Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

Hello all. So, I think that come September its time for me to start acting like a grown up and put on some makeup more than 4 nights a year. So, where should someone of my age and level of cluelessness go? I need everything, including guidance. Is there somewhere to go with helpful salespeople that aren't on commission and where every item isn't like $30? I have no snobbery about shopping at CVS, but I wouldn't know what to buy or how to use it. I'd like a simple routine with as few items as possible to make me look a little more polished. Is Sephora a good place to start or should I stick to a single brand like Clinique to avoid being totally overwhelmed?

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I highly recommend Carmindy's line of Sally Hansen products. I bought it at CVS. I think it works great and it did not make me break out.

I love my NARS and other Sephora products - but I think this line is great for everrday wear. They even have videos on how to apply!

Especially check out her "five minute face"

Carmindy's Line

Message edited 7/29/2009 2:35:16 PM.

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I also think Bare Minerals is a good way to go if you aren't used to wearing a lot of makeup.
It's very light, doesn't feel or look like you have makeup caked on and gives a nice flawless look.
If you go to Sephora or Ulta they are always people there willing to help you figure out what shade to buy, which products, etc.

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

Sephora is great and so are the sales people.

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

CVS is fine.

1-get a light foundation-you don't need to apply it everywhere. Just spots that you want to even out. You can even mix a dab of foundation with a dab of moisturizer in your palm and create a tinted moisturizer.

2-get a concealer. I'm partial to a stick formula but others like liquids. I use a tiny eye liner brush as a concealor brush and I dot it on spots.

3-Invest in a lash curler and mascara. You might want to go with a brown mascara since it's not as drastic. I personally only apply it to the top lashes. Use the eyelash curler before the mascara.

4-eyeliner and eye shadow are great for adding some drama to the eyes. For now, stick with a quad of neutral colors. Cover girl and maybelline have nice compacts. Almay has compacts for specific color eyes. I think brown and taupe are nice and easy to use. you can use real brushes or even your fingers. I got a really great set of travel brushes from japonesque at ulta. But L'oreal also came out with a nice set of brushes, too.

5-Blush-I like cream blush, but powder is most popular. Remember that less is more. Don't use the littel brush that comes in the compact. Use a big fluffy blush brush. I do a slight smile and apply it to the fatty cheeky area in swirly circles. If I'm using cream blush, I use my finger to make little circles.

6-Lips-get a lip brush. you can get more control with one. I personally put ona DAB of chapstick. Then I might line my lips with a neutral brownish lipliner. I love wet and wilds 666 (great color and $1). I fill in my lips with the liner. Then I take the lip brush and take some lipstick and paint my lips. I usually dab with a little bit of gloss. L'oreal makes great formulas and has some very easy colors to work with. Cover Girl just introduced these lip stains that give a sheerer color but you don't have to worry about it coming off.






Remember-you can go as natural or as dramatic as you want. It's all about how MUCH you use and what COLORS you use. You may want to start with just evening out your skin, applying mascara and doing your lips. When you feel more comfortable, add some eye makeup. Then start working in some blush.

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I tend to only wear makeup when I have somewhere to go..

But when I wear mascara and lip gloss people tend to notice.. So less can be more.. I use a dark mascara and a neutral/lip colored lip gloss and that works wonders for me

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I agree with the recs to get a makeover and find out what colors are best and learn how to apply them..... but..... wherever you go, just make sure they are clean!

I find Sephora is often not the cleanest I hope I don't get flamed for saying that!!!

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I agree a dept. store and/or Sephora b/c they will do a make-over and show you how to apply everything. Sephora is good b/c their SAs are selling all of their brands, not just one, and won't be trying to sell you everything from the same line regardless of its quality...

Re: Ok, I'm over 30, time to start wearing makeup regularly. Where should I go?

I have found that when I have gone to get a makeover at a place like MAC or Sephora, they use so much more makeup (meaning number and type of products, not quantity of each item) than I would ever really use in real life.

For an easy everyday face, I agree with the above suggestions.

Powder, mascara, blush, lipgloss. That would be an easy, 5 minute application that would make a huge difference.

I personally do not like wearing liquid foundation. Bare Minerals powder foundation gives nice coverage, but I only wear it for special days (I like to carry my powder with me, and BM is loose).

Powder - I use L'Oreal True Match powder. It covers enough to make me look flawless, but doesn't feel like a ton of makeup.

Mascara - Drugstore brands. I am loving Cover Girl's Volume Exact.

Blush - Also love L'Oreal True Match blush. Once you have picked your powder color (example N4), you can just choose the corresponding blush color so it takes the guesswork out of it.

Lipgloss - Use whatever floats your boat.

For everyday wear, I really like drugstore makeup. Easy, not very expensive. For $40, you could get the 4 basics for everday use.

You can add eyeliner and/or eyeshadow to make your eyes pop.