Make-up Q & A Thread

[Guest Verso]

The other day, I went to a MAC counter to get my foundation shade checked and I was matched with NC25 select spf liquid foundation (I'm Chinese, by the way). She gave me a sample to go with it and and I tried it at home because I couldn't tell from the swatch--I feel like it looks way too yellow whenever I use it?

[Guest strawberrynkiwi]

^^ That happened to me too. I was matched with NC35. In the MAC store, I thought it looked okay. I also got the sample and tried it at home. It made me look too gray and dark. If you aren't satisfy and maybe they mismatched you, so go to another MAC store or another make-up artist and get rematch.. tell them about NC25 looking weird. Sometime it's possible that MAC doesn't have a shade that matched your skintone.

Keep in mind what kinda lighting you look too yellow in. It might be just your light bulb. Try looking in natural lighting, if you can tell the parts where you applied your foundation then it's probably a mismatch. Also try taking a photograph, with and without foundation.

[Guest PrincessBoa]

I think maybe we should create a skincare thread too..haha. Does skincare qualify as part of make up in a way? :S Well I guess I'll post my question here.

The thing is- I have combination oily skin- my forehead and nose get extremely oily esp. in the summer while my cheeks are normal - > dry depending on how the weather is. I've been looking for oil free moisturizers + cleansers.. and I've seen okay reviews on the Nivea Visage Cleansing Gel.. and the Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturizer (Forgot the full name xD) Has anyone else tried these products and if so (Thosewwith the same type of skin as me), what do you think of it? Does anyone have any recommendations on some good not too pricey skincare products for combination oily skin? (a bit acneprone)

Thanks so much

Also one more question- I get the occasional hooded eyelids and its very frustrating to put make up on my eyes ): I know there used to be this chart around make up forums where they tell you how to put on your make up for different eye shapes? I was wondering if anyone had that and if so- can link me to it?

-PrincessBoa

EDIT; Haha so many questions.. I was wondering - if anyone knew any good eye cream or affordable concealer for really dark under eye circles? ><

[Guest pikasaki]

PrincessBoa: I have the same skin type as you - I have combination skin and my nose tends to get quite oily in the summer time. I happen to be using both of the products you mentioned. I'm going through probably my sixth Nivea Visage Cleansing Gel. I like it, it works for me as in it has not broken me out, it does not make my skin feel dry or oily (some cleansers I've used really dry out my cheeks). I feel as if it's moisturizing to the skin but just right - my nose is not oily nor dry and my cheeks feel supple. In terms of helping clear/prevent pimples, I'm not too sure. I still get a pimple every now and then but a lot less, definetely not as much as prior to using this.

As for the Neutrogena Oil-Free moisturizer, it's not that great. It's okay. After application, it dries matte so it feels... I'm not sure if 'sticky' or 'tight' describes accurately the feeling but it does goes away after a couple minutes. It doesn't do the best job of moisturizing. I don't have dry skin, but sometimes I have dry spots on my cheek especially around winter time and I find that I have to reapply a couple of times more to the area. A good thing is that I have not broken out from this product and I tend to have somewhat acne-prone skin. Also, I don't know if this contains SPF. It doesn't mention anything on the box or product.

I hope this is the one you meant in your post because this is the one that I am talking about:

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hoped that helped a little bit seeing that we have similiar skin type!

[Guest YukiPuu]

My eyeliner ALWAYS smudges at the bottom corner of my eyes...it's really really starting to annoy me. I tried switching to gel liner (the loreal HIP one) from liquid liner, and that's not doing the trick...and I also prime my eyes with Urban Decay's primer, but IT STILL SMUDGES. The only time it's never really smudged on me was when I used hairspray, but let's face it, I'm not going to go and spray my eyes with freaking hairspray every time...

So...can someone help me out? Should I try MAC's fluidline instead? (I was *going* to get it, but I kept reading all these reviews that the HIP was pretty much the same, and Rite Aid had 40% off...soooo...)

Thanks in advance.

I've never personally tried it, but I heard great things about Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner pencil. I have the same problem as you with eyeliner smudging, and I've also tried L'oreal's HIp liners. I agree, they do smudge :/ if you have oily lids.

Then I tried Revlon's ColorStay eyeliners in the twisty form, which lots of people rave about. I have the gray one, and the staying power on that one is amazing. The only downside is that it's gray, and looks more obvious on my eyes than black or brown (I have really, really dark eyelashes.). So I went out and bought the black one. I don't know if they changed the formula, or it's just that shade, but the black one smudges like crazy!

Also, try "setting" your eyeliner with a matching eyeshadow. It's helped my eyeliner not smudge for about an hour more than if I don't use eyeshadow.

[Guest PrincessBoa]

PrincessBoa: I have the same skin type as you - I have combination skin and my nose tends to get quite oily in the summer time. I happen to be using both of the products you mentioned. I'm going through probably my sixth Nivea Visage Cleansing Gel. I like it, it works for me as in it has not broken me out, it does not make my skin feel dry or oily (some cleansers I've used really dry out my cheeks). I feel as if it's moisturizing to the skin but just right - my nose is not oily nor dry and my cheeks feel supple. In terms of helping clear/prevent pimples, I'm not too sure. I still get a pimple every now and then but a lot less, definetely not as much as prior to using this.

As for the Neutrogena Oil-Free moisturizer, it's not that great. It's okay. After application, it dries matte so it feels... I'm not sure if 'sticky' or 'tight' describes accurately the feeling but it does goes away after a couple minutes. It doesn't do the best job of moisturizing. I don't have dry skin, but sometimes I have dry spots on my cheek especially around winter time and I find that I have to reapply a couple of times more to the area. A good thing is that I have not broken out from this product and I tend to have somewhat acne-prone skin. Also, I don't know if this contains SPF. It doesn't mention anything on the box or product.

I hope this is the one you meant in your post because this is the one that I am talking about:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41o9...L500_AA300_.jpg

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hoped that helped a little bit seeing that we have similiar skin type!

^Hey Pikasaki! Thanks so much for responding Yes its really hard for me to find good products especially since I also have somewhat acne prone skin and alot of things ESPECIALLY the Clinique I used prior, broke me out where I've never broken out before ): Still recovering from that!

Thanks for your input I think I will definitely try the Nivea Visage Cleansing Gel- this is the one you're talking about also right?

I hope it works okay for me too!

And actually for the Neutrogena one it isn't that one I'm talking about.. haha it's actually this one! I was wondering what kind of masks you use and etc? (I've tried St. Ives but it seems too harsh for my skin :X )

I meant this one,

Thanks so much!!

-PrincessBoa

[Guest pikasaki]

Yes, that's the one I was talking about! (:

Oh oops okay haha. I've tried that one before also, but it was quite a while back. The consistency is very watery/gel-like and I remember it making my face quite oily. Sorry, that's not really helpful! I'm also looking for a better moisturizer & I'm looking into trying Aveeno Moisturizer SPF 15.

I haven't tried any masks, except for the St. Ives and it was also too harsh for my skin! I broke out really badly from it. I always hear raves about the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque.

[Guest Verso]

^^ That happened to me too. I was matched with NC35. In the MAC store, I thought it looked okay. I also got the sample and tried it at home. It made me look too gray and dark. If you aren't satisfy and maybe they mismatched you, so go to another MAC store or another make-up artist and get rematch.. tell them about NC25 looking weird. Sometime it's possible that MAC doesn't have a shade that matched your skintone.

Keep in mind what kinda lighting you look too yellow in. It might be just your light bulb. Try looking in natural lighting, if you can tell the parts where you applied your foundation then it's probably a mismatch. Also try taking a photograph, with and without foundation.

Thanks, I just checked under natural lighting and it was still too yellow unless I blended it in waaaaay past the point that foundation should ever be blended. I'll go back sometime and get rematched.

[Guest Kanzen]

Thanks so much for that! It helped me a lot. I'm thinking of buying Revlon colorstay after hearing so many good reviews on it.

No problem.

[Guest ~SWEETwhispers~]

I've never personally tried it, but I heard great things about Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner pencil. I have the same problem as you with eyeliner smudging, and I've also tried L'oreal's HIp liners. I agree, they do smudge :/ if you have oily lids.

Sorry to cut your post but I LOVE Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil. It doesn't smudge for me, but it tends to go away after a few hours. I was using Stila's eyeliner and man, it looked like I was crying all the time because it would smudge soo badly.

Anyway, I was looking into gel eyeliners and I've heard a lot of reviews about the L'oreal HIP and the Maybelline gel eyeliner. Which one would be better for a newbie?

[Guest strawberrynkiwi]

^^ I'm not a fan of the HIP gel liner. They dry really fast, which makes application not so smooth. I could be bias, because I have it in black and it's a little bit too harsh for me.

I haven't tried the Maybelline one, so can't say anything bout it except the reviews are quite good. On the side note, you should also check out Wet'n'Wild gel/cream liner, the reviews are positive too, and its only like $4.

[Guest <3 Kim]

The other day, I went to a MAC counter to get my foundation shade checked and I was matched with NC25 select spf liquid foundation (I'm Chinese, by the way). She gave me a sample to go with it and and I tried it at home because I couldn't tell from the swatch--I feel like it looks way too yellow whenever I use it?

No offence but some sales assistants in Australia have no idea what they're doing sometimes. I wanted to get a colour match for Revlon Colorstay so I went do a department store to get a SA to try find my colour. The colour she matched me with was A LOT darker than my skin tone and she just said "I think that colour is perfect for you" I told her I think it's too dark and I need a lighter colour. I ended up finding the right shade in the end, but if you can, try go to another store and get another SA to match your skin tone.

[Guest ichigobunnie]

I think maybe we should create a skincare thread too..haha. Does skincare qualify as part of make up in a way? :S Well I guess I'll post my question here.

sorry to cut ur post short!

I have combination oily skin that's REALLLYYYY acne prone. I use MAC Oil Control Lotion. It's sorta pricey to me tho. It costs like $30? But it lasts me like 5 months. Ever since I used this I had a lot less acne and my face isn't as oily. Yea it doesnt control oil 100%--what product does? but this helped me out BIG time. I think the reduction of acne was my biggest thrill ever from this moisturizer haha. Go to the MAC counter to ask for a sample if you dont wanna buy it yet and just wanna test it out. I also have dry cheeks during winter and I dab a tiny bit of MAC MoistureLush Cream (bout $32..?) I totally recommend you to get it

i kno you asked for products that are cheap in price but i swear to u this is worth it.

I use Shiseido Perfect Whip cleanser ($8-10) and its great cuz it cleans but it doesnt make your face feel dry afterwards, but doesn't make our combination oily skin feel oilier. And I think that price is pretty affordable. It lasts like half a year for me cuz you use like a tiny bit of it and it foams up big time

I hope this helps!

[Guest evz88]

EDIT; Haha so many questions.. I was wondering - if anyone knew any good eye cream or affordable concealer for really dark under eye circles? ><

maybe you could try this, it has gotten quite good reviews on sasa.com and its pretty cheap =)

[Mizz_Ana_cutez]

Hello, everyone, it's my first time to post in this section. ^^

I want to ask something

I want to start wearing make-up. I just want to wear simple make up. What things should I buy first? And what brand do you recommend?

Thank you ^^

Nice to meet you!

[Guest <3 Kim]

^ If you're just starting out I would recommend buying just drugstore makeup so you can practice. Do you have any acne scars/acne you want to hide? If you do then you should get a concealer to cover them up and also a foundation. Revlon colorstay is great for coverage and is cheap too. If you don't have anything to conceal then I wouldn't recommend you wear foundation.

I don't know much about drugstore eyeliners but there are quite a few good drugstore mascaras you can buy. Covergirl Lash Blast and Maybelline Colossal were very good and affordable mascaras I've heard. With eyeshadows, I bought the 88 eyeshadow palette on ebay. I definitely recommend this, very cheap and very good eyeshadows. I wouldn't recommend buying them on Coastal Scents because they just buy their products from China, slap their logo on it and sell them for a more expensive price. I never use any other eyeshadow anymore since the 88 Palette is all I use now.

[Guest ichigobunnie]

Hello, everyone, it's my first time to post in this section. ^^

I want to ask something

I want to start wearing make-up. I just want to wear simple make up. What things should I buy first? And what brand do you recommend?

Thank you ^^

Nice to meet you!

Eyeliner:

I listed 3 diff types of eyeliners you can choose from that all work well

-Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner is about $4-5 and it works great. It's a pencil eyeliner so it's great for beginners

-I personally use Maybelline gel eyeliner but you might not feel comfortable using a brush if you're just starting out on makeup, but that's up to you. I HIGHLY recommend this eyeliner

-If you want liquid liner, Loreal Lineur Intense. It has a nice felt tip that's easy to control

Mascara:

-Maybelline Full N' Soft Mascara. It has high ratings on Makeupalley.com and I personally have used it many times and love it

Eyeshadow:

Just like <3Kim recommended, the 88 color palette is nice to practice with tons of colors, but if you arent a color person and just want something basic, go ahead and purchase neutral colors to wear on a regular basis. I personally have not used this myself, but I've heard from tons of bloggers and reviewers that they love Maybelline Eye Studio Silk Eyeshadow and you can get the Sunset Seduction one for the basic browns etc.

http://www.maybelline.com/Product/Eye/Eyes...h-eyeshadow.htm

Lipgloss:

honestly most lipglosses work. Revlon's Superlustrous Lipglosses are great. I haven't heard anyone hate them. The color selection is great and the quality of it is superb.

Face:

I'm not really sure what to recommend for the face because I dont know how much you want to spend. Personally I'd splurge for foundation or powder foundation because it's my skin. For beginners, powder is easiest to use. Be sure to use a face primer before putting on foundation tho to keep it in tact (I love that new Loreal Studio Secrets Face Primer, the one in the jar : http://www.target.com/LOreal-Studio-Secret...r/dp/B002PBLH3Q )

hope this helps!

[Guest ichigobunnie]

I know that everyone has different skin types, but has anyone tried the Bare Minerals foundation? How did you like it compared to other foundations? If you weren't satisfied with it, what else would you recommend?

Bare Minerals made me break out. It has Bismuth Oxychloride, and that I researched it up, but it was said to be irritating to a good amount of people. This to me is an overpriced mineral makeup and the brush they used was coarse. I didn't like it lol

I currently use Buff'd Minerals. I have combination oily skin thats very acne prone. It doesn't have bismuth oxychloride so that's good. It was about $14 i believe for this product. Can't remember, been so long since I purchased it. I'll warn you though, when it comes to all foundations, please use a primer. This mineral makeup won't stay on my skin if I dont use some kind of primer cuz the oil in my T-zone will just melt it off xD So far the best primer I've encountered on a budget is Loreal Studio Secrets Face Primer. I dont like how it's in a pot...but...oh well, the product is good stuff lol.

I've tried Everyday Minerals but it seemed to oxidize on me more than others. Still worth a try though because they give out free samples.

Silk Naturals:I'm not even sure if this is in business anymore? but you mix your own mineral makeup and this oxidized the most on me. It was pretty bad. It did feel VERY silky on my skin but mixing it was more difficult than I thought. Yes i followed their instructions manual but still....lol

Neutrogena Pressed Mineral Makeup Powder: I don't like the color selection but this is great if you dont want to mess with loose powder. On a scale 1 to 10, with 1 being the sheerest, and 10 being full coverage, i'd say you can achieve a 5 at best, but this doesnt last long and i feel like i have to touch up more often with this. If you already have pretty good skin, this is a nice option to just make your skin a bit more smooth and stuff.

[ashlei]

I know this may sound stupid but... when you apply eye shadow and eye liner on your lid, which one goes first. Really... I'm very clueless

[Guest lychee_poo]

^ Your eyeshadow should go first. If you did eyeliner first then your eyeshadow would cover the liner haha