Information Guide: Best Makeup Products and Features
Whether you are looking to add new makeup options to your current lineup or if you are purchasing makeup for the first time makes little difference – there are so many different products out there (all of them promising the moon and the stars when it comes to results) that it’s enough to make anyone go crazy while shopping for makeup.
A multibillion-dollar industry that only gets bigger and bigger every single year, all of the major players in the business are pumping out new additions to their product line on a regular basis – and that’s saying nothing about all of the new or startup makeup brands that are popping up left and right.
It’s almost impossible to even figure out where you should start off.
But that’s what this quick makeup buying guide has been designed to hopefully help you out with.
Instead of feeling lost, confused, and frustrated when it comes time to buy makeup you’ll have a lot of information that most other people go without for a number of different reasons – allowing the decision-making process to go a lot smoother across the board.
You won’t have to feel like you are beating yourself up every time you go to buy new makeup. You’ll instead know exactly what to look for, exactly what to avoid, and which new makeup options are the real deal and which are nothing more than a marketing ploy designed to vacuum money out of people’s pockets.
Ready to jump right in?
Things to Think About Before Buying New Makeup
Before you even think about buying new makeup there are a couple of different things that you need to ask yourself about the options that you are interested in.
Sure, you could just go with something that looks like it’s pretty high quality, basing your decision off of marketing or advertising (or even just a favorable review from someone that is close to you), but makeup is a very personal decision – and one that could cause a lot of trouble for your skin if you make the wrong call.
Answer these five questions before you purchase any makeup and you’ll be able to avoid a lot of hassle and a lot of headache.
How Easy is the Makeup to Apply?: It’s incredibly important to buy makeup that is very easy to apply for a variety of different reasons. Sure, you can usually pull off minor miracles with fashionable great makeup, the skills of an accomplished makeup artist or cosmetologist, and two or three hours of free time each day – but that’s a pretty tall task for most people that are just looking to get ready in the morning before they attack their day.
If you want to figure out how to get the most out of your makeup purchases without wasting a lot of time just jump on YouTube and check out a couple of makeup application videos. There might not be a better resource for insider information available 100% free of charge from some of the best professionals (and super skilled amateurs) around.
There are hundreds of thousands of videos out there designed to help people get better at applying their makeup (and get faster at it as well), but you should be looking for easy to apply makeup to streamline the process anyways.
Does the Makeup Go Well With Your Personality/Sense of Style?: The second thing that you’re going to want to focus on is whether or not a particular makeup option or cosmetic goes well with your personality and your sense of style.
Everyone (even those that don’t feel like they have a “style” per se) has a personality that they put on full display with their clothing choices, their hairstyles, and the makeup that they wear – and you need to make sure that everything is congruent across the board for a seamless and “put together” kind of look.
Is the Makeup Helping or Hurting Your Skin?: The next thing that you have to figure out before you start using a makeup solution is whether or not it is helping to heal and rejuvenate your skin or damaging your skin in the process of wearing it.
A lot of products today are a far cry from yesterday’s cosmetics that used to (pretty much) poison your skin if they weren’t removed inside of 12 hours or so. Instead now you’ll find cosmetics that pack hydrating ingredients, moisturizing ingredients, and UV protection (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg).
How Well Does the Makeup Mesh With Other Products?: This is a bit of an “advanced” tip, but it’s one that could transform the way you use your makeup – and definitely the way you buy your makeup – in the future.
Different cosmetic compositions react differently across the board, and you want to make sure that your foundation and your concealer (not to mention any of your other cosmetic choices) aren’t going to be in opposition with one another on a molecular level.
This is how you end up looking like you are wearing a mask when you have your makeup on.
It’s definitely something that you want to avoid, so find makeup options that play nicely with one another. All you have to do is really look at the ingredient list for each of the options that you are thinking about pairing together and you’ll know (with just a bit of research) whether or not it’s a good idea.
Of course, trial and error can definitely help you out in this department as well – so long as you don’t mind a couple of misfires and missteps along the way.
After all, experience is the very best educator there is!
Are You Going to Be Able to Purchase the Product on a Regular Basis?: Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you are purchasing cosmetics and makeup options that you’ll be able to afford on a regular basis.
There’s nothing worse than falling in love with a new concealer, a new lipstick, or a new foundation only to discover that you’d have to give up eating dinner once a week to afford it on a regular basis.
If you plan on using a specific makeup every single day it needs to be at least somewhat reasonable in the priced apartment, or you’ll end up going broke (or flipping from one brand to the next) pretty quickly.
Types of Makeup You Should Always Have on Hand
Though there are an almost infinite amount of makeup options out there across a wide variety of “makeup types”, there are only a handful or so that you should absolutely have on hand at all times.
Foundation and Concealer
Your foundation and your concealer will be the “backbone” of your cosmetic efforts, and as such are the most important makeup products that you can purchase.
Literally laying down a foundation for all of the other makeup options that you decide to apply afterwards, the right foundation is going to work in conjunction with your concealer to smoothen out your complexion, to hide and eliminate blemishes, and help you look flawless all at the exact same time.
Eye shadow and Eyeliner
Eye shadow and eyeliner are powerful cosmetic options that can completely change the way you look depending upon how you apply them, and are picture-perfect candidates to research with the help of YouTube if you’re looking to find a new look – or want to perfect the one you already have.
They should match your personality and your style for sure, but you will rarely go wrong with using a black eye shadow and eyeliner. Just make sure that they aren’t clumpy and that they will stand up against moisture or you could be dealing with a pretty sticky situation in no time at all.
Lipstick and Lip Gloss
This is probably one of the most personal choices that you will make when buying makeup, and it gives you a chance to really put your personality on full display.
Though there is something just over the top classic about fire engine red lipstick, there are so many different shades and colors out there for any occasion, any personality, or any style that you’ll be able to really mix and match – even on a daily basis if you want to – to find just the right look you’re after.
It’s always (ALWAYS) a good idea to kiss a Kleenex or napkin after applying your lipstick and your little looks. This is one area that you don’t want to have too much, but rather just enough, going on.
Blemish Sticks
The “special forces” of the makeup world, blemish sticks are like superpowered concealers that will give you the opportunity to eliminate all of the major (as well as the minor) blemishes that you’re dealing with before you apply your foundation and your standard concealer.
Designed to do a lot of “heavy lifting”, these are the kinds of cosmetic options that can make or break your look – but they definitely need to play well with all of your other makeup products.
Features That the Best Makeup Products Have In Common
You’ll be able to find a handful of features across the board that are critical in every piece of makeup you ever buy, even though each type of makeup is so wildly different than every other.
Here are just a couple of things that you’ll want to look for in the makeup that you buy:
- Lightweight composition
- Very easy to apply without experience or special tools
- Offers consistent coverage
- Complements the other cosmetics or makeup you are wearing
- Conditions and revitalizes skin
- Is easy to wash off and remove
- Takes advantage of skin friendly ingredients and doesn’t cause skin irritation
- Won’t block your pores (is non-comedogenic) or cause flare ups
- Won’t break your bank account when purchasing regularly
You are going to want to make sure that the makeup you end up purchasing has as many of the key features listed above as humanly possible. These are the critical distinctions that separate one cosmetic option from another, and really define great makeup as compared to just good.
Obviously, these aren’t hard or fast rules for buying the very best makeup on the planet, and there are other features that you’ll want to look for as well.
But if you are serious about making sure that you are getting your hands on quality solutions that will deliver consistent results day in and day out, will help to support skin health rather than compromise it, and will help you look your very best you’ll want to start making decisions based off of the factors listed above.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully now you have a fantastic idea as to the types of makeup that you should be purchasing as well as what to look for in high quality options.
You’ll want to rely on all of the info above (as well as your experience with specific makeup products) to better inform your decisions going forward.
It’s not going to be all that easy to find high quality makeup products on the market today just because of the sheer volume of options you’ll have in front of you, but by following the details above as closely as you can, you’ll be able to whittle down the product universe pretty significantly – and then things will become a lot easier as well.
Don’t be shy about testing out different types, different forms, or different brands of makeup on a regular basis until you find something that you’re really over the moon about – it’s the best way to get your hands on the picture-perfect options for your specific needs!
It doesn’t have to be an absolute nightmare when you’re looking for new makeup.
Focus on all of the tips and tricks you have picked up in this quick guide, use your common sense to make the best (and the most informed) buying decisions, and you’ll never have to worry about breakouts, sloppy makeup, or a “mask” covering your face ever again!