Teen makeup starter kit ideas

Hi pretties

I've been doing a lot of reminiscing lately about being a teenager, specifically around 13/14 years old and it got me thinking.  If I knew then what I know now, what would I do differently?  Being a beauty lover, of course my mind turned to makeup.  So I thought while it was on my mind I would compile a list of products I wish I had the sense and knowledge to buy back then.  You may be a teen reading this, or a parent looking for ideas for your teen, or just someone who reads my blog (thank you) but hopefully you will get something out of my ideas and experiences.

1.  Tinted moisturizer or a light foundation


When I was around 12 or 13 a neighborhood friend held a mother/daughter Nutrimetics party for the girls in our area.  There were around 6 of us in the street all around the same age.  The idea was we were starting to get an interest in make up so a beauty consultant could show us a few simple ideas to stop us looking like clowns when we started experimenting.  The first thing the consultant did was colour match us with a foundation or tinted moisturizer.  I highly, highly recommend getting colour matched for your first 'base' and investing in a quality product.  A foundation or tinted moisturizer can last you around 6 months and a  quality product can cost you around AUD$50.  If you wear it 5 days a week that equates to around 40 cents per application and the investment can be well worth it.  If you are a younger teen without an income, ask one of your relatives to get you product for a present :)

I highly recommend, however, if you don't need foundation that you stick to tinted moisturizer.  Keep your skin as fresh as you can for as long as you can.

2. Concealer


I am not a concealer wearer and I never have been.  Although when I was covered in hormonal pimples and spots I wish that I was.  Unfortunately my mother does not wear concealer and I have no older sisters who could show me the concealer ropes so I went without.  Concealer is another product I recommend getting colour matched at a counter for, but not necessarily paying a lot for either.  It can be a tricky thing to find a concealer that works for you so trying out a few inexpensive products and finding a formulation that works for you might be best.

Your under-eye concealer is generally a different product to your spot concealer so keep this in mind.  Again, if you can go without, please do.

3. Setting powder for oily skin


Many teens have oily skin and a mattifying setting powder can be very helpful keeping oily skin at bay.  This is one of the only times in this post I will recommend an actual product, but I am in love with Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder.  I still use this product and can't rave about it enough.

4. Clear or brown mascara


Mascara can really make your eyes stand out and look great, but black can be quite a harsh look on young teens so stick to a clear or brown mascara.

5. An eye shadow palette


If you're just starting out with make up or looking for an essential product for your collection I recommend investing in an eyes shadow palette.  Coastal Scents have some great deals on their website.  The great thing about being a teen is you get to experiment so experiment away!  You can also get away with shimmers as you don't have any fine lines for those glittery colours to settle into you.  I recommend the 88 shimmer palette and the 88 neutral palette from Coastal Scents.  You can get them for around AUD$15 on special every couple of weeks and they are full of a variety of colours to try out and decide what you like and what suits you.

6. Blush or bronzer


To be honest I didn't really start experimenting with bronzer until I was about 17, and blush until I was 24!  I think just one blush or bronzer is more than enough as a young teen and I wouldn't wear it every day.  Maybe save that one for a special occasion and get either a pale pink or coral blush (very hard to go wrong with either of those), and a mildly shimmery bronzer.  Just don't go overboard with either.

7. Lip gloss

Skip the lippy and invest in a clear or pale pink lip gloss.  This is a much fresher look for a teen and much easier to apply.  Ah my teen years were filled with 'Lip Smackers' and that sickly sweet smell still pops into my thoughts sometimes.

8. A decent brush set


Your brush set can make or break your makeup application and I recommend asking for a decent brush set for a Christmas or Birthday present as they can get quite expensive.  For a great kit at a great price I recommend the Coastal Scents 22 piece brush set (I promise Coastal Scents do not sponsor me I just think their products are great for starters and basics!), EcoTools brushes or Furless Cosmetics brush sets.

I honestly don't think a young teen requires any more makeup than this to start with and you can request product you may like to try out for birthdays and Christmas.

I hope this post has been helpful and if you have any questions please leave me a comment below :)

Caitlin xoxo

Updated Make Up Storage - May 2012 VIDEO!

Hi Pretties

So I said last week or the week before I was going to do an updated make up storage post with my new drawers, and I finally managed to get it online!  I filmed this during the week last week and desperately tried to get this uploaded last night in lieu of my Sunday night haul as I'm currently on Project X Pan, but Blogger would not upload it directly so I've had to go via YouTube which took me 8 hours to upload!  Gah!  Anyway it's finally here!

I wanted to do a video as I thought a post would take forever to go through all my drawers so this would be the easiest way to see everything.

I hope you enjoy!  

Blush and Bronzer Collection

Hi Pretties As I said in my make up storage post I'll be gradually showing you my collection in more detail.  You can view my nail polish collection here!  I've been waiting on one last product to come so I could show you my FAVOURITE collection.  My blush collection!  I'm not hugely into bronzer, but I've thrown those in this post too.

Now that's the full collection!  There is a mix of cheaper and higher end products there and I have to say my favourites are not necessarily the most expensive ones!

Bronzers


As I said, I'm not overly into bronzer, and some of these I have had for YEARS, but I'll still reach for them in summer.

Face Of Australia - Outback Bronze
Benefit - Hoola
Covergirl - 315 Soleil
Designer Brands - No name

Mac Blushes


Top row
Melba (Matte)
Fleur Power (Satin)

Bottom Row
Springsheen (Sheertone Shimmer)
Well Dressed (Satin)

Miscellaneous Brands


BYS - Pretty in Pink
Models Prefer - Desk to Date
Face of Australia - Primrose
Australis - Poser
Benefit - Thrrrob







That's my collection.  My favourites are Mac Melba, Mac Springsheen, Benefit Thrrrob (even though I've only used it once!) and Models Prefer Desk To Date.  I absolutely love Models Prefer I think they are a brilliant brand.  Hmm, maybe I'll need to do a Models Prefer review.

If you would like to see any of these blushes with swatches and in details please leave me a comment and let me know :)

Nail polish collection

Hi pretty people!

Well I mentioned a little while ago in my make up collection storage post that I would show you my products and collection in more detail.  I am getting to this but I am waiting on quite a few products from the US that I would like to include when I show you my favourite products, but nail polish is not one of them :)

This is an overview of all my polishes.  I store them in a wooden box I have had for years and unfortunately the lid doesn't close any more as I have a few too polishes.  I know my collection is not as big as others, but I am really trying to limit my spending on polishes!

I'm going to break this post up into brands and from left to right give you the names of the colours :)






Orly


Walk Down the Aisle
Aspen
Strip Down
Not so Dusty Rose














OPI


DS Reserve (my first OPI!)
No name on miniatures (natural pink)
No name on miniatures (natural flesh)
Lourve Me, Lourve Me Not

Rimmel


Pop Rose
Lively Lillac
Style Hunter
Instyle Coral
Shocker
Mocha Fever
Double Decker Red








Essie (Fall Collection)


Lady Like
Very Structured
Power Clutch
Carry On







Ulta 3


Jade
Bon Bon
Flashback Fuchsia
Freesia
Black Plum











Random


LA Colours - Aztec Orange
TBN - Barely Pink
TBN - Rich Red
Australis - Peek-a-Boo
Max Factor - Diva Violet
Chi Chi - Miss Personality
Revlon - No Shrinking Violet




Coats


Cutex Diamond Extra Hard
Ulta 3 Speed Dry

 Stay tuned for more collection posts!

My Make Up Storage

Hey Pretty People

Well I've mentioned previously that I have just moved house and my adorable boyfriend was kind enough to let me have a make up station in our multi-purpose room! We also use this room as a gym, study and for a little bit of storage, but I'm very excited to have my own space and not be working out of the bathroom mirror anymore. Very convenient and I'm pretty sure that our bathroom mirror was designed for a giant, NOT someone who is 5'1.5! If I stand on my tippy toes I can just see the top of my head!

So anyway, below is a pic of my new set up. (:

I'm not going to talk about the actual products I own in this post (i'll save that for another day) but just to give you an overview of my set up. I got my desk from Kmart for only $49 and the chair for $9. Bargains I think!

Starting on the left hand side of my desk is a lamp. This is also got from Kmart for only $8! It doesn't provide much light when I'm doing my make up but it helps with taking photos and swatches. And it's pretty. Behind that is my everyday jewellery stand that I received as a gift a few years ago. Here I keep my most used jewellery so I can just choose something and go before work. If it means an extra 30 seconds sleep of a morning I'm all for it!

Beside those items is my make shift mirror. Another Kmart purchase, the mirror was $10 and I have attached it to a photo frame to keep it standing up. I prefer this mirror as I dislike the light up mirrors. I always look awful in them. Much like a hairdressers mirror! So I'm happy with my set up like this. Beside the mirror is just some cinnamon sticks I got as a gift years ago, just to smell pretty and be a bit of decoration.

Next along is my brush holder. It is actually a vase from Kmart, only $5, filled with rice to keep my brushes in place. On the side of that is a packet of cheap make up remover wipes to spot clean my brushes daily.

The white shelf I got from Fantastic Furniture for $25. I think it was a great buy as well as it holds all my goodies. On top of the shelf on the left is my perfumes (I shall do a collection blog at a later date) and next to that in the pink case is where I store my make up. The case was only $8 in the kids storage department at (you guessed it) Kmart, but it is the perfect size for my collection. I have the top two drawers divided into 3 by plastic containers.

The top drawer contains my foundations, powders, bronzer and blush in one compartment, my lip products in another, and primers in another. The second drawer contains my eye pencils, eye liners and mascaras in one container, my single eye shadows in another, and small duos and quads in another section. The third drawer is very miscellaneous. It contains back ups of my most used products, cotton pads, make up remover, antibacterial spray, my bigger pallets, all my Mac bags (sad I know but I keep them all :)), spare brushes and a few other bits and pieces.

The first shelf on the stand has my nail products. All of my nail polishes are kept in the little wooden box, I have some Sally Hanson Salon Effects, nail polish remover and a spare hair dye.

Below that is my hair tools consisting of my GHD, blow dryer, curling wands and a crimper!

The last shelf has my hot rollers and hot roller clamps, and a little box containing sample products that I pull out when I feel like a change or to use something special as most of them are high end.

Well that's my new set up. As you can probably tell i'm very excited about it and this has become my favourite spot in the house. I promise that I don't work for Kmart! I just live really close and find them to be great value for money.

So tell me, how do you store your collection?





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