Makeup Tips & Tricks when purchasing!

What are your go to tricks and tips when deciding what to buy?

I make sure I review everything! Even if it's a drugstore product! I make sure to Google it and look at numerous different sites.

I love bb creams but it can be hard to tell which ones have the best coverage, so my trick is to put some black eyeliner on my hand and then take the bb cream or foundation I'm interested in, and seeing how much it takes to cover the eyeliner. By that, I can usually gage how good of coverage it gives.

Lastly, when you can, always swatch using a brush not your fingers!! 99% of the time, swatches with your fingers look so pigmented and amazing. Then when you use a brush, it is much less pigmented. That's why I don't like seeing swatches used with fingers. I've heard so many times "I swatched it in the store and it looked great but when I put it on my eyes it was awful". I know ulta has brushes there you can use. Sephora may also.

What's your tips on finding the perfect makeup?!

Using eyeliner is really good idea for drugstore purchases.

I love going to the beauty counters at the mall and have makeup put on by the girls working there, before I commit. Many times I ask for sample to take home (skincare, foundation, perfume) before I decide to purchase. That way I have proper time to evaluate the product. Also when I buy I wait for GWP always. It has to be worth my money all the way around /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Great tip on the eyeliner! I always ask for samples at sephora of multiple colors of a product such as a bb cream, etc so I can try both at home to see which color is better. I buy kits from qvc. I am good about returning products that don't work for me so that I have more money to buy more stuff. I also run the ingredients by the skin deep.com website to see how healthy the product is.

Even I do the same when I go for the purchasing, first I make the list of my products and checked in google and later I go for the purchasing which helps me in my shopping.

It pretty much depends on what I am shopping for. For instance, if I am going to the drugstore for something, I will go online first, check the ingredients and see if there are reviews/coupons available. Most stores like CVS and Walgreens have pretty good return policies, but I know Target will flag you if you return a lot, especially if the items are used or returned without a receipt.

If I am buying makeup from somewhere like Sephora, I will be a bit more impulsive. I have confidence in their return policy (and I have confidence in my own understand of my skin tones and the colors/scents I like to wear) but very rarely do I have to return even an impulse buy.

Skincare is a different matter - I am much more focused on taking care of my skin now than I was ten years ago so I always research products to find ones that best suit my needs.

When it's an expensive purchase, I take the time to save it for my rare trips to Sephora in Toronto. I get the reps there to apply some onto me, then I walk around for a few hours to see how it feels on me- the only thing I can't always be sure of in reviews!
Always, always read multiple reviews from people with similar skin needs and base requirements as yourself.

Shalott said:

It pretty much depends on what I am shopping for. For instance, if I am going to the drugstore for something, I will go online first, check the ingredients and see if there are reviews/coupons available. Most stores like CVS and Walgreens have pretty good return policies, but I know Target will flag you if you return a lot, especially if the items are used or returned without a receipt.

If I am buying makeup from somewhere like Sephora, I will be a bit more impulsive. I have confidence in their return policy (and I have confidence in my own understand of my skin tones and the colors/scents I like to wear) but very rarely do I have to return even an impulse buy.

Skincare is a different matter - I am much more focused on taking care of my skin now than I was ten years ago so I always research products to find ones that best suit my needs.

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I feel the same way with Sephora!  I make purchases more I think because I know if it doesn't work out, I can just return it!

For expensive purchases, I always ALWAYS read reviews online. Lately, I've been watching youtube reviews & first impressions. Of course, I look for the ones that I know are youtube-famous and know how to properly review something. It helps, especially for foundation. I mostly look for whether or not this product works with oily skin, as that is my only real concern. I never buy something high-end on impulse, I am very good about doing my homework before buying /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

HOWEVER.. drugstore is where I get impulsive. I've managed to cut back and now I only get stuff when there is a sale at Ulta. That's a good rule for myself that I stick to. It must be on sale and I bring the coupon from the Ulta website! The reason I go there is because that and Target are the only place around here that have NYX. That brand is frequently on a 40% off or buy one get one half off.

When shopping online for a specific product, I always check around 10-15 different websites to check if anyone has a sale. I follow blogs like Nouveau Cheap, and I get high-end things from blogsales by bloggers I trust as often as I can. I only buy Sephora online when I have a good code.

turntrekgodhead said:

When shopping online for a specific product, I always check around 10-15 different websites to check if anyone has a sale. I follow blogs like Nouveau Cheap, and I get high-end things from blogsales by bloggers I trust as often as I can. I only buy Sephora online when I have a good code.

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YES, I love Nouveau Cheap! She's so great at monitoring deals and I love her "spottings". 

I'm usually shopping for something specific, but if I don't read reviews by beauty bloggers first I get super overwhelmed when I wander down the aisles in drugstores or Sephora. 

I research like crazy. I especially try to find reviews/swatches by people with my coloring...like, Temptalia is great, but nothing is going to look the same on my pasty skin as it does on Christine's golden tan. I love Lisa Eldridge, Karima of Shameless Fripperies, and Kate of Drivel About Frivol...anything they write/say is pretty much gospel for me, lol.

Also, when looking for foundation, I swipe a swatch that goes from top of arm to underside of arm, then blend out just one side of it, THEN let it sit for at least 5 minutes while I shop. That way I can see how it looks at varying degrees of coverage as well as how much it oxidizes (I have a huge issue with this!).

Hi There,

I really appricites with your stuff about Makeup and i got lot points which i really like in your post. Thanks

 I check reviews and watch YT videos made by people who actually wear a new product for at least a week before they review. First impression vids are fun, but not exactly helpful in helping me decide to make a purchase. If it's for a lip color I watch vids with people with deeply pigmented lips like mine, for the rest I look for my fellow pasty white types.

  Sales and coupons are my friends, and I always put off any Estee Lauder or Clinique purchases until a good GWP comes along. I love reading everyone tips!

Makeupalley. 

But I generally try to phase out all the 'extreme' reviews, meaning if I read enough positives and factor that in with the number of reviews in total, it's a sure fire bet.

I rarely do samples.  Girl doesn't have time for that lol.  I go in for the kill with the full price.

I research the crap out of things before I buy.  YouTube videos, swatches, blog reviews.  It makes it easier for me to justify my purchases when I've taken the time to do my homework.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

When I get my makeup done by a Sephora employee, if I love a product they've used, I rarely buy it right then in the store.  I'll get a sample of it and try it out myself at home.  Reason being I want to make sure that it still works well the way I apply it, which may be different than the way the Sephora employee applied it.

If I love something at Nordstrom or Ulta and Sephora also sells it, I wait and buy it on the Sephora site when I get home.  I want my points!  Haha.

That eyeliner trick is a really good idea. shall use it next time. thanks.

but like what everyone say, i would research/google the items(s) and read different reviews from different sites and if they have pictures to go with it, even better! i also watch on youtube for reviews from different people and their thoughts. i like youtube gurus that would show the start to finish of the products when they wearing it and have constant updates every few hours...

sometimes, i would go to sephora (or ulta) and ask for a sample to try...if i like, i'll get it later, if i don't...oh well..didn't spent any cents on it so.. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />