I’m taking (begging!) your suggestions for upcoming editions of Temptalia Asks You! Here are the “rules” so-to-speak…
1.) Avoid yes/no questions; ideally, the question inspires discussion or more open-ended answers
2.) Avoid “favorite X” products (that’s what the Hit List weekly feature is for!)
3.) Keep it beauty-related!
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Is there a past collection that stands out in your mind?
What products are you most critical of and why?
Is there a makeup trend you don’t think will ever come back?
Is there a period that most influenced your makeup style?
Is there something you’ll continue to adapt as trends come and go?
I really like the last two of your suggestions. A MA friend of mine once said he can usually correctly guess a woman’s age by looking at her makeup preferences. Even though she might keep up with the trends and be quite fashionable, she’ll usually have a few “tells” that reveal the decade when she came of makeup-wearing age.
That’s so cool! I’m going to try and see if I can notice that too!
Wracking my *old* brain tonight! Here goes:
1.) What would be your ultimate fantasy collaboration between a celebrity/ vlogger/ blogger and with which beauty brand?
2.) If a limited edition item does particularly well, what are your thoughts on making it part of the brand’s permanent lineup and why?
3.) Do you believe that trends in colors and shades reflect consumers interests, and what convinces you of such?
4.) Which new trends do you see as up and coming based on recent makeup releases?
5.) What are your thoughts on the recent trend of beauty brands overinflating hype surrounding a LE release, and then not producing nearly enough so that the product almost immediately sells out?
6.) How do you personally feel about the “baking” trend?
7.) Which specific beauty trends do you just wish would go away?
If I come up with any more, I’ll add them!
Great questions!
I love 1, 2, and 5!!!
Definitely echo trends that should go away!
Beauty brands you avoid and why?
What are the fewest number of products you can use to feel put-together and what are they? What brand do you think is overhyped and why? or similarly,
What brand have you been dying to swatch in person only to be disappointed completely by what you saw?
What are different ways you use a product other than its intended use ie a lipstick as a blush. I’d be interested in ways to get more use out of products.
Or
What products to do you blend together to create new and interesting looks. Maybe you mix together two or three eyeshadows to create a unique eyeshadow color. Or mix two lipsticks together. Or layer a few blush shades . Again I’m interested in finding new ways to use colors / products in new ways. Pinterest and such gives the same ol same ol in terms of makeup looks. I need inspiration!
Awww, and I was gonna say maybe ask a more personal question too from time to time, not beauy related, lol… 🙂
What professional beauty treatment have you not tried and would like to try soon?
What beauty product not available on the market as of now do you wish existed?
What has been your best/worst customer service reaction by a beauty brand?
What made you feel left out/included by a brand or company in the past?
If you were asked to design a collection for your favourite brand, what would you have in it (and what brand would it be)?
Best matte eyeshadow palette
What product would you buy fewer of if started collection over like lipsticks/eyeshadow
What product you don’t use much anymore that you thought you’d use a lot. Why
If in a hurry what’s one product that you definitely wear outside home.
Are there any places you won’t wear makeup?
Would you accept a job if they wouldn’t let you wear makeup? Why or why not?
Other than skincare, what was the last item you bought as a backup and when are you most likely to buy a backup?
Hi Christine,
I would love to submit questions (although I don’t have one at the moment. 🙂 ) But — FYI — when I click on the “submit yours here” link, it kinda goes nowhere, at least in Firefox. It calls up my gmail, but goes to my inbox only and does not supply an address. I have no email address for you. It works in IE, but I rarely use that browser (if I can help it).
Is the address submit@temptalia.com?
BTW, love your site. I am long-time follower, new contributor. I really appreciate being welcomed here, the information all the knowledgeable women share, and the safe, polite tone. Nice work always!
It looks like it’s a Firefox-related issue, because it works fine in Safari, Chrome, and on my iPhone! 🙁
Yes, that is the correct address!
Hi, Linda! I, too, avoid other browsers and use Firefox 99.9% of the time. When I click on the “submit yours here” link, a window pops up and asks me which email provider I want to use. I make my choice, it opens my email program, and “submit@temptalia.com” appears in the “To” field for the addressee.
It appears that Firefox either isn’t recognizing your default email, or no email account(s) have been linked to your browser. I don’t know what operating system you are using/the version of your operating system but you may be able to figure out a solution by searching through Firefox Support. Here’s a link to some information that may be relevant: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-program-used-open-email-links
I hope some portion of that was useful! =)
Wow, thank you Cat!
You’re welcome, Christine! Trying to solve other people’s problems is probably both my best and my worst quality. 😉
Even if you believe you already own too many, what type of beauty item are you nevertheless most likely to buy?
If you could get one beauty item from any vendor on earth absolutely free, what would you choose? Why?
What’s the one beauty mistake you see the most on other people?
I’d like to see questions like “how do you do/apply such-and-such a technique/product” because I think it’s really cool to hear the different methods people use. Like, “how do you apply cream blush?”; “how do you do a smokey eye, and what colors?”; and “what’s your best method for long lashes?”. That sort of thing! 🙂
Great idea!
I also like this idea!
1. What is the 1 product you think everyone should have in their makeup collection?
2. Is there a technique or look (winged liner, contouring, smoky eye, etc) that you haven’t mastered yet but want to?
3. What is the 1 drugstore product that has surprised you (in you a good way)?
4. How do you declutter your makeup collection and how often do you do it?
5. Is there a trend (baking, contouring, strobing, etc) that you avoid?
I think a lot of these have been used in the past, but answers change with time/new discoveries:
If you could receive (for free) any single makeup product right now, which would it be and why?
What do you expect will be your next makeup purchase? What hole do you expect it to fill in your current collection?
If you could give one product to everyone on the planet, which would it be (and why)?
What do you think will be the next big makeup trend(s)? Are you looking forward to or dreading them?
Are there any products or styles you refuse to give up, no matter how un-trendy it becomes?
Do you think makeup innovation/trends are more top-down (brands/celebrities/other influencers create a demand and then market it to consumers) or bottom-up (consumers identify/express an unmet trend or need and producers rush to fill it)? Can you think of any examples?
What is the most you would ever pay for an HG product? What would that product be? (It doesn’t have to exist yet!)
How much do you let your personal features (coloring, facial structure, etc) influence the makeup you choose to wear? (E.g., do your hooded eyes mean you’re more likely to wear a statement lip vs complicated eye look? Do you avoid warm tones because you are personally cool-toned?)
Are there any trends you hate? Are there any trends you love that you know other people hate?
What do you do if you notice that someone’s makeup seems to be messed up? (Smeared lipstick, flaking mascara, etc).
Are there any products you refuse to wear for reasons OTHER than it being expensive or unflattering? (Concerns about production methods, strong feelings about ‘faces’ of the brand, designer’s personal life choices, collection themes, product name, etc).
How much do celebrities or social media personalities (whether officially affiliated with the brand or not) influence your makeup choices?
If you could receive a free lifetime supply of an HG product (i.e., Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation)–but in exchange could never try or wear another product in the same general category (e.g., foundation)–would you do it? (I guess what I’m asking is how satisfied you really are with any current HG products, and what they are!)
Heather, I love all of your questions because they would be a great deal of fun answering and interesting to read other readers answers to!
How do you feel about testing cosmetics on animals? Is that something you consider when purchasing products? Why or why not?
1) How do you feel about tattooed eyebrows/makeup?
2) What is your current product obsession, as far as products you are trying to build up in your collection?
3) How do you save money on make up? (What stores do you shop at, what rewards programs are you in?)
In the interest of doing a good job in my new profession, I would love to get community members’ input on these questions:
If you get professional facials, what are the most important aspects of the service to you? What would your ideal facial be like? If you’ve had a bad facial, what made it bad?
If you don’t get professional facials, would you like to, but does something hold you back — cost, sensitive skin concerns, other issues?
If you get your eyebrows professionally shaped, what do you like most about the service? What would an ideal brow wax/shaping be like? If you’ve ever had a bad brow/wax shaping experience, what went wrong?
If you don’t get your brows professionally shaped, what are your reasons? Would you like to, but have concerns that something may go wrong, and, if so, what?
If you like to get your makeup professionally done from time to time, for special occasions, or to learn new techniques or get new ideas, what aspects of the service do you like? What things do some makeup artists do that turn you off?
If you could get professional advice from an esthetician (on skin care) or makeup artist (on makeup), what would be the top issues you’d seek personalized advice on?
What product ingredients, if any, cause negative reactions on your skin? What kind of negative reactions?
How do you, personally, figure out if a product’s undertones are warm or cool (Christine, I’d especially love you answer on this one!)?
Do you usually find that a range of foundations has a color very close to your skin tone, and, if not, will mixing two shades together produce something you can use, or do you frequently find that all the shades in the range are too warm/cool/light/dark/somehow not just right (as in not working for olive skin tones)?
I might think of some more…
These are some really intriguing, interesting questions, Fran! Most of which I never would have thought of, but now I will.
Aw, thanks, Nancy!
What type primers do you use on your face, eyes and lips? For instance I use too faced on my eyes, urban decay in my lips and Monistat chafing gel on my face. It’s amazing…moist but doesn’t leave oily and at under $7 a tube you can where it for months.
I’m one of your older followers. I’d like to see more information on here than just for you youngsters :).
Do you think most companies gear their products to a certain age group? Why?
Is there any make-up that you might consider old fashioned? Why?
Who was the first person to instigate your love of beauty products?
Me too Carole! I may be older, but I don’t want to settle for a boring, “mature” look. It would be great to hear how others use colors/finishes to work with older skin, tips on making a look work with less forgiving skin!
Actually I would love to see a list of all the A+ or A products that won your recommendation in the past divided by categories ???
Name the drugstore items you would prefer over high end products even if you can spend an unlimited amount of money in makeup/skincare
How do you touch up lipstick and other makeup in public? Which mirrors do you use?
How have product samples encouraged you to purchase the product? Do you find samples helpful?
Do you use the same eyeliner on the top and bottom lashes? Which ones?
What is your favorite new discovery in make up:
Stores
Tools
Application
Removal
Do you have a separate filled makeup bag for travel? Or do you pack from your current stash?
Do white makeup brushes annoy you, or help you with colors?
Is there a product you use for something that is not it’s original intended use?
Pick a recent eyeshadow release you passed on– how would you change it to make it perfect for you? (I have been thinking about this sooo much about the KVD Serpentina palette which I thought was a huge letdown).
How do you pick your products each day? (like, how do you use your collection without favoring newer items)
Do you change your makeup based on your hair color/hairstyle? How?
What’s one item & shade combo you buy over and over? (ex: mauves-pink cream finish lipsticks) What are your top 3 of that item and why?
What’s primer/foundation combo works best for you? Be sure to specify skin type.
1) Sharing experiences with beauty products & tips for different age groups and skin types.
2) Sharing the criteria that guide your choices in selecting your makeup style(s). IMHO beauty trends/styles have to be adapted to one’s morphology, skin type/colour, age, etc. Just because a makeup style is trendy doesn’t mean it suits one’s morphology.
3) Sharing experiences with natural/organic beauty /makeup products.
Mine is a simple one and I am SO curious about the answers! “Do you really notice a difference between high end cosmetics, skin care, ect..whether it’s performance, how your skin reacts to it,ect.. and if so, how. …… (Of course you would have to pretend that you don’t know which is which). Hmmm. Very curious because Most contain the same or almost the same ingredients. Just a different price tag.
Story-related questions! What did you wear for your wedding? Graduation? What products are you scared to try? Can you remember the first collection that had you riding the hype train? Design your dream collection for brand X.
what beauty trend would you like to see more of? less of?
how do you feel about companies overhyping LE releases and not making enough for everyone to get said product? (someone else posted this but I thought it was a great question!)
what has been your favorite past beauty trend/what trend do you hope makes a comeback?
what beauty trend do you never want to see again?
what are your favorite tools/methods for applying foundation/blush/bronzer/eyeshadow/lipstick/etc?
what is currently on your wishlist/what have you recently hauled? (love having this question every few months or so, like 3 times a year!)
What is your favorite anti-aging product? Would you pay extreme prices for a limited edition item? What’s your favorite red lipstick? What’s a product you underestimated? If you could only have 2 pieces of makeup what would they be?
What beauty trends do you avoid?
What is your favorite way to learn new makeup techniques?
What is your go-to makeup trick, that people might now know about?
How do you store your makeup?
How often do you depot products?
What’s the best way to travel with makeup?
If this question makes any sense but I will try it.
What foreign beauty trends and or products as far as makeup, skin care products, beauty tools and so on that you have tried and love? Why do you like them so much and do you wish it were a trend in the United States or if it is a product do you wish it were sold in the United States?
Okay long time lurker here and I’ve got a few!
1.) what’s your favorite way to get out of a makeup rut?
2.) If you decided to do a challenge to create a slew of makeup looks for a week that push you out of you usual zone what would the theme be? Also some looks you would do based on that theme?
3.) What style of makeup would you like to see make a comeback the most? the least?
4.) What are your favorite colors to use in unusual places (lilac blush, blue highlighter, blush as bronzer etc.)
5.) At what point do you think prices get ridiculous for certain products and why? what are some of your favorites at those price points, be specific if you like!
How does the makeup you choose relate to your clothing choices most days?
What are your sentimental memories about makeup as you grew up?
What is your favorite red lipstick for date nights? Power meetings? Sunday brunch? Errand-running?
How do you use in-store makeover services?
Approximately what percentage of your makeup budget goes to lipsticks, to eyeshadows, to blushes?
What are the most popular lipstick and eyeshadow colors in the state/geography in which you live, and do you consciously follow suit or do you diverge, or does it not matter?
How old were you when you bought your first eyeshadow, and what color was it? Lipstick?
What is the most fun day you have spent with beauty/makeup at its center?
Do your fragrance style and makeup style correspond?
What is your favorite winter and summer fragrances and why?
If you could shop only three brands for one year, what would they be and why?
What’s the longest trip you have ever taken for a makeup shopping or event opportunity?
If/on days you wear glasses, do you do anything differently makeup-wise?
What was the most recent situation where you saw an amazing (fill in blank…overall look, eyeshadow, blush, technique) and went right out to try to replicate it?
What was the last makeup item you donated or gave away, who was lucky recipient, and why did you do so?
Do you buy beauty items as souvenirs when you travel? What have been some of your favorite finds?
….That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll add more as thoughts occur….
What eye shadow colours do you now wear that you didn’t a decade ago?
How does wearing makeup make you feel about yourself?
What is your blush story?
Genevieve, I love all 3 of yours, but ESPECIALLY that 1st one!!!!
Thanks Nancy – I thought of that question because I have really changed how I wear eye shadows and I thought it would be interesting to read what others have to say on this topic.
If someone was wearing a product in a dated way (say: 80s rectangle on the cheekbones), would you say something? How would you broach it? Or would you assume that’s how they like it & leave well enough alone?
Are there particular skincare ingredients you seek out? Why?
Are there ingredients you avoid? Why?
How has your approach to all aspects of beauty changed since you started this site? Is it different now from when you began?
Outside of product testing, are you someone who has a standard beauty uniform or do you love to switch products up even during your “down” time?
What items must you put on your face every day, without fail?
Where do you draw inspiration from to create your inventive eye looks?
1) Do you have duplicates of any brushes and, if so, do you use them in the same way?
2) For what purpose(s) do you use a fan brush? (I’ve heard people mention using them in quite a few different ways.)
3) If you’ve discovered a foundation that isn’t a good color match for you, but you love the formula and the way it performs, have you found a way to make it work that doesn’t compromise its finish or performance?
1. What was your wedding makeup? What do you want it to be?
2. What is the makeup look your significant other likes on you the best? The least?
3. What makeup item do you own with the most sentimental value and why?
4. Is there a past makeup trend that you’re currently enjoying or would like to see come back? Ex, matte neutrals from the 90’s.
What beauty skill do you intend to master next?
What beauty skill do you currently have that you once thought you’d never master?
– or alternatively –
… that you were once completely uninterested in?
What beauty step/act/process/routine are you convinced you’ll never do and why? (e.g. overnight masks because who can sleep that way? or tattooed eyeliner because yikes! or blue mascara because why???)
What lessons did you take from watching the beauty regimens of others while you were growing up?
What aesthetic “flaw” do you have that you’re grateful for, and why?
What type of product do you have a lot of? Ex foundations, highlighters, lipsticks
What type of product do you think you could use more of?
Is there a type of product you have enough of and aren’t looking for more? What is it?
So many of the questions offered so far are just GREAT!!!! A few seem like “repeats” but I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that, like most makeup lovers, I don’t mind answering them again, since often the answers change with time and new purchases!!! Way to go, ladies….you have some awesome ideas.
Is there a product you like but had difficulty applying and, therefore, developed a creative or unusual technique for making it look as good as possible? If so, what is the product and what technique did you develop?
1. What is your favorite foundation formulation? (Powder/Liquid/Cream) Why do you prefer it over other formulations?
I would love to have this question answered:
What is the best order for skincare? For example: cleanse, serum, moisturize, eye cream, sun screen…
Thanks!
Questions:
How do you sanitize your makeup?
What steps would you expect a makeup artist to take to keep her products sanitary? What would give you confidence that you’re in safe hands?
– What recent trend have you taken a pass on and why?
– What recent trend have you incorporated into part of you daily make-up regiment?
– What recent trend do you wish would die out and why?
– Have you had any skin issues, and what products did you use to resolve them?
– What face mask best suits your skin needs? …. this one might not fit the criteria!
(1) What are some makeup products that are not worth splurging on and should be bought from the drugstore? (e.g. mascara?)
(2) What are some make up products that are worth splurging on by buying high end? (e.g. makeup brushes, highlighters, etc.)
(3) What are some skincare products that are not worth splurging on and should be bought from the drugstore? (e.g. toner?)
(4) What are some skincare products that are worth splurging on by buying high end? (e.g. night-time moisturizer?)
What brands’ image(s) really speaks to you and why?
How much does advertising impact your interest in a product or brand?
What product did you buy on a whim or otherwise not as part of a plan or wishlist that has turned out to be one of your most often used favorites?
What product did you plan or pay a lot for that has turned out to be hardly used / not useful?