I have never thought of myself as a beauty expert, but when Kristine asked for some tips I realized I had a few useful things to share. Before I forget them all …
General color selection: I think the key to finding makeup that doesn’t look like it’s just sitting on top of your face lies in blending with the underlying skin tones, those caused by your hemoglobin, that is, the reds and oranges.
Foundation and concealer
- Bobbi Brown believes everyone (or is it almost everyone?) needs yellow based foundation. I believe that most foundation color mistakes arise from choosing a color that is too pink. Conclusion: if you keep ending up with foundation colors that are too pink for you, go straight to the Bobbi Brown counter of your nearest department store.
- It is not necessary (or desirable IMO) in most cases to wear a full face of makeup. A good match should be able to blend. A technique that works well for me for everyday makeup, using Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick
: cover under-eye circles, then slap a dab in nose creases, chin, and center of forehead. Blend. Notice that it is one product doing the work of the foundation and concealer, no powder necessary. Getting by with fewer products is frugal.
- For foundation and concealer I have not been brave enough to try drug store makeup. Any super-frugal options you can recommend?
Lipstick and blusher
What inspired this thread is the E.L.F. All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade I bought to use as both blush and lipstick. (Pink eyeshadow I’m not so sure about.) I’m smitten with the concept!
Good places to look for blush/lipstick color inspiration:
- the color of your gums or the tip of your finger when you pinch it,
- your tongue, or
- your lips when they get chapped.
Eyes
- For eye shadow, a good basic color scheme would be your eye color with liner the color of the rim around your iris.
- I have an inexpensive little pot of brown eyeshadow doing triple duty for me: as shadow, applied with a soft brush, as liner, applied with a wet angled brow brush
, and as eyebrow filler, with the same brush.
- This on mascara from an old post last spring:
friends who are make up artists have always told me that applying a single coat each of 2 different mascaras work the best and i have found this to be true in my own make up experiments. usually one lengthening and one thickening or curling or separating or waterproof, whichever you need. don’t forget to comb out with a clean mascara brush. vc
General shopping: Do you have Rite Aid where you are? They have a wonderful return policy on makeup, designed to discourage people from testing it out in the store: you can return anything you don’t like. Also, paint brushes can substitute for makeup brushes and, in a pinch, I wouldn’t hesitate to try very cheap ones (obviously new and clean).
I think this is comprehensively everything I know about makeup.
I am not remotely frugal when it comes to cosmetics and anything that goes on my face. As my mother taught me growing up, a $300 pair of pants will not make you any skinnier than you are or lose weight for you, but cheap cosmetics CAN cause you to break out or increase wrinkles, and you only get one set of skin for your lifetime. However, out of everything I’ve tried (and believe me, Sephora knows me by name), hands down the best match concealer I’ve ever found is the L’Oreal True Match in the drugstore. It’s liquid based, rather than creamy, but it covers well, it’s inexpensive, and I’ve always been able to find a perfect match regardless of how my skin color changes with the seasons. I’ve also had really good luck with the True Match powder compact, for days when I’m on the run and don’t want to bother with my mineral makeup foundation/concealer — one quick swipe of the pressed powder, and I’m on my way. It’s the only line I’ve ever deemed worthwhile from drug store cosmetics, and I recommend it to everyone.
I absolutely love the Wet ‘n Wild (yes, you read that right) eyeshadows that come in the individual round pots. They can be used wet or dry and the colours that I’ve tried have been gorgeous, not to mention inexpensive.
Also, I highly reccomend reading the reviews for products you’d like to try at makeupalley.com!
I have nothing frugal to offer, but I do love Lancome mascara, and I agree wholeheartedly that it’s not necessary to wear a full face of makeup all the time. I do what you do but I use concealer on those spots. I only do foundation when I do a full face of makeup. I love Lancome’s dual finish press powder. It provides great coverage for daily wear without foundation. The rest of my makeup is Mary Kay. It’s fairly affordable, and I have a consultant friend who has a great eye for color and helps me pick great eye shadows, lipsticks, and blushers that work great for my complexion.
I need to break down & go sit at a makeup counter for a while. My skin is going through some weird transition right now. I’ve had great skin for years, but now have half teenage acne and half middle age crepe. I don’t remember my mom going through this in her late 30s, but then again, she was a regular at the clinique counter.
I’ve used Lancome mascara for quite sometime, but that is pretty much all I wear. I purchase a compact from Lancome once each year, but it’s only half used when I pitch it for the new one.
I’ve heard great things about Sephora, and think it might be time to move away from my glycerin soap and Kiss My Face SPF Daytime lotion. My big fear is ending up with 10-20 products and a chart for usage schedules. Pros & cons for the different companies? Please?
I worked on the corporate end of department store cosmetics for years before I left to stay at home with my son. I am slowly running out of all my freebies and double discount purchases and will have to transition to some drugstore brands, though after using Chanel, Trish McEvoy, and Dior for so long, it’s going to be tough.
The Bobbi foundation stick has intrigued me. I might start my quest to find a drugstore substitute.
Oh yeah, thanks to Julie for the ColorMatch recommendation!
I want to suggest Maybelline’s Eye Stylist eyeliner 🙂 I love it because my eyes/eyelids need a thinner line than most people and they make it easy.
My recent discovery is a Target store-brand item: Sonia Kashuk Cheek Sheer in the color Flushed. Since my teen years, I used powder blushes–usually Clinique–but for the past couple of years (I’ll be 40 this year), my skin has been getting drier and powder blush had begun looking . . . like powder. I wanted to play around with some other formulations, so I grabbed a couple of cheap items at Target, assuming I’d trade up later.
No way–I’m sold! This stuff is fabulous. It looks totally natural, is easy to use, and stays on all day. The color is perfect. I recommended it to a friend with more golden skin, and it looks great on her, too. I think it costs $7/tube. Hurray!
Didn’t know that about Rite Aid. That’s good to know, because with lipstick and such, you can just never tell about color.
I use Everday Minerals for all my face makeup and eye colors (including eyeliner). It is amazingly cheap. I just ordered some more, and I got a year’s supply of foundation, concealer, and eyeshadow, and a lipstick, and I paid $18, with shipping. It has made such a difference in my skin, too. My skin likes bismuth-free mineral makeup far more than anything else I’ve tried.
For brushes and cases, I get everything from e.l.f. Are they the best quality? No. Do they work well? Yes. And they are $1 each, so you really can’t go wrong.
And my final secret… instead of mascara, I dye my eyelashes with Swiss O Par eyelash dye. Less toxic than mascara, and easy- you dye once every few months. Costs $16 for a year’s supply.
That’s everything I know about frugal makeup.
Not a fan of some of these recommendations. Specifically the lipstick/blush inspiration and the eyes inspiration.
Where are you getting this information?
Kim – That’s okay, I have never claimed to be a makeup expert. Some of the ideas have come from books, although at this moment I cannot remember which ones for sure, some came from readers here and others I “invented” myself.
Thanks for leaving a comment. If other readers don’t like my suggestions, hopefully they will find something they like better at your blog. =D
Has anyone else tried the Swiss O Par eyelash dye? If so, what were your results? Comments?
Makeup should be done based on one’s color complexion as one might look beautiful with a particular makeup while others are not.
Hi Nancy,
I just tried the Swiss-o-Par dye today. I bought the brown to dye my brows and lashes, I was tired of looking washed out, and of having mascara smear all over my face. My lashes look fabulous. I didn’t tel my daughter what I did, and asked her how my eyes looked and she said ‘like you’re wearing lots of mascara, but your lashes aren’t clumping together”. I was thrilled, I have very long, very thick, naturally blonde lashes so the dye is a godsend for me. However, my brows didn’t fare as well. For some reason the dye took better on the parts of my brows that are already a darker blonde than the rest, leaving the palest blonde, well, blonde. So I have a mottled look. I went to town with my tweezers on the wild hairs that are now brown (didn’t notice them before) and I plan to put moisturizer on the darkest parts of my brows overnight and see if any of the excess color comes off.
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