Could I have some MAKE-UP advice, please?

[mytwopenceworth]

i never wear the stuff, but have begun to feel that perhaps i would feel better about myself if i plucked my tash and slapped on some lippie.

so, duly plucked, i applied some make-up i have had lying around.

oh it's awful.

what is wrong?

you see people with foundation on and it looks like it's their skin, but look at me and you can see, well, it looks flaky and bitty and smudged and, ok imagine if you had dry dead skin and applied it on top of that, that's what i mean. - i don't have dry dead skin. i moisturised first!

i clearly need help.

i have in my possession

a liquid foundation
a concealer
a bit of face powder
a blusher - not the powder one, the one that's sticky, like lipstick
a lipstick
a lip pencil
a mascara
an eyeshadow
a sponge for the foundation
a puff for the powder
everything else goes on with my finger!

and no money to spend on make up, which, having looked, is £10 per bloody item!!

what can i do with what i've got?

apart from throw it all in the bin and shove a bag on my head.

Try exfoliating first - you need to get rid of the dead skin, not moisturise it (even a rub with a flannel might do, when you're washing your face). Then try again...
(I'm sure others will be along with more advice on makeup)

Exfoliate - doesn't have to be an expensive one but make sure it's gentle and do it thoroughly.
Is your moisturiser greasy? Give it 20 mins or so before you put the foundation on top.
Don't put powder all over, just the bare minimum on nose and chin (if shiny).
Fingers are fine, and if you do use a puff for the powder, have you got a brush to brush the bulk of it off afterwards?

You should go to a make-up counter and ask for some advice. They will be able to advise you about what colour you should wear. If you dress up nicely you should also get free samples if you ask and this will save you having to buy right away.

What colour are your eyes and hair, what's your skin type?

I agree - exfoliating is important. I like Clinique 7 day Scrub.

I'm afraid you need to spend quite a bit to get a good foundation - you get what you pay for as they say.

if you are going to start sounds like you are going in at the deep end with full on make up with that lot.

Okay - no money - hmm.

-I use beauty balm flash and intelligent colour foundation combined to give a natural look., You could try putting on a lot moisteriser and then using the foundation just to touch up on your nose and cheels and chin and blend well.

-Same with concealer under eyes, a little over moisteriser and blend really well.

-No powder

-no blusher

-a slight dab of eyeshadow, darker on lid lighter under brow to highlight
eyeliner (buy one - only a pound or so) in grey or brown and do eyes and VERY lightly on (plucked) brow

-Mascara if you are good at it

-No lip liner just moisteriser and lipstick

Hope this makes everything look a bit lighter.

good luck

The other thing to bear in mind is that it takes practice to get it looking natural. So if you haven't really used make-up before don't be too hard on yourself.

Foundation should be one shade lighter than your skin tone (I think).

Sorry but psml at "dress up nicely"

Well - it's true. You get more if you
dress up nicely, I know from experience

I'm not disagreeing with you!
Just had mental picture of wild bush woman type trotting up to a snobby make up counter type place looking for samples.

Actually that would be me!

oh, im not wearing all that - that is everything in my possession!!

i put on the foundation, then blotted with powder, then lipstick, eyeshadow, rubbed a dot of blusher in that little hollow of my cheekbone and finally the mascara.

i do rub with a flannel - do i really need an exfoliator - surely that's just marketing crap to get our money?

i will do the moisureiser early, see if that helps.

my hair is auburn (bottled!!) i have green eyes. i suffer from greasy round the nose and forehead but not cheeks

the eyeshadow is brown, blusher is browish and lippie is brownish/reddish/pinkish too.

going to check if i have failed to answer any qs!

I'd scarp the powder if I were you, IMO you have to spend loads on powder to get a decent one that doesn't dry your skin and make you look like an 80 yr old woman.

If you are not use to wearing much, I would mic the foundation with a little of your moisturiser which will make it less heavy (also mousturise first though), then concealer around nose and eyes - you might want to mix with a little foundation to get a better texture depending on the concealer.

Than a tiny bit of blusher on your finger and blend accross your cheek bone.

Bit of lippy and mascara.

Hopefully your skin should look a bit more dewy that way as opposed to dry.

Let us know how you get on.

If the foundation's getting on a bit, you might need to replace it - it might be drying out and not going on smoothly. And remember - only focus on lips or eyes, not both together - if you have heavier eyeshadow, go for very natural lips, and if you have bright lipstick, go for natural/no eye makeup.

If your foundation is quite old that could make it flaky. Day to day I don't usually bother with makeup but when I do it's not much; small bit of foundtion, bit of blusher and mascara.

Ditto mixing foundation and moisturiser - I hardly ever wear foundation and always do this to avoid the mask-like effect. Jist squirt/dot a little into the palm of your hand, add the same amount of moisturiser and blend.

it's all years old - i've had it since before the kids were born! but never used it really. although they played with it! powders all broken up, lippie is half eaten!! and i have no idea where the foundation lid is!

i will gratfully take all your tips folks. thankyou.

it looks like i am going to have to try to buy some, doesn't it.

so give my your tips. what do i need?

absolute minimum. cheap as chips if poss!!!!

I would get a new foundation, I think it's worth getting a good one. Could you go to a department store to try a few and see what suits best? Blusher and mascara and maybe a lipstick but I don't find them essential. Mascara really opens up your eyes.

the best stuff that is cheap (ish) IMO is No7 - if they have a 3 for 2 offer on you might get some good deals or if you have some boots points built up use them for you.

I agree with JodieG re: getting a good foundation as a base...I know they're not the cheapest, but I swear by Clinique foundation and will only buy it when they've got one of those "Bonus Time" offers on when they throw in lipsticks, eyeshadows, mascara etc etc when you buy two items. I probably spend less than £100 a year on make-up this way which I don't think is too bad.

MTW - it's probably better to buy a really good foundation and mascara to start with. If you want to look "dewy" try Chanel's Vitalumiere. I sometimes use Clinique's Continuous coverage - although it may be a bit heavy if you only want light make-up. You can get good mascaras from Clinique, Lancome etc for about £12.50. Although it sounds expensive it will last a very long time and is certainly better value than stuff like Maybelline.

For lips, Juicy Tubes are good and you can get them a bit cheaper here In fact, I got a free Elizabeth Arden blusher from this site which is really good - you just need to enter a code at the check out. I will see if it's still available.

well. i did something silly. i went and bid on a job lot of make up! i have no idea what it is going to be like, or what the shades are! but i got carried away with the idea of it. what do you think of this lot -

25 Collection 2000 Make Up Items

3 x 14ml Nail Polish, shades 272, 277 + 268

2 x 6ml Volumax Mascara, 1 Black + 1 Brown

1 x Day to Night Colour Kit - Party Pink

1 x Cover Up Stick - Natural Beige

1 x 40ml Natural Matt Foundation - Natural Blonde 02

3 x Duo Eye Shadow - Desert, Horizon + Celebration

2 x Mono Eye Shadow - Paradise + Apricot Glow

1 x 50ml Shimmer & Shine Roll On

2 x 8ml Plastique Lip Gloss - 33 Lilac + 43 Stardust

1 x Plumping Lip Gloss - Clear

2 x True Glossy Lip Stick - 10 + 30

1 x True Moisture Cream Lip Stick - 17

1 x 8ml Liquid Eye Liner - 2 Earth

1 x Eyebrow Pencil - 3 Blonde

1 x Lip Liner - 12 Pink Heaven

1 x Lip Definer - 4 Pink

1 x Eye Definer - 2 Brown

total £11 incl p&p.

was it worth it????

What's your colouring?

auburn hair (from a bottle!) green eyes and fairly light skin.

have i made a very big mistake?

get a trowel and plenty off ployfiller that should do the trick!!

polyfiller