Now that I'm old and decrepit (or on the way at least), good quality makeup is more important than it ever used to be. I'm consciously trying to buy better quality makeup and skincare and forgo the craply made drugstore/cheaper versions. Now don't get me wrong - my favourite makeup brand of all time is Revlon because it's cheaply priced and fantastic quality so obviously you can't always depend on a brand by price or label alone. Just because it costs more or is from a certain design house does not mean it is the best product out there, but in saying that most of the time a $60 foundation is going to be better formulated than a $10 one. You would expect so anyway.
Back in my high school/university days I would buy makeup based on price alone. Working long nights in a casino making cocktails and coffee until 5am in order to pay rent (I became independent and lived by myself from about sixteen years of age) and studying, half dead, during the day didn't leave much time for makeup research. I would just buy any old old thing and hoped it would A) suit me and B) do what it said it would. I remember buying a new foundation from the The Body Shop and every time I would venture outside in the rain the bloody foundation would turn to white powdery spots on my face like I was a rare albino giraffe running wild in an urban jungle.
It was beyond embarrassing but I kept using it because I was not going to waste the money I paid for it. You would expect The Body Shop to have good products because of all their marketing and global success but this one sucked. $30 was a lot to me back then because every dollar I spent came from every dollar I earned, so I felt cheated out of my money. That was a while ago and they probably don't even sell it anymore but it definitely stopped me from buying foundation products from them again; scared I would have a repeat horrible experience.
Back then trial and error was pretty much the name of the game. Thankfully these days we have YouTube and tons of beauty "gurus" to help us along when choosing good quality products. A lot of the self-called gurus in my mind are really just girls who bought a few Sigma brushes, collected some colours from Mac and decided to show the world how you too can look like a tranny in under twelve minutes tops. I don't follow many people on YouTube but I swear by +pixiwoo and +Lisa Eldridge for these reasons: They are bonafide, working internationally renown makeup artists. If you are paid to do makeup for this month's Vogue cover then hell yes you are qualified to call yourself a guru. They are highly skilled, heavily experienced and knowledgable when it comes to all things makeup related.
I personally adore the looks +Lisa Eldridge creates because they are tasteful, always feminine and never over the top. I like makeup on myself and other women that is still somewhat natural looking, especially when it comes to the skin. The six layers of wall paint looking foundation and boot polish-esque eyeliner look does not appeal to me. I think every day type makeup should be about enhancing your natural beauty instead of transforming you into a dolled up circus clown intent on scaring small children.
I wish I could apply makeup like they do. I tend to watch more for the product focus than the actual tutorials so when it comes to my time to purchase something new I will already have a short list of recommended products from trusted sources. I nicely blame these ladies for my concealer purchases...
Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Fair:
Where I use it: Under eye area.
Why I use it: My skin colour in general is quite fair but the skin under my eyes is a lot lighter than the rest of my face so I use a little bit of Clinique to go underneath it in order to have the area more smoothly blend in with my upper cheeks. The consistency of this product is thin so it's perfect for this area as a heavy/thicker product will end up looking heavier and thicker once applied. The skin under your eyes is thinner than anywhere else on your face so it makes sense that a thinner concealer would be more appropriate. Clinique's Fair is also the perfect shade of fair that I have come across to smooth out this area for me.
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat in Luminous Radiance
Where I use it: Upper eyelids and general highlighting/brightening
Why I use it: It is a lot thicker than the Clinique and seeing as the skin above my eyes is thicker I prefer to use a thicker concealer in this area. My freckles that were once cute and youthful looking ten years ago are now joining up in an age-spot spectacular so I like to use a little concealer in this area just to get a more uniformed look to the skin. I'm into the whole bare eyelid look (not really a fan of coloured eyeshadows beyond staple nudes/browns/neutrals) and this does the job. It's also great as a subtle highlighter so a swipe down the nose and above the brows doesn't go astray.
Mine's looking chewed on because it has been chewed on. Kids. Teething. I'll say no more.
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20
Where I use it: Along my jawline
Why I use it: I don't get acne. I used to have it really horrifically badly in my early twenties thanks to a nasty skin infection and the only thing that got rid of it was a very strong dose of prescripted Roaccutane that cleared it all up but also made me go through sensitivity hell for a few months. Since then I don't suffer from it anymore but I do get what my dermatologist referred to as female hormonal acne which basically means you get the odd spot along your jawline and hairline around the time that you are menstruating. Thankfully I only get a few blemishes along my jawline and they are nicely in the areas that my scarf naturally conceals so the only time I ever need to use concealer in this area is when I'm around other people when I'm not wearing my scarf. I use this concealer because it is very thick (therefore has extra coverage) and super matte. I tried using it once under my eyes but it was way too heavy looking and made me look worse.
I blame this on the MAC consultant I bought it from. I was matched up to this colour in Malaysia and I always felt like it was the wrong shade for me but under department store lights you can never really tell. Once back home in Australia, I spoke to my friend who works for Chanel because she deals with makeup and matching people up to colours every day and she suggested to me that this colour wasn't for me because the woman who matched me might only be used to matching Asian ladies who naturally have a yellow toned skin (I have pink undertones) and I have to say I agree with that theory because the MAC foundation I also bought is equally too yellow looking on my white skin.
Overall the concealer is a great product for covering blemishes but I do think I need to go visit an Aussie MAC counter to get matched up by someone who is used to dealing with Australian pinky/freckled skin.
What concealer do you currently use?
Do you have any swear-by favourites or failures?