To Thine Own Face be True

Makeup counters can be scary places.  Full of products without visible price tags.  Lots of colors, each one in matte, gloss, shine. You look at your face and don’t know where to start, what looks good.

Tentatively you approach one of the immacutely made-up ladies behind the counter to get advice and help.  She asks you if you have a minute for her to do your face. You look at your watch, think what the hell, and say yes.  Before you know it, she has you sat down in a chair and is working her magic on your face, asking you some questions. You protest a couple of the colors because you know they don’t look good on you, but she forges ahead.  15 minutes later, she beams smugly, says you look just gorgeous, gives you a mirror and says, “What do you think?”

You look like Bozo the Hooker. 

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, you buy a few of the recommended products, take them home, trying to assure yourself that you can apply them better so it will be okay… really.  Off you go one morning with your new foundation, look in the rearview mirror on your way to work (the only good testing place for eyebrow pluckage prowess and foundation matching) and see the need to call in a helicoptor rescue squad to save your face from visible foundation line.  You promptly throw the whole kit and kaboodle in your drawer when you get home and never wear them again. I’ve been there many times. Years ago, I used to be shy and got bossed around by salespeople. It’s not certain when that changed, but over the last two decades, I’ve become known as “The Bitch.”  My friends and family ask me to make phone calls for them to obstinate businesses who aren’t playing fair with them. The key phrase in dealing with difficult people is “Listen, this is what I need you to do.” Use that whenever that salesperson is getting pushy with you, it is a big ole Stop Sign and reverses the pushing process. Needless to say, my experiences at the makeup counters are all positive now because I do not put up with crap products being pushed on me. It’s my money, I worked hard for it, and I’m willing to part with large chunks of it for the right thing, but I won’t spend a dime on something that won’t work for me. One well-placed scowl at the SA when she is pushing product, followed by a gracious smile when she reverses course and asks you what you’re thinking might work, usually does the trick.  Never be afraid to just walk away. It’s hard to do the first time, but gets easier with practice.  The makeup Counter is not a place where you want to practice seeing through a glass darkly.

 

 How do you become a Product Girl at the makeup counter?  I’m going to do a series of makeup tips in different areas to help those who are a little skeered by those ladies behind the counter so you can get what you want or at least know what to ask for.   

 How do you become a Product Girl at the makeup counter?  I’m going to do a series of makeup tips in different areas to help those who are a little skeered by those ladies behind the counter so you can get what you want or at least know what to ask for.   

We’ll start with the Rules for Buying Foundation:

• Don’t try and save money here. You can get the cheap eyeshadows and eyeliners and other things, but foundation is the one thing that needs to be right, if you’re going to bother wearing it.  The difference in quality between a $10 foundation and a $45 foundation is huge, and $35 is just not a big deal in the big scheme of things.  I have heard the claim they are the same, and, I’m sorry, but I’ve slapped on the Cover Girl and then put on my favorite obscenely expensive foundation, and there is no comparison — one looks cheap and tacky on me (not saying people with great skin can’t pull off any foundation, but they probably are young or really don’t need foundation to begin with so anything looks good), and the other makes my aging skin glow.  There are some great foundations out there, my favorite is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation. You can never go wrong with this one, it sticks to you and comes in great shades that melt into your face and give a pretty glow to any skin. Cle de peau and Chanel make great foundations too. There are other good ones in several lines, these are just the ones I am most familiar with, having tried probably 50 foundations over the last ten years and settled on  the GA as the best I’ve tried.
• Use a foundation brush (Giorgio Armani has a great one, as does Prescriptives).  There is a big difference in how your foundation looks with the proper application. Get two brushes and wash them after each use. Tip — eBay has the Armani foundation brush for cheap, and I’m fairly certain they are fakes, but they are great fakes and work as well as the geniune article.
• Get a sample of the foundation to take home and try in a couple of shades. Do not EVER buy right there in the store. If they don’t have a sample or claim they can’t make one up, go to the next counter. The lighting at department store counters is crappy, and you have to do the rearview mirror test before you buy. This will tell you if your foundation matches or not.  Pluck your eyebrows while you’re checking the foundation. I may be the only person in the world that has my trusty Tweezermans in the glove box in the car.
• If you tan in the summer, change your foundation color to a shade or two darker or switch to just a tinted lotion or tinted primer during the summer months.  Just please don’t go out with a lighter face than your body…. yuk!!!!
• Apply a moisturizer first, then a foundation primer.  Smashbox primer and La Prairie Cellular Treatment Rose Illusion are both good.  Primers get your face ready for foundation and keep it from flaking.
• Don’t let an SA or MA bully you into buying anything just on her opinion. You’re the one that has to wear this, and it’s your hard-earned money.
• If you have beautifuly, glowy, even skin, um… what are you reading this for?  Please don’t muck up great skin with foundation.  Foundation is for us with imperfect skin.