Starting Off in Makeup

Heads up: this is gonna be a long post, so grab a cup of jo and start reading up!

Starting off in makeup is always scary. You might want to just dive right in or have your mom buy some of the things you want for you. I remember the first real "makeup" products I had besides those lip gloss sets you get for Christmas. My mom bought me the Maybelline BB Cream and a Wet N Wild Mascara I can't even remember the name of that was in a purple tube.

Although having your mom buy stuff for you is a good idea, I recommend you going to the store and picking out what all you want. That's what I'm here for, to help you out! I'm going to give you some combos where the whole combo/purchase costs x amount of money. First, let's talk about what skin type you have and what you want to target. With each skin type is what I recommend you doing first skincare wise before you move onto makeup. (if you know what skin type you are, skip the next paragraph)

Dry Skin - Your skin always feels really chapped and all you want to do is slap lotion all over your face all the time. I recommend an extremely moisturizing moisturizer, look for a night moisturizer. Those work the best for dry skin. Also, (if your skin isn't too sensitive) then try out an exfoliant! This will get all of those icky dead cells off of your face. If you don't want to buy an exfoliant, use these two simple ingredients mixed together: Coconut oil + sugar; works like a charm!
Oily Skin - Your skin always feels slick and your pores are usually clogged; if you have acne you most likely have oily skin. Keep in mind it's not a given, it just usually means you have oily skin. Don't use overdrying products! Don't keep drying your face out with powders and such, this makes you product more oil. Try out oil-free products but continue moisturizing.
Normal Skin - Your skin feels happy and hydrated but not super hydrated where you're overproducing oil. Use what you think your skin needs. Use an oil-free moisturizer in the morning and a nice moisturizer specifically for at night. Or switch it up and try what you think would be best.
Combination Skin - A common form of combination skin is when you have dry skin but an oily T-Zone (your T-Zone is your forehead and down your nose, it looks like a T hence the name) This also works vice versa where you have oily skin and a dry T-Zone but this isn't as common. Do the same thing I said for normal skin.
Sensitive Skin - This is where your skin reacts to really anything and everything but here are a few common examples: food you eat (most of the time dairy can make your skin react), skincare/makeup products, and/or laundry detergents. Be careful with what you use on your face! Follow what you should do for your skin type (dry, oily, normal, or combination) just look for products with 'sensitive' in the name. Also keep all the ingredients simple, make sure you can read all the ingredients on the product. Less is more in this case. The Aveeno Ultra-Calming Line, Cetaphil brand, and Simple brand is amazing for sensitive skin.

It's extremely important to know your skin type before you start using anything on your face. I do mean anything and everything. You don't want to use something that's bad for your skin. This leads me to my next topic of this post; ingredients in skincare/makeup products.

There's a LOT of bad ingredients in makeup products. I want to say first to trust your gut, if something seems fishy then don't get it. Always read the ingredients on a product before buying it. This will save you from a lot of break outs. Of course there are some ingredients people are allergic to, but as a whole stay away from the following ingredients: talc (usually found in face makeup), parabens (found in just about every skincare/makeup product), sulfates (usually found in hair products but can be in some skincare/makeup), fragrance (found in anything), and petroleum (found in anything). All of these are linked to many breakouts and trust me, I found out the hard way.

Alright now that we have that out of the way, we can move onto those makeup combos! The exciting part, ahhhh yes! I'll keep these makeup combos roughly around or under $20, I'll be doing more makeup combos with higher price ranges later on. Before hopping into these, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why do I want to wear makeup? Is it to make me feel confident? Or to make other people like me better? Wear makeup for the right reason. If you answered 'yes' to the second question, I recommend you holding off of makeup for a while because you're beautiful. Makeup should make you more confident.
• Am I trying to cover anything? (Ex. acne, redness, under-eye circles)
• What am I trying to accentuate or enhance? (Ex. lashes, lips, cheeks)
• Do I wear glasses? (This is important, trust me)