Makeup advice

rachie29_

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a little help and advice. I have been looking at my makeup recently and realised how old some of it is! Like, years old! I'm going to go through it and chuck out anything I don't use or that is years old. But I wanted to know what brands you would recommend?

I see/hear so many people talking about investing in big brands such as MAC, Urban Decay, Clinique, Lancolme etc. What is your opinion? Do you rate these? Can anyone recommend anything as a basic makeup kit? I wear mascara and blush on a daily basis to give me a pep but would wear full makeup only when going out for evening etc.

Thanks in advance!

Rachael
:beer:

faerielight

I do have some end stuff, but I'm a huge E.L.F cosmetics fan atm cos it's sooo cheap! They have sales pretty much every week. I built up my make up kit with there's and topped it up with a few choice high end things. here's the link.. if you sign up for their email newselletter, they will tell you of sales, often 50% off


http://eyeslipsface.co.uk

rachie29_

Thank you faerielight! I had never even heard of this brand until you pointed it out. What things have you tried from them?

RachRubyD

Hi makeup can be daunting sometimes. I do makeup for a living and I still find walking into debenhams or boots daunting there is so much to chose from. I watch alot of youtube and read blogs (as well as have my own) so I read/see what other people are raving about.

You should be getting rid of makeup that is a few years old anyway. Especially eye makeup as they full of bacteria.

What type of skin do you? is it more oily or dry or a combo of both or just normal? am guessing you prefer a lighter coverage than heavy.

Sleek do amazing eyeshadows for dirt cheap. I think its about £8 for a palette. The Au Natural one is really good for beginnings as it contains you neutrals. They also do beautiful blushers for about £5 or a set of 3 colours for £10. The blushers are highly pigmented as well. If you prefer cream blusher then Boujours do fab ones and there powder ones are gorgeous as well very similar to chanel (same company). Mua also do an eyebrow kit that's cheap and very good if you wanted something for your eyebrows. MUA lippies are £1 and really good if you want to experiment with colours, same goes for their eyeshadows.

Concealer i'd go with collection lasting perfection concealer or maybelline fit me concealer. They both really nice and under £5 mark normally. I love the soap and glory kick !!! concealer its £10 but it contains a under eye concealer and a blemish one as well as a setting powder.

Soap and glory are on offer for 3 for 2 at the moment as well. I really love the Solar Power Bronzer its a really lovely none orange bronzer that looks natural. I also just got the sexy motherpucker lipbalm/crayon in nudist. Its gorgeous perfect nude its inbetween a lipstick and lipgloss and isn't sticky but feels lovely and moisturing and isn't to in your face colour wise.

Mascara normally maybelline or L'Oreal are pretty good. I just get whatever is offer I do like the falsies from Maybelline though.

If you want to invest in high end makeup you can but honestly the drugstore is pretty good for everyday makeup. If you was going to splash out i'd go to urban decay and get one of the naked palettes or a high end foundation for evening out. Remember to go when you have a special event and get a make over as normally they charge you £30 or so but its redeemable on products so free makeover.

Oh and Elf is pretty good but a bit hit and miss.

rachie29_

Wow thanks RachrubyD! My skin can be combination but more towards oily especially t zone. I will have a look at those products that you have recommended. I feel a boots trip coming on! I like the look of the elf products too. I have got a clinique foundation that I love. I just need to learn how to apply the stuff well too! Like u say, YouTube is great and will help me with that I hope!

RachRubyD

Yeah youtube is amazing, honestly i've learnt more from youtube than I have doing 2 years at college learning makeup.

I recommend the real technique brush sets. A good set of brushes can make the difference in how makeup is applied and looked. The core collection is brilliant for face and the eye collection is also amazing. They around £14 delievered from amazon or around £20 at boots but sometimes on buy one get one half price.

Some youtube videos to watch are pixiwoo (they make the real technique brushes and are brilliant and easy to follow) and also gossmakeupartist, he amazing and gives more tips than tutorials.

If you ever get fed up of clinque foundation or can't afford it. Revlon colourstay is meant to be amazing for combo/oily skin. I'd recommend a setting powder as well to help combat oily skin and to help makeup last longer. The rimmel stay matte pressed powder is amazing and isn't at all cakey. Think its about £3 as well. All the youtube gurus rave about it and they have very high end products given to them for free.

From elf I like the studio mineral lipsticks and also the blushers. There is a blush/bronzer duo thats gorgeous in st lucia. The shimmering facial whip in lilac petals is lovely as well very close dupe to Benefits High beam.

roobee13

Hi Rachie,

Another fan of the urban decay naked palette here, I started a thread the other week as I was unsure whether to get one but I've had it nearly a week now and am converted! However, I understand it's a lot of money.

Superdrug have their own brand make up range called MUA which I have a few bits from. Things like blushers and lip glosses are £1 or £2. If yu don't want to waste loads but try some new bits they might be a good idea? I believe the whole range is under £5 and they do dupes of the urban decay palettes.

Also, ebay often has travel/tester size versions of 'high end' make up for good prices (always unused as well). I didn't want to spend loads on a new mascara so bought a clinique one to try on there for a few quid. As it happens, I use max factor false lash effect now, I've not found one better

Good luck finding some new bits!!

roobee13

Edit - edited to add the only other 'high end' item I'm pretty sold on is estee lauder double wear foundation. It's expensive but again, I've found non better. I save mine for big occasions and wear a BB cream day to day (can't go bare due to hideous pores). Debenhams have a beauty event on at the moment where you buy 2 items and get 10% off. You could always sweet talk one of the counters into giving you some testers to try!

flissh

Google Lisa Eldridge, she has great tips and advice, and recommends cheaper stuff as well as high end. She has an endless amount of videos that show you haw to do different looks too.

System

roobee13 wrote: »

Edit - edited to add the only other 'high end' item I'm pretty sold on is estee lauder double wear foundation. It's expensive but again, I've found non better. I save mine for big occasions and wear a BB cream day to day (can't go bare due to hideous pores). Debenhams have a beauty event on at the moment where you buy 2 items and get 10% off. You could always sweet talk one of the counters into giving you some testers to try!

I wear Estee Lauder Doublewear too. Great product and as you say, ive found none better but I wish it wasn't so matt. I usually have to mix in a little Benefit High Beam to make it a little more wearable but thanks to RachRubyD, I shall be trying the Elf shimmering whip next. I'd rather pay £3 than almost £20!

Urban Decay. The eyeshadows and liners. Ive found none better. I love the Naked collection but sadly they are not for me. Not only are some of the shades too matt and I'm not a fan of brown shades.

You may be able to compare the colours in the MUA collection but the quality is nowhere close to Urban Decay.

I don't rate Mac cosmetics at all though I do love the lipglosses. I have a couple that I cant live without.

Elizabeth_Braun

My personal opinion is that high end brands simply aren't worth the money. They're little, if any, better than mid (and even low end) brands, but you pay a whole lot more £$£ for their huge scale marketing ploys, including using supermodels as their 'face', renting department store space and staffing their counters etc.

I prefer low-mid end brands and even some of the real bucket ones, such as MUA and 2true from Superdrug or Natural Collection from Boots can be really quite good.

I've yet to find an eye shadow that stays on my chip pan eyelids all day, even with a primer (and I've tried 4 so far!), but mid-priced Boots No7 and Bourjois come about the closest from what's available easily in the UK. High end brands have been as hopeless as the rest and I ended up e-baying most of the stuff I owned. A few years ago, we spent a year in East Asia and I got hold of a good few Japanese palettes (drugstore level products made by their big names such as Shiseido and Kanebo), which are really good - made for oily skin and hot weather! They can be e-bayed here (try 'Kate by Kanebo'), but they aren't the obvious choice, of course.

Just my own opinion and experience (added to the fact that I simply can't justify spending £20-£50 on one product on such a limited budget), and anyone's welcome to disagree.

Good hunting! I love make-up shopping, but am sworn more or less off it for the time being. I too have some very old products, but I only bin what's unusable.