Make Up Basics: Choosing the Right Products

Flick through any newspaper or magazine, and you're bound to come across at least half a dozen articles or adverts for the latest beauty products, new lines of cosmetics, and, if you're lucky, you may even come across some tips on how to apply them - all of which is great, but no good if you don't even know which products to buy in the first place!

Before I start giving you the guidelines, however, on which colors and products may be perfect for you, I would like to say this; the advice I can give you is general, and not personal - for personal beauty advice, I would recommend approaching a concession or cosmetic department in your local department store, where, as long as the staff are doing their job correctly, you should be able to get some real, personal guidance on products and shades - however, the downside to this is that most beauty consultants work for a brand, and will, therefore, only be able to provide you with that company's range of products - hence the relevance of this article.

Now that the basics are over, let's start on the essentials - most products, from foundations to bronzers, eye shadows to lip gloss, will require you to consider one factor - your skin tone.

Cosmetics and beauty products in general are usually based on how dark your skin is, as opposed to the actual shade.

Whether you're 'pale and interesting' or have perfectly 'sun kissed' skin, you may have to try a couple of different a couple of different shades of foundation or face powders before you find that perfect shade - however, if your skin's relatively pale, go for a pinker shade, and if you've got dark skin, go for a base that has more of an orange tone to it.

You'll find there tends to be one brand that works best for you; some brands are better suited for older skin, and some best for teenagers.

I find that the one foundation that works for everyone is Maxfactor Perfect Match foundation - if you're more a fan of powder, try Maybelline's Mineralize powder - anything that boasts to have some kind of 'perfect match formula' is generally the best - and, if you're worried about spending too much on a shade you're not sure will work, try some of Avon's Personal Match foundation, which is one of the cheapest on the market, at around $10.

Now, once you've found the perfect base for your make up, you're going to want to add a splash of color to your look; blushers and bronzers can be relatively hard to pick out, but they needn't be - bronzers tend to come in only a few shades, and while the wrong one can ruin a perfectly good look, this can easily be remedied by purchasing some bronzing pearls; balls of different colored pressed bronzers in one pot, all of which can be run over with a brush for a completely even tone, that will suit most skin tones.

Blushers, on the other hand, are a little more complicated; however, generally speaking, I recommend those of you with pale skin stick to pink tones, whilst those with darker skin should stick to browns or oranges - once you get the chance to try out some other shades, you're bound to find one that'll suit you, but stick with the basics and you can't really go wrong.

If you're still struggling, however, try Mac's Eye Shadow Palette in Slip Pink, which is a gorgeous iridescent pink color, and can be used as blusher or over Vaseline on the lips as lip gloss - and, luckily enough, it suits almost every skin tone. Whilst Mac prices can be a little steep, Ebay is much more reasonable.

Another point you'll want to consider, whilst looking at shades, is the color clothes you wear - if you don't wear greens, don't buy green eye shadow - no matter how nice the color is - wearing eye shadow that doesn't match your outfit not only looks out of place, but it can make your make up look a little over-done, and, dare I say, clown like.

Now, one area that seems to go by relatively unnoticed is mascara - yes, most people can get away with black, which, unsurprisingly, is the easiest to get hold of - however, anyone with naturally red hair, or very light blondes may find that black mascara simply doesn't look right; which is where brown mascaras come in. Unfortunately, as I said before, black mascara is the most popular shade, and, therefore, brown seems to be relatively impossible to get, with a good wand.
For this reason alone, I recommend buying the cheapest brown mascara you can find, and then a nice black mascara, so that you can use the wand from this one in the brown solution; yes, it's more expensive than just buying your normal black mascara, but it adds a new sort of subtlety to your eyes.

I recommend Miss Sporty Waterproof mascara in Brown / Black, or Define A Lash from Maybelline in Black, depending on your preferred shade.

Finally, if in doubt, go with neutral shades; smoky eyes (blacks, whites and greys), and clear lips are very fashionable right now, so don't worry about trying some of those neon brights that we saw a lot of last season.

If you're not too convinced on your blending technique, go for neutral browns and golds - the darker your skin color, the darker shade of brown or gold I would recommend you go for.

The key points to remember, when choosing shades or products in general, are that, for pale skin, pinks, pastels and light metallics rarely fail, and for darker skin tones, beiges, dark browns and golds work wonders.