Why am I never satisfied with make up I buy?

[Poppysball]

I am always looking for the perfect item, whatever it might be, usually foundation, blusher, eyeliner. I have a drawer full of stuff I don’t use. I see things on other people I like so I buy them but after a few uses I don’t think it works for me so start looking again!
I don’t wear lots of make up but have wasted so much money on the wrong things.

Anyone else the same? I want to stop as I feel guilty wasting the money, products and my time! I wish I could just find things that really work for me and then just stick to them. But how can I do this without having to buy them first to try them? I don’t have much time to go round make up counters.

If it helps the look I am currently loving is Hannah Martin, Bobbi Brown make up artist. I have watched some of her videos and love her look and have been tempted to buy all the products she uses. They are more than I would normally spend though and am worried the same thing would happen again and I’d waste alot of money.
I just want to find my look but never seem to be able to.

Book a private lesson with a local MUA? Ask them to work with what you already have and advise you on application techniques/colours etc.

It would be quite expensive - probably around the £50/£70 level here in SE England but if it helps you to make good use of what you have and prevents further costly mistakes it’s probably worth doing.

Look closely at their websites or social media pages before booking and pick out looks you like that you both know what looks you want to achieve.

Do you look like Hannah Martin? She’s dark and warm toned. If your colouring is different then it wont work although I agree, her make up is lovely and shes beautiful.

Unburnished I wish I did look like her!😄
I do have similar colouring to her though yes in terms of skin & hair but I have brown eyes, don’t think hers are brown. I love the way she looks so healthy by using bronzer and pink blush. I did achieve a similar look last summer when my face was naturally tanned. It’s just the rest of the year I look worn out.

Yes. I blew £11 on GOSH at the weekend. The foundation makes me look like my mother. But dead. Straight in the drawer.

Maybe try to find something else to focus on rather than the holy grail of perfect make up...

Honestly. research is your friend here. Think about what you really want, then find blogs and vlogs where people review stuff, then go and find some testers and try things out. I was sold on an eyeliner pencil when I tested it on the back of my hand and it took a day to wash off!

My current make-up need has just fallen into my lap (bought a face pallet from I 🖤 Revolution that has the icy white highlighter I'm after, yes! And it was cheaper than the other things I've been looking at, even better!)

Youtubers use special lighting to make sure that their skin looks smooth and poreless. They may well look a bit different in real life lighting.

Buy on QVC - try for 30 days and if you don’t like it send it back

Hannah was a Bobbi Brown makeup artist until recently and her look is very Bobbi Brown. Book a Bobbi Brown makeup lesson. They were free ( I'm not sure if they still are, if not any cost would be redeemable against purchase). Re foundation, lots of top brands offer a generous sample size to try at home. I have had samples from Estée Lauder, and Lancome before. I'd really recommend the Estée Lauder Nude Waterfresh foundation which is light and looks natural.

As somebody else said, vloggers look amazing when they use make-up because they have perfect lighting. Take them out of their filming room and their make-up will look like anybody else's! Please don't fall for the trap of thinking that their products will transform your looks because it's all mostly a trick of the light.

Mint - how do you know that she doesn't? This is the style & beauty board where people focus on things like makeup and skincare.

Also be aware that photography and filming changes the look. And I don't just mean filters. I can do my face, be happy with it and take a photo and I look like I'm barely wearing anything. Or I can cake it on and have a "flawless" looking photo.

Also most products are all about the application. Do you play about applying them in different ways before discarding?

It’s all about the application. If the foundation is not perfect, i’d mix it with another.
Maybe you can give away your make up on Olio if you tend to use stuff few times and then leave it?