Left my makeup bag and all my brushes in a service station.

[NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown]

I had a hugely important meeting yesterday and had to get up at 4am to start driving, so I decided to take all my makeup, brushes etc with me and get ready at a service station.
Well, I left it all there.
Multiple types of mascara, powder, foundation, blushes, brushes. The full hoard.

I'm not entirely sure of what I even had, I tend to collect things and use them randomly so some was probably horribly out of date.

Now that the panic has somewhat revised and I've managed to smear my face in a mishmash of random products so I can leave the house, I've decided that this is a good thing.

I've needed to have a clear out for a while and here it is, in one fell swoop.

But I'm a bit clueless and I need help. If you were starting all your makeup from scratch, where would you go and what would you get?

Where do I get the best brushes? (Mine were all old and random), who does the best mascara, foundation, etc at a price point that won't break the bank as I have to get everything!

Please help.

Hi op, although financially painful, what an exciting fresh start to the new year!

Can you list what items you need? Then I'm sure we can all recommend some fab products (e.g. Do you use concealer? Would you rather foundation or bb cream?)

Real Technique brushes are great.

You can get them in Boots.

It's not the cheapest option but as a treat to myself I would go for one of charlotte tilbury's sets here

sorry not much help

Eyelash curlers, tweezers, brow pencil, concealed, foundation, pressed powder, bronzer, pencil and felt pen type eyeliner, mascara, lip stick, lip gloss, lip tint, eye shadow.
Brushes, sponges.

Not all worn on a day to day, just in there as that's where I keep everything.

Thanks for the help so far. I'm heading to work but will be sneakily browsing online in my lunch hour.

I'm sure my foundation brush was a real techniques and I loved it so that's a great start!

I love the Zoeva brushes, I bought the face and eye sets before Christmas Zoeva brushes.
Apparently they make brushes for some of the bigger brands. They are German and really well made.

Have you rung the service station to see if its been handed in?

I started from scratch a few months ago. This is what I bought:

Ginvera green tea BB cream
Rimmel face powder
Benefit hula bronzer
Hot mama blusher from The Balm
Too faced palette
Urban decay naked 2 palette
Benefit mascara (but I wasn't keen so bought a Clinique one instead)
A couple of real techniques brush sets from Boots
Highlighter from Benefit
Rimmel black liquid eyeliner
Smash box liquid lipstick

You can lots of ideas on YouTube

The service station is over 300 miles away, so I admit, I've not tried them.

That's a great list, thanks guitargirl.

I've been product testing for boots for several years which is how I've ended up with about 10 mascaras with no idea what they are, and partly why I'm so clueless now

Stick to the same foundation and concealer, it can be so expensive and difficult to find what works so if it ain't broke... Don't fix it!

Rimmel liquid eyeliner or felt tip liner is really good, the lash accelerator mascara is amazing!

For eyeshadow I would get a palette with a mix of everyday and evening shades, urban decay naked palette is good, comes with a brush too.

H&m have a good beauty section with tweezers eyelash curlers etc

Sleek contour palette is amazing.

Hopefully that's somewhat helpful!

ggirl those sets are gorgeous! I'm going to see if I can budget for one. I'm going abroad next week, so perhaps duty free on the way home!

Well, I have a very sizeable stash of makeup (enough to last a lifetime!) but if I were starting from scratch I would invest in the Wayne Goss Anniversary brush set. I have a couple of his brushes and they put my MAC ones to shame, they are incredibly soft and well shaped: www.beautylish.com/s/wayne-goss-the-anniversary-set

I would then book in a makeover appointment at Bobbi Brown to get them to put together a set of products that work together for a day-to-night look. I've had a few makeovers at BB counters, they are excellent and there is no pressure to buy (though the cost is redeemable on product). Favourite products of mine from BB are Pot Rouge (dual lip /cheek colour), longwear cream eye shadow sticks, and Skin foundation stick. All are great for applying on the go.

They might post it to you?

But its nice to have a clean start & buy some new bits.

Im just worried your foundation brush might be lonely

BNVR, if probably doesn't help that I'm not entirely sure which services it was! But you're right, my shu uemura eyelash curler probably cried herself to sleep it can't hurt to ring round a few so I'll do that

DH ran over my make-up bag, it was in the pocket on the passenger door, must have fallen out when I got in and was squashed flat on the road when I got back!
I don't buy pricey make up or use a lot, but it was still surprisingly expensive to replace.

I used to have a lot. NowI just have a small bag containing:
1 pink MAC lipstick
1 red MAC lipstick
1 clinique mascara
1 MAC eyepencil

I do have eyeshadow, foundation and powder at homefor a party.

Having just a few prioducts means that I can buy the expensive stuff which stays put better.

Those Charlotte Tilbury sets are amazing, if it was me I'd buy the Vintage Vamp set, Clinique CC cream, Dior Skinflash highlighter(under eye concealer) Benefit Roller lash mascara, a eyebrow powder, and real techniques brushes. Maybe Dior Star foundation too if I had the cash.

I agree with Chinnygirl. I sometimes think that some people spend more in Boots etc in a week than I do in a whole year. I buy a very few, ultra good quality items and I use them!

I would honestly feel oppressed by having piles of makeup. You should know by now more or less what works for you, so take your time, and enjoy testing and buying just a few, really good items.

Good doesn't necessarily mean expensive, but if you buy a just-OK item then know that you WILL keep buying that item in different brands again and again because you won't be happy with it. It is much, much cheaper to have bought the perfect-for-you expensive one that you wouldn't justify in the first place!

The same for brushes - don't buy a huge cheap shitey set of 30 brushes or whatever, just buy the five or so brushes that you actually need. I use Sigma and Mac mostly, and I bet that the total cost of mine is still less than buying a couple of cheap sets.

That said, I did buy a Charlotte Tilbury eyelash curler recently because I was seduced by the lovely gold colour!

I've got the Charlotte Tilbury Ingenue set, and really like it.
Also got the Natural glowing set- nice too, though not as nice as the ingenue.

H ran over my make-up bag, it was in the pocket on the passenger door, must have fallen out when I got in and was squashed flat on the road when I got back!sad

Oh my gosh - should have ltb!!!

Death I agree that would be a LTB moment for me!!!