Kyla, if you try out makeup in a department store, take a look around at the sales people first, and pick one whose makeup you find attractive. In other words, if you are looking to achieve a “natural, yet better” look, don’t ask for help from the Tammy Faye lookalike.
If you go during a slower part of the day (midweek, not lunchtime) and explain honestly what you want (just the basics, nothing extra) you might find someone who will help you out. After all, a small sale is better than nothing, yes? And I like the “I have to make sure my skin doesn’t react” excuse if the salesperson tries to get pushy. I’ll have to remember that one.
AMEN, hon. Most expensive item I own is my Clinique toner. (Which I have to buy, since they closed down Cosmetic Center and I can’t buy the generic anymore…)
After that, it’s Revlon all the way, baby!!! ANd I’ll third the makeover idea, Kyla…try a Prescriptives counter if you like how the person looks. I had a makeover from them, and they were NOT pushy at all. Even suggested buying drugstore items for some things themselves.
One wants to use foundation, concealer, blush, eye color and lip color that are all complimentary shades. One could accomplish this by getting different products at different times from different manufacturers, but this would take time, trial and error, extra $$, a lot of individual products that don’t work with anything, and some unfortunate results if one wore a blush that was too bright for the foundation, or like that. Much easier to get it all at one counter, where one can try applying it oneself and get what looks best.
Okay, so it doesn’t have to be Lancome, but that’s what I have, and what I’m used to.
Kyla, the easiest thing I can think of for a bridal makeover is to pay for one. There are some places that charge around $35, like the full salons, etc. If you normally don’t wear makeup and only need it for a special occasion, this is one of the best ways I can think of to keep them off your wallet. You are already paying for the service, and you don’t plan on regularly using the product. Hope that helps!
The most important things to buy “together,” IMO, are blush and foundation. Both of mine are Colorstay by Revlon. After that…NOT as important. I have Cover Girl and Almay eyeliner; CoverGirl, GardenBotanika, Revlon, Maybelline and Almay eyeshadow; CoverGirl powder, CoverGirl and L’Oreal mascara, and lipstick from damn near everywhere.
Your supposed to buy your blush and foundation and other makeup from the same company? I never have myself… I have Cover Girl foundation, Bonne Bell bronze powder as blush (I feel it looks nicer then the regular pinks and such of blush…) eyeshaow from Maybelline, Marcelle and Body Shop… for the most part I don’t have any two bits of makeup from the same company.
Another good idea for makeup is go to the Body Shop or another store that sells only makeup you can get a makeover and then they will (or should) write down what colours they used on you etc… then you can go to the drug store and see if they have the same shade (which they usually do)
And $20 for lipstick?!? I’ve never paid more then 10 dollars (including tax… this is Canada) for any of the makeup in my kit and that was my foundation and eyeshadow…
This thread has convinced me that I’ve done the right thing by not wearing makeup (as if I needed any convincing). Waaaaaay too complicated… brands, pricing, getting them colors to match. Sheesh!
Only reason MY blush and foundation are from the same company is because Colorstay is the only kind that won’t slide off my face in an hour. Normally, I go with what colors I like, and don’t care about brand.
ANd I hear you on the price…most expensive thing I own for makeup was $10.75 - my foundation.
Kyla, my advice is to go for it! Makeovers are fun and what other time in our life do we pamper ourselves without feeling guilty? BUT have a budget before you sit down and stick to it. $50 is a reasonable figure.
Splurge on things like foundation - You HAVE to wear a color that matches your skin. Before you go in, though, make sure you are tanned (or not) as you anticipate you’ll be for the wedding. Mary Kay offers a lot of shades, much more than say Clinique, and their price is reasonable (comparable to L’oreal).
Things NOT to splurge on: lip liners, eyebrow pencils, mascara, etc. You can buy a dozen cheap lip liners that offer the same results as one Chanel lip liner. Don’t waste your money on a pretty package and an “image.” Also skip the skin products, which you can duplicate for a fraction of the cost.
BTW, at Christmas time most of the expensive makeup lines offer really nice collections. I love Estee Lauder’s. You get a whole slew of blushes, lipsticks, lip liners, eyebrow pencils and eyeshadows for about $40 with purchase of a perfume. I usually buy the $25 “little gems” collection of perfume, which is a sample size of nice perfumes (e.g. Beautiful, White Shoulders) and make great shower gifts.
cher3, most drug stores have this “Physicians Formula” brand (or something like that). One of the products is a subtly greenish-face powder that camoflauges redness. Can’t vouch for it’s success, but I tried one of their other products (the one that makes you sort of glowy) and it was fine. Experiment!
I’ve recently stopped wearing makeup, and my skin looks and feels better for it.
Yah I understand that Falcon… I can remember once I was coming home from school and it was snowing huge wet flakes and I got soaked and my makeup was pretty much melting from my face… (I use different make up now)
And yah I’m surprised this hasn’t turned over to MPSIMS… maybe we should toss a few swears in at the companies who test on animals and charge us outrageous prices for lipstick?
Athena, I’m with you! I was just thinking it would be nice to look spiffy at my friend’s wedding, but now I wonder if it’s worth the trouble. This is a very complicated thing.
Then get a makeover at a makeup counter the day of the wedding, and forget about it for everything else!
I wear makeup because I like the way I look in it. Plus, I have massive acne scars, so I need to cover them up. As for it being complicated…I can now do my makeup for work in 5 minutes. Makeup for going out takes about 7 minutes. It’s complicated whn you start, but now that I know what colors I like, it’s a LOT easier.
I might, except the wedding is in Cleveland, where I have never gone before, and I don’t want to be wandering around a strange place when I have time constraints.
I might just start another thread in MPSIMS asking for advice on good drugstore brands and stuff. It might be nice to have some makeup, so I don’t have to think about this next time this sort of thing comes up.
