crazy eyes I’m making on the other hand. . .:p)
A nice blue pink lipstick (like the Mac Gaga one I mention up thread or Snob by Mac would look amazing on the skin tone you’ve described, but I don’t see why you can’t wear corally colors of that’s what you’re into. I’ll be upfront that corals aren’t really my thing, just because they generally look bad on me, so I’ve got a little less experience in that area, that said!
Mac just came out with a line (like, yesterday) called Pret A Papier that seems right up your alley. If you scroll way down to the lips there, I’d say any of the lip glosses except the darkest of dark would look good on the tone you’ve described, as well as any of the lipsticks except the brownish one.
The only issue I see with coral lipsticks is that it can make teeth look way yellow than they are (whereas a blue toned lip will make them look whiter), so other than that, I say wear it if you love it!
Primer is a base, but you can “finish” it by putting that clear silica powder over it. That way the primer wont rub off throughout the day and you wont look oily. You don’t have to use a formal face powder powder over it, as that silica stuff will do the same deal.
Purple purple purple! Oh man, purple eye shadow would look lovely with the coloring you’ve described. Especially this times a million if you’ve got green or brown eyes You also can wear pinks, which look nice on red heads!
There is definitely a red for everyone, you just have to be willing to not half ass it ;). I think too many people want to try red, but are afraid, so they get some muted, watered down, sheer thing that looks awful. I say, grab a red, rock the red, and look amazing! Personally, I think Chanel’s Dragon is the single most amazing red I’ve ever seen. I mean, look at that!
Temptalia did an amazing month-long review of different red lipsticks at all different price points, so check out that link to see bunches of red!
Lush is AMAZING. I love that place. I always end up spending like $100 when I’m there. Dangerous!
Hrm, I’m a big fan of the Mac lipglasses and lipsticks- my favorite lipstick is Angel. If you like glittery, their Dazzleglasses are AMAZING glosses, but if you don’t like glittery, either the Lipglasses or Cremeshenes are all very nice glosses.
If you can go to an actual Mac store and not a counter, I really suggest Pigments. It’s just a jar of loose color, but you can use it for anything and a tiny bit goes a long long long way. You can mix the pigment into a clear polish to make a custom nail polish, you could mix it with vasoline to make a lip or cheek stain, you could use it as an eyeshadow, you could use it as an eyeliner, you can basically do anything ever with it. I have jars and jars and jars of it in every color imaginable (the Pro stores have many more colors than the regular stores) and while I’ve had the colors for years, you wouldn’t know it because there is only a tiny dent in my jar. Definitely worth picking one up!
So, let’s talk application order, because I’m all confuzzled. Is it foundation, then concealer, then blush and contouring and whatnot, finishing with powder? Or is it concealer, then foundation, then blush and whatnot, then powder. Or is it something else entirely? Where does the primer or eyeshadow keeper stuff come in?
Oooooh, those look really fun. I could definitely get into mixing custom nail polish colors. It looks like there’s an actual store not too far from me, so I may have to try this.
Everybody does it differently, so you’ll never get a definitive answer about what’s right, but here is what I do:
[ul]
[li]Moisturizer (which I let set up on my skin for a few minutes)[/li][li]Concealer[/li][li]Face powder all over (I use foundation and powder in one- if I were doing seperate, I’d do foundation then powder)[/li][li]Eye primer (which sets up for a few minutes)[/li][li]Cheeks (bronzer, blush, highlight is the order I do it)[/li][li]Eye shadow[/li][li]Eye liner[/li][li]Mascara[/li][/ul]
I do my mascara after all the powder is done because I don’t want it getting all dusty while it’s still wet.
If I were to use the HD Primer, I’d put it on before my concealer and let it sit for a second. If I was using that silica powder stuff, I’d use it after my cheeks, because it something that sets everything that’s on.
No kidding! It’s super fun to mix custom stuff and even though the pigments seem expensive, you get a crazy amount. Another option is that there are oodles of bloggers who will send you samples of various pigments for cheap and a sample is usually enough to last you a long while.
All right, missy - I bought the Celestial and paid $10 for ground shipping…so if it makes me break out all funny I am going to hunt you down and moisturize your eyeballs with it
Yeah, I didn’t have a lot of luck the the “match your eye color” stuff. I think the blue-eyed stuff was designed for the blonde model’s coloring, and I’m a brunette who happens to have blue eyes. I tended to do better with the sets for brown eyes. Blue shadow just washes my eyes right out.
Yeah, that’s my one beef with that stuff- it doesn’t make sense to wear green if you have green eyes, blue with blue eyes, etc. If you want your eyes to pop, you wear a contrasting color. My eyes look suuuuuper green if I wear purple shadow!
Well, to be fair, the green eyes does have a purple. The other two colors are green, though. It is pretty dumb. It’d make much more sense to have a nice sandy color, a mid tone purple and a deep contouring plum.
It’d also make sense for them to include more than one single-end applicator when there are THREE EYESHADOWS IN THE PAN! :mad: I use brushes 99% of the time, but if I want to just bring something in my purse for a quick touch up…
I’ve discovered I like the idea of Lush moreso than the actual product, at least lately. I tried some hand cream when I was in recently and found it not that moisturizing and that it left a weird sticky feeling. Their bar soap (well, the kinds I’ve tried) leave my skin dry as hell. I think I need to scour the online reviews and choose carefully if I keep going back.
If nothing else, just buy bath bombs and bath melts. I don’t even take that many baths, but that stuff rocks my socks. Also the Shower Bombs are bad ass- they melt while you’re taking a shower. Yum yum.
You are clearly a woman of superior taste. But seriously, thank you!
This was a revelation. I watched the video you linked to, and I’m saving the link to watch again. I had no idea, by the way, that one should (indeed, even could) use a brush with concealer. I’m saving a bunch of information from this thread and the other to refer back to.
I ordered the silica powder that you linked to, and I’m excited to try it out. I’m going to get my hands on some of the MUFE green tint primer and try that as well. Also ordered an angled brush to try out for eyeliner. (Again, I had no idea.)
I found a MAC blush and blush brush (129) that have been patiently waiting in the bottom of a bathroom drawer. Cool. Oh, and I discovered that the Cetaphil facial moisturizer I’m using does have SPF 15. Go me.
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions and make specific recommendations. You’re very generous to do so, and I appreciate it!
And yes, you can use a brush for concealer or foundation-- I personally don’t, because it takes me longer to blend it in, but you definitely can if you prefer it!
With the small angled brush, you’ll need a gel eyeliner to use with it. You can get the Mac Fluidline if you’d like, but I’d suggest something cheaper for a first shot. I know L’Oreal’s Mac knock off brand (called HIP- High Intensity Pigments) has a gel liner for about $10. I’m betting you can find it on sale or a coupon, too!
Oh but Coastal Scents where you got the silica also has their own house brand of gel liners that I’ve heard good things about!
I love me some gel liner, but you can also just use a dark eyeshadow on the angled brush to line your eyes, too. Whatever you prefer!
They have tons and tons of matte stuff, but you’ll need to go into a free standing Mac store (better yet a Pro store), not just a counter in a Macy’s or something.
But seriously, thank you!
