Makeup Virgin

Jan 31, 2012

Ari M.

Hello Everyone,

I am a late bloomer when it comes to make up, I do own a few items but am clueless as to where to start and what products to go after. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance :)

Jan 31, 2012

Ariane C.

get a staple blush. a few good brushes are of course a really great investment as well. getting a few basic eyeshadows, a decent eyeliner, and a good lipgloss is a great way to start a collection. start building with the necessities first, then add on the fancy stuff (like purple lip liners and stuff lol)

Jan 31, 2012

Soma S.

Welcome to the dark side! (I was a late bloomer too!)

The first thing you'll want to assess is what you might most benefit from. I started off converting from tinted moisturizer to a foundation (MUFE HD), and a few eyeshadows. That's because I didn't have the greatest skin, and eyeshadows felt like it made the most impact to me. That lead me to investing in good tools (brushes) once I understood how much it affected application. Then I got into blushes, contouring and highlighting last.

You can find affordable eye liners in either pencil, gel or liquid forms via drugstores to practice with which method you'll prefer, and can later invest in a higher end version if you feel like it.

Also, check reviews from 3rd party sites when researching your purchases! Don't trust site generated reviews! Makeup Alley, Beautylish, Beautypedia, and inmykit.com are a few of my fav. resources for all things beauty.

Products vary from person to person, so if you narrow down types of finishes or textures of makeup you would like to use, we can offer more specific recommendations. Examples: shimmery, dewey, matte, glittery, etc. - Hope that helps!

Ps: build up your neutrals for eyeshadow colors first! It's so tempting to get the bright colors that call to us, but you also have to assess where you will find yourself wearing this makeup to! My friend made that mistake and bought all the crazy vivid colors, and never uses them because it is not mom/work appropriate for her environment. She tells me she wishes she built her neutrals first all the time, but that's because that's how her lifestyle affected her makeup use.

Jan 31, 2012

Soma S.

^I'm not the greatest person to ask this question to because I prefer the palettes I customize myself VS the ones available on the market. [I just use the 15 pan palettes from MAC or the equivalent in MUFE]

I def. suggest you look into MAC's matte^2 shadows though. They're one of my favorites, and they're one of the smoothest mattes to work with for a really good price. There isn't many, and I own all of the ones in their permanent line, minus a few that were discontinued before I knew they existed. For brights, I have the Sugarpill quads [both] and they're def. worth the purchase. Sorry I wasn't much of a help on that, but play around with shadows at different counters! I would suggest Inglot, but I've never used their products before, so I can say much from my own experience... MANY here on BL are really happy with those too! MAC and Inglot are both great middle-end alternatives that deliver a good variety of products. =D

Yaby also makes really pigmented shadows [and they have a neutral palette], worth looking into too! =)

I've expressed I like the NAKED2 palette on other threads, but it's not a product I am head over heels in love with. It's not bad to own, but not a must-have for me either.  

Jan 31, 2012

Ari M.

Thank You for the great responses. @ Soma S LOL At welcome to the the dark side :)

i've had some make up but honestly never used it.. then recently i stumbled upon YouTube make up tutorials and i was like OMG i have been missing out..

I like earth tone colors with shimmer, bright colors tend to scare me because one time i tried doing some blue and i looked sleep deprived..someone gave me a book called Makeup Makeovers by Robert Jones and it had been sitting on my book shelve for along time, now i read it :)

a short list of what i currently own.

Twofaced natural eye collection
Twofaced smoky eye collection
Twofaced lashgasm

i bought these recently at Sephora, i like the idea of the cards they come with that tell you how to do your eye makeup, however the lashgasm mascara tends to dry/ flake and fall into my eye.. I do not like it.
FASH 188 color pallete ( got it a week ago and so far its ok)
Wet & Wild natural blend mineral foundation
Mary Kay Full coverage foundation
Rimmel London Natural Bronzer
3 E.L.F pigment pots in Gold, SIlver & a maroon/ redish color
also...
2 sephora eyeliner pencils in black & brown
2 victoria secret lip gloss ( im afraid of color in my lips :(
L'oreal studio secret anti dull skin primer
and a Sephora brush set..

The crazy part is i didnt know about eye primers & loose powder to set foundation.

Jan 31, 2012

Soma S.

Ari M. - sounds like you got yourself quite the collection already! [trust me, I went a decade with far less of the same thing before discovering people online willing to help!]

If you want to continue to expand on your neutrals, of course the NAKED palettes are good alternatives... if you're into warm eye shadows, the original would be right up your alley with all the shimmer. I would ESPECIALLY suggest you look into Stila's Kitten eyeshadow as a highlight shade - which is REALLY frosty at first, but once buffed/pressed into your skin, it delivers a beautiful shimmer sheen that really does live up to it's cult status. It's great ESPECIALLY for highlighting the tear duct area! MAC's Shroom eyeshadow is another great highlighter that is more subtle and finely milled - which doubles BEAUTIFULLY as a cheek highlight or highlighting in general.

For eye primers - I think discovering that is what turns MOST people onto makeup! My obsession started when I started using Urban Decay's Primer Potion, and it's snowballed since! I've yet to try others because UDPP has never done me wrong, and of course, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" =P Primers vary from person to person though... so sample as many as you can when you're in stores!

If you've yet to build up your brush collection, do so! It's another one of those things that change up the way your makeup appears [aside from primers!] and definitely helps. =)

ps: if you like the cards that come with instructions, I know Smashbox, MAC, MUFE, and Tarte via QVC have overall face kits that contain instructions in them too. Hope that helped!

Jan 31, 2012

Jasmine P.

Hi Ari!

I have to agree with Soma, welcome to the dark side haha!

I think when it comes to makeup you want to think about what you would like to focus on. I have pretty even tone skin so I don't even use foundation. The main thing I wanted to play around with was eye makeup so I invested in mid-price eye shadows just so I could get a hang of it before spending money on more expensive brands. I think this is good especially when you don't know what colors you will tend to veer towards when applying makeup.

For me the biggest thing is investing on good sturdy makeup brushes and a good cleaner. You want to make sure what you're putting on your face is sanitized since you skin isn't used to makeup. 

Feb 1, 2012

Ari M.

I love this place wish i had found it sooner :)

I always have red cheeks so i like to wear foundation, but i like the no make up / makeup look as it looks so natural. i also want to start using colors because all i ever put on my eyes is earth tones colors :) not that there is anything wrong with that. I recently bought a FASH 188 eye shadow palette and an ELF one so i have been experimenting.

i will definitely wait until i am more informed and knowledgeable about make up to invest in the good stuff ;)

As for brushes i agree with you, i am currently saving the pennies for Sigma brushes everyone seems to love them. I own a small set of brushes from Sephora but they are OK and i don't have many.

Regarding the brush cleanser I think i am going to try the method SOMA uses i saw her video today and was amazed.

Feb 1, 2012

Soma S.

Ari, glad you liked it! Try it using dr. Bronner's tea tree soap! It's the best cleanser I've used thus far, and you dilute it with distilled water... I'd say you can fill your foaming cleanser bottle with 1/8 soap, and the rest water, and it'll foam up beautifully, saving you tons of product, and sparing your brushes from cleanser/soap build up!

Feb 5, 2012

Delaney B.

Watch a lot of beauty videos on YouTube for ideas and inspiration! I got my love of makeup from YouTube! As for buying makeup, to to a store like Sephora or MAC and ask the ladies there for their personal favorite items and advice on how to apply the basics! :) Plus, if you buy the Naked palette, you will use it for life! :) 

Feb 7, 2012

Ari M.

@ Delaney YouTube has saved me , i watch it constantly and i've learned a lot from the videos i watch there. As for going to Sephora and asking for help is a heck no.. See i have done this and what i feel they do is try and sell you the most expensive items and they always gave me something that didn't match my skin tone.. It is frustrating and a waste of my money. besides i've gotten to the point where i can find things on my own.

I would definitely try mac one day but right now i am not ready for that, besides i find their make up to be a bit too expensive.

Right now i am just experimenting and trying new things, im sure one day i will be a pro and wont mind going to mac or spending 50 plus on a naked palette ( i do love those shadows)..