I need make up advice. Please help me.

[bagelmonkey]

I've never been into make up. I experimented briefly as a teenager, but never really got the hang of it. Someone else did my make up for me when I got married & I don't own any.
I'm pretty happy without make up most of the time, but I'm starting to become more aware of my slightly blotchy red cheeks & I was hoping for some suggestions for an easy to apply foundation/cover-up type thing to make my complexion look smoother. The make up equivalent of airbrushing? Does that exist? It must do. Please tell me that everyone else's perfect faces aren't natural.
So, any suggestions? (not too many & not too expensive, or my head will explode) Please don't tell me to go to a make up counter. They're too intimidating & I tried it once & left painted up like a clown.
Thank you.

I find foundation much too heavy so stick to Boots No 7 tinted moisuriser, it has spf 15 and makes my skin feel soft. In the winter if I need a bit more coverage I use Maybelline matte mousse foundation on my oily area (like you OP, I have slightly oily skin on my nose but also on my chin ).

Not sure what skin colour you have but apparently it's best to choose one that's slightly paler then your skin tone.

Maybe you are right might try a tinted mosituriser. My skin is pretty good just looks almost translucent it is so pale so has some red areas and some darker patches under my eyes that I like to cover and make me look alive a bit.

I think half the problem is finding make up for such pale skin.

You might like one of the new BB creams (beauty balm). Its a cross bettween a pore minimiser, moisturiser, foundation and illuminator, all in one. Very light and you can even just rub a blob in over your whole face like moisturiser. Will need a bit of mascara and blusher to finish.

I like the new one by garnier, you can get a free sample here www.garnier.co.uk/_en/_gb/BB-cream

I'm not a make-up fan but if I do have to make the effort I use Laura Gellor base (can't remember the name it's a baked powder Brighten something. It goes on with a big brush, I CBA with liquid base.

Mascara, Body Shop for colour mascaras (Yes I'm an 80's throwback, I like blue/navy mascara) and for Black Mascara, the BEST I've tried is Mally Beauty.
And I've got the scabbiest eyelashes in history, Mally make them look decent.

(Animal friendly) -check their web pages.

The best blusher I've found is Laura Gellor Roseberry. Suits my skin tone.
And I wore my Mally eyemake-up on Christmas Day, it really did stay on all day.

I'd say:

• tinted moisturiser or BB cream (I wouldn't bother with foundation, if you are used to no makeup it will feel horrible). I like Dermalogica tinted moisturiser.

• mascara. Start with a "natural" one rather than a mega volume one. Lancome does good mascaras, try Definicils or Hypnose.

• concealer. (Unless you have nothing to cover up!) The main thing is to get one which matches your skin colour. I prefer liquid concealers as they blend much better. MAC has a really good colour range.

OP: Based on my experience and what sounds like similar skintone, here are some good/cheap cheerful basic options. This is what I use on the weekend daytime (ie not full face of make-up for work):

Boots No7 tinted moisturiser - ladies in the shop will help you choose one for your skintone. This has SPF too, which is good.

If you are eg going out in the evening or feel you need more coverage than a tinted moisturiser, I would recommend Aldi Lacura creamy foundation. Aldi beauty products are generally brilliant, wish I'd found them sooner and not shelling out dough to the drag queens over-made up women at make-up counters. When I wear this foundation I get loads of compliments about how smooth/even my skin looks. Even if you don't stick with them I'd recommend starting with Lacura products (except the mascara, it's a bit hit and miss) because they aren't expensive - it's scary shelling out all that dosh if you're not used to wearing make-up.

Under eye concealer - Aldi's Lacura under eye concealer (silver coloured pen shape). It's exactly the bloody same as YSL Touche Eclat, and it costs less than a fiver and has amazing reviews (from proper beauty people, not just me).

Mascara - Max Factor Masterpiece. Brilliant. I'm blonde so I use brown-black.

Blush - if you're not used to make-up blush can be scary but it is very useful for giving you a nice healthy glow/not look pale and over made-up. After much trial and error I have found solace in MAC Skinfinish/Mineralise stuff. Their stuff is really good quality and lasts forever - which detracts from the price. It's blush that's a combination of different shades, and you sweep the brush across, if that make sense. If you are scared of heading to the MAC counter though (those girls armed with gazillions of brushes and Dita Von Teese amounts of slap can be scary) then I'd try the Rimmel stuff (at Boots) which is similar - ie many different colours of blush in one pot.

On the lips I would just use lipbalm/Vaseline/Lucas PawPaw stuff. I like to look natural ie an improved/less ropey version of myself.

For stuff like blush and applying liquid foundation I'd recommend buying a couple of good-quality brushes at Boots. They last forever (you can wash them with shampoo, and then blowdry them.... well that's what I do) and make your application of makeup much easier and less messy.

My quick route to looking good is big sunglasses and bright red lipstick. Good for when you don't have time to do make up.

I'm watching with interest as I am getting to an age where I need to start doing stuff.
Zara, I think I will print your post and do exactly as you say. Thanks

I'd really go with a simple all-in-one thing like the garnier beauty balm suggested for the OP (though I haven't tried it, about to order the free samples someone kindly pointed out).

Estee Lauder double-wear is certainly indestructable and opaque, it's fantastic for some, but you need to get exactly the right shade and blend REALLY well with a damp sponge and to be honest I think you'll find it too heavy.

If you decide you need the coverage of a foundation, a little well-rubben-in primer is definately a good idea. Dot a little foundation on your t-zone and the sides of your nose, then blend really, really well with clean fingers/brush/damp make-up sponge from the middle out, make sure you rub extra-well at the edges. Don't put it anywhere near your jaw unless you need it.

The little pot of Vaseline with rose in is amazing, it has a lovely light tint. Highly recommended.

If you do decide to go for some blush (I know it sounds counter-intuitive as you have rosy skin, but honestly it can lift your whole face, it's great, great stuff) as you have dry skin I'd go for a Bobbi Brown cream pot one. A rosey-pinky colour suits most - smile, dab on the sticky-out bit of each cheek, then blend up and out.

ooh ooh thanks for the tip about free BB cream samples from Garnier. Ordered mine. (I'm sure it will come with a junk mail deluge but I get so much anyway that what the hell).

Lisa Eldridge make up tutorials are excellent.

Wow! Thanks for all the replies.
Well, I've requested the garnier sample (thanks, kitcatcandy), so I'll see how that goes, and I think I'll make a trip to aldi to follow Zara's advice. I'll start out experimenting with my mum's blusher before I splash out. (I think I was meant to do that 20 years ago)

there are some excellent tips here and would concur that if you've not been into makeup and you don't have blemishes to conceal i would steer towards water-based foundation, or tinted moisturiser, bb cream. i hate seeing foundation in daytime, i really zero in on it. i only wear bb creams or chanel vita/aqua lumiere as i have good skin and freckles and like to see the skin. Top Tip, only apply to the centre of the face and blend out to nothing round the edges.

basically, for a nice makeup you can't go wrong with a very sheer base, something to fill in your brows (i like a natural brow so use pencil and or an eyeshadow, something ashy or it will turn gingery), concealer for circles (mac, bobbi brown, mercier good for this) a neutral cream blush (bobbi pot rouge in pink truffle a universal one for light skin) a mlbb lipstick/glossstick and a neutral non shimmer bone shadow for the crease and one very slightly darker for the crease. then something to line close to the lashes, i usually use wet powder (bobbi brown plum is nice, will last decades) but have loads of those bobbi brown gel eyeliners

i also do the eyes with red lipstick (i have, ahem, 30 red lipsticks) or do the neutral lip with one of those chanel illusion d'ombres (illusoire is my fave)

i have 10 mascaras at the moment, from phenomeneyes, diorshow, ysl, etc etc and actually prefer maybelline the falsies. the lash works very well for me.

fir drugstore makeup i like sleek blushes and tinted lipbalms. myface foundations are good.

a mac 217 eyeshadow brush is a good investment, along with an angled liner brush. everything else i do with my fingers.

The best thing I've found is to wait for a day on QVC when they have a special value makeup kit, because you can watch how they apply it and if it doesn't suit you, you can send it back.

I've lost count of the times I've bought makeup in shops, got home and tried it and it either makes me spotty or isn't quite the right colour. You can use it for up to a month when you buy from QVC and still get your money back.

Mally and Laura Geller are both good brands.

My slight obsession is eyebrows. I can go pretty much bare faced as long as my eyebrows are defined and neat. I usually use mascara, benetint on my cheeks if I look a bit dead, concealer on my eyelids and tinted lipbalm. I freshen it up in the evening and add a bit of eyeliner. If I'm going out I like a mac spice lip liner and a 'dusky' eye type combo.

I much prefer a sheer base if I use one at all, and generally like a tinted moisturiser and concealer rather than foundation. Clinique City Block was perfection in a tube and God knows why they discontinued it.

My tips are to have nice eyebrows, mascara suits everyone, and whatever make up you wear, put it on in a strong natural (if possible) light, with a close up mirror. Otherwise foundation can look like it's been thrown at your face by an irate toddler. Which, obviously, it might have been on a bad fairly average day.

I don't wear foundation - I just use Boots No. 7 loose powder over my moisturiser. It gives a nice finish to my skin without being heavy, plus you never have to worry about tidemarks etc, which I always seemed to get after a few hours in liquid foundation!

YY chilledmomma. I rarely buy cosmetics in store because I don't like being zoomed in on by make-up counter staff and I like the watch the (never ending) demos

And a huge bugbear of mine is make-up especially mascara that someone might have opened.

Body Shops are sealed. QVC is sent direct.

I agree the Benefit tinted moisturiser is good and it reduces redness without that odd colour you get from the green corrective. It smells good and lasts for ages.

I can't help thinking that you might end up buying loads of stuff that you are never going to use, especially if you have never got into the habit of wearing make up. Could you maybe just buy a translucent powder and pad it on when you need it? the problem with foundation et al is that when you have it on you then have to use lots of other stuff to stop you looking like a ghost

I really like the BB creams at the moment especially with the summer coming - I wear them in place of foundation with just a concealer and some loose powder as a base. The Garnier one is excellent and really reasonably priced or I have also just discovered the Clinique one which is a bit more expensive (although not mega bucks!!) and has a 30SPF.

A top tip I got from a pro make up artist:
Got any red in your face then use yellow to eradicate it.
Ad it works.
Lke you OP I have red cheeks one I've got older and I use benefit bluff dust. The yellow powder put lightly over the red perfectly hides it.
If you want to know about make up go along to your nearest department store or boots and ask one of the make up counter women to show you how to do your make up. I did that at Benefit and it changed my whole face!!!