Make-up!

[PHXGiRL]

Okay I'm getting into the swing of things as I continue the journey of being me. My question I have for you girls is make up. It's essential and I don't know the first thing about purchasing it, what I need, and how to apply it. I'd like to start practicing as much as I can now so when I enter the real world as me I blend in. I've looked at videos on YouTube and they have been helpful. The only things I've purchased so far is some mascara and foundation and that's it. Haha. My fiancé left some of her old eyeliner but it's trash not worth keeping. So yeah what should I look for? What are some good brands? As far as brushes I've found some good deals on eBay but I'm sure just like anything else that's on eBay there is a difference between eBay products and good legit brands.

Thanks for the help!

~Serena

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

If you can, get a makeover.  They can help with color selection, application and care of brushes.

I use Dinair Air brush foundation.  Done in 10 minutes.  I have use Revlon Color Stay in the past.

[Alexis]

Youtube was essential for me! I learned a bit about some of the brands that a lot of girls use which was really helpful when I was learning. I didn't have much of an idea what I was doing so I bought a very basic combination kit (that had shadows, liner, lipstick, bronzer and blush) and a brush set from Sephora and I kinda just played around a lot. From there I've found that some of the brands I really like are Makeup Forever, NARS, Urban Decay, and Mac.
Foundation was the biggest thing for me, before I started laser, it looked like I had five o'clock shadow right after I shaved so I really needed something that was very full coverage. I started with Maybelline (i think) and then went through a few until I finally found one that worked well for me with the MAC studio sculpt.
As far as brushes go, I've picked up a few along the way in addition to the ones I got in that starter kit. Basically though I find that the brushes that I use the most are my blending brush, pencil brush, shader brush, and a powder/blush brush.
For eye shadow, I'm kinda in love with my Urban Decay palette right now, but I also really like the color from the MAC shadows and NARS ones that I have too.
In terms of what I really thought I was looking for, I sort of just gauged from that first kit the things that I seemed to use more and expanded those parts.

[PHXGiRL]

I like the idea of the DinAir airbrush set seems easy and fast. Read a handful of reviews on it for the last couple hours and there is only positive things to say about their product.  I'm more then likely gonna go down that route maybe one day. Part of me is looking forward to getting up early and spending half a hour on my makeup & hair though I'm sure that will diminish after awhile. Lol.  

I've heard a lot of positive things about MAC it does come at a higher price from what I've noticed which is understandable for a good product. The foundation I recently purchased is bare essentials. It feels good on my face I think it's a bit light for my skin tone though should be a tad darker. I also purchased some maybellene mineral concealer which is way too light. So I'm gonna have to throw it out. I was hoping that the concealer would cover up the rest of my facial hair until laser is done completely. Only have three more sessions left. My face is pretty tanned from the Arizona sun. Which has made finding the right shades difficult also it's left me a sweet farmers tan

Im taking it so far that there is going to be a lot of trial & error, as well as practice associated with nailing that perfect look each day. 

As far as a basic kit Alexis did you just purchase something like this?

http://bit.ly/LAg6FC

Just to fimilarize yourself and learn. Then after that went out and got good products after grasping the concept?

I feel like such a complete noob!! 

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

Oh and remember six little words.  Practice, practice, practice and blend, blend, blend.

[Alainaluvsu]

The only 2 things you should really spend top money on are foundation and concealer. Go to Ulta or something ask the make up person to match your skin with foundation and concealer. They'll also let you know if you should get powder, cream, or liquid makeup. Generally if you have oily skin, go with powder... dry, go with liquid.

Then go to Target or something and get a brush kit. The kit should have about 6 or 7 different brushes for putting on blush, foundation, eyeshadow, concealer, contouring, blending, and a brush for your mascara.

Get some eyeshadow primer or as the day goes on, your eyeshadow will dull out.

After that, just buy the cheap stuff. For eyeshadow I recommend this: http://www.amazon.com/Shany-Eyeshadow-Palette-Boutique-Color/dp/B001C6H6F8 - it's 40 colors for like 12 bucks. That's alot for you to experiment with and get that blending right.

Get a close match for your cover up makeup, get some blush, lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, and I'm sure I forgot something and then go to youtube

[Eva Marie]

Oh and remember six little words.  Practice, practice, practice and blend, blend, blend.

This.

Try small changes each time you apply makeup and notice the effect that they have on you. Buy women's magazines and notice how the females in them are wearing makeup and copy the ideas that you like. Find your style and preferences - i personally prefer lip gloss over lipstick, for example.

[Angelique1994]

ok well i  learned wat looked good on me by myself and i also learned how to do makeup by myself no one helped me but ur gonna need is foundation that matches ur skin tone and concieler that is close or exactly the same color as ur foundation, and make sure u buy makeup brushes like an entire set, face primer, bronzer, eyeshadow i prefer brown cause it looks best on me, brown eyeliner for ur water line (never use black unless u have really big doe eyes cause black makes ur eyes look smaller), get a eyeliner that iis the same color as ur hair and fill in ur eyebrows, a cute lipstick with clear lipgloss, if ur lips are to small line ur lips alittle with lipliner, dont ever use dark blush unless ur going out at night but for an everyday thing wear a pinkish blush like almost a neutral highlighter and contour ur cheeks also with the bronzer and then blend it a little bit downward so it looks more translusent and natural. but other than that thats basically all the advice u really need to know just practice practice practice but dont get to upset if u mess up the first time cause u will get it sooner or later i mean it took me a few times of practice to figure out wat colors looked best on me and to get my makeup to make my makeup to look perfect oh and btw u dont need high brand stuff to look good cause i get all my makeup from CVS. revlon is the best brand there for me

[Alexis]

As far as a basic kit Alexis did you just purchase something like this?

What I started with was a lot more minimal, like half that, but it worked to start. Alainaluvsu said it perfect though

Have fun!

[Jamie D]

Oh and remember six little words.  Practice, practice, practice and blend, blend, blend.

(1) Practice, (2) practice, (3) practice (4) and (5) blend, (6) blend, (7) blend

Hmmm

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

The "and" doesn't count, Silly.

[Jayne]

I noticed that you mentioned the five o'clock shadow problem, I also have a severe shadow & have found a trick to help hide it.
Purchase an orange lipstick (make sure it's not got any glitter in it) when you shave go over the stubble one extra time in the opposite direction, this will get the shave extra close.
Dab the orange lipstick over your shadow & blend so you don't have an obvious colour change.

At this point you will look a bit silly but trust me it will work out

Once the lipstick has dried apply your foundation as normal, suprisingly the orange lipstick will hide the shadow & prevent it from showing through your foundation.

It may take a bit of practice but it really works.

[MiaOhMya!]

Hrmm... some quick tips that come to mind from my many experiments in the laboratory.....

1) Less is often more. Use the least possible, unless your going out.

2) Don't look at fashion magazines for everyday makeup tips! ACK!

3) Establish a routine, but be sure to experiment now and again.

4) I don't reco starting with expensive brands as you can try 4-5 cheaper styles/shades/colours for the cost of one designer product. Buy expensive once you've settled in.

5) Watch for, and imitate, women similar enough to yourself. Different looks work for different people... someone who is of a completely different complexion/ eye colour / face structure etc is a waste of time and money. Even changing yur hair colour can have your makeup needing some adjustments.

[Adrasteia]

I noticed that you mentioned the five o'clock shadow problem, I also have a severe shadow & have found a trick to help hide it.
Purchase an orange lipstick (make sure it's not got any glitter in it) when you shave go over the stubble one extra time in the opposite direction, this will get the shave extra close.
Dab the orange lipstick over your shadow & blend so you don't have an obvious colour change.

At this point you will look a bit silly but trust me it will work out

Once the lipstick has dried apply your foundation as normal, suprisingly the orange lipstick will hide the shadow & prevent it from showing through your foundation.

It may take a bit of practice but it really works.

This works best when your beard shadow tends towards blue. Orange is opposite blue on the color wheel, so they cancel when you add them.  For people with more of a green skin tone, a more reddish tone may work better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel

I think it was a seasoned drag queen who taught me about this...

[luna nyan]

Kevin Aucoin's books are quite interesting and good as well - give them a browse when you're in a dead tree - whoops - bookstore.