Makeup basics

So, despite the fact that I'm 31, I haven't worn makeup for several years. I had some ages ago for dance recitals and occasional wear (high school & college). But, as stuff got old, I stopped replacing it, and I'm basically makeup free, although I know the basics of applying it.

Next week, I'm going to be in a photo shoot for a friend's yoga book. I can either do my own makeup, or go with my typical bare face. I was thinking of doing something pretty subtle. Also, I'm on the job market, and would like to have some basics for interviews.

I'm planning on getting a powder foundation (I don't like heavy makeup), a mascara, a blush, and an eyeshadow. (I have some lipstick/gloss) I generally prefer natural skincare products when they are an option. I've heard good things about Bare Escentuals (and have seen it totally cover a friend's acne). I was planning on going into a Sephora to check it out and get the right shade.

Do you have any thoughts or advice?

Bare Escentuals is awesome...at least I think so anyway. I went into Sephora a few years ago pretty much in the same position as you are in today. I went and told them, I want a foundation that doesn't look all cakey and it's pretty translucent but will give me that non-shine in pics.

He took me straight over to BE and he did a demo for me and I bought the foundation starter kit. The medium tan ended up being an EXACT match to my skin, in the store lights and in day light, the match was dead on to my skin color.

That was a little over two years ago and I actually JUST ran out of the medium tan (that's how little i wear foundation) There is also a tan that came in the starter kit and I just opened that and used in the makeup pics i took the other night. You can't even tell i have anything on and it's buildable. After you build it, it still doesn't look like you have a cake face.

So if you're thinking about BE, go into the store and try, you'll probably end up buying it. I wouldn't trade my BE for ANYTHING.

I will say this though, I've only ever owed two other foundations..the mac one was pretty good band the covergirl made me look ashy. I'd choose BE over those two anyday.

I'm not a sales rep or anything ...lol I just love BE

@Pretty_Vee, Thanks for the info!

I have a friend who wears Bare Essentuals and I agree that it is enough to give you complete coverage. I helped her apply it once and it made it look as if she had on blush when we applied everything. Once you go into the store and try it you can determine if you still need to buy a blush. If you still want a different blush we can always offer recommendations over here

One of my favorite mascaras is the L'oreal Voluminous mascara. I'm also not sure what color eyeshadows you were looking for but I love the L'oreal HIP duos because they are very pigmented. Let me know what colors you are looking for and the price range you want to stay in. HTH

I've used Bare Escentuals for the last 3 years or so. I agree - the whole system is awesome - easy to match - and looks very natural. I also wear the medium tan. I prefer the matte foundation to the regular.

My kid talked me into trying the new Cover Girl Natureluxe liquid foundation. I've been using it for the last month, and I absolutely love it. Before I used Bare Escentuals, I used the Cover Girl with the Oil of Olay. I liked it, but I could never get it to really match. So when I found Bare Escentuals, I was in heaven. With this Natureluxe Cover Girl foundation, I found an easy match, and it doesn't look pasty.

I still use the rest of my Bare Escentuals products with the Natureluxe foundation. And I still plan to use my Bare Escentuals foundation, but when my skin is really oil, it doesn't "hold" like it used to.

But as a light skinned black female who is simply impossible to match, I highly recommend the Bare Escentuals makeup line.

Ooooo,just where I need to be .... at the beginning. The other makeup thread is too advanced for me..... I will look at Sephora too the next time i'm at the mall. I'm sure they can help all skin colors right?

Thanks to all for so much info! It's sort of been a rough day, and seeing all this has definitely cheered me up.

krazy coils, Thanks for telling me about the blush thing (it would be great to have one less thing to do!) and suggesting a mascara.

I'll let y'all know how things go after I get to the mall--maybe a pic or two, too.

so pretty vee pretty much sold me on the BE cuz ive been leaning towards them anywayz since they are more mineralized and yeeeees yldthng-its hard to match us yellow diva's and LOVE the avi. i love their blushes too but there still #2 to my Nars. its a cheaper alternative at $18 with a high payoff since Nars is $22

@misscee; dont even try it missy...dnt be intimidated by the makeup thread, lol. im still a beginner myself and i took baby steps to ease into it, i swear its not as hard as it looks!

@MissyCee - Yes, you can match any skin color with Bare Escentuals. For lighter skin women though, we REALLY have a tough time matching our skintone because we can have so many different undertones to our skin (yellow, green, orange, blue, etc) and one makeup can't work with all of those undertones. I don't think darker skin women have to worry about undertones, but I know it can be hard to match darker skin tones as well. For me, when I can find a makeup that matches me perfectly with very little effort, it's a REALLY big deal. Plus, BE makes you look like you're not wearing makeup - it just makes it look like you've got this awesome skin. If you try it, I think you'll love it.

@NubieNatty: Thanks Chica!

MissyCee wrote:Ooooo,just where I need to be .... at the beginning. The other makeup thread is too advanced for me..... I will look at Sephora too the next time i'm at the mall. I'm sure they can help all skin colors right?

ABSOLUTELY...The Sephoras that are near me all have an even mix of professionals ranging from our chocolate sisters all the way up to asian and white. The person that actually helped me was an older white man with an accent. He really knew his stuff too.

No matter their color, they are supposed to be trained to be able to efficiently help all shades, colors and complexions find what they need.

NubieNatty wrote:so pretty vee pretty much sold me on the BE cuz ive been leaning towards them anywayz since they are more mineralized and yeeeees yldthng-its hard to match us yellow diva's and LOVE the avi. i love their blushes too but there still #2 to my Nars. its a cheaper alternative at $18 with a high payoff since Nars is $22

@misscee; dont even try it missy...dnt be intimidated by the makeup thread, lol. im still a beginner myself and i took baby steps to ease into it, i swear its not as hard as it looks!

Me too and I agree 100%...its more addictive than anything because it's so fun. Even if you mess yourself up a few times.you start figuring out what NOT to do..LOL!

Ok, I'm gonna make that dive!!! I'll post pics when I begin..

I'm just 21 and have so far avoided serious make up- jut eyeliner, mascara, and glosses. However I have had acne since I was 10 and around last year it occurred to me that I'm around the age where it's appropriate for me to wear more makeup especially since I do have acne. Gotta get my grown woman on

But I still feel like wearing makeup is like painting my face and I never want it to be obvious (I don't want to feel like I don't look good without it). But I need coverage. That being said I got the Bare Essentials starter kit in medium dark and golden dark. Yesterday I bought Pur Minerals instead. I'll list the pros and cons of each.

Bare Essentals
Pros:
-sheer, but only somewhat build-able
-has a great variety of shades, so matching is fairly easy
-because it's a lose powder, it diffuses light on your skin and gives you an airbrushed quality
-that being said, it does impart a sheen; the powder is somehow creamy which can be a pro or con based on your skin type(I'm oily, so, not the best for me)
-Kits/sets almost always come with mineral veil which is like an extra sheer finishing layer that diffuses light even more and diminishes pores

Cons:
-Because it's a very fine loose powder, it's not convienent to carry around and use on the go. The dust will settle onto your close if you're not careful...or even if you are careful...
-Although they have many shades, they verge on rather warm/orangey tones and the color I got made me look like I was wearing bronzer or that I had spent time in sun.This is okay for the summer but inappropriate and conspicuous in the winter.
-Coverage is build-able but only a little bit. If you've got major "texture" i.e. bumps, pretty large pores , or super hyper pigmentation, it's still going to be sheer.

Pur minerals

Pros:

-Shades are more neutral, less bronzey and/or rosy; less "showy"
-It comes in pressed powder/compact form, so it's convenient for on the go
-Wonderful coverage! It has concealer built into the foundation
-More of a matte finish (again this could be a pro or con depending on your skin)
-has an spf 15 like Bare Essentuals as well

Cons:

-The brush seems really basic and unprofessional
-There are less shades to choose from, so finding a match isn't a guarantee
-It might feel a little cakey

Mascara:
Bare Minerals actually has nice mascara. Its brush really separates lashes.
Lash Stiletto is also good for length and mild separation.

Thanks, Lysheba89; that's really helpful

also, the bare esentuals mineral veil is supposed to set your makeup, but I find that bare minerals transfers a lot if you go to touch your face, wipe your nose or mouth, or whatever. Pur minerals stays put until you wash it off, and even then, you may need to wash/rinse twice.

Yesssss ChrsLvsBks! I would say that my undertones are somewhat red and BE still made me look like I had a reddish tan...which is beautiful- I would love to have that complexion-but I DON'T.

Also, mature? Mature my foot! You look so youthful!

So, I went to Ulta and ended up going with Pur Minerals. I tried on a bunch of Bare Escentuals, and the closest color to my natural skin tone was the Dark. The saleswoman then had me try the Pur Minerals, and I their foundation was a better match for me, also in the Dark. The BE came pretty close, but the PM was just a bit better. (They cost the same.)

I just got the foundation, as she said that the blush that came in the kit wouldn't be the best match for me, anyway, and I didn't need the bronzer (especially since I want to keep things simple). I also bought a retractable kabuki brush by Ecotools (the saleswoman guided me to it after I was looking at the pricier Ulta brushes!). The Pur Minerals came with a sponge in the compact for heavier application or to use it as a concealer, but I liked the less heavy look of using a brush. Also, I remembered Lysheba89 saying that the Pur Minerals brush wasn't so great

I asked her if I should try another blush, and she wasn't at all pushy, testing one out on me, but saying I didn't need it. I'm going to skip it for now. Finally, I bought a mascara, Cover Girl LastBlastFusion. Maybe it's just the novelty after not wearing it for so long, but mascara is like, the awesomest thing in the world, for real

Anyway, here's a quick photo. It's at night with my laptop camera, so the quality isn't the greatest.

(I also need to tweeze my brows, but that's another story!)

bpjedi wrote:So, I went to Ulta and ended up going with Pur Minerals. I tried on a bunch of Bare Escentuals, and the closest color to my natural skin tone was the Dark. The saleswoman then had me try the Pur Minerals, and I their foundation was a better match for me, also in the Dark. The BE came pretty close, but the PM was just a bit better. (They cost the same.)

I just got the foundation, as she said that the blush that came in the kit wouldn't be the best match for me, anyway, and I didn't need the bronzer (especially since I want to keep things simple). I also bought a retractable kabuki brush by Ecotools (the saleswoman guided me to it after I was looking at the pricier Ulta brushes!). The Pur Minerals came with a sponge in the compact for heavier application or to use it as a concealer, but I liked the less heavy look of using a brush. Also, I remembered Lysheba89 saying that the Pur Minerals brush wasn't so great

I asked her if I should try another blush, and she wasn't at all pushy, testing one out on me, but saying I didn't need it. I'm going to skip it for now. Finally, I bought a mascara, Cover Girl LastBlastFusion. Maybe it's just the novelty after not wearing it for so long, but mascara is like, the awesomest thing in the world, for real

Anyway, here's a quick photo. It's at night with my laptop camera, so the quality isn't the greatest.

(I also need to tweeze my brows, but that's another story!)

Glad you found something you like!! YAY!

To the other ladies...I have more of a neutral tone so i didn't have much of a problem with the foundation but i did notice with BE's "warmth" is very orange..i stay away from usuing it at all in the winter

i also noticed that it has glitter/shimmer..don't like that but as far as the foundation it was perfect for me.

And now that you mention it, it does transfer with nose wipes...i'm going to have to try pur minerals foundation to see how that one may or may not transfer for me.

Pretty_Vee, if your skintone is more neutral, Pur minerals might be just a little bit better, as their shades are markedly more nuetral than BE.And Purdoesn't transfer like BE. Keep you BE brush though if you got one! And the BE mineral veil.

Bpjedi, it was an Ulta salesperson that got me to switch from BE to Pur. My pjism is out of pocket (literally lol) when I'm in that place!I could live there!

Also you look wonderful, doubt you needed foundation at all!

@Lysheba89

Aw, thanks for the compliment You're lovely, too!

I seem to have yellow-y undertones, and the Pur worked a bit better for me in that regard, as most of the BE was a bit too red. I'm glad I got help and was able to try on a ton of colors to get the right match.

I'm loving the ecotools kabuki brush--it's really soft, and doesn't seem irritating. I might get smaller brush to use my foundation as a concealer, but I'm going to try to hold off shopping for at least a little while

@ Ambitious_Tiff, Thanks! I think I got lucky in finding a foundation that matches me. Your avatar is fab--love the earrings

I think coco butter is supposed to help with stretch marks, but I'm not sure about a good coverup.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:@ bpjedi
You don't even look like you have make up on in your pic! Very nice.

Can someone direct me to a waterproof something to cover stretch marks? And does all make up rub off?

You can try Dermablend or Cover F/X. There are other brands. I will try to find their names. I also was looking at a site a couple of days ago that sold samples. I will try to find that for you also.

Pur Minerals will be on sale at 11 AM EST today on Hautelook.com.