Which counter for make-up?

[MrsGoslingWannabe]

I'm going treat myself this this week to one of those free make-up things and buy 3-4 items. I've had Bare Minerals before but can't remember how expensive they are. Had Clarins once but didn't like that much. I don't usually wear much so don't want anything too heavy or over-glam. Everyday make-up and something extra for Christmas. Thanks :-)

my favs are mac or bobbi brown and benefit at the moment

Bobbi Brown sounds like a good for you. Lovely and understated.

I would agree with Bobbi Brown.

By the way I'm 32, brown hair, hazel eyes. I'd like some red lippy but have thin lips which look silly with red. And red lips always make eyes look greener which you think would be a good thing but I don't like it as it makes me look younger in a naive innocent kind of way.

I always end up going back to Chanel because the colour are so sophisticated and the pigmentation so good so they stay put on your face better than anything else. Have strayed with Bobbi Brown a few times, but I always end up loving their stuff for the first few weeks then getting sick of it and not finishing it, whereas Chanel stuff I use til it's done.

For your Xmas thing, chanej do a great sparkly eyeshadow called Ombre D'illusion that comes in some lovely colours.

Got some amazing YSL foundation a couple of weeks ago. The coverage is brilliant and the colour is fab. I was sick of my no.7 foundation making me look orange

YSL is brilliant for foundation , mascara . MAC has the full range of colours and especially lip colour types and shades. I too strayed to bobbi brown but also get bored of it .

nars fan colours Bobbi brown is OK but a little safe

How do these free make-up things work? Are you expected to buy a couple of their products or something?

You are not under any obligation to buy - I never have - but I think they expect you to.

If you've got money to burn then I'd really recommend Laura Mercier. The quality is the best I've ever used, and they don't go for the fashionable garish colours that MAC seem to like.

Laura Mercier. Bloody amazing. Their tinted moisturiser is spectacular; I used to use Bare Minerals until I realised how old and dry it was making my skin look.

i also love laura mercier. fab foundation. wish i had money to burn on new make up!

Another vote for Laura Mercier. Or, if you have one near, go to Space NK where they use a mix of good brands .

I have had really good experiences with the staff at Mac and Laura Mercier. They are good at suggesting new colours for me, colour matching foundations and finding products to suit my skin type. I have however not had one of those booked appointments where they do my makeup - I just go there and ask them to help me find whatever I'm looking for.

I also quite like Inglot. They are affordable and great quality and I've had good help from the staff there.

My experience is that the staff at Mac are proper makeup artists and that most other counters do not employ makeup artists but instead they focus on getting sales people. I might be wrong, but I do find that there are many of the people at the other counters that do not really know what they are selling.

I'm not a massive fan of Bobbi Brown - the foundations are so yellow that they look silly on me, the eyeshadows seem to have one colour in the pan and change to a completely different colour on my lids which is strange and I'm just not a fan of the quality.

No brands do everything perfect for every skin type, so I would go to several counters before buying - especially foundations, concealer and powder. Often you can get (generous) foundation samples so you can try them at home (Mac doesn't give samples though).