(Part 3) Top products from r/Makeup

You want to get her Fude brushes. It’s beloved by many make up artists, and probably not talked about quite as much as other “popular” youtubers, because they don’t promote. Fun fact, HAKUHODO and Chikuhodo brushes are actually commonly speculated to be the manufacturerers for more popular brushes such as Wayne Goss, Tom Ford, Sonia G etc. Buy directly from the source, instead of being swayed by popularity and brand names. Did she say whether she wanted face or eye brushes?

I also suggest you combine her present with either a makeup book, or a makeup app. Rae Morris has an app that is $6 or a book that is like $75 on Amazon here is a link. I don’t know your age or that of your gf, but I’m in my late 20s and that book alongside HAKUHODO or chikuhodo or fude brushes in general is a timeless, ageless gift that is good for younger to until you’re dead. It covers makeup techniques for every age/situation/ethnicity and the brushes will last a lifetime if properly cared for. Adding a book will help guide her excitement of makeup, and you obviously reap the rewards. If you are going all out on luxury brushes, you don’t want her applying basic or inaccurate makeup techniques. We’ve all been there thanks to YouTube beauty gurus (no disrespect) but it’s not the same as learning from a true trained artist/professional that works with royalty, movie sets, runways etc. If you want to go all out, get her a book on color theory too unless she already has an art background.

Also something I have learned about giving gifts is you always want to prolong the experience. Once you look at brushes and use them, the Christmas Day thrill is very short lived. Sure, every time she uses them she can get a kick out of it, but why would you give someone a Bugatti without giving them racing lessons or making sure they properly know how to drive? Hopefully this analogy makes sense, I assume you are into cars, which is sexist of me but oh well. If you also give her the book, it will take months to get through all of that information, and every time she uses her brushes she can try something new in the book. The app is less expensive and has videos, so I recommend that unless you have money to burn and want to get her both. I own both but I’m not sure how much you want to splurge.

I do not recommend going to sephora or ultra or whatever is being mass marketed to teenagers. Buy something high quality once so it will last a lifetime. I also disagree with Sephora/morphe/real techniques, because she can buy these herself, it’s not special. I disagree with Wayne goss, because it’s more cost effective to get them from the manufacturer as mentioned earlier. I disagree with MAC, because you are not an expert and their quality has declined for some of the brushes over the past several years, and as you are not an expert you would not be able to determine which brushes have changed in quality and which haven’t. Also, like I said, MAC is not manufacturing their own brushes, Unfortunately for you, r/Fude is on a break, but that’s ok because I got your back! And, if she is unfamiliar with fude brushes, she will be able to learn about them and appreciate them even more. They need to be cared for in a certain way, and that all comes with the brushes once purchased so you needn’t worry about that.

A gift should be special, and luxurious, something she would never get herself. It’s the difference between getting something that is fast fashion vs. buying something designer that is well crafted. The Japanese know their makeup brushes, and I can assure you any higher end brushes you might buy, they’ll be manufactured from one of those Japanese brands I mentioned. I do not think YouTube is helpful, because most of that is indirect advertising, or younger beauty gurus who are not actually make up artists, and fail to take into account peoples face shapes, color undertones etc. It’s well intentioned, but the difference between what an expert like Lisa Eldridge or Rae Morris has to say, versus your run of the mill beauty/glam guru, is rather remarkable. I will likely be downvoted for saying this lol

These brushes are the Bugatti of makeup brushes, and might not be mentioned as frequently because people not into makeup either don’t know about them or haven’t splurged on them. A fact about makeup that is seldom mentioned is that the brushes are more important than the product. A lesser quality makeup will automatically look better if applied with a good brush. Brushes are the foundation.

Email Hakuhodo, they have incredibly thorough customer service (as one would expect with high end products) and will guide you in selecting the correct brushes for your girlfriend. I also recommend taking pictures of the makeup she uses the most, so you know if she is using liquids or powders on her face. That will help determine brush selection as well. They have sets but you will get more bang for your buck if you create your own set. Select a price point, email them and explain what are are trying to create and your price point, and they will help you create one. I think 2 eyeshadow brushes, a foundation brush and a powder brush is sufficient. Good luck and PM if you have questions! She’s lucky to have you!

It was around 6-7 years ago now, but I was trying to grow out my brows also (habit of overplucking!) so I found and bought Ardell Brow and Lash Growth Accelerator. It worked pretty well at helping my lashes grown fuller as well and my eyebrows grow faster - hell, especially my brows since they had a tendency to be pretty thin! I don't use it anymore (care less about my lashes and pencil in my brows) but it definitely helped back then, so you might try that? :)

I naturally have dark circles and although I lightly cover them up (i'm 23 and have had them since childhood) I really don't think they're really that unbeautiful. Occasionally I'll look at the coloration and think its pretty.. you are likely being critical..and you have to remember that there are different causes of dark circles. Some people have extra pigment there. I just have very thin skin that's see through. Sometimes people need more sleep, sometimes that's not the case at all.

A yellow/orange concealer that matches your skin's saturation should be very lightly dotted then patted out on the eye area after you apply a moisturizer, and let it soak in(i would use a pale orange because I have a more reddish undertone to my skin and I'm basically white as you can possibly get). If you have darker skin, you would use something more pigmented. If your skin has more yellow than red, you might want to go with a more yellowish concealer. Yellow and orange cancel out the blues and purples in your skin.
Here are two cheap sets I have used:
multicolor concealor
yellow


and

http://www.amazon.com/e-l-f-Everything-Concealer-Corrective-Yellow/dp/B009N5SM30/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1454234373&sr=8-8&keywords=elf+concealer
On top of that you would put a cream concealer that matches your skin tone. I use [these] (http://www.amazon.com/Maybelline-New-York-Concealer-Medium/dp/B000V58AMY/ref=sr_1_1?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1454234611&sr=1-1&keywords=concealer+stick) because it comes in a stick and i just lightly stipple on top it on top of acne and dark circles. Then i pat and blend out into the rest of my skin. I set that with a pressed powder foundation like the Rimmel London Stay matte using an e.l.f kabuki brush. Less is really more. Just dabbing the brush once into powder patting the forehead, cheeks, nose, eye area and chin then making gentle circular motions should look fine.

For acne or acne hyperpigmentation, the issues is often red pigmentation in the skin. You can give that extra coverage by using a green concealer because it will cancel out the red. Make sure to cover that with your normal skin matching concealer though.


General advice:
Start with skin color concealers, then if you want more coverage start with the weird color ones.
You should never be able to see when you're done the weird colored concealer on your face.
Apply very very light, especially when starting out. It'll look more natural.
Makeup looks better on exfoliated and moisterized skin.
*Makeup Pros use primers before applying makeup. It makes it stay and lets makeup go on smoothly.

• Using Nature's cure (just the cream..not the pills) as a cream for something like that acne.org regimine at night seems to work good for my acne. It might help yours.
  Unrelated to all of this, but men are notorious for not wearing sunscreen. If you don't already, do. It'll probably make the biggest difference in how good you look in the long run.
  Vitamin C serum is awesome under moisturizer. It brightens the skin and has anti acne properties. That's not just natural skin guru talk either. I actually read an article about it on pubmed...
  *Foundation and concealers are like clothes..you often have to try them before you know they match. Keep receipts. They should disappear into your skin without a lot of blending and should look normal in sunlight. Sometimes you can look at reviews online if you google it. Find people that have similar skin to yours (similar oilness, similar age, similar redness yellowness, similar dark or lightness, and similar blemishes)
  
  
  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000POYVHY?cache=4ef8b1010fbe02112ab823f7fa56f948&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411150008&sr=8-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2

These are amazing! Good looking eyeliner has never been so easy for me. The stick "screws" up and down so there's no need for sharpening either. And they work great if you have make up allergies.

Why don’t you buy some cheap, plain tackle boxes? You don’t need the full makeup kit to seem professional, you just have to be professional. Show up on time, with all your products and cleaning supplies, do a good job.

Some fold out boxes will look just as professional as a made-for-purpose makeup kit.

It’s just to be organized and know where everything is! Good luck!

I prefer powder because I prefer minimal makeup and with liquid I always feel that it's caked on no matter how little I put on. I really like Clinique because they always have great sales and offers (free lotion with purchase!), and Bella Pierre is great too they have the same thickness as liquid but it doesn't feel as heavy.

My Favorites: Clinique Stay Matte Sheer Pressed Powder link

Bella Pierre: Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation link

Earth Science cleanser
ES toner
Little to no scent in both of these. At most it'll smell like a bland/plain lotion. The cleanser will leave your face feeling soft with no residue but also clean without stripping any oils out. Honestly - I have not tried the toner yet but if you already have one that works for you just stick with it! You don't have to buy the same brand for both products.

I personally don't see results with sheet masks. I've tried a lot and I think the peel off ones or even scrubs work the best! I've tried this and I like it. You do need a lot on for it to peel off nicely

https://www.amazon.com/Freeman-Cucumber-Facial-Peel-Off-Mask/dp/B00005NFBJ

You can use long wearing/waterproof makeup if you know you're going to wear contacts. Some things that would help: waterproof mascara (Better Than Sex Waterproof), really long wearing eyeliner (Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner), cream shadows (Maybelline Color Tattoos or MAC Paint Pots). I've actually rubbed my eyes wearing the Inglot eyeliner and it didn't smudge or come off. You could also get some theater makeup sealing spray, I've personally never tried it but heard really good things about it.

I have this [Jerdon mirror] (https://www.amazon.com/Jerdon-Tri-Fold-Two-Sided-Lighted-Magnification/dp/B0000AFUT3/ref=sr_1_10_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1510602870&sr=8-10&keywords=lighted%2Bmakeup%2Bmirror&th=1) and since Amazon is telling me I've had it since 2014 and I haven't had any issues I would recomend it. It's not pretty, but it works, and I like that there's an outlet on the mirror if you want to use a heat styling tool.

This stuff breaks down the heavy makeup: http://www.amazon.com/Albolene-DSE-HEALTHCARE063867-Moisturizing-Cleanser/dp/B000NLHXEC

I would use that before the cleansing wipes suggested to really get the makeup out of your pores. It's very gentle and I was able to use it for nightly shows without a problem. You do need some cleanser after it, so the wipes or your usual facial cleanser should work.

If you have any bumpy texture to your skin Olay has an awesome exfoliating product. I only use it once or twice a week, so it lasts a long time. Olay Microdermabrasion Kit you can basically get it anywhere but the link is for amazon.

Cold Cream is made of mineral oil, so any mineral oil based cleanser would be about as effective. I personally use this one, it even emulsifies in water so you can rinse it off properly.

I use this, face brushes on the left, blush/highlights next to it, and eye brushes in the next one. The 4th I put liquid lippie I’ll never use and in the back is palettes I don’t have room for anywhere else. STORi Clear Plastic Vanity... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B11ZV0?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

https://i.imgur.com/HedgWWg.jpg

Cure is the original version Japanese version of the Peter Thomas Roth product and it’s literally half the price.

This one

It's because you have combination skin.

Try oil absorbing sheets throughout the day, or maybe just carry a powder compact.

This was my FAVORITE, however, I used the wand from this. Lashes that hit my eyebrows, and a curl (without a curler) that legit lasted all day. I was HEARTBROKEN when this was discontinued.