One of the difficulties of starting out with makeup is the feeling that you look too made up. The way I’ve dealt with this is by going natural and subtle with my makeup, which is a look that’s versatile enough that I can wear it anywhere.
One suggestion I will make is clear mascara. Nearly all of what I’ve seen in stores is either black or “blackest brown” or the like, and when you have light hair those tend to give you the “two flies landed in the sugar bowl” look. Clear mascara will lengthen and emphasize your lashes nicely without making them too dark.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where to get clear mascara, as the bottle I have was given to me by a friend and doesn’t have any brand names on it. But if you can find some, snap it up.
You need two big poofy brushes. One for powder, and one for blush. When I was 14 or 15 my momma spoiled me rotten and bought me a set of brushes from Merle Norman. About 9 billion moves later, I still have my big poofy brush. It rocks and is easily the most used cosmetic item I own. Even if you decide to use a compact powder, I recommend using a brush to apply it rather than the pad it comes with. The pads just cake it on, looks terrible and feels worse. If portability is an issue, you should be able to find what is basically the big poofy brush but it is in a tube like a lipstick. Twist and voila! Big Poofy Brush!
I have to disagree with Podkayne there. Do NOT put eyeliner on the rim of your eyelid. It’s a fantastic way to give yourself an eye infection if your eyeliner or your fingertips are carrying any germs. Plus, if you have sensitive eyes and get any of the eyeliner in them, you’re in for a world of misery.
Oh and for mascara, a trick I learned from my mom was to leave your open your mouth when you apply it. It seems to relax the muscles around your eyes. You may just need practice keeping your eye shut without squinting when prodding around up there. That’s never been a problem for me but a lot of ladies grapple with it.
And after spending my teenage years as a deathrocker, I am so totally burnt out on eyeliner that I never wear it anymore. I don’t even think I own any, and no one has ever called me on it. I tend to think it looks overdone in most situations unless the wearer is particularly talented at applying it, IMHO.
Cover Girl makes a clear mascara called, IIRC, Natural Lash. I second The Sausage Creature’s recommendation of keeping your mouth open when you apply mascara. It’s the only thing that works for me. I am very fair-skinned, with brown hair and light eyelashes, and brown mascara, if you can find it, looks much better on a fair blonde or light-haired brunette than black. At present I use New York Color Lengthening Mascara in Brownish Black. I really only use mascara because my eyelashes are long and fairly thick, but pale for about half their length, so it looks like I hardly have eyelashes at all, unless I put mascara on.
Trish McEvoy has the most fabulous brushes. They are sold at high end department stores - and worth the money, imo. She has a small, wonderful angled brush that is terrific for applying a subtle amount of eye-liner.
I only apply foundation. I have pale/rosy skin, so I use it to take my ruddiness down a few notches, but that’s it. My eyes are pretty big and I have long lashes, so I don’t do anything to my eyes. Plus, half of the time I’m wearing glasses, so I don’t see the point.
I use to wear mascara, and I suggest staying away from anything water-proof…which made my lashes fall out in clumps and my eyes burn. That could just be my own personal allergy, though.
When it comes to foundation - I’d go with liquids, or a liquid/powder combo - I use the latter (Cover Girl) and I like it a lot.
I have extremely dry skin, and I’ve all but given up on foundation. It’s so frustrating. No matter how much I moisturize (with all kinds of moisturizers; believe me, I’ve tried), the instant I put on any foundation, it’s flake-city, baby. I don’t understand it and it’s really frustrating.
I’m on the fence on how makeup should look. In professional settings, I definitely agree to go neutral-neutral-neutral (the “you’re wearing makeup?” look). But when I’m with my boyfriend or hanging out or going places, I think makeup is fun and anything goes! Along with my beiges and taupes are lime green, bright pink, lavender with a bright blue sheen, etc.
Any tips for foundation? What about what to do when you have small and extremely deep-set eyes? I’m serious when I say deep-set. I can’t even fit an eyelash curler in there, it bumps into my face!
All any woman needs to look pretty is a some mascara, lipstick, blush (maybe some bronzer as well), some translucent loose powder and concealer (or liquid foundation dabbed on imperfections if you prefer).
Putting makeup on skin that hasn’t been prepped first with concealer and moisturizer is like trying to paint on a blotchy canvas. Make your complexion look as flawless as possible - then go to work.
Clinique makes an truly wonderful concealer called “Advanced Concealer”, which actually works on dark circles and those unfortunate incidents of late night skin picking. (Oh yes, I’ve been there)
I start with the concealer on moisturized skin. Brush on a little loose powder. Then I brush on some bronzer where the sun would naturally hit my face (if I had any melanin!). Then some blush - Where you apply the blush depends on what shape face you have. I also just brush some bronzer and blush lightly under my brown bone for eye shadow. Looks very natural.
As for mascara, be as messy as you want. Then dip a Q Tip in non-oily eye makeup remover and erase your mistakes. Voila!
When I was in college I worked for Prescriptives and Chanel. Prescriptives is great because they can show you what colors look right for your particular skin tone. Even if you don’t buy anything they will at least give you some idea of what color family you should be going for…Chanel is expensive, but they have the best makeup brushes in my opionion. Good brushes are a must! Don’t be intimidated by the makeup ladies. Granted, some are sharks, but some are actually nice and willing to help you (I was a nice makeup lady ). A good tip is to look around the makeup department and see if there is anyone wearing makeup you admire…Then go to them for help!
Alrighty, I’ll shut up now…Good luck DaphneBlack ! Let us know how you do
Personally, if you have a smooth even skin tone (mostly) and tend to break out with foundation, I think I would skip it, and just go the concealer/loose powder route.
You’ll be able to minimize any blemishes/eye bags with the concealer, and absorb extra oil and give yourself a polished look with the powder. You’ll also save a boat load of $$.
If you’re married to the idea of a liquid foundation, buy the most expensive one you can afford. Other stuff you can cheap out on, but foundation you should spend bucks.
Regarding eyeshadow - generally don’t match your eye-shadow to your eye color or your outfit. The first will actually take away from your eye color (as opposed to enhancing it) and the latter looks a bit too matchy-poo. For summer, I recommend a bronzey sort of color for most skin types - bronzes come in ranges from pure copper to a pinky sort of shade - something along those lines looks polished, is easy to do even if you have no idea what you’re doing, and takes about 15 seconds to apply. Add a dab of mascara and some lip gloss and you’ve got a nice polished day look.
Shop around - you should be able to find a cosmetician to help you choose colors. And a word of advice - always get help, either from a friend, a family member or a professional when choosing your foundation color - it’s almost impossible to get the right color for yourself.
(I can’t, and I’m a cosmetician, fer heavens sake.)
Anyhow - I know my input often isn’t appreciated in threads like this, so I’ll bow out now. Carry on.
Almay just put out a line of eye shadow that makes your eye color stand out. They’ve got a color scheme for brown, hazel, blue, and green eyes. Yay, no more guesswork as to what you should wear!
So go to Wal-Mart, get yourself the eye shadow for blue eyes. There’s directions on the back of the package that are pretty self-explanatory. You can also check out a handy-dandy tutorial here.
Yes, it sounds weird that they’re telling you that blue eyed girls need brown as the main color on their eyes, and the colors they’ve chosen don’t look as if they’d complement each other. It’ll look good, though. And if you end up really liking it, they’ve also got matching eyeliner and mascara.
Go ahead and buy yourself some decent eye shadow applicators, though. The one Almay has sucks. It’s tiny and only has 2 sides when you need 3.
I’m fair skinned AND ruddy, and it really looks good on me. It doesn’t make me look like i have makeup on, it doesn’t give me zits, it doesn’t rub off, and it evens out my face like nobody’s business.
Oh, and I chose it because it’s hypoallergenic. I figured out after a long while that makeup makes my eyes water so I started looking exclusively for hypoallergenic.
Anything more than that, i’m clueless. My eye shadow is dull and my lipstick is duller
A good mascara is always just fine on its own. Eyeliner is a tricky business; I’d tackle eyeshadow first and play with it/see if you like it before delving into eyeliner. The only real “rule” I’d abide by is that wearing eyeshadow or eyeliner without mascara would look a bit odd, and kind of defeat the purpose of emphasizing your eyes.
As for the color…I love really dark black mascara. Always have. But some people prefer the more understated dark brown shades, and that’s fine too. It’s just a matter of what you like. I bartend, so I generally wear heavier “work” makeup than most people would (because it’s night-time and because I’m selling myself as much as I’m selling booze so I go all out) but again it’s just a matter of the look you’re going for.
Oh, and I agree that black eyeliner, particularly on a very fair person, generally looks cheesy and overdone. You can get away with the very darkest brown they make, but black just doesn’t ever look quite right. Black mascara, yes. Black eyeliner, no.
Thanks again everyone! I think I am going to have to print out this thread, read it again, and make a list!
One thing that I probably should have mentioned at some point… I’m in the UK. I see some of the familiar brands, but a lot of it is different. If any BritDopers have UK-specific advice, that would be super-duper cool.
I think concealer/loose powder is the way to go for me now.
When I went to my high school prom, I had my makeup done professionally. It scares me that I look at the photos and see a completely different person looking back! Yes, that was an elaborate special occasion and everything, but… it’s amazing what makeup can do.
I guess everybody’s eyelids are different, but I’m talking about above my upper lashes, where it’s pretty far away from the mucous membranes and such. I can’t really apply eyeliner without getting it on the “rims” of my eyelid, and one day I accidentally discovered the trick of putting it only on the rim, and I thought, “A-HA! That looks awesome. That must be how you’re supposed to do it.”
But, I am not a makeup expert, so I may be full of bologna, and of course YEMV: your eyelids may vary.
Have fun experimenting, Daphne! Remember, use your judgment. Your face is unique. That goes for your skin type, the shape of your eyes, your coloring, etc. What works for everyone else might not work so well on you. Don’t beat yourself up over “doing it wrong.” Just try different things until you find out what looks fabulous on you.
For putting on stuff around your eyes, I’ve found that it helps to either hold the mirror low or tilt your head up, depending on the mirror. It’s easier to close your eyes without squinting that way. I’ve never put on my own mascara, but I find this really helps for eyeshadow to make sure you don’t screw up.
The question: I cannot put on my own blush. I’ve been reading the tips here, but with the shape of my face it’s really, really hard to get the stuff on right. I’ve tried putting it on the apples of my cheeks in the past, but I’ve discovered that I don’t really have any. Any advice on how to get it to look right, or should I just give up?
Hope you figure it out, Daphne. I missed the experimental high school stage too, so I’m just starting to figure it out now. Don’t forget the before-and-after shots
When I was starting out, I tried several department store free “makeovers” before deciding what looked good and more importantly, what NOT to do! Even though the clerks are hawking their line of products, you can narrow your search at no cost to you.
). A good tip is to look around the makeup department and see if there is anyone wearing makeup you admire…Then go to them for help!