Help I don't know where to start!

[Anotherdayanotherpark2020]

Hi all. I used to wear make- up in my teens, a little mascara and eyeliner in my 20s.... Then had 2 kids and not worn any for years. It's just never been a priority ( time wise) and I really don't know what I'm doing with it so find it intimidating.

I have horrible dark shadows under my eyes which are bothering me and think I look rough :-|. 36 now and think I should start wearing proper make up.

Where do I start? I have nothing except a manky old mascara. Minimal budget but would rather pay more for fewer items of high quality/ that work iyswim.

Thankyou!

Budget brands are fine. Rimmel, Collection, Maybelline, Boots 17 etc are good.

It's not super cheap, but I'm the same age and situation as you (small children, dark eye bags!) and I love Glossier.

I use the skin tint (very sheer tinted moisturiser, your skin but better type), concealer, mascara and cloud paint blusher and feel 'done'. It all goes on so quickly and easily, no tools or faff required and almost impossible to mess up somehow.

@JofraArchersFastestBall I like the Idea of the skin tint rather than foundation. I wouldn't know which shade to go for though! I might try this if I don't have much luck with the budget brands. It's really useful to see a list of what you use too- I'd feel silly asking a friend - I don't know why.

Great I'll start with these. So is the concealer the bit to sort under eye shadows and wrinkles or do I just need a good foundation? Would prefer as little as possible. Used to use tinted moisturizer so not actually used foundation as such before.

Id get nyx peach concealer in the pot. Put it on under your eyes. BB cream over amd if needed a bit of light concealer in outer and inner corners of eye. Set under eyes with any translucent powder. Revolution in superdrug excellent for budget stuff. Maybelline mascara is very good for the price and any brown eye pencil... mua in superdrug is like a pound. Messy line b4 mascara and blend with fingers and brush. You could prob get all that for £25 or less. A nice blush in a coral pink suits everyone and again mua will have nice ones for 1/2 pound.

That sounds really complicated to put on! I guess it's quick and easy when you get used to it. I was aiming for 5 mins- probably unrealistic!!

Yeah 5mins.
Nyx peach finger tips under eyes.
Bb cream all over face.
Extra dots of concealer if needed.
Puff of powder under eyes.
Messy lines around eyes with liner...Smudge blend with fingers.
Mascara
Blush if want. Get cream one and apply with fingers.

I'm 62 op.
Under eye concealer (lighter than foundation)
No 7 Stay Perfect they do a selfie thing where they tell you which shade to buy
Mascara
Lipstick (you could even use a dab of lipstick as blusher)

Takes two minutes - makes me feel human.

There's a lot of good basic make up tutorials on TikTok, and recommendations of cheaper make up that are dupes for the high end stuff.

One of the best things I did was go to the make up counter in Space NK and have a trial done in there. I was really nervous but it was good. I know you've said you have a minimal budget, but I got Nars foundation after that and it did last absolutely ages was well worth the money. So would recommend but I'd definitely go to a counter and get help with shades etc.

Focus on skin care. Slap on good moisturiser. I use nivea. Make sure you really massage your skin before you apply makeup. This is what I do:

Swipe pixi blush stick onto cheeks.
Use a brush to dab the merest blob of Nars foundation and apply where needed eg for me I have random redness around nose and chin.
After a couple of minutes, I pat it all and that blurs and blends the blush and foundation.
Apply the merest suggestion of brow gel. Loreal has a good one.
Swipe on lots of black mascara.

Done.
If I'm feeling fancy, I'll apply some real facialist rose glow moisturiser. Like rub it onto palms and press it on so my face doesn't look "dry."

I'm 36 and the above takes about 10 if I'm chilled but can be done in 5 if everything is to hand.

I'm 42.
Every day I wear Max factor BB cream, dabbed on with a wee sponge, eyebrow pencil, some sort of blush and vaseline rose lip balm.

If I'm going out I'll add some max factor foundation, mascara and bright red lipstick.

Reading through all these and looking up products - thankyou!! It's reassuring to see how straightforward it is and has really helped to see it laid out clearly. There are so many things you can buy it's overwhelming.

Think I'll pick up the BB cream and a concealer/ blusher/ mascara in town tomorrow and start there.

I really rate Boots No7 foundation and I’m sure they must do a lighter BB or CC cream. It doesn’t matter how many expensive foundations I try, I always come back to it. You can (or certainly could pre Covid) book a session with them where they will match and then apply your foundation and concealer. Even if you don’t end up buying from them, you can see how they apply it and what shade you are.

Pressed post too soon! Once you know your foundation shade in one brand, you can used the findation website to find a corresponding colour in another brand.

If you go to Boots, you can ask at the No 7 counter. My local one is really helpful.
The Stay Perfect mascara is particularly good
My minimal make-up look is BB or CC cream or just concealer over blemishes/dark circles, blusher or bronzer to shape my cheek bones, eye-liner and tinted lip salve.