Beauty advice for the quite inept

[MeanAndMeaslyMiddleAges]

I'm not terrible with makeup but I do get easily baffled by it! I can do nice-ish eyeshadow and eyebrows but I have questions (basic) that I could

Do with advice on. Part of my problem is I don't have much money so wouldn't really be able to spend much (although I bought Naked2 with some Christmas money!)

So some starter questions I need help with please!

1. How to choose a good lipstick colour! I am brunette, fairly pale, tend to wear beiges and brown eyeshadow (green brown eyes). Most of my past lippie has been brown but having gone through them I find they're either too dark or too pale. I have a nice pink one I use but that's it.

2. Foundation - better to be slightly darker or lighter. I did get advice on this a while back when I bought my last foundation and got a good shade but it suddenly seems very pale and makes my face look like a mask. Bought a new one a shade darker and now worry I'll look silly. It seems ok so I'm probably being paranoid but I have memories of orange-faced girls at school.

3. Any tips on how to stop my eyeliner smudging at the corners? I always seem to have really messy eyeliner.

Thanks!

1. Rule of thumb with lipstick is: neutral eyes with bold lip colour and bold eyes with neutral lip colour. HOWEVER.. I myself love nude lips, I have a couple of bourjois lip colours that are nudish but not too subtle (Rouge Edition: 02 Beige Trench and 04 Rose Tweed).. I don't think there is anything wrong with wearing nude lips all the time and I defo feel more confident with a nude lip than a bold one but if you are feeling brave and want to try a dark lip Rimmel lasting finish by Kate Moss in 107 or Revlon Black Cherry are both very popular in beauty world.

2. I think it is better to be slightly lighter and then when you do find you have a bit more colour you can warm your skin tone up with a bronzer.. another beauty world fav is Bourjois' Delice de Poudre (looks like a chocolate bar). This is a golden brown shade with a little shimmer and will not leave you looking orange. For a bronzed look apply to the places you would normally catch the sun on your face, or to contour apply to the hollows of your cheeks, temple and hairline.

3. Set your foundation/concealer under your eye with a powder, one of the reasons your eyeliner may be smudging is being oily in this area and a powder should help, unfortunately after a night out I thing we all get this so just make sure you have a tissue or a small pack of wipes in your bag along with your eyeliner to reapply.

Thanks so much for your wonderfully kind and thoughtful reply, Apples, it's really appreciated! I am a bit chuffed at your lipstick suggestions too - as luck would have it shortly before you replied i bought Bourjois 02 after much agonising - now i feel validated and strangely proud of myself. i'm a bit nervous about bold lipstick as i have a limited social life (i act twice a year so other than play seasons i don't socialise, so the vast majority of my makeup is officewear, and i feel nudes and subtle shades are safer.)

Thanks for your foundation advice too. Now i'm used to my new foundation i think it is the right colour for me, but I appreciate your advice on contouring - it's a mystery to me. Back in my day we wore one foundation all over, a compact powder on top (again all over), blusher, lippie, ONE eyeshadow colour, black eyeliner and mascara old gimmer alert - I'm 34 all this modern contouring and blending leaves me baffled. I understand why older ladies have bright coloured eyeshadows like quilts on their eyelids - because that was the style when they were girls. I understand now about sticking with what you know while trends change around you! Thank god for people like you kindly helping out! And also the lovely young girls in Superdrug who didn't run fleeing when i randomly asked them which MUA dupe was the closest to Naked1 :D

I think as well that it might be that my eyeliner was knackered. It was about 7 years old and not up to the job any more. I bought a new one that seems far more capable, so fingers crossed it wont smudge so much. I've got some blotting papers to pop into my makeup bag just in case.

You are lovey!

I'm by no means an expert but am brunette with pale skin (dark brown eyes).

I only recently started wearing very minimal make up and tend to go for a light foundation / tinted moisturiser which I've found looks much better applied with a brush. I go for a paler shade and then add a bit of colour to my cheeks with Benefit Dandelion powder or Bourjois blush.

I'm not a great lipstick wearer but have found a few Revlon lip butters which I really like. There are a couple of bright pinks and deep reds which are my 'going out' shades and I like macaroon and berry smoothie for everyday which just give my lips a natural finish.

Threaded brows which get a brush into shape and a coat of mascara onto lashes is all I do to my eyes so no advice there I'm afraid.

Have a look at Lisa Eldridges videos on YouTube, she does everything from 'no makeup makeup' to smokey eyes and she has a lovely manner

A good way to experiment with bolder lip colours is to try a chubby-stick style lip crayon. Revlon and Rimmel make good ones. I like them because you can use the point to outline your lips and then fill in, they don't move around, they're light and comfortable to wear, they wear off evenly so you don't get the horrible dark ring/bare centre lip effect and you can apply them lightly for a stain effect.

A nice way to wear your Naked palette is to use a shimmery shade for the eyelid up to the crease and a matte shade in/above the crease, almost like a border to the shimmery shade. Or a matte shade all over with a shimmery shade pressed into the centre of the lid below the crease. I find as I get older that shimmery shades above the crease aren't as flattering anymore, and are best used on the lid.

With foundation, try to identify the areas on your face that need it, and leave the rest alone. I need it around my nose, chin and on the centre of my cheeks, but not much on my forehead or outer cheeks. Try using a buffing brush (Real Techniques or Sigma) to apply it for a more natural finish.

I 2nd MilkThistle187 suggestion on Lisa Eldridge on youtube. Her makeup and skin care advice changed my life! Here is a link to her website www.lisaeldridge.com

I have the same colouring as you I think. I don't wear much makeup, but eyes I tend to wear smoky browns, taupes, purpleybrowns 'praline' or whatever shades, if anything. for day, if anything, a really neutral shade like a light cool beige/brown is good for me. Foundation, I don't do, but tinted moisturiser and find it's better to be tiny bit lighter rather than darker if not an exact match.
Blush, I really like Nars blushes.. I don't use bronzer really, but tiny dab of blush in a non-sparkly colour.. I like amour which is a little bit like a bronzer/pink. If v pale then the faintest bit of another pink or peachy shade works well
lipstick - when I wore it, I wore either a very natural shade just a tone or two deeper than my lips with nothing on, or I wore bright (blue-tinted, not orangey) red - like mac ruby woo/a bit more pillarbox occasionally.
That's kind of it! I know nothing else suits me. Purple/ plum colours also make green-brown hazel eyes pop as do various browns I think, but I stick to mainly browny/ash taupes etc

you might find a deep pinky-red would suit you as well as a proper red and a near-natural pink. I can get away with colours like 'watermelon' whatever that is!