So I've had a lot of 'how do I makeup' before, and I figured a quick guide to the do's and don't's of makeup might be a fun thing to whip up.
For background: I work in production, and I'm friends with an A-level makeup artist who has worked on films like Iron Man, Star Trek, Westworld, and True Blood. I get to see just what industry pros are buying, and who they buy from.
This guide is not just for trans women, it's for everyone. I'm a trans man myself, and I wanted to prove that sometimes the best advice can come from who you least expect it from.
I see a lot of people here get overwhelmed by makeup -- that's totally okay. Makeup is an art form. It takes a lot of experimentation to master, and it's a whole professional industry, too. But good makeup is like building a house. You have to establish a good foundation before you can put all the detail work in.
**Tools of the Trade**
In addition to the actual expendables, you'll need things like brushes, blending sponges, brush cleaner, a good mirror, tweezers, a pencil sharpener, and potentially bags if you travel. These things can vary wildly in price, and honestly, I don't find much difference between a $40 brush and a $4 one. It's about knowing how to use it, and what tool to use for what job. *That being said, do not cheap out on products, because they can vary wildly in quality.*
If you're just learning, and want to practice with a variety of brushes, I recommend getting e.l.f. brushes. They're only a couple of bucks a brush ($1-$5), and the only difference between that and a $100 set of brushes is you'll have to replace the e.l.f. one a bit sooner. Learn to use your brushes, and take care of them, and they'll last you a long while.
You should start with a handful of brushes, of a variety of shapes. You'll want a thicker brush for foundation or blush, smaller ones for eyeshadow, ones for blending, and angled brushes for contour (if you want to contour your face). Here's my set(
http://imgur.com/m36ihlW), for example.
Brush cleaner is also vitally important. It comes in a variety of styles, but I use the spray kind myself. To clean my brushes, I spray it onto the back of my hand and gently rub the brush until clean.
Blending sponges are fun little tools if you don't like blending with your fingers. You can get them at target for cheap, or, if you're in it for the long haul, you can opt for the Beauty Blender(
http://amzn.to/2nlFATi). I have heard rave things about them, but never saw the need for it myself.
**Primers**
I didn't use primers until about a year ago, and they honestly do make a difference. Primers can go a long way for your skin, especially if you have sensitive or oily skin. Primers help not only your skin, but the application of makeup like foundation and concealer, contour, etc. Remember, makeup can damage your skin over time if you don't take good care of it, and primers help alleviate potential damage.
Before you apply makeup, use primer on the main areas of your face -- forehead, cheeks, chin, nose. I do 9 dots on my face, and then rub it in (three on my forehead, then cheek, nose, cheek, and jaw, chin, jaw). There are all sorts of different kinds, but a few I would recommend to beginners:
Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer(
http://amzn.to/2nqOpgm) comes recommended by my roommate, who has cystic acne and very finicky skin. She swears by it and has had good results. I find it a bit oily on my skin, but I have an oilier complexion than she does, especially in my T-zone (forehead and nose).
TooFaced's Hangover Primer(
http://amzn.to/2n7lsCQ) is my personal favorite and feels more like a lotion you put on your skin as opposed to the Smashbox primer. I find it's a bit better for oily skin or anyone who has issues with sebaceous filaments.
For your eyes, I would highly recommend urbandecay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion(
http://amzn.to/2nlKJLi). This will help a ton with the application of eyeshadow. If you don't like wearing eyeshadow, feel free to pass on this, but for anyone doing work with eyeshadow, both stick and cake, it's a must have.
**Foundation**
Foundation is something most pass on unless you have bad skin, visible pores, or really like the smoothed out full face look. It comes in a few forms, like the rest of makeup, and it's best to experiment with what type you like best.
*Powder foundation* is probably the easiest to apply and get smooth. If you don't need a lot of foundation or don't like something clogging up your skin, I would investigate a powder foundation. TooFaced makes a nice Cocoa Powder(
http://amzn.to/2nlNlsx) foundation, but I have heard you can go through it rather quickly.
*Liquid foundation* goes on like paint, and can be a little trickier to blend. However, it provides a thicker, more even coat if done right, and blending can be done with fingers, a brush, or a blending sponge. I use Lorac's PoreFection(
http://amzn.to/2n7lQkJ) liquid foundation. Although pricey, it will last you a long time.
*Stick foundation* is a thick cream that comes in stick form, like a big tube of lipstick. It's probably the second easiest behind powder foundation to use. Anastasia makes a good stick foundation(
http://amzn.to/2n7mChJ) that's not too expensive.
To find what color of foundation is right for your skin tone, you should test it on your neck, near your jawline. Don't test on your hand -- your skin tone will be too varied in that spot and you'll end up with foundation that doesn't match. You don't want to have your face stop at your neck because the tone of your foundation is off.
Powder foundation is designed to be applied with a brush. It's light, and easy, and can be done quickly with a fat brush. Liquid foundation *can* be done with a brush, but I find it a bit messy and ungainly. I usually just use my fingers. Stick foundation is applied from the stick, and then blended with fingers or a blending sponge. Make sure to evenly apply your foundation and blend it well -- you don't want to have blotchy patches on your face.
**Color Correction**
Color correction is something that touches on color theory, and is really only needed if you have blotchy patches on your face or an uneven skin tone. Color correction comes generally in a palette, and is usually a cream base. It can be applied and blended with your fingers or a blending sponge, or a brush if you feel the need.
So what does color correction do? It negates blotches in your face by applying the needed color to a certain area. IE, red patches should be negated with green, light with dark, etc. **That said, orange color corrector is a fantastic way of hiding beard shadow, if necessary.**
**Concealer**
If you have things like a problem zit, a mole, or dark circles under your eyes, concealer is your friend. Generally it's a liquid or stick form, applied directly to the skin, that acts as a thicker, 'spot' foundation, designed to hide small imperfections.
Again, test concealer near your jaw or on your neck. You don't want something to perfectly match the back of your hand and look terrible on your face. When concealer is needed, apply a tiny dab to the area in question (or a swipe for a larger area), and then smoothly blend to finish. I generally apply concealer after foundation, so I can see what areas might still need work.
For liquid concealer, I again stand by Lorac and their PoreFection(
http://amzn.to/2mFsIKB) concealer. For stick, tarte's Amazonian Clay(
http://amzn.to/2n7mONZ) does wonders. The best stick foundation I ever picked up was a random off brand in Germany, so don't be afraid to experiment and combine a couple if needed.
**Contour**
Again, a largely 'optional' step and something generally only needed for full face application. Contouring is the art of shaping a face with dark and light powder or cream to give the illusion of angles/planes that are not there. It can give shape to a round face, emphasize cheekbones, even out a heart-shaped face, etc. To contour, you need to have a good understanding of your facial geometry and light and shadow.
To contour, just apply and blend shadows and highlights to the proper areas of your face. Easy, right? The hardest part of contouring is knowing *where* to put those shadows and highlights. Again, you'll have to experiment, but here's a quick guide(
http://blog.lloydspharmacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Watermarked-Contour-Chart.jpg) to face shapes. Make sure you blend properly! Nothing worse than shadows that look completely unnatural on your face.
For contour, I recommend Kat Von D's Shade + Light(
http://amzn.to/2n7d3zc) set.
**Eyeshadow**
Eyeshadow is the next area I see a lot of beginners making faux pas in. Well done eyeshadow can absolutely be the focus of a look, but poorly done eyeshadow will make you, unfortunately, look like a party clown. Eyeshadow is both dangerous territory, because it can look awful if done poorly, but can be killer if done right. The biggest mistake I see is choosing colors inappropriate for your skin tone. Everyone wants to be able to pull off that killer smoky eye look or those beautiful blues, teals, whatevers, but honestly, they weren't made for everyone. Know your skin tone, know what colors work for you, and use your palettes accordingly.
So, what to do, and what to avoid? First, we need to understand our skin tones, palettes, eye shapes, and coordination.
Your skin tone will be the predominant factor in determining what kind of colors you should pursue when looking into eyeshadow. This ties into color theory -- specifically, what hue your skin tone falls into. Generally, makeup artists have 4 groups of hues, named after the seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn). These are dependent on what 'hue' you have in your skin. Winters tend to be blue, springs are pale pink, summers are bolder, and autumns are more yellow. In terms of what palettes go with each, winters match well with cooler colors, since they have a cooler undertone to their skin. Springs do well with pastels, summers are generally more jewel tones, and autumns have reds and saturated colors.
You can determine your skin hue at home, or you can ask someone in a beauty store to do it. Color Me Pretty has a pretty good analysis(
https://www.colormepretty.co/categories-2/4-season-color-analysis/) on the color theory and determining your skin tone, and here's another(
http://www.thechicfashionista.com/color-theory.html) from chicfashionista.
Knowing what skin tone you have will point you in the right direction for choosing an eye palette. Bronze tends to be a safe look for every skin tone, so I recommend a good little tri color bronze palette if you're just starting out. It's a great everyday look, and here's my personal pick(
http://imgur.com/s5wv9vG).Once you know your skin tone, where the heck do you start with eyeshadow? Eyeshadow comes in 2 forms, cake and stick. I generally stick to cake eyeshadows and have never bothered with stick. Cake eyeshadow is the kind applied with brushes. You'll want smaller brushes for this task, as it's a delicate application in parts. Again, I also can't stress the importance of eyeshadow primer, either. It's a $20 investment that will change your makeup game entirely.
With palette in hand, it's about the application game. ALWAYS work light to dark. This is a rule in painting and makeup. You cannot correct mistakes done in bold, dark shades without taking off all your eyeshadow, so be sure to apply the darker shades last.
Don't be afraid to experiment with patterns. You can stick to the safe 'all over the lid' application with one color, but variation can really give you a stunning look, too. Here(
https://www.makeupgeek.com/content/makeup-basics/10-shapes-for-your-eyeshadow/) is a quick guide to shapes that you can apply to palettes. Again, know what colors go with what. Matching colors to one another is just as hard as matching them to your skin tone. Experiment until you find combinations that work and you like the look of.
My favorite palettes are tarte's Tarteist Pro(
http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-shop-tarteist-collection?locale=USA&gclid=CO79o6jZ49ICFUlNfgodpOwECA) palette, and toofaced's Sweet Peach(
http://amzn.to/2nlGHCs) eyeshadow palette. I wholeheartedly recommend the Sweet Peach palette to fellow autumn tones.
A lot of cosmetic manufacturers also now allow you to 'build your own' palette, and purchase 3-4 cakes in a box. I know urban decay, Anastasia, and smashbox do. If you really love their eyeshadows and only use a few shades, it's a great deal, but I prefer to stick to the larger palettes and have more variety. If you're interested in this option, MAC has boxes for 4, 9, and 16 palette combinations, and their prices are reasonable.
**Eyeliner**
Eyeliner is generally everyone's first 'go to' makeup product. And it's easy to see why -- they can do wonders for your eyes, from giving you a sleek cat eye look to just emphasizing their shape. Eyeliner, like a lot of things, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles.
The most common is stick eyeliner. There are 2 kinds -- an actual pencil that must be sharpened with a sharpener, and a plastic stick that one just twists. (The same generally goes for lip liner). Stick eyeliner is generally the fastest, easiest, and most basic. Just about any decent stick eyeliner (in the $18-$20 range) will do fine, so I don't have any recommendations, although I personally use TooFaced's bulletproof eyeliner for this task.
Probably the second most common is liquid eyeliner. I've seen these in two forms -- a pen form, where the brush is just the tip of the pen, and a small jar with included brush (like nail polish). The second is a bit harder to use than the first, but the point of liquid eyeliner is to paint a bolder, more deliberate stroke, usually with a flared 'wing' at the outside corner of your eye. **If you wear eyeshadow, apply your eyeliner *after* you apply your eyeshadow.**
Gel eyeliner is a form that I haven't seen so much, but can be used to create a softer look. Like liquid eyeliner, it's applied with a brush, but it has a thicker 'gel' consistency.
How do you apply eyeliner, you ask? A common beginner mistake I see is that users are too 'bold' with eyeliner, and tend to draw a thick, fat stripe over their eyelid. The point of eyeliner is to emphasize, not to redefine.
That being said, you generally want to start at the inside corner of your eye and move outwards.(
http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/b/bd/Apply-Eyeliner-Step-5-Version-9.jpg/aid69763-728px-Apply-Eyeliner-Step-5-Version-9.jpg) With eyelinder, it's better to 'sketch' as opposed to trying to draw it perfectly in one go. Using smaller, smoother strokes and building into a continuous line is a lot easier than trying to get it perfect the first try.
Once you've got an even line on your eyelid, you can outline the shape of your 'wing' and fill it in(
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5a/a3/a6/5aa3a6433eaf82c36986c85f50d32bc8.jpg), if you're using liquid eyeliner. This is a bold look that will take a while to practice, so it might be best to get some cheap eyeliner (again, I stand by e.l.f.) until you've mastered the shape. Don't be afraid to mess up, it's hard to get right and will take you more than one try.
I would recommend Kat von D's Tattoo Eyeliner(
http://amzn.to/2n7lQkI) if you want to try liquid eyeliner. It comes in a pen form and is easy to handle, great for a daily look. If you're into a bolder look, I use tarte's Clay Paint Liner(
http://amzn.to/2nYgygp). It is **not** a product for beginners. It's an extremely black, matte look that must be applied with a brush. If you want to try gel liner, bobbi brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner(
http://amzn.to/2nYlgdN) is what I use when I want a softer look, but you need to buy a brush for it separately.
Once you get good at shaping eyeliner, don't be afraid to experiment with color. A bold stripe under the eye can make a statement.
Eyeliner is frustrating, and you will have to practice it. But don't worry, because practice makes perfect.
**Brows**
Brows. You either have 'em or you don't. (I am the latter.)
But never fear, because makeup is here to save you, whether you're trimming the hedges or need to plant some shrubs.
Some girls just like to pluck and go. My roommate is one, but she's Italian, with dark brows. She just cleans hers up with tweezers and is happy with the look. If you choose to do this option, pay attention to the shape of your brow bone and eye, and go with what looks best for you naturally. Brows come in a variety of styles(
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/84/b4/5d/84b45d0b107d7c78ed16d26f85d8cb44.jpg), and like eyeshadow, you should work with what suits you best.
You can also get your brows threaded or waxed, if you're not comfortable taking a tweezer to your skin. Your stylist will be able to help you figure out what brow shape you should aim for, too.
Regardless of how much brow material you might have going on, cleaned up brows are a good look. You can go further by using brow powder, pomade, or a pencil to give yourself a bolder look. Brow powder is just that, a powder cake applied with a brush. Pomade is a soft gel, like the hair product, also applied with a brush. Pencils work the way pencil eyeliner does.
When looking for the right shade of brow product, remember that your eyebrows are about a shade darker than your hair. So look at your hair color, and go a tick down when trying to find a coordinating product. Personally, I recommend Anastasia's Brow Powder Duo(
http://amzn.to/2n8y919). I find it's the easiest to apply and can look great if you're patient with application. Like eyeliner, it's best to sketch versus trying to draw in one fell swoop.
Anastasia makes fantastic brow products, and if you plan on handling your brows, their Brush #12(
http://amzn.to/2mFKfm6) is a must have. The brush end is for application, and the spiral end is for 'combing' your brow to get a smooth look.
**Lashes**
Mascara is about as straightforward as it gets when it comes to makeup. The application is near universal -- a gel that comes in a tube and is applied with a spindly brush. Mascara generally is designed to lengthen and thicken lashes, giving the illusion of fullness. It can come in a variety of 'flavors', but I caution anyone and everyone to stay away from waterproof varieties. These are notoriously bad for your eyes.
Generally, mascara comes in dark brown or black. If you're fair haired, I would stick to brown (or at least try it), as black might look odd with your skin tone. Pay attention to the natural color of your lashes, too. To apply, move the brush down the length of your lash, starting closest to your eyelid. Be very light to avoid clumps.
I stand by tarte's 4-in-1(
http://amzn.to/2nlGZcw) mascara, but I have also heard things about toofaced's Better Than Sex(
http://amzn.to/2nlw8Q8) mascara.
**Lips**
Lips, behind eyes, are the other big danger zone for beginners.
Lipstick is pretty, and comes in a ton of pretty shades. However, a lot of times you can get sucked in by how pretty a shade is and ignore that it looks terrible on your face. Dark shades are not for everyone. The same goes for bright, bright red. Again, I cannot stress the importance enough of learning your skin tone and what hues associate with it.
That being said, lips have come a long way from just plain 'ol lipstick (which is still around and well). In addition to lipstick, we have lip gloss, and lip paint. I prefer lip paint, as I find it to be the longest lasting and most resistant option. It applies the same way lip gloss does, with an applicator from the tube.
If you wear darker colors, lip liner is a must. Lip liner is a thin pencil that you 'trace' the outer edge of your lip with, before painting the rest of your lip with lipstick, paint, or gloss. If you're clever, you can also trace *just* outside your natural lip and make them appear slightly fuller. It will take practice to get right, however.
I personally love tarte's Matte Lip Paint(
http://amzn.to/2nqFnjr). The quick dry version is incredible, very resistant, and dries in seconds. It also won't dry your lips out.
**If you do a bold eye look, do not overstate your lips with a loud color. If you want loud, red lips, you must keep your eye look neutral.**
**Miscellany**
Makeup is fun. Have fun with what you buy. Try a lot of looks until you find ones that work for you.
Your skin tone/hue is important. Don't think that just because a color looks pretty you should wear it. Dark teal lipstick was not designed to be worn universally.
Makeup can get *expensive*. Don't feel you need to buy everything at once. But, I also caution you to not throw your money away on 'cheap' products in bulk. If you want something cheap, buy e.l.f. Otherwise, save your money to put towards good products that have good durability and won't damage your skin.
Highlighters are the latest trend. I would stick to cooler toned (blues and purples) highlighters, because otherwise I find they can give you a 'greasy' look.
Blush is an entirely optional step, in my opinion. I do not wear it, but my roommate loves it and the color it can add to your face.
Above all: *Wear makeup that suits your face, your skin tone, and your style.*
