Clueless with skincare and make up, need help.

[LoveBeingAMum555]

I am heading towards 50 and have lost all confidence with my looks. My skin is awful and I have been doing my makeup the same way for as long as I can remember.

Where do I start? I don't have much money but I am prepared to spend on the right products. I am not sure if I should pay for makeup lessons but I have never been to a beauty salon in my life so I am really clueless.

My hair and clothes are OK, I just see other people with nice skin and makeup and wish I could do better.

Best answer is if you're on FB then join the Caroline Hirons group. It's an absolute wealth of info and you will get your queries answered honestly.
It changed my life.

I'd do my research and have a 'makeup tutorial'. I've spent a fortune on makeup but found I wasn't putting it on right and therefore it didn't look great, as soon as I started to apply it properly it made a huge difference.
I'd highly recommend doing your research though (on individual stores) as even brands that are highly regarded can have awful 'makeup artists' and vice versa.

I would sort out a skin care routine 1st. You say your skin is awful? Do you mean spots or dullness etc

I am in the exact same place as you. I've never been good at makeup or anything, but I've been feeling awful about myself lately with sudden weight gain, bad hair, and terrible skin (thanks peri).

I can't give you any practical advice, but I have taken to watching some excellent youtube beauty channels.

Wayne Goss is great and quite instructional. Professional makeup artist.
His channel, should be sorted by oldest which tend to be more instructional: www.youtube.com/user/gossmakeupartist/videos?view=0&sort=da&flow=grid

Jeffree Star (I know, don't laugh!) has a sharp eye for high quality. He's very critical and puts the products he reviews through brutal tests. He seems to like most elf products, surprisingly.

And there are loads of other tutorial channels out there. Search for "makeup for beginners" or "makeup where to start". And read the comments!

My biggest problem is shopping for products. Things like eye shadow and lipstick are easy, but finding a foundation that actually matches me is tough, and it's hard to know if a shop worker actually knows what they're talking about to help or not. I think it's a good idea to watch some expert reviews on products, have a few good options in mind, then go into a shop and try them out for matching.

Sigh. First bit should have added "...and trying to learn now."

Hylauronic acid the ordinary from boots or online £6. Apply all the time, morning and night, I've tried everything from cheap to ££££, this is only thing ever made difference to my aging face.
I think I'm crap at makeup, the more I use the worse I look! So no help there, sorry!

Thanks all, my skin is very sensitive and prone to redness and spots, especially across my nose and chin which seems to get better and then worse for no reason. My general completion looks dull and tired even though I eat well and drink lots of water.

I have used Clinique Redness Solutions daily relief cream for years but I am reluctant to buy other products as I just seem to waste money. I had a disastrous experience with Pixi Tonic which was sold to me at a beauty counter and was completely wrong for my skin.

Thank you for the advice about tutorials and the FB group, that seems a good idea.

The Ordinary, as mentioned by a PP, is inexpensive. They have a lot of different products, but if you google Them ordinary regimen' you should find their page for products to use for specific skin complaints. I think you can also email them for advice too.

I came across a good thread on here recently about make up for 40s plus. I think the OP was concerned about make up looking ageing. Again, worth a search.

Getting my eyebrows done makes a difference and I always use a separate spf on my face.

I have sensitive ageing skin, and do /can not use those tonics (liquid gold damaged my skin), so I avoid retinol and aha and anything abrasive.

For me, a gentle face cream (I like REN or la Roche posset) is best, and not doing too much to my skin. On very “dry” days I use a serum with hyaluronic acid (REN beauty shot) and a richer cream (dr Haushka or LaRochePosay vitamin b5 cream)

But I do not “cleanse” or “scrub”, just wash my face with water then cream

What concerns you about your skin? Once you get skincare right the make up will follow.

For foundation, go in with a make up free face, try a little on your face then go outside and look at your skin in the mirror (I take one with). I'm pale with cool tones so I start with the second lightest in the range. Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is a good one for beginners.

Skincare wise, I really rate Avene, La Roche Posay and CeraVe which are all available at Boots for sensitive skin. They are shelf rather than beauty counter products if that makes sense, and often on 3 for 2.

A good quality vitamin c serum can work wonders for brightening skin. Maybe also consider a good quality facial to get it all going

Thank you, someone else recommended La Roche Posay, and Boots the ordinary is new to me so will research that. I use very little products and just wish my skin looked a bit brighter and less blotchy and tired.

Superdrug have some excellent own brand skincare (Sali Hughes has some good recommendations in her column), and they're having a 'better than 50% off' sale on own brand this weekend - I've just had a huge restock! Could be a good place to start if you just want to try out some different things, as nearly everything is under a fiver

my skin is very sensitive and prone to redness and spots, especially across my nose and chin which seems to get better and then worse for no reason. My general completion looks dull and tired even though I eat well and drink lots of water.

I would advise caution with Caroline Hirons’ own advice because she recommends using a lot of products and you should be careful not to use anything too harsh, perfumed, etc.

I agree with PP who recommended Avene, LRP and Cerave - all good ranges with items suitable for sensitive skin.

I suggest using a light cream cleanser washed off with water & a flannel (a clean one daily), a hydrating serum & a plainish moisturiser with spf. Once in a routine you could add a gentle exfoliating acid but don’t rush in with loads of glycolic or anything.

I recently bought a serum with niacinamide to help with my occasional but ghastly spots - I’ll check the brand and update. It was cheap and is gentle.

The main thing with sensitive skin is to treat it very gently and read ingredients to work out what you can and can’t tolerate. Never overload it by trying lots of products at once. don’t assume that anything labelled for sensitive skin, fragrance free, hydrating, etc, actually are any of those things.

Thank you, all helpful advice. I have been doing some research and watched a couple of YouTube videos. I think i have realised that I need to invest a bit of time into looking after my skin, I don't have naturally great skin and it's easier just to not bother. Same with makeup, I need to put a little bit more effort into it.

I have ordered some of the Naturally Radiant products from Superdrug which get great reviews, I will go gently though. I have ordered some new bits of makeup too.

cloud1183 , what bit c serum would you recommend?

The REN one is gentle and seems to improve my skin, but it is probably very low dose

A few years ago I had a similar moment (but with me was because I had v. young kids and felt exhausted and looked rubbish). I spent a lot of money on stuff recommended on various blogs (inc. Hirons). Skin was better for a bit, then I started getting breakouts and seemed to be making my natural redness worse. So I stopped using pretty much everything. Now I just wash my face with a simple gentle face wash (I use Kiehls ultra facial cleanser, which is about £15 a tube but lasts for ever) and use a v. basic moisturiser (Simple). That's it. And I only do that in the evening, In the morning I just rinse my face in the shower and put on a factor 50 sunscreen (year round, rain or shine). My skin is as good, if not better, than when I was using all the fancy lotions and potions.

A few other things I do do:

• I only wear make-up on days I work out of the house
• On days I wear make-up I remove that using Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter (rinsing with flannel and water) before my regular Kiehls cleanser
• I use 'Ordinary' retinoid (this one) 3 times a week. I have no idea if this makes any difference, but it doesn't seem to make things worse and I feel like I have fewer spots than I used to. Plus it's cheap. I put it on in the evening after cleansing and before moisturiser

I honestly think that most skincare is a con designed to get us to part with our money.

@LoveBeingAMum555 the serum I mentioned is Freederm. It’s gentle and may help with breakouts. Use it under something hydrating.

Thanks, Glendora, I think you have a point about more products and more make up really not helping when you have sensitive skin, but for a while now I have been using hardly any products, just a Simple wash and my favourite Clinique moisturiser. My skin is slowly getting worse, whether its my age or something else I really don't know.

Really interested in the replies that I have had though, so thank you!