Makeup - Where to start?

[Guest BobbiLee]

Hi Ladies,

I am really wanting to try to get some makeup soon but I have no idea where to start or what to do or what to get. I have walked the makeup aisles at the store lately but there is so much. I have tried to watch what my wife buys but since she is not starting from scratch, I am not sure what I need or don't at this point. I have very thin lips so that is one area I want to work on as well as minimize my nose as much as possible. With that said, what do you all recommend I get to start?

Oh, and while my wife knows, she is leery of makeup and wig at this point so this is something I need to keep quiet for now so obviously I don't want to break the bank as she watches the finances.

Hugs!

Bobbi

[bobbisue]

I watched many tutorials on u tube probably hundreds and then slowly developed a plan from what i felt would work for me i did make mistakes and found that starting with the cheap stuff is a good way to find what works as you will wind up with a lot of things that just dont work once you find your look then go to the good stuff it is worth it

bobbisue

[Guest Sarah Faith]

I'm gonna echo what the poster above said.. Youtube tutorials will go a long way.. When I was first transitioning many moons ago I really wanted to learn how to do makeup.. So I bought a bunch of cosmetics and gave it a try... The result did not end well I looked pretty terrible... So I ended up watching tons of youtube tutorial videos from some of my favorite musicians and what not as well as just other people on youtube.. Well this gave me an idea of what to buy, what techniques I wanted to try.. From there it was just practice, doing it every day and always trying to do better.. With experience came knowledge of what looked good on me and what looked kinda bleh... and from there I was able to make more informed decisions.. now a days I am very good with my make up and I dont have some giant supply of stuff I'll never use. I have a small bag with all of my cosmetics and I use pretty much all of it fairly regularly. So I guess all in all, tutorials and trial and error are your best bets.

[tracy_j]

I also watched lots and lots of Youtube video's as well as visiting various websites.

My thoughts are to just play around a bit and get used to the ideas. Remember to moistuise and keep your skin in good condition. Also remember less is more with regard to makeup. It is very easy to overdo it (which I do often? ). There are a lot of variables. It may well be that your wife's face shape, hair colour, skin type and tone etc vary from yours so products and ideas she uses may not be ideal for you.

I remember one website I used quite a bit in the early days. Called Nerdy Girl - It appealed to me as I am a bit nerdy

Hope it helps

Tracy

[Briana]

Hi Bobbi,

Another way to go at this is going to one of the better makeup stores or counters and getting some lessons. Most are very accommodating and understanding; it won't be the first time they've been asked. After all, it doesn't matter who they sell to, they really just want to make a sale. What I've done in the past when trying to update my look or change it is to approach and explain and if they're receptive and willing, set up some time. You'd be surprised at how accommodating some can be. i.e. They'll set some time with with you when the store opens or close to closing so it's not crowded etc.

And don't overlook drugstore makeup counters. Some still have an actual cosmetologist or at least a makeup expert in charge of the counter. And most products won't break the bank like some department stores can do.

I had a wonderful experience at the CVS where I live. I was looking for some new foundation for summer and a young lady was stocking product. She asked if she could help me find something. Normally I say no that I'm just fine but for some reason, I just said that I was looking for some new foundation but I wasn't sure. She bounced up and told me about herself and offered to help. She was in cosmetology school and more than willing to help. I certainly learned a few things specific to me and she was very helpful. She was able to use her kit to try a few different shades and techniques to see what looked best vs. what I was trying to accomplish and in the end I was very pleased. While your experience(s) may vary, you never know...

[Guest Kaylee]

I see Tracy mentioned face shape. Huge concideration for sure.

I would say start with studying your face and determine what your good points and bad points are.

I saw you mentioned this lips and a desire to thin your nose. Those self help tips are all over youtube as the ladies have already stated.

Find something positive though. The old adage "if you've got it, flaunt it comes to mind.

Me for example, I have a round face, high cheek bones and really long eyelashes. Mostly, I concentrate on my eyes to draw attention. Long, plus curl, plus mascara... equals stupid amount of eyelash.... and batting eyelashes is a weapon ha ha.

The bad, I have really heavy lids, and no amount of youtube videos helped me cope with that. It simply took many many hours in front of a mirror.

I know budget is always an issue, but certain things you should just not skimp on. A good face primer I feel is very important. It helps to smooth the skin, and helps keep all your hard work attached to your face. I use store brands of liquid foundation and powder as opposed to say "Sephora".

Loreal seems to be the only one who works with my skin tone (more of a pinkish hue). Only you can determine what works best for you, but going super cheap is a risky proposition. I also found pretty fast that having a few decent brushes makes a huge difference because the videos often say... blend blend blend.

Being fem is a lot of darn work. Had I known this before coming out... I would have started working on it sooo much sooner ha ha.

Good luck hon. Eventually it will all fall into place and only take 1 hour instead of 2 ;P.

Hugs,

Kaylee

[MarcieMarie12]

Things, I suggest to get started:

Foundation/BB-Creame

Concealer

Blush

Eye-liner,black

Eye-shadow (have fun with the colors)

Mascara-Black,

Eye-brow crayon/pencil (match your eyebrow hair color)

Beard concealer

Bronzer (optional)

A good brush set

Make up remover

Nail polish

Nail polish remover.

Lipstick

Lip liner

BTW-Not cheap!!!

Minimum stuff would be blush, an eye shadow, a BB Cream, lip liner, lipstick, blush and mascara. You can then just get a blush brush, an eye shadow brush and a brush for the BB cream.

Hugs,

Marcie

[Guest Danielle J]

Another thing you can try is a virtual makeover Mary Kay has an app that you can download your picture to so can try different colors and styles on and see what works best for your coloring. I also had heavy eyelids and was able to have surgery covered by my insurance because it actually affected my peripheral vision

Hugs Danielle

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Hi Bobbi,

Another way to go at this is going to one of the better makeup stores or counters and getting some lessons. Most are very accommodating and understanding; it won't be the first time they've been asked. After all, it doesn't matter who they sell to, they really just want to make a sale. What I've done in the past when trying to update my look or change it is to approach and explain and if they're receptive and willing, set up some time. You'd be surprised at how accommodating some can be. i.e. They'll set some time with with you when the store opens or close to closing so it's not crowded etc.

And don't overlook drugstore makeup counters. Some still have an actual cosmetologist or at least a makeup expert in charge of the counter. And most products won't break the bank like some department stores can do.

I had a wonderful experience at the CVS where I live. I was looking for some new foundation for summer and a young lady was stocking product. She asked if she could help me find something. Normally I say no that I'm just fine but for some reason, I just said that I was looking for some new foundation but I wasn't sure. She bounced up and told me about herself and offered to help. She was in cosmetology school and more than willing to help. I certainly learned a few things specific to me and she was very helpful. She was able to use her kit to try a few different shades and techniques to see what looked best vs. what I was trying to accomplish and in the end I was very pleased. While your experience(s) may vary, you never know...

Well getting help finding the right shade of foundation is usually a pretty good idea, I did that as well. I would agree that it might be helpful learning what techniques might compliment ones features better.. So definitely a good way to start, though tutorials will also definitely help. The one thing that regardless of how you start nothing is going to substitute practice, practice, and more practice. No one is going to be able to teach someone to draw a razor sharp clean line on their own eye lid. Makeup is a bit of an art in its self and takes time and practice.