What are three things you'd tell to a makeup newcomer?
If you’re very, very new, try to get to counters/stores to swatch and play, so you can test a lot in person to see what kind of things intrigue you, what works, what doesn’t. You want to spend less as you learn your tastes and figure out your needs. You don’t need to have everything that’s popular, so pick and choose mindfully and keep within your budget. Practice, practice, practice; whether that’s on your face after school/work or on the back of your hand (figuring out color combos, practicing blending, etc.).
— Christine
Invest in the basics first – blush and lip colours that flatter your skin tone/colouring, not what someone tries to push on you as “this year’s colour” or the latest trend. Get a basic neutral eyeshadow palette (warm or cooler toned, or a mix of both) before venturing into the wacky neon brights (you can get into those later or buy them in smaller amounts). Take advantage of free makeovers and let the makeup person know what sort of look you’d like and let them know you are newer to makeup and don’t feel pressured to purchase every (or even any) products they use on you. You can walk away and spend a few hours seeing how much you like (or don’t like) the look they did and the products they used.
Yes to investing in good, flattering basics and a neutral eye palette to start. One can wear them anywhere, they’ll be easier more forgiving while one’s practicing, and they’re a good base to build off of when one is ready to spend more money branching out to other brands and/or colors.
1. Invest in some good quality brushes, if you’re just starting, get a value kit with a little of everything, then build out from there based on your needs
2. Do what suits your face, features and style vs. following trends too closely – makeup for filtered photos is a LOT heavier than day to day
3. Do watch Youtube videos and read product reviews, you’ll pick up on the product attributes that should matter to you for each product (e.g. fallout and how to fix, foundation formulas, what brushes to pair with what, how to use a light hand with pigmented products, etc).
Just three things, huh? Well, here goes: cracks knuckles.
First , arm or hand swatches are useful, but they do NOT compare to using a product. Eye-shadow can swatch beautifully, but blend horribly or last maybe an hour before creasing. Lipstick may change color based on your lips natural pigmentation (hello MAC “Brave Red”!) And the less said about foundation, the better, lmao!
Second, based on the above; and the fact that some stores don’t have testers, know the return policy!! Let me repeat that, know the store’s return policy for cosmetics and skincare!!!!
Lastly, take extra good care of your skin. I cannot stress this part enough, because using products that cause skin reactions, breakouts, dryness, or any kind of problem mean that you will have to glop on the make-up to hide the problem.
If you take good care of your skin however, you can walk out the door with minimal make-up, and still look put together.
Everyone has given such good advice that I can’t come up with just three.
That said, one thing that hasn’t been said that I would advise is to determine your skin’s undertone (cool, warm or neutral). There are numerous websites giving instructions for figuring this out. Having a MAC salesperson match me to my foundation color was how I found out what my undertone is. Once you know your undertone, you’ll make fewer mistakes choosing foundation, lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, etc.
1.) For color products, start off with good quality, but not high end products. There are some excellent brands that offer this: ColourPop, Nyx, Makeup Revolution. For base products, whatever formula and skin shade match that works and is within your budget.
2.) PLAY!! That’s right; don’t take it too seriously. Practice and learn how to make the makeup work for YOU. For your coloring. For your style/aesthetic/needs. For your features.
3.) Keep your mind open about incorporating new techniques/methods of application and color placement. Even which colors and shades of colors to try out. You might be surprised to find that a color you didn’t think you could wear depends on the *shade* of that specific color, ie; lemon yellow vs. mustard yellow vs. butter yellow.
~ Avoid YouTube for tips on application, unless you’re going straight to Lisa Elderidge’s channel, then that’s fine. (the number of “gurus” out there who honestly believe that makeup needs to start with a full face of full-coverage foundation, topped by huge patches of concealer is just disgusting — when did having skin become a shameful thing?)
~ Make sure you understand what it means for foundation to match, know what you’re matching to and why, and don’t believe anyone at a counter that says something’s a perfect match until you’ve walked out to look at in natural light; last point in this point: don’t ever assume you know what your undertones are based on your relatives, ethnicity, geographic location, hair color, wardrobe, favorite Victorian-era author, etc. … the only way to figure out your real undertone(s) is to look, keep looking, and making lots of comparisons.
~ Less is more! Before you dive right into lip primer, lip liner, lipstick, gloss, try something simple, like a matte tube lipstick applied with a brush, wash-like, over balm — you may end up finding out that something a lot simpler makes a pleasing difference. Same for eyeshadow.
~ At least once in you makeup-application life, try going with an otherwise nude look and doing something more painterly with your blush, like using at least two different colors, not in the same family (e.g. a peach with a plum), and applying them in a way where the colors retain their character rather than just blending to create a new color. And then if that works and inspires you to try something else a little different, maybe with another product or another part of your face — even better! Experiment!
~ Nurture your punk soul! (if you have one); if all you really want from makeup is to look more attractive, more power to you; if you want more from makeup, then never forget that “makeup” is older than recorded history, and has had many functions, from mimicking our environment, to wearing the mask of divinity, to inspiring fear in our enemies … if you have a need to do something different, rock that difference! (just understand what it means to stand out in a crowd first so you’re ready for the possible responses, and be firm in your mind before making this choice that it’s not just because you’re desperate for attention).
I seriously tried to make it three, but couldn’t decide what was most important. Forgive me.
think its a very good list! I learned how to wear makeup from lisa eldridge’s channel and how to decide which makeup to purchase from temptalia!
I love what you said about “Nurture your punk soul.” And your advice about painterly blush with a nude look. Your aesthetic always sounds so artful and intriguing.
I don’t have any brilliant comments to add to what has already been said but to elaborate on a few answers. Oh, and I love everyone else’s responses.
1. Play, play and play. Do this when you have time to play and can afford to be seen with some funny or not great looks. Don’t try to do a complex or very colorful look when you are getting ready to walk out the door.
2. Remember makeup is suppose to be fun. Don’t take it too seriously and recognize that it can be washed off with no one the wiser.
3. Focus more on what looks good on you and less on what makeup artists and beauty gurus are doing. That doesn’t mean they cannot be helpful but everyone’s face shape, eye shape, colour, skin tone, etc is different. I have watched Tara (Tarababyz) on YT for a very long time and she use to get a lot of comments about trying to do different eye looks rather than the same thing all of the time. She also applies her eye makeup in an unusual way. It works for her and flatters her eye shape and colour. Why do something that isn’t going to work for your eyes. This was a hard lesson for me to learn. I have very hooded eyes and some shadow placement just doesn’t work on me. Would I love to be able to pull it off, yes, of course, but without plastic surgery, that isn’t going to happen!! I have had to learn to be realistic about what I can accomplish. I still try different shadow placement and I still bemoan the fact I don’t have a lot of mobile lid real estate but most of the time, I just get on with it.
Yes! Play, play, play! Best advice yet. 🙂
Ahhh, I’ve had this exact conversation so many times… 🙂
1. You can wear as much or as little makeup as you like. You don’t have to look like a model or cover girl EVER if you don’t want too – BB cream, mascara and a tinted lip balm is plenty if you don’t wear a lot of makeup – and it’s not going to look like a mask or make you look like someone different (unless you specifically want it too)! I tell my makeup newb friends to think of makeup as a volume knob, not an on/off switch.
2. The volume of product and advice can be overwhelming but try not to let it intimidate you. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to even start but don’t let a deep plum cream blush stick put you off even trying – this totally happened to a friend of mine I went shopping with, she pulled it out of the makeup display and went “Who would even use this?!?!” and I said, “Actually,” and went to put it on her and she flinched and backed away! But she trusted me and 90 seconds later, she had to admit, it looked pretty good and more importantly, nothing like what she had imagined in her head (which was purple racing stripes, I think)… think about what outcome you want to achieve, such as more even skin or looking less tired as an initial approach rather than thinking “what do I need to buy to look good?”
3. It washes off. If you don’t like it, wash it off. Your face is fine. Seriously.
So many good recommendations which I won’t repeat. Instead I would also recommend is sunscreen, sunscreen and then more sunscreen. And remember makeup washes off, so don’t get upset when it doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, most of the time it won’t especially in the beginning. Learn how “to make lemonade out of those lemons”…in other words learn techniques that will “save” a look even if it wasn’t what you were attempting. You can always attempt the look on another day. Have fun.
1. Pick up lower cost drugstore brands to start with (elf, wetnwild, etc).
2. Look up techniques on YouTube.
3. PLAY! Have fun doing new things and figure out what works for you.
At least this is what worked for me.
1) Price does not always equal quality. Try a sample or testers at stores before buying whenever possible; read Temptalia and other reviewers; research products first!
2) Learn your skin- and under-tones, and get a good foundation match. A bad foundation or color match will make all your other makeup look awful, no matter how well you apply it.
3) Don’t be afraid to experiment, have fun, and be yourself. Makeup washes off.
BONUS: It’s OK to tell pushy sales people “No, thank you.” Repeatedly. And sternly, if necessary.
1. Work on getting a good foundation match- check in both daylight and indoor lighting.
2. How to do Basics of enhancing eye shape using shadow and liner
3. Go sparingly with blush, especially deeper or brighter shades.
1. To quote the late, great Kevyn Aucoin: “First of all, let me say that I believe there are no rules when it comes to makeup, besides the obvious: ‘Don’t curl your eyelashes in a speeding vehicle,’ or ‘Don’t put lipstick in your eye,’ etc … (but those aren’t really ‘rules,’ they’re more common sense).”
2. Wear whatever looks and products you want. The worst thing that happens is it doesn’t work and you have to wash it off and try something else.
3a. Price isn’t necessarily an indicator of quality. 3b. Everyone’s skin reacts differently to every product. Just because a product doesn’t work for someone else doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Therefore, 3c. Don’t let a bad review scare you off of buying something you really want.
I would say only one thing:
– don’t give into the fear of missing out. don’t buy new collections as soon as they are released because of the hype. wait for the reviews to come in. Chances are that your best fit product is already released in a permanent collection somewhere. (EXCEPTION: awesome holiday sets for great value)
and even if something sells out, it’s just makeup, it’s not the end of the world…
when the charlotte tilburry hot lips 2 came out, I was so tempted to buy Amazing Amal but there were no reviews out there. now that I see it and I see the dupe list, I realize I’m already set and I saved 30 euros… Honestly, all the aggressive marketing really made me feel I have to buy it NOW! I took a deep breath and said to myself, if I still want it 3 months from now, I will buy it.
1. Have fun, and don’t take it too seriously. Your beauty comes from your heart. This is just bonus.
2. Wear as little or as much as you want. Little or none is fine. So is full glam every day if that’s what you like. (I’m assuming you’re 18+ and don’t need parental permission to wear it).
3. When it comes to color, trust your gut. So what if a certain color shouldn’t look great on you based on all the ‘rules’? If you are drawn to it. try it out. There is a way to make almost any color work for you in color cosmetics. It’s just a matter of creating the rest of the look to work with it.
I love your first piece of advice! Such a lovely way to put it
I had a really good answer to this question yesterday and then our power went out! So my answer to this question is:
1. Wear sunscreen under your makeup. Lots of DS brands have fabulous 50+ SPF moisturising sunscreens that are reasonably priced.
2. Find your foundation match. Again, try the DS stores first. You don’t have to spend a fortune.
3. Have a makeup tutorial at a beauty shop (as against a department store counter where they only sell their brand’s makeup) so that you can discover the blush, lip and eyeshadows that you will be most comfortable with. Take it slowly and purchase only what you need. Start with a neutral palette to develop your skills at applying makeup.
Remember to take care of your canvas. Skincare, although it can seem boring is so important.
Get used to wearing makeup and if you’re nervous about wearing it outside wear it inside, it doesn’t matter if you’re not leaving your sofa that day. Put lipstick on even if you’re just getting into the bath. Get used to how it feels, how it makes you feel.
There are no rules. Wanna wear smokey eyes with a red lip? Go for it. It’s your face. Makeup isn’t about what other people want to see or what you to look like, it’s about how you feel.