Recommend me a make up brand

[way2serious]

Hi. I am mid forties and am in desperate need of a make up overhaul and so am thinking of booking a session with a department store consultant. Which make up brand would you recommend for this? My skin is fairly good but with the odd blemish / spot and a few lines. Thank you.

I love Clinique and Clarins - have worn clinique for years but just bought Clarins BB cream and mascara and love them.

Laura Mercier
Bobbi Brown
Shishedo
Armani
Nars

Any and all of the above are great brands. Their staff are trained make up artists as opposed to shop assistants who work on make up counters. Basically, go to a decent department store and look at the level of make up on the assistant. Avoid the orange ones!

I had intended to book something but I think the advice about looking at the assistants' make up is a good one. I don't want to be over done but need something long lasting. There just seem so many to choose from!

Mac of you can afford it. Max factor if you're on a budget

I don't mind investing if it is good quality make up and lasts well.
I would like to aim for a 'natural' look which looks classy.

The Bobbi Brown look is very simple but classic - no weird colours or fancy-schmancy techniques, just fresh-looking skin, subtly defined eyes and glowy cheeks. Think Kate Middleton but with a bit less eyeliner (she's supposed to go to their Peter Jones concession). It's not the cheapest, but it's good quality, and the make-up artists on the stand don't generally look as if they're wearing the entire range all at once on their faces.

I've just moved over to using Bobbi Brown and so far so good.

Thank you. Bobbi Brown sounds a good possibility. Are there any particular Bobbi Brown products that you would recommend? Do you use their skin care products as well as make up?

The Bobbi Brown BB cream (BBBB cream?!) is one of the better ones I've tried; the gel eyeliner is easy to apply and bombproof once on; some people love the Shimmerbrick for highlighting; the cream eyeshadow gets rave reviews, and the foundation range is good.

But what I think's helpful, if you're looking for an overhaul, is the general BB approach of enhancing what's there, rather than trowelling on progressive layers of slap. They're big on concealers. Laura Mercier is the same - the emphasis is on getting your skin looking great, and then adding flattering colour. You can listen to what the make-up artist tells you about your colouring, what techniques work best, what coverage you need to wear, and so on, and then look for high street alternatives if you want. In my experience, anyway, the BB assistants are pleasantly unscary when it comes to flogging you absolutely everything you tried on.

I've never tried their skincare, but I imagine it's on a par with Clinique? Having discovered Avene/La Roche Posay, I'm a convert to French pharmacie brands...

I do like Bobbi brown, but would recommend a trip to Space NK as well, mainly for the Laura Mercier and By Terry brands.

I tried MAC and loved it but by all accounts Bobi Brown is fab too.

Thanks for Bobbi Brown recommendations. What happens at Space NK?

Clinique. It has no perfume in it. Kind to skin & anti-ageing with sunscreens.

And the By Terry Touché Velouté is waaaaaaaaaay better than YSL version. Or the Clinique one is very good also (By Terry one is far less white than any of the others. It has a yellow base tone and is freaking amazing. I do not work for them!)

I agree with shandy about Touché Veloutee, i have rambled on about that on mumsnet for years. Better than YSL as it is a concealer and not a highlighter.

Space NK is a nice small Beaty shop, I don't know if they do makeovers as such but they spend ages showing you the stuff and they are not hard sell at all, just very knowledgable about their stuff, amd really friendly.

I know I went on and on and on and ON about Bare Minerals under another name (the thread ran to 1000 posts and BM posted me a goodie box worth about £300 to say thankyou ) so I won't do it again - but honestly, that stuff has changed my life. It was about a year ago now if not more, and I was feeling pretty low about my appearance, and discovering it gave me such a boost.

I used to be always fretfully spending money on makeup desperately trying to find something that would deal with my sensitive, spot-prone, pallid face, and last all day in a hot office. Now I use BM I don't bother with any other make up at all (apart from Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara).

I'm honestly not a paid shill for Bare Minerals - I just think it's the bee's knees!

Haunted, do Bare Minerals do the full range of make up or just foundation type things? If so which products do u recommend and do they do a free consultancy / make over type session?

Yes - they do everything. The majority of their stuff is powder - foundation, concealer, eyeliner, the whole shebang.

It's essential you have a consultation because there is a very distinct technique to using it, and if you don't get it right it looks awful (chalky with HUGE pores). They always have people on hand to show you the basics, but I think you have to book for a full session.

The main things I recommend are the foundation, setting powder and concealer - I've simply never found anything to beat them. Even my Ma (72 and never touched so much as a pot of lip balm) was impressed.

You can get 'starter kits' which include everything you need in fairly small pots (but that last ages). I think that's about £36 but would be an entire new makeup kit.

In the interests of being even-handed I should add that other mineral powder makeup is available I believe some MNers swear by Lily Lilo (I think it's called).

Good luck!

Decisions, decisions. This is even tougher than I thought. Are there such things as independent make up consultants who use products from different companies?

Bobbi Brown session plus a trip to Space NK to try By Terry and Laura Mercier. Then choose which items you like best from each range. All great for a ' natural but enhanced' look.

I have a mix if BB, By Terry and Becca ( great but now available only unline sadly) in my makeup bag.

I love Clarins skin care but don't think their makeup is as good. Clinique are IK but not as good ad the brands I mentioned above.

Sorry for poor typing skills on phone! A lot of the 'i' s need to be 'o's!

PS Space NK are independent in that they have a range of brands.

Don't over think it. There are freelance make-up artists who work with different products, but personally I'd just book a 30 minute appointment with either the Bobbi Brown counter, or a Laura Mercier counter in SPace NK, or go into a Mac shop, listen to what they say about the sort of base your skin needs (is it dry? Do you have red patches? Are you oily? Do you need something long-lasting, or sheer?), then discuss any colour application techniques that might be new to you, like Laura Mercier's tightlining eyeliner or Bobbi Brown's concealer/brightener.

I would use the makeover as a way of getting someone else to appraise your face and give you some fresh ideas, rather than feeling you have to get the whole lot in one go. Resign yourself to buying one or two key items after the session - a decent foundation, or the kit to re-create a smoky eye look, or something - then take your knowledge away and find what you need elsewhere, if certain brands are better at certain elements, eg, Mac do great individual eyeshadows, By Terry do the brilliant Touche Veloutee, Max Factor still make the best mascaras (and I've had the lot).

x-post polyhymnia ! Spooooky.

Thank you. Some really helpful advice. I think I need to take time and do this carefully and properly and not just rush to one brand.