How to build your make-up bag for $5 a week for beginners- Week 1

Let me start off by saying I am good at a lot of things. I have a lot of underutilized skills. That being said one thing I have never been very good at is the traditional beauty skills. When I was growing up, our appearance was not something we focused much on. We want to give you the education I never had and help you build your make-up bag for $5 a week for beginners

As I get older, I recognize the importance that your appearance really can have. Even if you are the smartest or most capable person in the room, if you don’t have the mainstream appearance it is much harder to get your foot in the door without.

Maybe you are like me and never really had someone show you the ropes. The internet is a wonderful and weird place; there are literally millions of makeup tutorials. There are even more products available. Because you are so inundated with information it is hard to sift through to find what really works for you.

The other down side is, so many tutorials I have found focus only on products that are high end, and therefore out of reach to those who do not have the money or access to the stores they come from. If you are literally just learning and need to practice, you don’t want to spend a years worth of allowance on a product that gives you a pea size amount that you may ‘waste’ in your mistakes.

The last issue we see come up a lot is how to know what is really ‘good’ for your appearance. There are many who strive for the less is more, while others so drastically change your look it is hard to recognize yourself. We all love a dramatic makeover in the movies and television, but it is often impractical in real life.

For all those reasons we wanted to provide a quick resource for those of you who have never been in the know and for those of you who maybe need a look refresher. So without further ado, build your make-up bag for $5 a week for beginners.

Our Method- build your make-up bag for $5 a week for beginners

What we are going to start with is $5 and 5 minutes. We will start one item at a time. Each item will be approximately $5 and should be able to be obtained easily from any of the big box/pharmacy stores. The item will come with a short tutorial to explain how to use it. Each makeup application should take less than 5 minutes total. Every week will build then on the previous week so each week we will reveal the next item to add to your makeup bag. The look will end up being cohesive and professional.

Some weeks we may suggest things that are a little over the $5, other weeks our finds will be under. In the end the average should stay around the $5, but make sure since they are widely available to take advantage of as many sales and coupons as you can to make it work.

We want to highlight your best attributes, not hide who you really are

As a disclaimer I want to stress that we are using makeup to highlight our best features. If you are looking for a program that radically changes your look into someone that is not you, this is not your program. If you want to the be the BEST VERSION OF YOU, then stay tuned.

Week 1: Eyeshadow

When I was 16 I was given the advice that ‘eye shadow is like a push-up bra for your face’. For years, YEARS this was the only piece of makeup I would consistently wear. I am a firm believer that if you are just starting out, this is the place to begin.

Many people would suggest that you start with foundation as a logical choice, but I beg to differ. It is very difficult to find the exact shade that matches your skin tone. If it is too dark and you look fake, or worse orange. Too light and it washes you out and you look sickly. If you have never applied before too thick and it is cakey which is both a bad look and bad for your skin. Too light and it will not cover well leaving you looking streaky. All this is to say, it is not a beginner’s move.

Eye shadow on the other hand is hard to mess up. Even if you do end up making a mess, it is one of the easiest makeups to clean up. The other great thing about starting with eye shadow, it is inexpensive, so you can practice a ton , and it can be found in a variety of colors.

Best bets to start with…

If you are just starting I would like to make the following three recommendations in order of my favorite to least:

• Revlon Photo Ready Eye Contour Kit- Impressionist (505)
• Covergirl Eye Enhancers 3 Kit- Shimmering Sands (110)
• Covergirl Eye Enhancers 3 Kit- Cafe Au Lait (105)

The reason I feel these kits are the best to start with is because they are universally flattering. They can be used in a professional setting if you are entering the work place. The colors are not too obtuse so as to call much attention to you. The shades are very forgiving as well if you make a mistake. More to the point though, they help bring out your natural beauty by flattering all the things you already have been blessed with.

How to get started…

If you are nervous about starting, just select the the lightest of the shades possible. You want to rub your applicator over the color until it is evenly coated on the sponge. Then you can just sweep the single color over just the part of your eye that covers your eyeball itself when your lid is closed.

If you start to get more confident, move to the second lightest color, and do the same as above, sweeping the color over the eyelid. With the lightest color you can then place a tiny dot in the corner of your eye next to your nose just below the eye. On the show What Not to Wear they used to recommend this to help you appear younger.

Once you feel comfortable with that, you can next, also utilizing the lightest color, place a swipe just underneath your eyebrow this time. It will highlight your bone structure and accent your brows.

If you are feeling even more confident, then you can do all the steps above and this time coating only a small edge of an applicator, place the darkest shadow into the crease between your lightest color on your brow and your second lightest color on your lid.

The backs of the shadows also include instructions and diagrams to help.

Let us know what you think? How did the first week go? We love to hear from you!