Gah! I had these long replies typed out and Chrome crashed!
First: I’m so glad that the primer helped your face not be tortured by that Ben Nye makeup! It’s a little pricey, but it sounds like it’s great for you on stage and off!
Also, double awesome on the compliments. I know I’m always surprised by how differently folks seem to treat me if I spend 2 minutes on mascara and lipgloss. Confirmation bias? Perhaps. But I’ll take it!
I’m sure you look great, by the way!
I was wondering where you were!
As to powder, it depends what you want it to do.
[ul]
[li]Shine Control: If all you want is to not look as shiny, definitely check out the silica powder mentioned in this thread. It’s clear and will soak up your oils without looking cakey or gross. Of course, it offers no “coverage” in the traditional sense, just shine control. [/li][li]Light Coverage (evening minor discoloration): Something like this from Mac (though oodles of drugstores sell something similar). This will offer just a hint of tint and control shine, but wont offer much in the way of coverage. [/li][li]Medium Coveage: This is what I use and it generally isn’t offered in loose powders. Specifically, I use Studio Fix by Mac. This offers more uniform coverage with more tint, but still allows my freckles to show through. [/li][/ul]
As to brushes for a loose powder, just use something big, domed, and fluffy. I really think anybody who isn’t super into makeup should just get their brushes at a Michael’s type craft store (hell, I’m super into makeup and even I do this). The brushes are literally the exact same as their $40 Mac counterparts, they just have longer handles and are $10. AND, about once a week, Michael’s puts out a 40% off your highest priced item coupon.
I just checked and I am currently using a 129 brush by Mac- I like it because it is fluffy enough for my powders, but not so fluffy I lose coverage. It’s also small enough that I can still do contouring with it. Another brush that would be good would be one like The Mac 150. There are always Kabuki brushes, which I think are extra popular right now due to Bare Minerals, but I honestly am not big on these for general powder; I think they do a nice effect for a dark bronzer, though. I think I already posted this, but this video does a good job comparing Mac Brushes to their Michael’s counterparts.
Lipstick. What colors are best if you, say, want to look younger, want your teeth to look whiter? Is glossy good or would matte be better? Whats the longest lasting brand?
I’m vicariously reading this thread and fascinated! Thanks for starting it. I’m another who feels like I lack the “how to put on makeup” gene. I hate the feel of liquid foundation, but like the coverage, so I recently got some Bare Minerals and have been wearing it from time to time. I’m 34, and starting to get fine lines, and I feel like when I first put it on, it accentuates the lines… but it seems to settle in and make my skin look pretty great.
I cannot line my top lid. I don’t know why, it always looks horrid. I do a very subtle lining on my bottom lid, from just under my pupil to the outer corner. I whisk on some mascara (very very very thin coat, I hate clumps!) and put on lipstick and that’s it. I don’t like blush–I’m incredibly pale and it works for me. I’ve never seen someone with my coloring wear blush without it looking like they were wearing blush, so I skip it.
Also, holy crap, someone recommended a longwearing lipstick, and I picked it up–L’Oreal Infallible in mulberry. Let me tell you. Do not attempt this at home unless you have an oil based remover! I put it on one morning and it lasted till the next day when I attacked it with vaseline because I had nothing else to get it off with. Crazy staying power.
Okay, Michaels, I can do that easily. Just in case anyone is wondering, the link again is here for oily skin powder Coastal Scents Silica Powder. I’ve got a fairly oily face (exacerbated by going from a/c office to car like 4 times/day) - oddly enough, with my acne regimen as is, I still get the shine, just not the zits. Really strange.
Do you have any videos or tips on doing powder? I honestly feel like such a klutz with it, it’s the only bit of makeup that I don’t have a clue to what I’m doing. How stiff/what should an eyeshadow brush look like (for the silica, should I ever do eyeshadow)?
Awesome thread, by the way. I’m so happy you did it! Now I have to go and do my vitiligo one
(just jumping in to say I inherited a brand new box of Coty Airspun loose powder in Translucent. I pricked several holes in the cellophane with a pin. I shake it, with the lid on, of course, and I have a big fluffy brush that I very lightly dust my face with, after applying foundation. It’s got a real old-lady-perfume smell, but I just love it! Carry on.)
I know that for me, personally, I can’t pull of red. It ages me SO BADLY. I always do nudes or pinks or nudey pinks, as it adds a fleshy, youthful tone to lips.
Also, the general rule of thumb is that glossy = youthful and matte= slightly older. Mac has a nice range that are called “Amplified”= they aren’t quite glossy, aren’t quite matte, but generally a great texture. NYX is a drugstore brand (not to be confused with NYC) that also has great lipsticks.
As to long lasting, there are lipsticks formulated specifically for that. Like I said earlier in the thread, I don’t use them, but my friends do like them. There are drugstore brands that specialize in this, but I’ve converted all of my friends to Mac’s Pro Longwear.
If you’re not into the gel liner that I’ve mentioned a few times in this thread, try getting a super sharp eye pencil and doing tiny dots between your eyelashes on the top. Lots and lots of dots. That’ll give you a nice, easy line without being harsh or uneven.
Generally, you want to do little brush swirls up up up, since every little bit lifting our faces helps :). Like, I swirl from my cheek, out and up to my temple; up and out from the middle of my forehead, etc.. Just loosely dust the powder all over with light, flippy swirls. Trust me, you can’t screw it up- I promise.
You shouldn’t be using an eyeshadow brush for the silica-- you’d use a big fluffy face brush for that. You want a soft fluffy brush- the softer the better so it doesn’t scratch up your face.
For eyeshadow, I use three different brushes. Mac 249 for applying super concentrated shadow-- usually bright colors or metallics right on the lid. A Mac 217 for applying shadow more softly- usually in the crease (blending, too). Then a Mac 224 for very loosely applying shadow (usually this is for either blending or applying a highlight under the brows). If I were telling you what to buy, I’d say buy something like the first two brushes I listed. You’ll be able to use them FOR EVERYTHING.
How about eyeshadow colours? I have these strange grey eyes with a greenish cast that turn blue in sunlight. I usually put nude on the upper eyelid and accentuate with dark brown, and it’s dull. I’d like a bit more than that, but am not at all confident.
My skin is extremely dry and very pale with golden overtones. If I use a really pale foundation I look like I’m wearing a kabuki mask, and if I try to match the golden tone I look like I’m wearing a worse sort of mask. I’ve been thinking I ought to really use tinted moisturiser, but what shade?
Plus, for powder, it just picks up the dry bits of my skin and sticks to it and looks really horrid. Just yuck.
A few pics of me - I am about three years older than that now, with no highlights, but I still look the same. I’m wearing makeup in two of them.
Two tips I have for preventing my mascara from clumping:
Pull the wand from the tube and gently kinda of scrape most of the product off the brush back onto the lip of the tube. If you do it on a tissue, whatev, you’re wasting perfectly good mascara on a tissue. Put it back in the tube!
After I’ve used my medieval torture device, ahem, eyelash curler, I run my finger gently over my lashes to break apart any that have stuck together from the curler. Apply mascara et voila!
Also, I wear contacts and loooooove Rimmel mascara.
Makeup is not vapid and useless IMO. The history and modern application is pretty interesting, and it’s fun and useful in various ways.
That said, I recently bought some, but am just figuring out how to wear it properly, and am too lazy to do so regularly. So this thread was very helpful, thanks to the OP and everyone.
Okay, question for you all: I have very deep-set eyes with a relatively heavy brow ridge and low-set/light/straight eyebrows. Just like Lara Stone. I have always had, and continue to have, a difficult time finding a way to apply eye makeup that does not make me look like a skull (two dark pits for eyes). At this point, I don’t wear anything dark around my eyes ever or apply mascara; but I feel like being made-up everywhere else with just light stuff (under-eye concealer, light shadow on my lids, light pink pencil in the corners) around my eyes looks a bit funny. What they heck can I do? Is it okay just to not use mascara or liner?
I think it’s partly a) that I never wear eyeliner on my top lid so I think it looks redonkulus on me since it’s different and b) I have really shaky hands when it comes to up-close stuff like this.
I’ve tried liquid eyeliner (haven’t tried the gel, will have to give it a try) and the outcome was DISASTROUS. All over the place, uneven thickness, and so on. I tried one that was a marker-style and another that was a pot and brush, both just drugstore brands. When I use an ordinary pencil, I can’t get it to glide, it just pulls and skips and looks awful.
makes note to check for gel liner
Strangely angled pic (my face looks weirdly distorted!) I took a while back when I was wearing lipstick to demonstrate why I don’t wear lipstick, cuz it makes my lips feel like wax. You can get an idea of how pale I am here. I’m wearing Bare Minerals powder, some eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick I applied with a brush. I’d had a bad allergic reaction to cold cream that gave me a rash, and the mineral powder totally concealed it without looking like it was coverup, so I loved it.
Liquid liner is hell to use unless you really know what you’re doing - and it will look odd if you’re not used to wearing it, since it’s a bolder look than a pencil.
I love the gel liners - the go on smoother than a pencil, but are much more easily controlled than the liquids. I got the ones I have now from Coastal Scents (finally tried this place, thanks Diosa!). They have tons of colors.
A note on some of the gel liners at Coastal Scents - the sell some really bright ones, which make very cool eyeshadows, and they actually have staying power on their own. You can make them more sheer, or layer to make a brighter color.
Yeah. I think I just have crappy pencils, everything I’ve tried has been drugstore brand stuff. But when I pull it taut like that it makes like, bumps in the skin and so the pencil doesn’t glide well then either.
To eyeshadow colors: do what you like! Seriously. I wear every color of the rainbow, even the ones that “rules” say look bad with my skintone. The fact is, applied properly, ANY color can look amazing. The best way to experiment with bright colors is do to a nice neutral across the entire lid, then dot just the center of the lid (the center third from the lashes to the crease) with that bright color. Blend the edges with teeny little swirly motions (and ALWAYS blend the light colors into the dark, not dark into the light). This should create a nice, faded effect with a pop. Traditionally, blue eyes are “supposed” to wear browns. I say, wear whatever it is you enjoy. I think a nice, rich, deep green color could look really neat on you, but if you want to be more “natural” (ie: acceptable heh), you could definitely do blues, pinks, or purples.
The trick for foundation is just to get matched. I say, go into a Sephora type store and have the person match you. Ask for a sample of that. Then, get samples of one or two shades over and under that shade the employee picked. I’ve noticed for me, they ALWAYS pick something too light- ALWAYS. So, when trying new foundation, I NEVER buy it without taking a few samples home to try. You might even have to mix two shades together- that’s what I do for about 80% of the year (except when I’m my absolutely darkest or absolute whitest).
Tinted moisturizer could work, but just remember that it will even tone, not cover things that need correcting. You can even make your own tinted moisturizer-- get together the two foundations you have- take a little pearl of one, a little pearl of another and a shit ton of moisturizer. Swirl swirl swirl. This will be much more forgiving than the foundations straight.
I’d advise against this. Mascara is cheap. Seriously. Ok, it’s cheap if you wait until its on sale to buy it. Either way, it’s supposed to be replaced every three months anyway. What I do is: I pull out the wand and wipe it down on a makeup wipe, taking off all the gunked up stuff stuck in the bristles. Then, I stick the brush back in and apply like normal. You’re not wasting that much product by wiping it down-- by “putting it back,” you’re taking dried or drying product (mascara dries FAST) and putting it in the liquid. This will cause more clumping than not!
I tried one Rimmel mascara I wasn’t a fan of, though I don’t remember which one. I looooooove their liners, though!
I think a few pages back I addressed this with one or two posters with deep set eyes. The gist is to do lighter colors on the inner two thirds of your eye, then accentuate your “outer v” of your eye. This will give you a bit more of shape to your eye and open up the lid. I think I linked to this video before, but she does a decent job of explaining how to find and define that outer V.
I’d say you could definitely do liner, just me sure to make it thin. Mascara, too! Just make sure you do a little more emphasis on the outer lashes (put an extra coat there), as this will also open up your eyes.
Dude (ette), even I don’t do liquid liner. I dont know many “makeup gurus” who will even touch liquid liner. This should tell you something. DEFINITELY give gel with a little brush a try- it’s totally idiot proof (I’ve put it on half asleep, more than half drunk… you get the idea:D).
And I don’t think your lips look bad at all! Quite the contrary, in fact. I see a lot of women wearing that shade of lipstick you’re wearing there (or something like it)- in fact, a few of my friends do. Personally- and I mean this in the nicest way possible-- it just seems like such an. . . old lady color to me. I mean, even my 24 year old friends, it just instantly ages them. More so than any true red (which can be vampy), that weird, plummy red just is super aging to me. I think you’d look GORGEOUS in a nice, neutral pinky color. Something with a little sheen to it, but not crazy glossy. Basically, anything like the colors here. Give it a try- you might dig it!
This! And I’m glad you’re digging the gel. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard that the crazy cheap drugstore brand, Wet and Wild, has a great gel liner. I haven’t tried it myself, but there’s an option! And as you say, you definitely use the liner as base for your shadow-- I use the Mac Blacktrax gel liner as a base for my smokey eye looks.
Hey, I own some expensive Mac pencils and I never, ever use them. I hate them. Never again will I buy a Mac eye pencil. My FAVORITE black eye pencil is from Rimmel. It’s like, $2. Love it.
I don’t use much, but one of my favorite products is Chacott Finishing Powder, which is made by a Japanese dance wear company and originally developed for ballet dancers to control sweat and oily skin. Minuscule coverage. It’s pretty popular with Japanese women, and some of my Taiwanese girl friends use it, too. Men could stand to use something like this… to prevent their faces from looking like oil slicks on humid days.
I think when most men think of women wearing makeup, they get images of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and expect it to be obvious and/or clownish. Well-applied makeup can do wonders for a person, all while looking perfectly natural. I’ve had a friend who told me how several guys were talking about women and makeup. The conversation went something like this:
“Natural” women look the best.
Yeah, look at lshaw, X, Y, Z… (X, Y, and Z being people who routinely wear makeup… HAH! If only they knew :D…)
Have you tried using eye shadow as eyeliner? I use a dark brown eyeshadow, apply it wet with a smudge brush, and tightline - that is, applying from under the lash line and smudging into the lash line. Technique-wise, you don’t have to be precise at all. The result is really natural.
I’m relieved I don’t have to worry about dark, or red, lipstick any more if I want to look young young young. I’m very pale and was wearing a raisin burgundy/brown color for years, but not lately. Last time I put it on, I thought maybe it did age me, after all… Why is it I’ve never been able to wear red lipstick without looking like I was playing with mommy’s makeup? Christina Applegate on Married With Children could wear red lipstick and look fabulous. My hair was the same as hers some years ago. Red lipstick on me was laughable. (maybe if you’re pretty enough it doesn’t matter what colors you paint your face with…)
I have a question - if you have to wear eyeglasses, is it worthwhile to go full out on eye makeup, or does it not matter much because people don’t see your eyes well anyway? I wear eyeliner and a pale violet or a pale peach eyeshadow for everyday but usually skip mascara.
You know, I think part of why raisin colored lipstick (great description by the way!) is aging- to me, at least- is that it just isn’t trendy at the moment. It hasn’t been for a few moments, either. Super bright red (think like Gwen Stefani or Christina Aguilera wear) can look very chic, but it’s insanely had to pull off for the average girl-- you really do have to have a certain look to rock it well. Neutrals and pinks, though? Very much en vogue at the moment and I just think generally more flattering. I know for me, red and raisin lipsticks tend to make my skin look more sallow and accentuate all my little spots. Also, it makes my teeth look yellower than most pinks. Go figure.
As far as shadow under glasses- like everything I’ve said thus far, it’s up to you! Sometimes I wear my glasses (I need them, but I don’t have to wear them all the time, if that makes sense) to cover up the fact that I’m not wearing makeup; hell, I’m doing that right now :). But I have certainly done great looks under my glasses, too. I thought this was a cute video showing a neat look you can do under glasses. Just like most things- you absolutely don’t have to do it exactly like her, but you can pick the technique that best suites you.
I generally try to throw some liner and mascara behind my glasses just because it makes my eyes look a little less sunken in under the glasses.
