Make up doesn’t suit me at all it makes me look awful

[CantLookGood]

I have tried so many different base products and every single one makes me look worse not better.
My skin is actually really good and I regularly get told I look much much younger than I am but I wanted to wear make up just to feel and look better.

Everything I try makes me look terrible !!! At first I thought I was picking the wrong shades as I looked ill and dull but even with a good shade match products either highlight open pores or fine lines making me look terrible , or my skin gets irritated, or I took too shiny or too matte. Just everything is wrong.

Im starting to think I should just forget the foundation / concealer and just use eye make up and lipgloss. Am I being silly trying to find a base when my skin is pretty good?? Every time I try a tinted moisturiser or foundation I feel so relieved when I take it off as instantly look ‘myself’ again !

i just wanted to look more polished but it makes me look horrible it’s weird it’s almost as if my face can’t take much make up it really even when lightly done/natural make up makes me look quite horrible ???? Then I feel upset as I want to make an effort !!!

Ive tried glossier (skin tint and stretch concealer), multiple no7 foundations and tinted moisturisers, bare minerals foundations and tinted moisturisers, L’Oréal foundation drops and a couple of rimmel ones. I don’t have a massive budget and can’t keep buying them to try as so many have been fails so I feel like giving up. I just wanted to look more polished and not a mess 😭

Trinny London products are great. I use the BFF with SPF then the BFF destress, and then use a blusher and it's very natural looking, but gives you that polished look.

@CantLookGood Yeah, the skin tint is rubbish. The ultralip is really good, much better than generation G. I personally also love Lidstar (the cream eyeshadow with fine glitter) in Moon and Fawn.

I hardly ever put anything on my skin. I do like the Drunk Elephant cream blush!

@IjustbelieveinMe i love the stuff, been a real gamechanger for me 👍

My skin changed in my mid-30s and since then no foundation on its own sits right. These days I just mix a tiny bit of liquid foundation into moisturiser then rub that on my already-moistured skin. It glides on and doesn't settle in the lines. You just need to give it time to sink in before putting anything over it.

I love makeup, I find the process of putting it on very relaxing and I like the way it makes me feel. For those days when all I want is to run away and hide, I see makeup as a war mask. So...
I think foundation is meant to give us a better canvas for what goes on top. If you're happy with what you see when you look in the mirror, you probably already have a nice canvas so you don't need (lucky you!), or you just haven't found the right foundation yet.
Some people recommended Lâncome I think will probably give you more coverage than what you're looking for. So if you go with that you need depth and colour afterwards or you'll look like a ghost. If you're happy with how you look, this isn't for you.
I can't recommend very cheap brands, sorry. Right now I use Shiseido Synchro Skin Refreshing (not the radiant one!), it feels very lighweight and it doesn't enhance my pores/ fine lines. It's not matte or radiante but somewhere in the middle. It's not flat and doesn't need a lot of "effort" to work or put on.
For times when I need more coverage I use MAC Studio Fix, which is medium coverage. I don't think this one is for you (given what you've mentioned!) but you should get colour-tested because a lot of people write reviews and compare other foundations to this one, so if a particular foundation sounds good there will always be somewhere online telling you which colour to get compared to Studio Fix. It's good to know what colour you are in this just for reference.
Second is realising whether you lean warm (more yellow) or cold (more pink). I'm light & yellow-ish (NC15 in Studio Fix) so pink suits me better than orange or brown. So I prefer pink or peach blush, true corals makes look like a clown. Shimmery blush enhances my pores (which I felt got larger w/ masks) so I prefer satin or matte.
For eyeshadow I recommend you create your own palette and pick your own colours. Buy what you like! Read reviews first though, avoid powdery ones. Pick the basics: one eyeshadow for a base, one for the brow bone, a soft colour for the lid (you can wear by itself), a darker one to use as eyeliner or deepen the look (which doesn't have to be black! Aubergine, Navy, Dark brown can be so flattering, better too if you're not used to make up), a transition shade that works for you can open up a world of other shades that wouldn't look good otherwise.
Mascara can really open up the eye I think, I think supermarket ones are better btw... I love Maybelline.
(PS. Guerlain does really good teints too.)

I don't like a heavy face and I don't really need one. I either use a tiny amount of IT CC with a beauty blender or a light swish of Laura Geller Balance & Brighten on a biggish brush. (I was very sceptical on the LG but persuaded to try by a relative and, if you're light handed with it, it does just add a light polish and luminescence)
Don't use a full pump of IT or you'll be masked

I now only use the Erborian cc cream with a little powder over, you could try a tinted spf they are good to, for a light coverage.

If you've got good skin then don't bother! Although I wonder if Becca Zero might be a good option. It's a clear foundation alternative.

if you have a DP, ask what they wear. Might gets some good tips.