[30Days] Makeup Batman!

[seventhe]

Makeup Batman's Beauty Tips!

GOSH THIS IS A FUN ONE.

Okay, full disclosure: I love makeup.


Style's a personal thing. I can't say anything about anyone else's style, and I don't believe in "everybody should"s, so this is just me talking about me.

Now, I'll say flat-out that I don't subscribe to the theory that anyone must wear makeup, ever. And there's also a lot I could say about beauty standards and the ways that they are fucked up, too. And I will say here that I very much dislike makeup advertising, in which we're shown yet another impossibly perfect, airbrushed woman and reminded to buy plaster-like foundation and anti-aging creme, right? Which is bullshit! And I try not to support those things within my own beauty purchases and uses, as much as I can, because that's not what it's about for me.

What I like about makeup is the fun of it. In my life, within my personal style, it's an accessory: you don't need to be wearing jewelry or a scarf when you leave the house, but you might feel a little snazzier if you do, right? Just like makeup. One shouldn't need it to do anything, but it can be an added bit of style to twist one look into another, or to just step up your appearance that day. And if you're not in the mood to look like anything except Pajama Pants Hobo, then do that (uh, this is me almost every weekend >.>)... but if you do want to accentuate a bit, then play with it.

For me it's the only accessory I get. I work in a chemical lab; I wear a lab coat and safety goggles and steel-toed shoes. Most of my pants have stains on them, and it doesn't really matter what shirt I wear because it's under the lab coat. My hair can basically only be worn "down" or "in a ponytail" because anything fancier gets in the way of my face shield. Frills and accessories - jewelry, scarves, even fancy jackets or nice shoes - are an actual safety violation. The only thing I get to wear to make myself look any kind of different any day, to customize the way that I look, to make myself feel at all unique: makeup.

And that's why I love it.

I've grown to appreciate, over the last couple years of working this job and realizing that I can get away with wearing the same pair of pants every day in a week and nobody but me knows, the way I can tweak my look to be different every day. This day? Work-safe smoky eyes. Today? stern eyeliner. Tomorrow: countouring. Next day: all naturals. Then: green. There's a week of looking different. For me, for my personal style and hobo-punk aesthetic and the general lack of expressivity built into my job, makeup has become pretty important.

If you've ever been to a con with me, you've probably seen the Makeup Batman in action. I love con makeup because it's dramatic and fun and a chance to hit everyone with dark bright colors and glitter. But I also love doing everyone's makeup for just normal fun weekends. In spending more time on my own and in doing other people up, I've gathered some general know-how, and I will now talk about it in some semblance of order!

Hey Makeup Batman: How Much Should I Spend?

There's cheap stuff. There's inexpensive stuff. There's quality stuff. There's expensive stuff. Sometimes it's worth it and sometimes it's not. Here is how I break it down.

• Foundation/Powder: I use department-store foundation and powder (Clinique or MAC) because it keeps me from breaking out. However, everyone's skin type is different, so the key is finding something you like that doesn't [dry or oil] you up and sticking with it. I have found that for me higher-quality foundation, tinted moisturizer, and powder are less likely to make me break out. Less breaking out means not having to wear every day, which also makes it last longer, aka more affordable overall.


• Face primer: It isn't for everyone and it's an added step, but I prefer to use a face primer than to put money into sticky, tacky "long last" foundations or powders. Face primers make my face feel super smooth and silky. Yay! I like Tarte's; Smashbox has a highly-rated one also.


• Blush: is the kind of thing I am perfectly happy to buy at a drugstore; you can pick up many colors (rose, peach, pink) and finishes (shimmer, matte), and with a good base (foundation, or primer) they last just as well as more expensive things.


• Bronzer: many drugstore bronzers just have too much sparkle / glitter / shimmer / frost to them, and they look fake. That isn't to say the more expensive ones are "better" - they usually just look more realistic. If you find a cheap one that works for your coloring, go for it.


• Eyeshadow Primer: The #1 purchase you can make to make your makeup life happy and long. I swear by Urban Decay Primer potion, which comes in flavors - Original (clear), Sin (shimmery champagne), Eden (matte yellow/tan), and Greed (gold). Not only does it stick your eyeshadow - no creasing, no fading, no giving of the raccoon eyes - but it makes your eyeshadow last basically until you take it off. It is magical. It lasts a very long time too, so it is an investment so worth it to me.


• Eyeshadows: Two ways to break this down. In terms of pigmentation - bright thick color vs pale sheer color - I do find that you get what you pay for; most higher-quality shadows are brighter, carry more pigment, and lay down significantly more boldly than drugstore brights. In terms of lifetime, I also find higher-quality shadows last longer without creasing, fading, or fallout.
  That being said, eyeshadow primer can make many cheap shadows bright and bold and as permanent as needed. Do you see where I'm going here? You can then invest your money in a few good shadows in shades you wear a lot, and experiment in bright blues and greens on the cheap because your primer's gonna make them look amazing.


• Eyeliner: Personally I think higher-quality liners are so much better than drugstore ones; on me, cheaper ones will smear, fade, or - best! - both. I find easier application, smoother lines, better colors, better payoff and longer life in the higher-quality brands. I like Urban Decay, Tarte, and Korres myself, plus the obvious MAC.


• Mascara: I've never met an expensive mascara that was actually worth the money. Go drugstore, baby. You're supposed to throw it out if it's older than a couple months, too... not worth the investment to me. Alternately: if you purchase kits from Sephora, or GWP from department stores, often you can get enough travel-size mascaras to cover your every need.


• Lips: OK, I'm torn. There's high-quality lips stuff and cheap-nasty lip stuff and in my opinion, in the end it's all the same because I drink too much coffee for it to last more than about eight minutes on my face.
  However! I personally lean more towards mid-quality lip products because they have less cloying smells (strongly-smelling products give me headaches), smoother application, are more moisturizing and do last a little longer. But honestly eyes are what's exciting for me, because I am always putting things in my mouth WHAT


• Brushes: A set of brushes will be one of the best investments you make as you move into makeup. But they don't have to be pricey. MAC's brushes get very high ratings, and are very high quality, but they are also expensive. For something more affordable, try Sonia Kashuk's line of brushes at Target - they're excellent quality for a very affordable price. For the best damn deal I've found yet, you can buy the Ecotools set of eyeshadow brushes for $8. Five small brushes (which suit me - I need to use stubby/small brushes, liners, mascara, etc because I'm applying 1" away from the mirror due to my terrible eyes), super soft, excellent application, top-notch quality. Do it. You'll be happy.

Hey Makeup Batman: What Should I Get?

For your face:
- Foundation if you want real coverage, but be prepared for it to feel thick and possibly get/look cakey.
- Tinted moisturizer (or! foundation/lotion cocktail) if you want evening out and light coverage, but be prepared for some things to show through.
- Powder can stand alone (light to medium coverage) for faces that are oily. It can also be applied over either of the above for more coverage, a smoother (/drier) look, and to help "set" your face.
- I heartily recommend applying liquids with a makeup sponge, and powder with an actual powder brush.

For your cheeks:
- Powder blush runs from sheer to strong, depending on the brand. So start really light until you know how it's going to come out.
- Cream blush is magical for an easy, dewy look, although some can fade over a day.
- Bronzer can be a cream or a powder, it just needs to be a good tan color (not orange) and not too shimmery. If you want a bronzer to contour with, get as matte as possible.
- Highlighter is awesome! Can be cream or powder, but go for pale colors and subtle shimmer over lots of glimmer.

For your eyes:
- Cream eyeshadows come in two varieties: actual long-last, long-wear formulas (amazing) and cream shadows that melt off your lids in 5 minutes (not so). Primer can help fix this, and layering powder on top of cream also helps. Just make sure you know where your money's going.
- Powder eyeshadows are everywhere. I love palettes because they have choices!
- Mascaras come in lots of formulas and IMO they're all pretty similar, so get one you like that doesn't clump and is easy to put on.

For your lips:
- Lipstick is creamy and ranges from matte to shimmer to frosty. It is usually thicker. Many last longer than other things. Many are fairly pigmented.
- Lip gloss is shiny, slick, and can be tacky. Some people like this; some don't! Some are pigmented and some are sheer.
- Lip balm / chapsticks are usually moisturizing and sheer to clear.
- Lip stains are like a marker for your face. They tend to dry out your lips a bit but last for hours upon hours. I love lip stains + balm, personally.


Hey Makeup Batman: What Colors Do I Want?

Face: Go to a department store or Sephora and have them match a product to your face by blending a streak into your jawline. Once you have a perfect match, it's easier to tell what you're looking for if you decide to go drugstore brand.

Cheeks: Blush is fun to play with! Start by picking something according to your skintone: lighter tones might start with pale pink or peach, medium skintones with a rose or coral, and darker ones with a plum or dusty rose. If you're going for sunkissed, bronzer with a pop of peach, coral, or pink works nicely.

Bronzer should be tan/brown on your skin, not orange, and not grey. Don't go too dark -- it's meant to be subtle.

Eyes: Oh, gosh. Anything goes, in my opinion. But here's a place to start:
- Get a quad or palette of good neutrals: brown, tan, khaki, grey, etc.
- Get a quad or palette of neutrals-with-some-flair: rose-gold, khaki-green, steel-blue-grey, bronze-gold.
- Get a quad or palette that will make the color of your eyes pop:

• Brown eyes: try blues or shimmery silver/greys, violets, or hunter/olive green.


• Blue eyes: bronze and gold, pale frosty silver, or violets and rose.


• Green eyes: Plums and wines, olive/khaki green-golds and coffee-browns, or deep silver-greys.


• Grey eyes: Gold and copper, rosy neutrals, or any single bright color.


• Hazel: pick the shades above you're closest to and see where the colors overlap.

- Also get a single or a quad in bright colors you find fun and awesome. Just experiment!

Lips: It's valuable to have one reliable nude lip color, one reliable red or near-red, and one reliable "bright" - rose, coral, brown, pink, whatever looks best on you. There are so many lip colors... one way to test is to wait until some go BOGO at the drugstore and experiment, then invest in high-quality versions of your favorites. This saves you from the ick of trying on the testers in Sephora.


Hey Makeup Batman: WTF Do I Do With This Stuff?

...I started to write this and then realized it should so have accompanying photos. And I'm at work. So! This is kind of useless for now.

A second post will contain all of this info ^^

But here are some tips:

• Blush goes on the apples of your cheeks - give the mirror a shit-eating grin, and the parts that stick up and out all round? Yup. Err on the outside and bottom of the apples, though, for a flush that's more natural. Dab color there, and then blend outward towards your hairline. Lighter application is better!


• To contour your face -- get thee a bronzer, a darker shade of blush, or a dark contour powder. Find the apples of your cheeks just for reference. Then suck your cheeks in and find the hollows under your cheekbones. What you want to do is dap the darker bronzer/color/powder underneath your cheekbone, but stop when you're vertically aligned with the outside 'edge' of the apples of your cheeks. This is a great look if/when you get it right. It is worth a couple trial runs in the privacy of your bathroom and some looking at magazine ads for reference.


• Highlighter above/atop the cheekbones, bronzer beneath, a touch of blush on the apples: instant sculpting.


• To look bronzed: make the shape of a "3" or "E" along the side of your face: from your hairline down and along your cheekbones, then back around your cheek and very lightly fading into your jawline. The top "C" should have much more color than the bottom "C" of the shape. If you can see the bronzer as you put it on, it's too much. Go light. Later that day you'll look in the mirror and be surprised at how amazing you look.


• Pair strong/bold/dark eyes with neutral/light lips, or neutral eyes with strong/dark/bold lips. If either one is strong, make sure you use blush, or you will look washed out.


• Blend the hell out of your eyeshadow.


• Easy look: one color all over your lid, a darker one dabbed into the crease and blended. Bam! Your eyes pop.


• to highlight your eyes: get a shimmery champagne, pale gold, pink, peach, or even white. Dab at the inner corners of your eyes and on your browbone.


• ...ffffffffffffffffff my eye looks really need pictures. SORRY.



AND THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR NOW

WHY IS THIS SO LONG, LOLOLFOREVER



This is part of my 30 Days of Posting meme - feel free to check out the schedule of posting! My month is full, but if any of the posts make you want to ask for something else, go ahead and leave a comment anyway! DW || LJ

Comments

[crankyoldman]

HEY MAKEUP BATMAN.

As someone that has always liked lipstick, I've got a couple extras to say there for you (since it has always been the only thing I was good at with makeup until I started paying attention to shit you said):

- If you have even a bit of a yellowish undertone to your skin, if your red lipstick contains any fuschia, it will look awful. Most cheap reds have a fuschia undertone. NEVER EVER BUY AVON LIPSTICK (unless you're just playing, which I was).

- Lip pencils help you get more customized shades like whoa. Recall my struggles for red lipstick; I have to go more brownish/wine-ish for reds. Sometimes this is fucking dark and not always awesome to wear in the day! Lining and filling in first in a lighter lip pencil (or darker depending on what you want to achieve) will blendify your lipstick into something new! Also it will work like a lipstain.

- A shade of pink of some kind is best for thinner lips. It's better than going for dark lipstick (some exceptions, of course).


Also, thanks for all the eyeshadow tips. I'm having fun again with it, instead of being le disappoint.

[yukie]

...I need to velcro-cling a sec because the red lipstick thing = my bane. I have a yellow/apricot type undertone and hahahaahahhaa oh god some of the reds I have seen. D:

[crankyoldman]

Mac's Viva Glam III is perhaps the closest to a red lipstick as I've ever gotten. It looks AWESOME and smells nice and feels pretty awesome on too. Looks very dramatic. I like to wear it when I wear suits. XD

[crankyoldman]

Also, the proceeds from Viva Glam products go to AIDS research, which is awesome.

[yukie]

There's some fun eyeshadow trios and quads you can get that are coloured to enhance your eye colour in a subtle or DRAMATIQ! way depending on what you want. I have a really nice violet shadow trio that makes my eyes look ORANGE. XD it ROCKS.

Also I have noticed that a lot of makeup manufacturers are stupide about women who are not, you know, very lacking in melanin, and it makes me sad, because 1) lol wtf weak and 2) lol wtf losing money they could easily make, lol lol failosers. (My advertising prof regularly mocked the everlasting christ out of manufacturers who just neglected to market to people who weren't pasty. "It's like going 'oh no thanks I'll just not claim this winning lottery ticket ta la la', frankly. There's having a target market, which is understandable - and then there's being Abercrombie and Fitch, which is stupid enough as to be offensive even if you discount their ugly policies.")

MAC and Sephora are not among the weaksaucers. And - bluh, I cannot recall who it is that has Queen Latifah in their ads recently, I wanna say Cover girl? *doink moment* Either way, that company? They're pretty good. And like you said the ladies at MAC and Sephora stores are really very nice and will answer any questions you have about makeup things.

My rant about 'please consider non-Euro women' brought to you by the fact that my BFF's mom is Métis and so her skin undertone is coppery-rose and she has a pain in the ass time finding things that look good. Also, ladyfriend ain't white, BGFF is VERY Mediterranean gold-tan, and - yeah, same deal. Some manufacturers are like stupid and forget that not everybody's a generic peach.

Fortunately, a bunch are not stupid.

ALSO if you are like me and your skin is a bit sensitive that may limit your options a titch. XD;

[whitemage]

Hey ah! My dad's side of the family is Métis and wouldn't you know I ended up with the coloring? XD Foundation shades are a bitch to find, particularly as I am on the pasty end of spectrum due to chronic anemia. X)

But, yeah, I've noticed some make up companies do tend to make even their darker/lighter shades in the same family of colors. :|

[novel_machinist]

I think it *is* covergirl! I'm always sad as they make me break out though. I never wear coverup for fear of breaking out, actually. What sort do you use?

[whitemage]

So I've pretty much always known you're awesome, but this just seals it. You have totally made my day. :D

[jerkface]

MAKEUP BATMAN!

So, I'm a boy. Obviously. I don't where makeup often ever. BUT, as a boy who is friends with roughly seven thousand girls, I have learned that, in certain situations, a little eye-liner goes a long way.

Therefore I must ask! Which, erm...flavor(?) of liner do you recommend? Liquid? Pencil? That crayon-looking stuff?

I NEED YOUR GUIDANCE.

[seventhe]

1) GUYLINER IS AMAZINGLY SEXY; SEV CAN ONLY APPROVE OF THIS

2) I prefer pencil! Either a pencil or the slimline type, a little tube of material that twists up from its plastic housing? But really nothing looks as good as pencil to me. If you're willing to invest a little in some bling (WHO ISN'T), find a girl friend who orders from Sephora and ask her to pick you up one of Urban Decay's 24-7 Liners in whatever color you like best. THEY ARE AMAZING.

[jerkface]

OMG THEY HAVE A COLOR CALLED ROCKSTAR. I AM ALL OVER THIS.

THANK YOU FOREVER.

[justira]

I am just going to pipe up here like a random creepy friend of the MAKEUP BATMAN to say:

YES. GUYLINER IS SUPER HOT.

[lassarina]

sev sev sev sev sev sev

the next time you are here you so need to do my makeup when we go out

*squees at Makeup Batman*

[seventhe]

YESYESYESYES ♥

[lassarina]

when you sent me that awesome PDF picture thing it made all my quads make SENSE and holy shit do I look awesome with them now :D :D

[seventhe]

I was going to post that today, hahahahahaha

[novel_machinist]

I need a rose toned eye shadow. This post reminded me. Oh and Yellows, but YELLOW LIKE BIGBIRD and honey colored.

[seventhe]

we should investigate the new MAC collections, I hear they are H O T

[novel_machinist]

YES WE SHOULD!!! PERHAPS SEVCON NEEDS MAKEUP TUTORIALS

[ukefied]

Holy shit, Sev, do I love makeup and do I love this post. That said, I am eager for the continuation with the pics, because yowza!

[perky-teacakes.livejournal.com]

OKAY, having taken notes (aka copy-pasting THIS WHOLE THING in to a word-proessing document and saving as "OMG HOW DO I MAKEUP?") I think I am pretty good to go for the next... little bit.

This, of course, coming from the gal who ONLY NOW is figuring out how to put on eyeliner and not have it look like I took a crayon to my face. (Yes, I am a very sad 20 year old.)

I, personally, enjoy the chapstick/lip balm + not-lipstick combo. I am a great big huge fan of the burt's bee's stuff. It doesn't taste/smell like a candy store stuck under my nose and I kind of assume doesn't have anything offensive to allergies. Unless someone's allergic to beeswax.

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

I love Burt's Bees -- I have one of their chapsticks in approximately every room of my house!

[ifotismeni]

i love this post because it is so true XD
i am a big fan of people going through an OMG MAKEUP EVERYTHING stage... as in, i strongly feel people need to go a little crazy when they're learning so they can see the true potential of what makeup can do. and then, once they figure out their style, pare it down to what works for them.

i used to do the full foundation + primer + blush + bronzer + concealer + finisher + eye makeup + lip makeup + god i don't even remember and figured out what did and didn't work with my habits, skin, body chemistry. i found the brands that my skin liked etc. it took a while but now i know what i want and don't. for example, because i have bold eyebrows and large eyes, i never wear lip makeup (chapstick only, basically). and unless it's a special occasion, i go completely naked-face. but for inbetweens, like a nice weekend day out, i know what eye make up to use to be freshfaced, and now i don't need to try EVERY COLOR OF EYEMAKE UP EVER because i know which few colors really make my eyes pop, and that's all i want. but i wouldn't have known if i hadn't tried it all out. (i.e. i never buy palettes anymore, just the few special colors i know i'll actually wear) but you gotta try it out before you know XD so YAY MAKESUP!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

AGREEING WITH EVERYTHING HERE!!

There totally is a stange where you go OMG I MUST BUY EVERYTHING and you start stalking drugstore BOGO sales and stocking up on stuff... but then once you figure out "your" colors and what "you" like it's so awesome to be able to be like "NO, that is my grey, I want it" or "that won't work" or whatever.

I've gone through a tone of stages -- from the "Won't leave the house if I'm not wearing it" to the "Won't wear any because I don't want to look like I care about what I look like" to the "Full face" to just a light touch... I think it helps you develop your own personal style and look that way!!

[ifotismeni]

hahaha so true, i've gone through all those stages as well. i can scarcely believe it when i think of it... that i used to never go anywhere without a foundation-ed face, and yet, that's how i used to be!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

OH LOOLLL but you always look so pretty - so whatever you are doing must be right for your skin and your face~!

Contouring: Man, I totally didn't know how to do it until like a year ago when I started playing around... the first couple times i tried I honestly looked like a skull but it is a really fun trick once you figure out where on *your* face the stuff goes, ha ha ha *DIES*

HAHAHA RE: mascara, yeah, I usually end up getting sample tubes with other stuff I buy, or drugstore mascara to the HELLS YEAH.

[jennyclarinet.livejournal.com]

Damn. This post makes me feel like I know nothing about makeup and like I should start wearing more of it! (I am 30 after all) Obviously, there is rarely any sort of lip color on my lips due to the fact that there is often a clarinet mouthpiece IN my mouth. But I really only wear eye make up, and silver or purple, which may or may not be the right thing for me. I should go to Sephora with you sometime. I'm sure that my makeup routine could use a major overhaul.

I think it's awesome that you wear makeup to your job!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

Ha! :P I wear makeup to my job because I don't get anything else -- it's my pretty jewelry! (Because I always love and envy your bracelets, but ... seriously, safety violation, would get written up. Eyeshadow? Safe! :P)

You always look super nice~! But if you want to come to Sephora and play, you know LisA and I are always up for a trip...

[jennyclarinet.livejournal.com]

Sometime we should round up all the girls and be massively girly together....you can show us your make up tips, we can paint our nails and get drunk on girly drinks while looking at girly (or Playboy) magazines! Eee!

[jack_of_none]

This is the most useful post I have ever read about makeup. Thanks!