# Where would a complete makeup idiot go to learn how to use it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-would-a-complete-makeup-idiot-go-to-learn-how-to-use-it/835804>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 20, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-would-a-complete-makeup-idiot-go-to-learn-how-to-use-it/835804 "2019-06-20T14:09:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-would-a-complete-makeup-idiot-go-to-learn-how-to-use-it/835804/21 "2019-06-24T15:38:35Z")

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**Infovore** , do you know anyone who has the sort of look you’re aiming for? I have simply asked friends things like “How did you get your lips so well-defined?”, “How do you make your eyebrows look so well-defined without being overdone?”, “What foundation are you wearing?”, etc. Pretty sure that’s less intimidating than walking into a department store, and if you want someone to actually show you, you can always ask them “Can you show me how to contour my face?” or something.

Personally, I learned a lot about makeup from books. (I know you said you want to learn from hands-on experience, but I’m just saying this in case someone else has the same question and is reading this.) I bought books that had a lot of pictures of different looks achieved with makeup – Kevyn Aucoin, Ray Morris, and Robert Jones are three makeup artists that have some books out like this. This was helpful because I got to see how different products achieved a different look. I saw how liquid blush looked different from powder blush, or how liquid eyeliner looked different from pencil liner. How dark eyeshadow just in the crease of the eyelid gave a different look from dark eyeshadow over the whole eyelid, how dark eyes paired with dark lips set a different mood from dark eyes with light lips, which colors paired well with which skin tones. It’s not the best way to learn techniques, but it’s a fabulous way to understand how to use different colors and textures to create different looks.

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