Make-up tips for pale ladies please

xxvickixx

I am very pale especially once the summer is over. I think I do a fairly good job of my makeup even though I'm tired and pale!

I use Virgin Vie Alabaster foundation although this is now discontinued I think. I apply thinly with a damp sponge which gives a soft airbrushed look. I cover any spots and undereye circles with concealer and pat to blend with my finger. I then dust a little powder over to set the makeup. I use a pink rosy blusher on the apples of my cheeks and then a little on my temples and chin.

I always fill in any gaps in my eyebrows with rimmel blonde eyebrow pencil and brush into shape (I look unwell i my brows are not groomed or some reason)

I put a small amount of brown eyeliner mainly to fill in my lash line and I give a little smudge so the line is not too hard or obvious then brown not black mascara.

Sometimes I will wear a soft mid brown eyeshaddow along the lash line to smudge my eyeliner and also in the socket crease.

I also keep lips neutral but well moisturised as cracked lips can make you look ill.

Something I do which I read makeup artists do on models with dark eye circles is us a little hemmoroid cream under the eye. It really does work but I don't know i it is recommended or not? BTW it is only for my eyes and was never used on my bum so cross contamination is not a risk!

jeannieblue

Hasn't Nicola (think that is her name), the pale lovely one from Girls Aloud brought out her own products?

Personally I would recommend what I usually do, mineral make up. Works on all complexions.

jenniewb

Am v.V pale too- few makeup brand foundations work for me, so I rarely wear them. I don't tan in the summer which is a secret bonus as I don't need two different shades of foundation every year!

Maybelline, Mac and the new one by Barbara Daily at Tesco are all excellent for their palest colours- the one from Tescos being the palest I have found and even too pale for me! (I need the next to last shade!)
The ones I now don't bother even looking at are Bare Escentuals, Max Factor, Benefit, Clinique and No.7. All so dark it looks like I've got face paint on!

Cheeks, I go for Rubie and Millies cheek tint- they looks very very bright in the tubes (long oval transparent tubes which push up to use). They have a red and and orange, both look luminous, but gloss over your cheeks by swiping them along your cheeks, starting at the apple of your cheek and rolling outwards along your cheek bone a few times and you really get a fantastic look.
Stila's Convertible Cheek colour is also great, but now no longer in stock in the UK, unless you can find a few last vendors like Debenhams who are getting rid of their Stila stock. To use, you rub your fingers in the cheek colour and then smudge them onto the apple of your cheeks.
Benefits Benetint is also great but make sure you apply moisturiser first so you can distribute the tint easier!
I have not yet found a powder blush thats good for my skin colour, they all seem either too dark, to dry (have very dry skin) or too shimmery.

Lipsticks are hard to find- I go by the finger rule: get the pink part of your finger tips and try to find a lipstick that matches (you will find this very hard!) but if you do find something, its such a great natural look- just the right shade. I also think deep berry or black-mauve type colours which are really trendy right now look great against pale pale skin- but make sure you cover all the blemishes you can first!

Speaking of which...! Concealer! Now the best I have found is Benefits Erase-a-Paste. I also really rate YSL's Touch Éclat as it does last a long time and looks great- but really better for dark shadows rather then fading red spot marks. Leave those to the Erase-a-Paste. Bobbi Browns was also good, and Mac, but have only ever tested these- am too chicken to ask the price!
I have also tried Rimmel which was good but still a tad too dry for me and did rub off too easily. Bonjours was good but a tube does not last me long enough to say its value for money.
Clinique, No.7, L'Oreal, Max Factor and Superdrugs own line Gosh, were all too dark for me.

Mascara? black, always black! Eyeshadow? as bright as humanly possible! As long as your not going all the way up to the eyebrows, (ie just a lash line) bright colours can look fantastic. I think also if you have dark coloured hair (does not look as great on blonde's) a real black smoky eye can look great with brunettes and a copper tone smoky eye if you have red hair.

BlondeHeadOn

I am also very pale, natural blonde and white as a sheet as a natural colour...

Can I just point out one advantage of being so pale? I always wear make-up because otherwise I am so pale as to look ill - BUT

.....

.... when I want a day off work, all I have to do is to go in without any make-up on. Everyone will then take one look at me and tell me I look so pale, am I okay? am I sure I am not sickening for something? Maybe I should go home as I am so pale I am obviously not feeling well.... !!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

It works every time, trust me!

xxvickixx

BlondeHeadon, have done this a few times just before and after having a sickie!

Tiddlywinks

Amanita wrote: »

I used to have to use concealer on my dark circles but I have finally found an eye product that has reduced them noticeably for me - something I didn't think was possible so ordinary foundation now covers them.

Oh pleeeeease.... come on then, share the secret product with all of us "pandas" so that we can look bright eyed and bushy tailed too.

Amanita_2

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Oh pleeeeease.... come on then, share the secret product with all of us "pandas" so that we can look bright eyed and bushy tailed too.

It's not very money saving I'm afraid but I am still using a free sample which has lasted 6 weeks so far and is only about 25% gone. A full size bottle apparently lasts over a year as you just use one drop per eye. Link

Well it's done wonders for my dark circles and I have tried many potions in the past from cheap to horribly expensive but I can't promise it will work for anyone else. Skincare is a strange thing.

I am also impressed by several other samples I have tried from this range especially the collagen boosting serum and the exfoliator.

GrammarGirl

Another pale girl reporting for duty! I'm cool toned with blonde hair and naturally red lips, so my skin can take colour quite well without looking washed out, but without makeup I look like death!

I use a light coloured, sheer foundation. At the moment it's Max Factor Second Skin. I don't like anything too heavy and play up my pale skin rather than cover it. I use Bourjois Rose Tentation blusher - blusher is my absolute key product. It makes me look alive! Touche Eclat for under the eyes seems to work for me. I like the 50s starlet look - flicky eyeliner and alabaster skin.

A good exfoliator will help perk up your skin and something illuminating might help, I don't tend to use anything because I have quite oily skin and I find stuff like this makes my face shiny. My overall tip would be to embrace the pale rather than fight it, and never forget the blusher!

BlondeHeadOn

xxvickixx wrote: »

BlondeHeadon, have done this a few times just before and after having a sickie!

Glad it's not just me who's guilty!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Fuzzy_Duck

I embrace being pale, it would be so much worse looking like I'd been tangoed!

I use a bit of foundation where I need it (usually just over my under eye circles because it tends to clog up my skin otherwise). Any Maybelline brand is good, using Dream Matte Mousse foundation at the moment. Go one shade lighter than your skin tone.

Don't use bronzer, it doesn't look good with pale skin. A bit of blusher is best to add some colour. Again I use Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush as it blends in well. You'll want a neutral pinky tone- remember a little goes a long way.

I agree that eye makeup would probably help, you just need to know how to apply it. I usually use white eyeshadow (I find it blends in well and makes my eyes look fresh) but warm browns and golden tones also give your face a bit more colour. Plus they suit almost everyone. You can also use an eyeshadow shade that will make your eyes pop- generally speaking warm browns and gold for blue eyes, plum and rust shades for green eyes, and virtually anything goes for brown or hazel eyes, especially blue and pink. If applying eyeshadow is a bit of a hassle you might want to try a creamy, shimmering beige which is easier to put on and can look quite natural. If you want to add eyeliner, a dark brown is usually a better option than black.

For lipstick, you don't want anything too dark, as it will just highlight how pale you are. By all means wear red lippie if you like it, but make sure it's not too much of a berry shade (dark shades make your lips look thinner anyway). I find a warm pink compliments the blush.

If you want to change your hair colour a red tint looks gorgeous in dark hair, and warms your complexion considerably