Help!

[Billists]

In the past I have tried to use makeup and be fashionable. I have failed. This next school year, I am making it my goal to look cute; but, I need help! I need your advice on a couple of different things. When answering please consider: I have a really low budget.

1. Hair Straightening: I have relatively curly hair, so when I straighten it, it only stays straight for a hour or so, and it gets really frizzy. What should I do??
2. Lips: I need a subtle lip color.I don't know if I should use a gloss or lipstick?? What brand?
3. Any accessories or products you can't live without??

 

[makeupbyomar]

Originally Posted by Billists /img/forum/go_quote.gif

In the past I have tried to use makeup and be fashionable. I have failed. This next school year, I am making it my goal to look cute; but, I need help! I need your advice on a couple of different things. When answering please consider: I have a really low budget.

1. Hair Straightening: I have relatively curly hair, so when I straighten it, it only stays straight for a hour or so, and it gets really frizzy. What should I do??
2. Lips: I need a subtle lip color.I don't know if I should use a gloss or lipstick?? What brand?
3. Any accessories or products you can't live without??

Hey Billists,

Ok, you have a low budget to work with. Having said that. Beauty tools are an investment.

1) You need a hair product that is made for heat styling. All brands have them. Make sure you get one for straightening. Apply it your hair before you heat style it.

Next you need a good quality flat iron. Unfortunately the Conair ones don't get hot enough. You need one that goes to a minimun of 425F. Online vendors usually have competitive prices on good models.

Section your hair for best results. You have curly hair, so I am guessing that you do that already.

After you finished straighening your hair, apply an anti-frizz creme like Kevin Murphy's Easy Rider. Then spray your hair a foot away with a finishing hair spray, you just want to mist your hair with it, not spray the hell out of it.

2) Ok, school year, which means fall, and the key word being school. I suggest, wearing a pigmented gloss like MAC's Lip Laquer line. That way you get the best of both worlds. Colour and gloss. Lipstick in the school yard is a bit much, save it for the weekend or other special occassion. Don't show off your glam all at once, you gotta save some for later...

3) That's all relative. Me? I can't live without my pen, and nobody cares. It's up to you how comfortable you are with making a statement with an accessory. Teen fashion / celebrity mags are a great styling resource for some inspiration.

Good luck!

 

[Tyari]

Vogueboy - MAC's lip laquers were discontinued some years back.

If you want to go with a lipstick, NYX has a huge range of colors from light to dark - I would suggest a pink, light pink or nude for school. They also have a ton of lipglosses to choose from. You mentioned that you have a low budget and NYX lippies are in the $4-5 range and they are really nice finishes as well. Wet n Wild also has a really nice line of lipsticks called Mega Last Lip Color (http://wnwbeauty.com/product.php?cid=16&pid=58&subid=28) that are matte, so depending on what you like, you may opt to top it off with a gloss. 902C Bart It All and 903C Just Peachy are nice, daytime wearable shades and suitable for someone in high school. Those lipsticks are $1.99 at the drugstore/Walmart/Target. They also have a line of lipsticks called Silk Finish for $.99. HTH!

 

[makeupbyomar]

Ah, thanks BJ, you're right, and I stand corrected! I should've said MAC lipglass family franchise. Their Plushglass and Dazzleglass family would fit Billists need for a subtle lip colour.

 

[Tyari]

I agree!

Originally Posted by vogueboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Ah, thanks BJ, you're right, and I stand corrected! I should've said MAC lipglass family franchise. Their Plushglass and Dazzleglass family would fit Billists need for a subtle lip colour.

 

[PaleOleander]

Vogueboy did an excellent job of explaining how to control your hair, what their post described is basically what I do every morning. I have wavy, frizz prone hair. It's also worth looking online for quick way to make your natural curl look good. When I'm in a hurry, or lazy, there are a few smoothing-de frizzing products I put in my hair to get sort of a windblow-on-purpose look, and it only takes about five minutes.

It's not hard to look good on a budget. A lot of drugstore brands are okay or even good, make up fanatics and artists just tend to want the best.

I second the NYX lipsticks, they're good and cheap. Ulta usually carries NYX.

Revlon's Lip Butters are good for sheer color, in my experience they last longer than any drugstore gloss. If you want to mess with stains, Revlon has Balm Stains as well. They're a bit goopy, but if you blot the goo off, there's still color. 

Spending the extra money on some kind of eye primer is something to consider. Urban Decay has a decent primer, you can get 3.7 ml for under ten dollars, and that will last for a long time. I personally use Too Faced Shadow Insurance, those are $18 but last forever.
The reason I suggest an eye primer is that a good eye primer not only helps your shadows stick and last, but it can help build color and make shadows pop. This is important if you're going to be buying less expensive eye shadows.

Maybelline has these cream shadows called "Color Tattoos" that are are often "Buy one, get one" or "Buy one, get one half-off." These can be used to prime shadows as well.
L'oreal's HIP duos have good pigmentation, are portable, and come in a lot of different shades. I don't remember how much they are, but they're often BOGO at Target. 

I know you didn't ask about eyes, but eye makeup is my thing, so I thought I'd throw that in there.

I keep a bag of 'meh' items in my purse, in case I go out and suddenly plans change and I need make up. I don't leave without that bag.

What it is for you is up to you, like Vogueboy said. 

If you're determined to look cute, use the internet as a resource. Magazines are helpful and fun to look at, but they also cost money and don't always encourage individuality very well. Even people who use the same shadow, liner, lipstick, etc every day have (hopefully) discovered those products as the best suited for them through trial and error.

If you have a cosmetics-loving friend, you might ask them for tips. I have spare time, if you want to ask me any additional questions through PM or in-thread, I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[makeupbyomar]

Well said PaleOleander. Your post is a perfect example of a different perspective on the same topic. Mine came from "tv land", yours came from the "street" as the lingo goes in my world. They both work very well.

Good point with the magazines, they can be pricey, but they are mainly forecasting tools that generalize the upcoming seasonal trends. As oppossed to on-line sources which are pretty much real-time.