If you’re open to other solutions: I got a gelx kit from Amazon for pretty cheap! There is definitely a learning curve. I do sometimes still get gel extensions done at a salon (I bought tips to use, but I can’t get the hang of it. I gave it an honest try), but then I do my own fills at home.

I have the UV lamp, a small set of gel polish, and some nail files. I’ve tried dip powder kits before and I did enjoy those for a year before I got on the gel train.

I saw a cool technique from a makeup artist: When you apply foundation, apply to the back of your hand, and then apply from your hand to your face with your brush or sponge. Then, mix a drop of the rare beauty blush into the leftover foundation on your hand, mix it with your sponge and blush and then apply if to your face.

I have the rare beauty liquid blush and it’s AMAZING (i have oily skin and creams just melt off), but totally easy to go overboard accidentally. I usually “dot” one finger and the poke both cheeks to blend, but it’s hard to get it right. The technique I saw looked much smoother and had a nice finish that matched the makeup.

I set my whole face with loose powder afterwards (and I have been known to set liquid blush with powder blush because I am a blush addict)

I have oily skin and also had bad acne (now that I’m getting into my late 20’s it’s calming down!) I have the same thing with makeup “pulling apart” right by the creases of my mouth/nose area!!

Definitely moisturize! The neutrogena gel moisturizer (or TJ’s dupe) are great, cerave and vanicream break me out. So does salicyclic acid for some reason so I use the cerave gentle foaming cleanser! Niacinamide as an ingredient also really helped me to reduce oil production.

For concealers, you may want to look at makeup by mario (it can be drying on some people, and it dries down super fast so you gotta move quickly) or a hydrating concealer (ilia, kosas, tower28). Weirdly, kosas worked phenomenally on me. It’s so lightweight that it doesn’t break apart the same way some other concealers do on me.

For me there are two ways to make my makeup last: go hard or go sheer. Going hard for me is using niacinamide under my makeup, mattifying primer, matte makeup, matte setting spray, and then touching up with a pressed setting powder during the day. I use this for carnaval/long events where I need a full face. For everyday, going lighter with my makeup is actually what works best (ends up less cakey overall) - I use a skin tint and barely set it with loose powder. Thenn during the day, I buff out any cracks with a beauty blender and it kind of re-melts into my skin.

Also - the rare beauty liquid blush does not BUDGE on me and lasts all day despite the fact that sometimes I am just a greaseball.

To make this a bit more “romantic” or to make the gifting aspect better, one idea was printing out pictures of the makeup (ex: print a picture of the lipgloss and an eyeshadow palette, cut them out) and then on the back writing something like (“One shopping date for a lipgloss” or “One eyeshadow palette as pretty as you are”) and putting it in a little makeup bag for her, and wrapping that up.

I think part of the “romance” of gifting is in intention and effort, and saying “Hey, I thought of you and am demonstrating that I care.” A giftcard, while it may be the most practical gift for a lot of people (and is a step up from just handing them cash) shows a lack of effort.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put effort into gifting the gift card!

Just handing her a card and saying “pick something out that you like” doesn’t show the effort and care that is the emotional aspect of gifting, and comes across as low-effort. What you’re demonstrating here by coming on this sub and asking for help shows that you do care, so make sure she knows it!

Wrap it up, write a heartfelt note or “One shopping date for an eyeshadow as pretty as you are” or something cute (and true to your relationship), maybe put it inside a makeup bag for her new makeup. If she has something she re-purchases (a lipgloss or setting powder or moisturizer) then maybe buying her one of those, and adding the gift card to it.

I have pointy nails and I kind of poke it with the tip of my nail lol. My boyfriend once asked why I randomly poke my face and I realized I probably look insane haha.

If you have super sensitive skin, check out Tower 28, they’re the only beauty brand that uses 100% ingredients approved by the national eczema foundation: https://www.tower28beauty.com/pages/philosophy
I learned about this the other day and found it pretty cool! I don’t have super sensitive skin, I just swatched their concealer and lip jelly in sephora and really liked it.

Personally, I use the same primer all over my face. A lot of “clean beauty” brands (Ilia, Kosas, even Haus Labs) have skincare ingredients in them already, and don’t “need” a primer before using for the full effect. Personally, if you’re just starting out, I would grab a concealer for under the eyes because it can really brighten up your face.

If you’re starting out with eyeliner, I really recommend starting with crayons, pencils, and eyeshadows before using liquid eyeliner because it’s a little unruly.

I like Elf’s liquid halo glow! I used to ADORE becca’s highlight but I think it’s discontinued. I apply powder highlight on the top of my cheekbone, where light normally hits (and sometimes the center of my eyelid, browbone, and/or tip of my nose.

I personally think liquid highlighters look more “natural” and I’ll actually mix halo glow into my foundation for a “dewy” look, or apply a swipe across my cheek and blend it in.

Okay I used to teach group fitness classes at Uni so do I know what you mean, I miss that gym! Great on you for taking advantage of it! I would go straight from class to teach and then back from teaching to class.

If I was going to ruin my makeup by sweating, I would take it off beforehand because there’s no point in trying to preserve it. If I was just doing yoga or a stretching class, it was 50/50 on if I would take it off. It would depend on if I had class after or if I was going to shower. Personally, I leave my mascara on while working out and really only take off my base makeup, taking off mascara takes too long for me and my mascara doesn’t get everywhere the same way my foundation does if I wipe my face from sweat. If my mascara lasts all day, I take it off before bed.

I think I lean pretty middle of the road, when I wear cool toned I look sick or ghastly, when I wear warm toned I look like snooki

I tried soooo many skin tints in Sephora today, loved all the ones you mentioned, and I also loved Ilia!

I just grabbed the Lip Jelly today! It really is “my lips but better” and it’s not sticky!

In the same vein, using a bronzer or contour to swipe the crease of your eye for “eyeshadow” is my hack. And highlight as eyeshadow, using a lip stain and gloss instead of touching up lipstick all day, etc.

And there’s a lot of “high maintenance to be low maintenance” hacks that also work as “no makeup makeup” - getting an eyelash tint instead of mascara, tinting your brows, spending more on skincare to avoid using as much foundation

Idk about “best” but I just grabbed the Tower 28 lip Jelly, and it was a hard pick between the Tower 28 and Kosas wet lip. I really like how it’s not sticky! I’ve been super “over” my sticky glosses lately. I also was taking a loooong look at the Makeup By Mario hydrating lip balms, they felt super creamy when I swatched them.

From my experience with doing makeup for zoom, I skip foundation almost entirely. Some concealer under my eyes and a good blush/bronzer do all the heavy lifting (I also don’t have a great webcam, but most cameras dont realllly pick up on skin texture/uneven skin tone.) I use the ELF halo filter (liquid highlighter) mixed with a pump of foundation to sheer it out if I need a more even base!

Don’t have trichotillomania but maybe looking for tutorials from girlies who have shaved off their brows? I have half of one of my brows uneven and sometimes I’ll just shave it to draw on. I use a wide pencil a shade or two lighter than my natural shade to “colour” it in, crisp up the edges with a Q-tip dipped in makeup remover or micellar water, and then draw in individual strokes with a super fine eyebrow-pencil (I think Kosas has one). I used to use the “eyebrow mascara products” as basically eyeliner and like “draw” on my eyebrows (the bristles “draw” the product onto the face, if that makes sense? Like when people make fake moustaches with mascara.)

There are also temporary tattoo eyebrows!

I like the sephora plumping glosses in the sheer pink and clear tbh, I also tried the tower 28 non-sticky lip jelly in Pistachio and snatched that up on sale. I really like Buxom’s plumping glosses too.

I second any cream blush (i like the rate beauty one personally) but it’s so easy to blend into your skin so it looks more natural than powder blush! I also use a contour stick in the crease of my eyelid.

I feel like what happened to the beauty industry is kind of what happened to the fashion industry?
Like just broadly - Look at 90’s runways, a few very popular faces with star status, a few major fashion houses.

Then fast fashion just kept accelerating with Shein and Aliexpress, a ton of new brands entered the market, it’s hyper-saturated and hard to keep up with new launches, celebrity collections every week, micro-influencers and PR packages and sponsored events.

I think the same thing is happening in the beauty space. There were a few really big stars, now brands want niche and micro-influencers, the trend cycle is a lot shorter. There are a lot more people in the space (and a lot more diversity, which is great!) but it’s hard for one person to keep up with all the people because of the hyper-saturation.

Yeah, I feel like it definitely had a moment but now the prices are so high and you can just find very similar quality products (if not better) for a cheaper price.

When a brand releases half-baked dupes of another brand’s item (not talking about ELF, I feel like they’re appropriately shameless about being a dupe brand, and I like their milk makeup primer dupe too much to complain).

But how did every other brand suddenly released a lip oil after Dior’s went viral? Some feel exactly like the brand’s glosses but just packaged differently. It feels like pandering without actually thinking through a product.