Ready to start wearing makeup (I think)

[WinterAlive]

Hi everyone!

I recently cut my hair off and have a pixie cut. I love it, but I've realized that my face could benefit from a little makeup to look more feminine. I'm married to a woman, but not butch and so I want to look feminine still while I have my short hair. 

The only thing is, I've really never worn makeup. My wife has never worn it, and neither did my mom or sister. So no one ever taught me what to do. I went through a phase in middle school/early high school where I was trying, but naturally I wasn't very good at it and teenage girls can be mean. So I threw everything out and didn't really touch it again. 

I don't even know where to start. I really want to make an everyday routine that I can use, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to invest in a lot of expensive products all at once (I know they're high quality, but I just don't know what I like yet!). I definitely also need something that's either really foolproof to use or else easy to correct mistakes. 

I've got super pale skin that is clear the majority of the time, and really thick/dark eyebrows that (probably) don't really need much done with them. 

So, for all my ladies out there willing to take a very confused/overwhelmed person and help her out, please give me your best starter kit recommendations. Picture attached of me right out of the salon last week.

[justsweetie]

  Seeing that you, your girlfriend, nor family actually wear makeup peaks my curiosity. What's having you try now? My heart goes out to you people can say cruel things. So don't change for anyone else, just you. 

  Now, your makeup. I would start moving in with steps, get one step down then consider doing the next. 

-A tinted moisturizer, and a colored lip balm 

-BB or CC cream with colored lip gloss

-Foundation with  neud lipstick 

-Neutral Glam

-Full Glam 

This is a good way to introduce you into makeup.

[heavyhedon]

@WinterAlive -- welcome to the makeup world! I had my mom and older sisters and female cousins around, all wearing makeup, so I picked up a lot at first by watching them; guess I was lucky.

 The pixie cut is wonderful on you, and you have a lovely fresh complexion, distinctive bone structure, a beautiful smile and gorgeous big eyes-- that's where to start.

Playing up what you have with the least amount of color & shading is a good way to begin. Try a little soft brown eyeshadow smudged as liner along the outer edges of your eyes (you can use any small eye brush, sponge-tipped applicator or just a q-tip), a touch of soft mauve or pink blush high on the apples of your cheeks and a bit of tinted lip balm. I know whenever I've had my hair that short (or shorter) even a flick of mascara is a huge game-changer and might be all you want. ELF has some nice and inexpensive ones that won't bug even sensitive eyes. L'oreal Voluminous is a nice formula that comes in lots of colors with an easy-to-use brush. 

  Don't spend a big bunch on the best stuff till you've got your feet wet. I highly recommend going to Lisa Eldridge's website and looking at a few of her Makeup 101 videos. She's the best teacher around and a calming presence, and teaches all the basics. 

 PS--You have nice thick brows, don't pluck!!! 

[quspork]

Welcome to BIC, @WinterAlive! My first suggestion would be find a few youtube channels that you like where you can see different techniques that might help you learn application and then practice. If you do a search within the community, you'll find a few threads with some good youtuber recommendations. Personally, I've gotten a lot of good tips from Wayne Goss over the years (though I admittedly haven't watched much recently). 

And don't worry at all about starting with drugstore products. There are some great quality ones in those brands and really they're the best to start with so you're not wasting a more expensive product that may not work out. 

Are you thinking you want to do a full face or just concentrate on a specific area like the eyes or lips? You've got beautiful skin, so you may want to consider just doing minimal coverage, either a powder foundation or a BB cream, if you're interested in a full-face look.