A beginner’s navigation guide into the cosmetic world
This one is for my make up newbies looking for direction in this amazing world of cosmetics.
So, you are becoming aware of this magic called make up, and you are totally into enhancing that beautiful face of yours. The big question though is, how and where do you start from?
You possibly can’t plunge into the world of contouring/ highlighting when you haven’t even mastered how to draw the perfect brows.
Yes! I completely agree, make up is a process that requires practice for progress and it is very essential to have fun through this process.
So what really do you need to have in your box when starting out?
I would say the basics for a beginner should be focus on the brows, simple shadow looks, a subtle but flawless skin work (with a matching foundation and face powder) and a cute lippie.
With that said, let’s go a bit in-depth and take each section one at a time.
Brows
As a beginner, It is ok to be confused on the workings of brow pencils, pomade, gels, crayons and the likes. You need to pause for a moment, remember you are just starting out. Take it one step at a time Sis.
You see, there are a world of brow materials available out there, ranging from the roll up/sharpen pencils to brow pomades, to tinted brow gels and brow powders. I would say as a beginner, the brow pencils are friendlier and do not require as much skill as a brow gel, powder or pomade would.
From the cheaper Davis eye pencils to the pricier Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz, you can definitely snag a good brow pencil at any drug store around you. One thing to note though is that the shade of pencil to purchase should be slightly lighter than the colour of your brow hair to avoid overshaded dark brows. I usually purchase subtle/ medium brown pencil shades to give a more natural feel to my black brow hair.
Some of my favorite pencils till date include the NYX (ultra thin micro) brow pencil in brunette, The Ma brook pencil in the shade brown and bringing it home, the Beauty line by Didi brow pencil is an absolute delight. Still yet to try out other brands especially the big names but illd definitely do a diverse brow pencil try out/ review pretty soon.
Eye shadow
Let your eyes speak with pretty colours on your lid.
I would advice purchasing a nice shadow pallete that is decently pigmented with a combination of many neutral and a few bold colours for starters. For your shadow look, trust me, at this point, it is best to keep it simple.
I wouldn’t want you looking like a circus clown with multiple colours on your lids, hence my reason for suggesting a palette with neutral colours; you can hardly go wrong with them. However, as you explore and master the craft, you could step it up by infusing some bold colours.
Neutral shadow palettes I would recommend include the Juvia’s place (the warrior pallette), the Urban Decay (Naked3 palette), the too faced (bare it all) shadow palette, The Anastasia Beverly Hills (soft glam) shadow palette and bringing back home, the mood beauty (Arusha) shadow palette and the Zaron 9 in 1 (Earth) shadow pallete would do you justice.
Before we close the shadow chapter it is important to prime your eyelid with a good shadow primer before the actual eye shadow application. This would keep the shadow in place for longer periods and also help with a smooth application process. Great shadow primers out there include; the urban decay shadow primer, ben nye clown white primer and elf shadow primer.
More on eye details
So your brows are sorted and you put together a pretty good shadow look, what next? You need to pop that shadow look with a good eyeliner. I would suggest any good drugstore black liner such as the Maybelline Precise eyeliner, Rimmel London’s waterproof eyeliner, or mac’s gel eyeliner.
Let’s stick to black for now, with time we can explore other colours.
Don’t forget to brush up your natural lashes with a mascara for a full lash look. I feel you should lay low with false lashes for now till you master the art of fixing. them. Examples of great mascaras out there include; Milk makeup high volume mascara, CoverGirl lash blast clean volume mascara.
Essentials for a flawless skin work
By this, I am referring to products that make your face pop and look picture ready without having to do too much. At this point, i’lld suggest you loose the highlighting and contouring till you understand the basic workings.
The purchase of materials to achieve a subtle, but statement look would depend majorly on what skin type you have been blessed with. Are you a dry, oily, combination or normal skin girl? You would want to get products that work best for your skin type.
Considering you are only just starting out, it could be quite daunting figuring out your skin type, you could however check with any cosmetologist around you for guidance . As always, I am here to help, it is always an absolute pleasure.
To achieve a flawless skin work you would need
A good face primer
It is essential to prep your skin before the foundation and powder come on to ensure they sit pretty. To achieve this, you would need a good face primer. This face primer would act as a barrier between your skin and the make up products, and would in turn help to prevent break outs.
It is important to note though that a pro skin prep goes way beyond primer application, at this level though, a primer would work just fine.
In all honesty your choice of a good face primer would depend on your skin type, however I would give product suggestions for each skin type.
For the dry skin, hydrating primers such as : the Elf power grip primer, Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Face Cream & Makeup Primer and the Milk makeup hydro grip primer.
For combination/Oily skin; Rimmel London mattifying primer, Smash box photo finish primer, nyx shine control primer.
For normal skin: L.A. Girl face primer, Urban decay smoothing face primer amongst many others would work fine.
Foundation
A matching foundation can never be overrated loves! It can make or break your entire look. It is advisable to purchase a foundation that blends seamlessly into your skin. A simple foundation test would be to take a sample and blend it into your Jaw line. If it disappears completely, then it’s a match.
That a foundation shade blends seamlessly doesn’t always mean it is the right tone for you. But don’t worry your pretty head about foundation tones just yet. You would be fine with any good match/ suggestions from the drug store attendant.
Foundation choices would also depend on your skin type, what is important is noting your skin type to guide your choices. Examples of great foundations out there include; Loreal paris foundation, Nars light reflecting foundation, Mac studio fix foundation, and Born to glow foundation, among many others.
Face powder
Your look would be absolutely incomplete without dusting on some powder. There are a million and one brands available. I would however advice that you go for the pressed powders for starters. They are easier to apply and they leave no room for wastage like the loose powders.
Great face powders for beginners include Milani compact face powder and Mac mineralized face powder. These two are amaze balls!
Blush
A cute blush would add some colour to your cheeks and entire look. You could always get one at a trusted beauty store near you. Great picks include ; Techinc’s colour fix blush powder palete and Make up revolution ultra blush pallete.
Lippies
These are usually like icing on a beautifully made cake. They are a must have, be it a gloss, lip stain or lipstick, you need at least one to complete your look. Note that Lipstains usually last longer than Lipstick & glosses, which might require occasional touch-ups. Some nice and well pigmented choices out there include; Sephora’s cream lip stain lipstick set, Mac lipstick collections, Milani lipstick.
Bronzer (optional)
You can definetely turn the glow up with bronzers. A couple of people I have met are not huge fans of bronzers, they believe bronzers bring out the noise in a face beat and prefer the subtle look instead. I beg to differ, if used well, bronzers could upgrade your look and make you shine gurl! With that said, stick to what works for you. An example is the Technic get gorgeous bronzer.
Finishing and setting sprays
Ever heard about sealing up a look? Well, finishing sprays help to hold your look together for as long as possible. The good and sometimes pricier ones can keep your face beat fresh for the whole day. Trust me, you don’t want to get all glammed up and then have your make up fall apart at the slightest heat wave. Invest in a finishing spray and thank me later.
Great ones out there include the Nyx finishing spray, Mac fix + prep + prime spray, Urban decay all nighter spray, and the Milani make it last spray among others.
These are the major cosmetic products needed as a make up newbie, application tools/brushes are however required to get these products to your gorgeous face. Not to worry, I would go in depth on basic tools/brushes required for a flawless face beat in my next post
Remember, your first attempt might be an unavoidable flop, but more practice gets you closer to perfection. Till later! You know it’s all love from here. Kisses.
