Please help me with make up, returning to work from mat leave

[RunningGuerita]

I have looked through threads and beauty blogs linked on here which have made me realise how much I really don't know about make up and its application. The tutorials I have found are way too complex with too many products.

I need the lift and the confidence from make up and know that I will look better with it on, but have no idea what i am doing. I have been on maternity leave for ages (twice) and am going back to work and need to look better!

My idea of wearing make up to date has been this:

• moisturiser (Simple)
  
• foundation (Clinique) applied with my fingers. Same one I have worn for years and same bottle I bought over three years ago. Seriously.
  
• powder blusher (Clinique, almost four years old).
  
• black eye liner pencil
  

For a night out (which has happened I think once in 2012) I wear mascara as well.

What else can I do/should I do? Is it possible to get a good look in 5mn and with about 5 products?

Help much appreciated. Thank you!

[OneLittleLady]

The moisturiser followed by foundation and blusher sounds fine. Just check they are still the right colours for your skin tone.Are you very dark in colouring? If not I'd suggest changing the black eyeliner for a brown one for daytime as it's a less dramatic look. I'd also add in a brown/black mascara and either a nude lipstick or a clear lipgloss.

[MintChocCh1p]

My suggestions..

Switch to Lancome Bare skin foundation.

Invest in a foundation brush - makes application easier and it looks nicer too. Lancome do a nice one.

Benefit Brow Zings. Make a big difference to your brows.

Top Shop blusher in ' Flush '... scarily neon in the little pot but looks lovely on.

Chanel quad eyeshadows... they blend beautifully. ditch the eyeliner... use the shadows instead...just one or two to line your eyes.

mascara. YSL is nice, as is By Terry. Always black!

Use lip gloss instead of lipstick. Clarins do nice ones, s do benefit and stila

[RunningGuerita]

Thank you! Yes you're right the black is too dark, I am blonde (highlighted) with green eyes. The brown eyeliner I bought a while back did nothing for my eyes though.
How do I check that the colours are right for me? Not trying to sound daft but just wondering if it's something that make up savvy friend could opine on for me or do I need to go to a make up counter?

[RunningGuerita]

Ok, having googled Benefit Brow Zings I can see the plus of using something like that. Is it hard to get the hang of it? Are there lots of different shades to choose from?

[OneLittleLady]

Going to a make up counter and having them colour match you might be a good idea. Do ask for samples though as the colour you end up with might not look so good in natural light as it does under shop lighting. Try a few different counters if you can, the type of skin you have : oily, dry etc can make a big impact on the best kind of foundation for you.

[AnOeufUniversallyEggnowledged]

I bought a Bare Minerals Starter Kit before going back to work. It took me a while to get good at applying it (actually had to go back to Boots for instructions and a lovely colleague also helped me) but now I can slap it on in five mins flat.

[RunningGuerita]

Thank you, that's another really good suggestion.

[lucywiltshire]

Boots 17 range has a little pot of a pale beige/gold shimmery eye shadow which really makes eyes look awake. I apply a tiny bit with a cotton bud, it stays on quite a long time and is quite subtle so good for work. That with decent mascara is all you need for eyes when you can't be bothered with liner.

[BillStickersIsInnocent]

Every day I wear:

Estée Lauder double wear light foundation
Something from Urban Decay Naked eye shadow palette
Mascara (No 7 at the moment but I'm not loyal to it)
Benefit benetint liquid blusher
Benefit brow zings (only the tinted wax, find the powder as well too much)

For going out I just use a darker/glittery shade from the naked palette. I love this, got from a rec on here before Christmas and honestly haven't used any of my other eye shadows since.

[FamiliesShareGerms]

Key thing is to make your routine quick and simple, otherwise it just won't happen (if your mornings are like mine!)

I'd do

Foundation
Blush
Eyeshadow (single colour wash, darker shading in the corner )
Mascara

And not bother with things like liner or lipstick unless you have to (maybe keep in your bag to apply during the day if you need to smarten up for something?)

On mascara colour, I use black / brown (or what Chanel calls sepia) to give enough definition but not too dark for my colouring

[ClaudiaCutie]

Goodness! Before you spend a bean, get a cuppa and sit down and watch Lisa Eldridge's videos. I am pretty sure she has a quick 5 min thing for every day. She definitely has simple, fresh faced looks and they shouldn't be highly complex. really i have learned a lot from her, its worth the time for techniques, and shes helped learn by experimenting. Part of the catch with speed is practice but you already have an ok routine, do you want to try different products? Are you happy with what you're using now? If you are not happy and If you want to experiment cheaply, consider that you could spend £10 on a big bag of MUA products and £5 on some cheap cheap ELF brushes. Thats a lot of products to try. Don't cough up £££ because that wont always mean you get a good fast result. If you stick with your current foundation, It is faster using a brush to put on foundation - much quicker than fingers, so that is a timesaver. having said that, The MUA foundation has the texture of a tinted moisturiser but the coverage of a foundation so it's much quicker to apply with fingers if you don't want the whole brush thing.

Part of the learning comes with the videos (Wayne goss are ok, but Lisa is best for this) and partly from practicing things yourself.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

What is your works 'dress code' WRT make-up?
(I work in the NHS, clinical so we're not discouraged from wearing make-up, but heavy make-up and perfume is a no-no. No nail varnish or jewellery. And not "excessive BO" )

TBH, if I have time to shower, tie my hair back, use a face wash and moisturise then put my glasses on and brush my teeth- I'm doing well .

I would look at the Bare Minerals too if I wore work make-up.But it takes a bit of time to get 'your' colour. And you need to practice with the tip-brush-buff (tip a tiny amount into the lid. Brush into the powder then tap off the excess. Then buff it onto the skin)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Have your eyelashes dyed maybe?

[RunningGuerita]

Thank you all for your advice.
Yes I was looking at the Lisa Eldridge videos last night and even the simple ones had loads of products that I have never even thought about like beauty flash balms, serums, concealers and powder. That is why I ended up posting on here as it didn't really help me know where to start.
And no I don't really want to spend much money. Don't have much as I have two babies in nursery. And I usually buy make up every couple of years, if that.
Dress code is casual in the office and smart for meetings. I don't have to wear make up but am hitting 40, have two babies and working almost full time so I need it!!!

[RunningGuerita]

Interesting that many of you suggest eyeshadow over eyeliner. I have always used eyeliner/pencil type thing but have never figured out how to apply eye shadow.

[EMUZ]

I would do (but I can do it quickly with many years practice!)

Foundation/concealer
Blusher
Nude eye shadow, brown liner, mascara
Eye brows
Lip balm/gloss

Urban decay do naked palettes (1 and 2) which you can experiment with. My "quick" eye is nude shadow up to brow bone, medium brown colour over lid and a dark colour shaded in socket line
I use maybelline gel liner as it comes with a brush I like and stays on
Blusher is great for making you look fresher and more awake

[EMUZ]

Oh with mascara - max factor do ones that are kind of black with a hint of colour for different eye colours. Called eye brightening mascara I think

[RunningGuerita]

How do you do your eyebrows emuz?

[Iatemyskinnyperson]

How about:
Foundation (bourjois do lovely ones)

Concealer (again bourjois healthy
mix or maybelline Lumi are good)

Powder if you need it (maybelline Fit Me is lovely)

Blush- have heard tonnes of people love benefit coralista. If that's too expensive, have a look at it and then take yourself to boots/superdrug and mooch round till you find one that looks like it. Add bronzer if you want. Bourjois is a nice one, but be subtle about it

Eyes: . Add whichever mascara you prefer. I like max factor clump buster
Optional: maybelline colour tattoos are cream shadows. Pick one you like, apply with fingers.

You need to judge yourself for brows, but defining your brows is a v good way of looking more groomed & polished

Lips- revlon lip butters are v nice & easy to wear. I like pink truffle for natural look, but there are v pretty brighter ones

That sounds like a lot, but would be v quick once you get your groove on!

The Real Technique brushes in boots are good if you feel you need them. I would use brush for blush/bronzer. Perhaps the duo fibre as you couldn't really mess up too much with that.

[EMUZ]

Personally I use pencil. I thread and pluck mine then just follow the shape with the pencil and brush through with the attached brush. Use asda brow pencil in blonde. Always best to go lighter than darker and avoid red tones

[EMUZ]

If you wanted eyeshadow, these are good for £3
www.muastore.co.uk/index.php/undress-me-too-palette

[RunningGuerita]

Thank you all for your suggestions, much appreciated.

[EMUZ]

Is it wrong that I'm itching to do your make up now?!

[ClaudiaCutie]

Ok, I didn't think about Lisa Eldridge making the confusion worse, sorry. Think about it this way - each product is the solution to a problem. I have a oily t-zone, so I have to apply powder there (but not on the non-oily parts of face). If you're not oily, then it's a solution to a problem that you don't have, so ignore it. Same with concealer - I've got some reddish areas that look horrid if I don't add a touch of concealer. If you have lovely even skin tone, then you can put the whole concealer issue to one side.

You say you feel like you need makeup but it'd be good to pin down what skin or feature problems the makeup is resolving and focus on the products that will help those areas that arent quite as youd like. That will prevent confusion.

Also, really understanding your skin tone and any skin problems before you spend any money on products is a good idea. So if your skin is looking a bit flat and tired, powdery mineral foundation will not do you any favours. If your face is oily then using a dewy foundation will not help, not matter how much someone else loves the product on themselves. If you know what is your skin type and the effect you want to achieve, it won't feel like quite such a random quest.

If you find whole-face tutorials a bit much, single feature tutorials ("how to do eyeliner for over 40s" for example) can be great for showing clever tricks for one product.

Ps - Do take time out to watch Eldridge's Foundation Course before you go near the shops - it is helpful!

[RunningGuerita]

Oh Emuz I would love you to do my make up! I would love for someone to go with me to John Lewis or Boots or wherever and figure out what I need!

ClaudiaCutie, I have flat, tired skin. I use to think I had oily skin but was told ages ago, it's actually dry but get oily around the nose/chin. I guess that is combination skin? At the mn it is a bit of a disaster. I am still breastfeeding and I it is prone to black heads around the nose and slight rash/break out on my cheeks as I have had three rounds of antibiotics this year already. I know.
I guess I have quite a few skin imperfections to cover. But would like to do so in as much a natural way as possible.

Does that help for recommendations? I am also quite fair/rosy skin tone as I am light haired/light eyes. But I do tan (when there is sun, I don't self tan) so I am not English rose type fair if that makes sense.