Tips for buying make-up

meoklmrk91

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone had any tips for buying make up. Since I rarely wear it I usually just rob my friends but I figure it's about time that I went and bought some of my own.

Picking colours for concealer and foundation are the main things, I have very pale skin so I don't want to go too dark and end up looking orange. How do I gauge the colours.

Liquid or pan stick concealer?
Brush, sponge or hands?
Any particular brands?

Missy Moo Moo

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone had any tips for buying make up. Since I rarely wear it I usually just rob my friends but I figure it's about time that I went and bought some of my own.

Picking colours for concealer and foundation are the main things, I have very pale skin so I don't want to go too dark and end up looking orange. How do I gauge the colours.

Liquid or pan stick concealer?
Brush, sponge or hands?
Any particular brands?

Hi,

Liquid or pan stick concealer?

Depends on where you want to conceal- If its for under eye shadows, go with brush on liquids. If its for blemishes/ spots, go for sticks. Most undereye concealers are light reflecting, which would be useless on spots and stick ones would be too heavy and draggy for under eyes.

Concealer colours for undereye should be one shade lighter than your skin tone. To make it easy, maybe get one like Clarins which has shades 1,2 and 3 and just go for the lightest. MAC have a fantastic colour range.

In terms of foundation colours, this is down to trial and error- The best match "disappears"into your skin tone. Foundation is not there to darken your skin tone, thats what bronzer can be used for. Go make up shopping when you're completely bare faced and wear it for a few hours outside of harsh department store lights. Most places will give you a sample.

Brush, sponge or hands?

I wouldn't bother with sponges as the foundation just gets absorbed into the sponge. Waste. Personally I prefer fingers, as I think the heat of your fingers helps spread the foundation a bit easier. I can't comment on brushes as even though I own foundation brushes, I've never bothered to use them. I've heard they work great though but I just couldn't see myself wanting to add another brush to clean when fingers work well!

Any particular brands?

Personally I like Estee Lauder, Chanel, Bobbi Brown and Lancome. Buy in accordance with your skin type. It might seem obvious but don't buy a moisturising foundation if your skin is super oily. I made the mistake a few years ago of buying a mattifying Chanel foundation, thinking it would save me having to apply powder. Applying this to my dry skin reminded me of nails screeching on a blackboard.

Hope this helps!

Missy Moo Moo

Hi OP,

One more thing- I realise most of the brands I've suggested are expensive- Sometimes I use Bourjois foundations too. They're a sister brand of Chanel

OakeyDokey

If you're in doubt then ask! I've often went to the counter in chemists like Boots and asked them about foundation and few times the beauty specialists that cover counters like Lancome would help me out on shades for brands like Bourjois. The worst thing that can happen is they'll say they can't help.

Another tip for foundation is to test the foundation on the inside of your arm where it will be lightest.

Find out what type of skin you have! What's your undertone and skintone. It would make life much easier finding shades! If you have oily skin an oil controlled foundation would be best.

Missy Moo Moo

OakeyDokey wrote: »

If you're in doubt then ask! I've often went to the counter in chemists like Boots and asked them about foundation and few times the beauty specialists that cover counters like Lancome would help me out on shades for brands like Bourjois. The worst thing that can happen is they'll say they can't help.

Just bear in mind that sales assistants behind the counters are not usually the best people to give unbiased opinions as they're working off sales targets and commission for selling whichever make up house they represent. Thats why I think its better to become self sufficient and rely on trying on the product, taking samples and seeing what the product looks like in natural light away from the department store or chemist!

kandr10

I agree with above posters! Be wary that even if you get someone to apply makeup for you, even with their best intentions it doesn't always match well because of the harsh lighting in the shops. I made the mistake of splashing out on a lovely Dior foundation but was on holidays when I bought it (so it's too dark for most of the year anyway) and I was incorrectly colour matched to boot! It's a beautiful foundation but I'm really annoyed about the colour. I mix it with other lighter foundations though just to get some use out of it and I've found that to be a good option.

So after that ramble my advice would be to buy a cheaper but still reputable brand before splashing out. That way you'll be able to see what you like in a foundation and what you don't like.

SmokeyEyes

If you're pale I'd go in and try Revlon Colourstay foundation which is fabulous and comes in a really good pale shade and the Collection 2000 concealer in fair is perfect and the best I've ever tried!

If you want to spend a bit more money, Lancome have an amazing range of shades, I use 007 in Teint Miracle which I show here so you can get an idea against other pale foundations, it's the top swatch!


I will happily apply product with my fingers but it's well worth investing in something like the Sigma flat Kabuki brush or a beauty blender if you want to try it out!Real Techniques are fab also!

meoklmrk91

Thanks ladies,

Lots of great advice there , I don't want to spend too much as I am not going to use it that often. Midrange would be fine.

gingernut125

I would start with a light/medium coverage, like Bourjois healthy mix, its nice and light on the face!
collection 2000 concealer is a very good affordable concealer.
I like creme touch powder by no7 to set makeup also!

real techniques Stippling brush sold in boots is lovely for applying foundation, but I like using sponges too, cheaper for starting off