For those of you who forget what I look like, http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/...689232_6307659_n.jpg or if you haven't seen me before. And yes, that is a real live zit on my face! XD My skin is no longer extremely dry, but ever so slightly oily! Things that help prevent the shine/breakouts would be useful as well. Volie doesn't do a ton for my zits, and glissade has caused them, but I've heard about the Pure powders. On another topic, my fragrance allergy is GONE!!! So I'm actually using sunscreen underneath my makeup. If anyone has any tips to prevent my kabuki from stealing my sunscreen and getting all greasy as a result, that would be great. I'm using the Neutrogena SPF 90 dry touch I think. It might be 80 or so. It's the photostable one. If anyone has a suggestion for a very high protection against UVA and UVB sunscreen, that would work better, that would be awesome!

Anyways, I'm getting over being sick, and am in need of some advice for a simple, but natural look that fits my normal style. I tend to a very elaborate gothy look when I have the time, or no makeup at all, with a hint of the 1920s. But, school mornings are even more rushed now with taking medications, and making sure I get enough food so they settle fine, so I need advice on more natural looks. Anything from foundation to eyeshadow ideas to blush ideas are welcome. I'd prefer makeup I can apply dry, and ideally somewhat matte. I do love my sparkles though, they just take a while to set. Also, I have to wear glasses now, so I can't wear a ton of mascara.

I'm a level 1 mixed with some ghost white, and cool toned with gray/blue eyes, and look best in higher contrast colors. Though, I did recently try 1W and it worked the best with no white mixed in, and pink works well as well.

I think you would look gorgeous in a berry lip with a blush like sinister(rocks!).I know that lipstick is not for everyone though.

I am just seeing berry shades on you.I think it would really work with you skin and eyes.Have you tried any of the AL lip balms?

I do love Melancholia, it is one of my favorite shades! Lipstick is actually great, since I can reapply it with ease.

A few tips:

For oily skin, the Porcelaine Primaer, Silk Powder, and Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder (any color) can all provide some oil control benefits. Try a few samples and try different techniques -- applying the powders heavily or sheerly, over or under foundation, etc. E.g. for my very oily skin, Porcelaine works best when I apply it heavily with a sponge under my Voile; for other girls, too much Porcelaine dries them out and they might prefer a light dusting of Porcelaine with a powder brush on top of their foundation!

For sunscreen, I tried one of the Neutrogenia Dry Touch with Helioplex formulas (I think it was 55 or 70, but also photostable) and I found it horribly greasy -- I let it dry for 30 minutes and it was still so greasy my Voile caked up like crazy when I applied it! But other gals don't have this problem... if your sunscreen is only slightly greasy, try dusting a little URFP on top before applying your foundation to give it a dry, matte finish. If the sunscreen is really greasy, consider using another product... my favorites for quick drying, really mattifying sunscreens are Shiseido SPF 55 Lotion (does contain a lot of fragrance though) or Sofina Lucent (may be drying on some skintypes).

For concealing breakouts, you can try the cream concealor or Pure Cover concealor, whichever you prefer I use the Cream Concealor, with extra dab of Voile on top if necessary.

For simple looks, wow, there's so many options it's hard to recommend specific colors or anything! How about a dark liner to get a hint of goth / 1920's with a single lid shade? The En Pointes are currently on sale for 2 weeks only and they are awesome almost-matte-but-not-quite shades -- you might want to pick up some colors if you don't aready have them The Eye Plushes are also lovely if you'd like some soft or nude colors (perhaps to contrast with a darker liner?)

My quick everyday look is:
* Either a nude-ish eyeshadow from lashline to brow, or one color on lid and a nude from crease to brow (I tend towards sparkly neutrals myself...)
* Eyeliner (I like the gels)
* Single blush color (whatever looks good on your skin)
* Swipe on a Color Cream or other single lip color while waiting at a stoplight on my way to work

Also, why can't you wear mascara with glasses? Mascara really helps my eyes stand out behind glasses!

Give your sunscreen a chance to "sink in" before applying your foundation, or your kabuki can feel greasy. I usually apply mine, then brush my teeth or get dressed. Doesn't require a lot of time, just a few minutes.

For a simple gothy look:
Foundation
Light dusting of Metamorphosis or Parfait over foundation
Simple eye - nude colored shadow on lid, slightly darker crease, sparkly highlight
Black gel liner, on the thicker side
mascara (try waterproof if it ends up on your glasses)
Vivid lip color

Think Dita Von Teese!

A simple eye with the dramatic lip is always in style, and the lip color can satisfy your color craving. Deep reds, burgundies, and purples are always good choices for a gothy look. Apply balm, then dab a color like StillinHollywood, DirtyDeeds, Vampira, or any of your favorites right over the balm. Set with clear gloss.

Takes only a few minutes and is appropriate for about any situation - you can easily change the lippy to something more subdued if you suddenly find yourself in a different environment where you want to be less gothy.

Girl_Geek- I will definitely have to try a few odd samples of those. It sounds like we've used the same sunscreen, so I will check out Shiseido and Sofina Lucent(Where do you find the latter?). What does the smell of the Shiseido smell like? So far, the worst that tends to bug me is the fake floral/tropical smell, and that only makes me sneeze a little, which is a huge improvement!

Have you found the cream concealer or the pure cover to ever cause your breakouts to be worse? If so, I'll stick to my voile, but if they don't seem to, I may try them.

I have sadly not picked up any En Pointes, and am starting to look at them! I may try the eyeplushes as a basic neutral. I do like sparkle, but I also like sparkle that doesn't need to be foiled to stay put.

My concern over the glasses is that whenever I wear my maskcara on them, a combo of "tears"(eye fluid/whatever that should be called when you're not sad.), sleepies, oil from my face and eyeshadow manages to wind it's way up on my glasses. I have longer lashes, and it's starting to be very annoying to have to wash my glasses with water every day to be able to see out of them, and they're kinda foggy by the end of the day. I would go for contacts, but my glasses are for migraines, and apparently contacts wouldn't work as well.

Cinseven13-Thanks for the tip about sunscreen and letting it sink in! What would you suggest for a slightly darker crease? I'm worried a grayish shade might be too harsh, since I am in a rush,and well, dark shades show mistakes with the brush much more than lighter ones! I've been using a very light application of ebony,but it ends up making me look ghoulish in a bad way!(Matte black is not my best friend in terms of makeup. It looks good when applied heavily though or over a more sparkely shade that's foiled) I will definitely look more into the Rocks lipsticks. Somehow, the sample I had of Notorious was very sheer, and didn't show up on my lips at all. I have tried waterproof mascara, and all it ended up doing was making my lashes break off, which is not my goal!

Both of you! Are the gel liners as good as I recall them being about a year ago? (Crosses fingers hoping!) Also, now that the pure hues are gone, would the mattes be the place to look for colors for eyebrows? Are the New Vegan fiberoptics(Skunk) brushes as good as the old ones?

Also, does anyone have tips as to how to make lashes more noticeable without mascara? I remember there being something you could do with eyeliner, but close to the lash line, but I'm not exactly sure... I might also be imagining it!

Ack, so many questions! Let's see....

I don't remember exactly what Shiseido smelled like, I just know it was a strong synthetic fragrance that bothered my allergies and gave me a headache. Maybe floral? Lots of people like it though so it may not bother you!

Sofina is a Japenese sunscreen, I buy it from www.bobodave.com. From what I've read, Japenese sunscreens are the best for ultra mattifying...

I don't think the cream concealor makes my breakouts worse; however, everyone's skin is different so start with a sample It's been a while since I tried Pure Cover but I'm sure it's fine.

As for sparkles "staying put", in my experience, all of AL's sparkly shades (even the sparkly Rocks ones) stay just fine with a good eyeshadow primer I use a different brand of primer but I'm sure either of AL's primers would work, or even the cream eyeshadows (which can also be used as a primer).

That makes sense about the glasses -- I have short wimpy lashes so even with mascara they don't touch my lenses Do you curl your lashes? That might help.... As for making lashes look thicker, search for "tightlining" -- basically pushing eyeliner up into the base of your lashes instead of lining above the lashes. I haven't tried it though...

Gel liners are the same product as they used to be

For brows, any color will work, even Lustres -- your brow hairs have a bit of shine, they're not perfectly matte, so a little shimmer in brow powder can look natural. I mix two mattes and a Lustre to get a color that matches my brows.

And I find the new fiber optic brushes to be better than the ones with the silver handles -- the brush heads have more of a pointed/tapered shape which is easier for me to apply powders, rather than the bristles being kinda splayed out like some of the silver handled ones.

And butting in on Cin's question, you can use any color you like in the crease -- grays are not my best color, so I often use browns, plums, soft purples (e.g. Persephone), burgundies, etc. for more neutral-ish looks. Or maybe navy if you like cooler colors?

Hope that helps!

For thicker lashes I take an eyeliner and smudge it right into my lashline.You could also do this with gel eyeliner and a stiff brush.

I forgot to mention - wash your brushes regularly, especially if your sunscreen is on them. Remember the kabuki will need most of the day to dry.

Yes, the gel liners are fantastic. Lining your upper lids can help define your lashline. Definitely curl your lashes too. Try as thin a coat of mascara as possible. There are a million types out there, so it may take some experimenting to find what works for you.

Shadow colors - use what works for you. I pick my color theme for the day - purples, pinks, neutral taupe shades, blacks, and then select three, sometimes 4 shades. The lightest is usually my highlight, the medium the lid, the darkest the crease. If I do a smokey type eye than it's darkest on the lid, medium shade in crease, lightest as highlight.

There are a hundred shades that will all look good in various combinations, so play around and see what you like best. I am rather limited in my color choices - I don't wear yellows, peaches, oranges, greens, blues, teals. I just don't like them on me. I steer clear of most warm tones too, if I do wear them I mix them with cooler shades. I wear whites, pinks, purples, some taupe/browns, greys, blacks. But that's what suits me, wear what you like and what looks good on.

I never wore blush until AL. I do like the Rocks Rouges, applied under my foundation, and just the faintest tinge. I don't like the "peachy glow" look on myself. I do like using the Elemental Lustres for contour, you may like the color. They're not your typical shades, but work well for a goth look. I haven't worn any blush in months now, simply because my cheeks are always much more pink/red than I'd like due to rosacea.

Sunscreen that has any tropical smell is nauseating. I'm using Neutrogena Age Face Shield in a 90 SPF. Normally I don't worry about a high number, but reapplying sunscreen every 20 minutes was getting to be a pain. It does have a shine to it, it doesn't look greasy on me, but I have very dry skin.

Thanks Girl_Geek for the tip about general Japanese sunscreens! I will have to consider the primers, but I'd hate to use one since everything liquid takes a while to dry and such on my skin. I love how the sparkles stay when foiled, or with a base(of glissade even!), but they do get all over the place when applied dry. I do think that's the case with all glitter, not just AL though, and I love how well the glitter stays when applied wet, it's just that can take a while to look perfect.

I may try curling my lashes, though when I've tried in the past, the curl didn't stay unless I used mascara. XD

And that's awesome to know about the gel liners, and ideas for brows.

Ah, that's good to know! I will definitely consider a small fiber optics brush, though I'll think about colors first. I will consider navy shades as well, and purples. Those shades tend to look decent on me.
I do think it was tight lining I was thinking of!
Melissa- Thanks for the tip!
Cinseven13-I do wash my brushes weekly, but my kabuki takes about 2 full days to dry if it's near a heater, in the winter at least! I may try putting rubbing alcohol on a pad and wiping down the bristles with it, I've noticed they do that at sephora type places.

I'm using the mascara that least lengthens my lashes in a diluted very thin coat, and I still get the same effect. Hmm, that is interesting and very useful about the ELs for contour. I may try that, though I generally don't use a contour shade along with a blush(generally one or the other), just due to time.

And it's great to know the gel liners are still awesome.

I guess I'll just have to experiment with colors and see what I can do.

In my experience, both the Shiseido and Sofina sunscreens apply almost instantly. I also do my eyes before my face (so I can clean up any eyeshadow I spill on my cheeks, lol), so by the time my eyes are done, the sunscreen is definitely dry enough to apply face powders

And my taklon kabuki also takes about 2 full days to dry, and that's with rotating it and fluffing up the bristles a few times a day (otherwise the bristles touching the towel I lay the brushes on would stay wet longer). Cin, how do you dry your kabuki in one day? lol I bought a second kabuki just to use as a backup when the first one's wet!

quote:

Originally posted by girl_geek:
Cin, how do you dry your kabuki in one day? lol I bought a second kabuki just to use as a backup when the first one's wet!

I wash it as soon as I'm finished with it, give it a good towel dry, and leave it on the vanity to air dry. By the next morning it's completely dry.

I do have a second one, but I use that for other things.

Girl_geek- Applying the eye makeup before the face makeup makes sense! I may try that! Thanks!

Cinseven13-That's what I do as well, but it still takes about 2 days to dry. Is your bathroom somewhat drafty? Mine isn't terribly, but my bedroom is, so maybe putting it in my bedroom would be a better idea.