I need help. Makeup overhaul.

[SoggyWetFlannel]

As the title says. I need to ditch my makeup collection of old odds and ends, and invest in some grown up make up. I need to completely start again. So, can anyone recommend some must have products? I've looked all over, and so many are recommended that I really need a concise list. I'm such an idiot, I don't know where to start. I'm light skinned and blue eyed. Please help?!

Depends how 'made up' you want to look.... If you have an even skin tone, Esteé Lauder tinted moisturiser is fantastic (in place of foundation). Also, smashbox crayon eyeliner. If you can face it and have the time to do so, I would explore the counters in a good dept store and do some research. Clinique, Esteé Lauder and Laura Mercier are good places to start (I have a fab Laura Mercier compact blush which I love). Lots of people like Mac, but personally I'm not so keen. Good luck!

I use Chanel products. They are expensive but last ages and they have really changed the way I look.

Foundation I now use has lifted my sallow skin to make it look so much better.
mobile.chanel.com/en_GB/fragrance-beauty/makeup/p/complexion/foundations/vitalumiere-aqua-ultra-light-skin-perfecting-makeup-spf-15-p170800.html#skuid-0170880

I find now that I put my make up on in the morning and it lasts all day. Before I got through some so many products as I kept having to reapply.

It's the perfect time of year for a new you make up wise, pop into a department store and find a sales assistant who looks good, have a chat and I've no doubt she'll have a lovely set of minis you can buy from the Christmas sets that are currently out!

Most of the department stores counters round here have very very Madeup people working them. Do they have to apply a certain amount of products from their line to work in? I need to be fully made up, but glam/natural if that makes sense...

And, everyone seems to be using beauty blending egg things, is this the best way to apply foundation now? I feel like such a numpty, these are things people should just know, right?

What type of skin do you have?

What type of make up do you wear?

Personally id say essentials are

Foundation / tinted moisturiser / bb cream
Concealer
Contour and high lighter
Translucent powder
Paint pot / eye primer
4 eye shadows
Blush
Mascara
Brow pencil

Lip stick
Good brushes

Optionals of that
Eye liner / gel / pencil
Bronzer
Primer
Lashes
Etc etc. Etc

Some brands work well for some people and don't work for others.

Some products work well for one skin type and not others.

Some products work well for 1 look e.g. smoky eye and not for other looks.

Good brushes work well for everyone and make a huge difference to your application and over all look.

What I'd do (and have done) is book a few make up trials with different brands. Go along and try out their products get samples, and see which brands / products work well for you.

I don't use a beauty blender for foundation but I did try one for concealer and didn't get on with it. For foundation I use either a stiple brush or an oval brush depending on which look / product in using.

What do you want sort of look so you want op?

For light skins, Benefit Dandelion is lovely. It's a v pale pink blusher. I also really rate their Rollerlash mascara.

Urban Decay Naked for eyeshadow.

I quite like No 7 for foundations and lipsticks and there's always money off.

Benefit Dandelion isn't in fact a blusher, it's a all over powder to lift your complexion and give your face a lot from within look. It doesn't actually come out pink. It's like a powder form of the Claris flash balm if that makes sense. You would use it after all your other make up. I love it.

I love my Beauty Blender but hate cleaning the thing and find it all too grim to use again once used. The Real Techniques version is supposedly almost as good as the BB. I do love the flawless finish it gives even with sheer bases so on balance the cleaning faff is worth it and much preferred to brushes and hands. I do concealer and other cream products with it as well so find it very versatile.

So basically you want to look groomed but not with the look at me I'm wearing a week's worth of makeup type makeup? Natural but noticeable enough?

I'd say get the brows sorted (consider getting them tinted if fair), Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wizz (though Nyx do a cheap dupe if you can find it), or the Dip Pomade. Laura Mercier recently released a brow gel with fibres to bulk them out a bit which I quite like.

A good base, depending on coverage. I like Laura Mercier TM best of all for sheer to medium and Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk for a bit more coverage.

Laura Mercier Translucent Powder as a setting powder.

Charlotte Tilbury, Bourjois, or Chanel for blush. CT and Chanel also great for lips.

Everyone and their mother will harp on about Urban Decay and their Naked Palettes for eyeshadow, they've just released a new one which I think is actually a really nice one as a starter palette for day (it's all matte).

Concealer sort of depends on how much you have to conceal. LM Secret Camouflage is good for little spots and blemishes. I like the Charlotte Tilbury Retoucher (but you have to use it quite quick as the colour tends to go off in the last month) and Giorgio Armani Precision Retouch Concealer for underneath the eyes but I don't have much darkness there.

Look at Lisa Eldridge on YouTube for some inspiration, she does the made up but not overdone look very well.

Real techniques do the best brushes for the price. Benefit make up is lovely and they do great little sets which contain everything you will need. They do foundation concealer and powder set, and at this time of year I expect you will find a nice little set with blush, eyeshadow and lipgloss/stick too. Start small and find out what suits you so you can then build up. Good luck!

Buster - it is most definitely pink on me.

Thank you! There's so much I need to look at, I like to have a list so I'm not just wandering about aimlessly. I'd like to look naturally made up, possible smokey eye but not over the top. Polished, is perhaps a better word? I'm going to have a look at as many products as I can tomorrow. Any more suggestions are truly appreciated.

What shops will you have access to OP? Kiko do some great products at v. affordable prices to but I know they're not that widespread yet.

Oh! There is a Kiko near me. Boots, Debenhams, MAC, possibly some others.

What is your skin like in terms of colour, texture, blemishes etc as that will dictate what Base products are good.

Another one for dandelion here. I use it as a bit of a bronzer and blusher. Benefit They're Real is my favourite mascara too. And the eyeliner, it's really easy to apply along your tip lid to make eyes llook fuller.

Get some good brushes too, they make a big difference. I love real techniques.

Ok from Kiko, if they still have them in store and you'd like a contouring palette their Strobe & Sculpt from the Neo Noir (I think) collection is really lovely and exactly the right colour.

Their lip liners (underrated product but I do feel this really elevates a lip for a more polished look), eye pencils, eyeshadows, blushes (shade fusion) are all great. The lipsticks are nice too but you need the pricier ones in the prettier packaging. Their nail polishes are really stellar for the money. Mascaras are hit or miss so I'd avoid. Never tried the foundations personally. Their neutral eye base (primer) seems to be getting a lot of love lately. The Radiant Fusion Baked Powders are also a beautiful finishing powder and I think they're on offer currently.

I'm pale skinned, not oily. A few blemishes, very dark under eyes.

Mars creamy concealer for under the eyes. It's amazing

Nars not Mars!!

I worry that lipstick just makes my teeth look discoloured. I don't have celebrity pearly whites. They're not bad, but not stellar.

I think I would benefit from all over coverage. I blush / flush very easily so I need something to cover that.

I got to this point and I went to see a make up artist who gave me a lesson in certain techniques and also gave me a pile of recommendations based on my skin. She gave me high end and mid range price options.

Fundamentally, the lesson was spend the most on foundation and it actually then doesn't matter about using cheaper elsewhere. As a result, my cabinet is packed with Chantecaille, Dior and Bourjous, Maybelline and everything in between.

I found it helpful and a good way to pamper and also a practical investment in where next for my look (such as it is).

Is primer really that important? I have never used it.

Benefit Make up have a new december advent calendar out, you can try 12 products, minis for 34 pounds, available from Debenhams on line....

Some make up houses have a 1 hour consultation, costs 40 pounds or so but completely redeemable against products. I think that MAC do that....