A Makeup Guide For Beginners

Credit: Neil Hinchley, Flickr.

When I first started using makeup, I had nobody to explain what kind of products I should be buying and how to use them. The end result was disastrous. I don’t even want to talk about the numerous foundations I went through before realising that I wasn’t buying the right shade for my skin tone.

What I needed was a guide in starting out with makeup, and so to save you from the embarrassment I suffered, I have devised one for you.

The base:

For those of you who are lucky to still have problem-free skin, I would suggest a tinted moisturiser (like this one from Nivea) rather than foundation, and then some loose powder (from Natural Collection) for the base of your makeup.

If you find that you suffer from problematic skin, then you may have to use concealer (this from Collection 2000 is a great investment) to cover up blemishes or dark marks, and replace the tinted moisturiser with foundation.

Rimmel provide great foundations for all skin types. I would suggest the Stay Matte Foundation for oily skin, the Wake Me Up Foundation for dry skin and the Match Perfection for an uneven skin tone.

The cheeks:

This blusher from Barry M is great for beginners. It’s highly pigmented and blends well, with a huge range of colours to choose from, making it suitable for light and dark skin.

The eyes:

The Au Naturel eyeshadow palette from Sleek is a fantastic product for people just starting out with makeup. It’s cheap, and the range of colours means you can change your look on a daily basis.

You can also use the black or dark brown shade as eyeliner, as most people struggle using proper eyeliner – which makes it a no-go for beginners.

For your eyelashes, use mascara that will elongated your lashes (such as this one from Maybelline), rather than making them seem thick and spidery. 

The lips:

I would suggest lip gloss (from Tanya Burr’s collection) or tinted lip balm for everyday use. This will help to make your lips look soft and dewy, and will stop your makeup from looking overdone.

Hopefully this guide will stop you from getting caught in the pitfalls that I ended up in when I first began wearing makeup, and will serve as a good basis for building up and experimenting with your makeup collection.