Makeup thread! Post your tips/recommendations

In My Humble Opinion
81

I wear only foundation, eyeliner, and mascara and highly recommend L’Oreal’s Cashmere “powdercreme” (the one on the left). It goes on like a powder but it is thicker and gives great coverage, a little goes a long way. It feels like nothing and it doesn’t accentuate any lines. Because it’s a powder too you don’t need to add that step.

If you have any issues with eyeliner smudging under your eyes (my mother and I both have this problem), put a good amount of loose powder over the eyeliner with a fingertip and brush the excess away with a blush brush. I personally have been using baby powder for years but I’m pale enough so it works for me.

And when I had pimples, a tip I taught myself was to use liquid concealer, dab it on just the zit, and let it dry a little, then tap the excess away with a finger (don’t try to blend or wipe). That was the greatest thing I learned in high school. Well, greatest makeup related thing.

82

For those who don’t want to spend a fortune on makeup, I have to recommend Maybelline’s Superstay foundation. I love it, and it really does stay on and look good all day.

For lips, my absolute favorite is l’Oreal’s Infallible Lip Color. It has the color you brush on first, and then the gloss you put over it after a minute or two. It will stay on ALL day. I found out about this awhile ago from reading tons of comments singing its praises on another board. By the way, the mulberry shade is a really nice neutral that everyone recommended.

83

Man, am I a really pale freakass? I went to Sephora and tested their lightest one (on the inside of my wrist, like I always do) and it was… really orangey. :frowning: Then again, I’m so pale I can literally use straight cornstarch as a face powder and not look paler*.

  • Don’t judge me, ok? I needed to cut down on my shiny moisturizer-face and had no makeup at the boy’s apartment!
84

That’s exactly what I was going to recommend. From my previous post, you can tell I’m not on the darker end of the foundation spectrum, but a bunch of my friends are and have said the exact same thing about “token black foundation shades”. Iman’s line seems to make sure they have different tones so you don’t look too ashy, too yellow, etc.

85

Okay, makeup mavens. I HATE the way the eyeliner always looks on me when the makeup ladies apply it. It never looks like anything but a crayon on my face, you know? It looks weird, it doesn’t make me look better IMHO. (Yes, I know I’m not used to it, but…?)

So, makeup people always say you NEED eyeliner. What’s the dream product that would give me a natural looking eye that still does whatever you people think I need eyeliner for?

86

I’d say that you want something that’s soft. First off, I’d say to stay away from dark liners; no black, dark brown, dark grey, navy, etc. Choose slightly lighter browns, maybe browny plums and whatnot.

And instead of using liquid or pencil, just use eyeshadow and a fine tipped brush. Something like this can be used both for your eyeliner and your brows, so it’d do double duty.

Since you want something that looks more subtle, don’t wet the brush. Just drag it across the eyeshadow and gently apply it to your lash line. Go as close as possible to the lashes and do more of a pushing-in action so the powder gets right up there instead of looking like a stripe on your eyelid. The end result is more of a subtle defining of your lashline instead of, “HEY GUYS, LOOK AT THIS EYELINER I’M WEARING!”

87

What Z said. I’ll also add that it is freaking hard to put eyeliner on other people- seriously. So, that’s probably why it ends up being extra thick when someone else does it.

You don’t even need to use EYELINER-- just use a dense, short bristled brush and some nice brown eye shadow. Dot it along your lash line, making sure to push the shadow into your lashes. Voila, liner!

For what it’s worth, I think people do need some sort of liner. Of course I’m little more into make up than most, but I just think it looks so awful when people have their eye makeup done up, but don’t use any type of liner. I’ve seen girls with like, crazy bright, blended colors but no liner- it just looks messy, whereas liner cleans it up a bit (to me at least).

88

What’s all this about needing eyeliner now? I’ve never used it in my life. Am I committing a make up crime?

89

Pssst - we might have, er, slightly different skin tones. Every makeup lady tries to put it on me and I cry foul, but maybe ladies of color are different. I am the opposite of a lady of color. I am a lady of no color. When I go to the beach with bare legs planes try to land.

90

Well that didn’t stop that Mac whore from telling me to buy eye-liner. I only call her a whore because she annoyed me, trying to sell me every product on the planet, but most forcefully eyeliner and some $30 brush. When I said I just wanted foundation, I meant I just wanted foundation. Plus, she probably is a whore.

91

If you’re not wearing heavy eye makeup otherwise- no, it’s not a crime. Though I would say, most folks could use some liner. Heck, even if I am doing my lazy day makeup, I make sure I put on mascara and liner (takes less than a minute), because there is a monumental difference there. That said, crime? Na.

But something like this or this or this or this just looks awful sans liner. That certainly isn’t everyday makeup, but my point is that if you’re all “done up” and leave off the liner, it looks messy. I regularly see girls on make up boards do this because they hate liner/ can’t do it.

Heavy eye looks that are even more “natural” (but still have a bunch of product) also benefit from liner, like this.

She’s a sales girl who makes commissions on selling stuff- of course she was trying to sell you stuff.

92

Ah, gotcha. I’m never really doing the done up look. Lazy, and all of that.

93

My skin color is in the same general range as yours, and I wear eyeliner. I don’t spend much on it (I don’t have to search far and wide to find a decent color), just Black (not “nearly black” or “brown black” or “deep brown.”) drugstore brands work for me.
It balances my face and makes my lips look not quite so huge - especially if I’m wearing lipstick.

94

No shame. I’m sure as shit not wearing any eyeliner right now- I slept an extra 30 minutes this morning instead of brushing my hair putting on mascara. Today is a good day, says me at my desk in my sweatshirt :stuck_out_tongue:

95

Speaking of eye makeup, how does one do the smoky eye thing anyhow? More to the point, how does one do that without looking awful.

Diosa, I notice in those pictures that there is product under the eyes as well—not the eyeliner, but flecks of sparkly stuff well under the eyes and on the side of the nose, etc. Can people pull that off without looking like they had the tremors when they were putting on their makeup?

96

Well, that girl in particular tends to do very, very heavy makeup looks (even she admits it’s just for the fun of it and it’s not like she’s picking up baby wipes at Target like that :p). So, implenting her stuff into real life is definitely doable, it just takes a little creativity.

I think what you’re seeing is that she tends to do a highlight on the inner corner of her high and she extends it down, beyond her tearduct. She does this a lot. I personally can’t do this unless I’ve got a shit ton of makeup and am in my “goin’ out” mode-- it just looks too much for the day to day. That said, most days I do put a lighter color on the inner corner of my eye (but I don’t extend it beyond and down like she does)-- this really helps brighten and open up eyes!

I suggest watching some good YouTube videos. The girl in the pictures I linked to goes by the handle The Queen of Blending. Again: she does HEAVY looks, but you can definitely pull some little tricks out of it. She’s also very sweet to watch. Oh, the main video up on her YT profile right now is a joke video, but you can see all the others :). This is a nice natural look she does.

Kandee is also good. lorene, that’s a link to her most recent smokey look video!

Another great YouTuber is Pertlitude- he does everything from costume makeup, to drag, to every day. Very good stuff.

MissChievous is also good- some costume stuff, but lots of good looks.

And Panacea81 has actually become a bit of a celeb in the UK for being a regular girl who made herself famous through these YouTube makeup tutorials.

Ok, phew! Lots of links. These are just some of my YouTube subscriptions that I learn all kinds of neat tips and tricks from. Very creative people who are also fun to listen to.

Finally, if you really want a smokey eye, no one does it better than Kim Kardashian. Hands down. She put up videos herself of her makeup artist doing he signature eye on Youtube.

97

Has anyone tried Latisse for longer lashes and brows? I heard it works for both.
It is by prescription only and it looks like the results would lead to using little or no mascara. I think it is expensive but once you get the length you want you cut way back on the amount.

Just wondering and great videos DiosaBellissima! I love UTube. There is so much great info on there.

98

I can’t say I’d take a medicine to make my lashes longer- particularly when they list a side effect as, “increased brown iris pigmentation”- yuck. I mean, the exception to that is I could definitely see its use for cancer patients or folks with other ailments that lead to hairloss.

If you really, really, really want longer lashes and you don’t want to wear mascara, you can get eye lash extensions. I think they range in price from $40-$100 (depending on the salon) and you have to get them touched up about every 6 weeks. That said, anyone I’ve seen wearing them- it looks great. I pull on my eyelashes too much during the day, so I’d never get them, but thee’s a none medical option!

If you’re having issues with bald spots on your brows (from over plucking, etc.)- just get some Rogaine and put it on your eyebrows every day. It’ll make them grow faster, I’ve heard.
And no problem! I love sharing the good word. I’m like a door to door religion salesman, except I’m peddling expensive makeup ideas :smiley:

99

I tried it for my lashes and it definitely was working, but then my doctor told me that it can (and does, from what I’ve read) cause people with light colored eyes to have their eyes turn brown permanently so I quit immediately.

I have green eyes and although I play with colored contacts from time to time, I don’t want thicker lashes enough to change my eyes to brown.

I have done this and they do look fantastic. I need to start that up again

100

Most days I use dark brown eyeshadow with a flat brush instead of eyeliner. I line my eyes with a pencil first, then I use the eyeshadow to soften the line. When I’m going out for the night I use liquid instead of pencil, but I still use the eyeshadow to blur the line so it’s not so hard.

I look sleepy with no eyeliner. I very rarely line the bottom of my eyes, though. Maybe if I were going clubbing.