How to Get Started with Makeup if You're Brand New
Are you brand new to makeup and feel like you have no clue where to start?
If you're newbie to makeup, it can be super overwhelming to know where to start, but you're absolutely not alone and.. You are definitely in the right place!
Melissa Murdick is a celebrity makeup artist in Los Angeles, and in this tutorial she gives you a systematic way to start to learn (and practice!) makeup.
Step 1: Learn the basics
The very first thing that you need to do if you're new to makeup is to tune out all the noise: do not head straight into a giant makeup store like Sephora and then wander around like a very very lost puppy.
Don't start watching tutorials from beauty gurus that talk about a hundred different products and makeup brushes.
Buying products you don't know how to use and then piecing together tidbits of information from various sources is just a terrible way to learn something.
Think about it: if you want to learn something like playing an instrument, you just buy a brand new guitar and start asking strangers for advice? Hopely not!
You'll probably learn the basics from a teacher and then you'll use this foundation of knowledge to build your skills and understanding until you become a master.
Learning makeup is really the exact same process and in your case your very first teacher is going to be a book.
As it turns out, old school reading is still the best way to learn the fundamentals of something all in one place. Old school is the new new school. So don't sleep on this!
You can pick up one of these books (highly recommended by Melissa herself!):
Bobby Brown's Makeup Manual
Jenna Kid Makeup Masterclasses
Iman's The Beauty of Color
and read it cover to cover.
Because makeup changes quickly and some of the information is a tiny bit dated, you can also check out the beauty dictionary Melissa created for The Pretty Fix that explains current makeup products in depth.
The goal for you right now is to learn:
what the different products are
what the products are used for
how they are applied
Step 2: Buying your first products
Once you've got a basic understanding of makeup, it's time to finally buy a few products and start practicing, which is the fun part!
You can either buy a few of the products that you find most interesting or you could buy kind of a beginner set of makeup, so that you have a little bit of everything to get started with.
If you want a full beginner set of makeup and you want to have somewhere to start, here are some great and inexpensive options Melissa recommends for everyone:
Foundation (Covergirl Trublend Foundation )
Concelear ( L'Oreal Full Wear Concealer )
Loose Powder ( NYX HD Powder )
Eyeshadow Palette / filled with natural colors ( NYX Ultimate Eyeshadow Palette or Tarte in Bloom Eyeshadow Palette )
Brown or black Pencil Eyeliner ( Maybelline Tattoo Studio Eyeliner )
Black Mascara ( L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara )
Blush ( E.L.F. Blush Palette )
a Lip product the same as your natural lip color, or a shade darker or brighter ( E.L.F. Studio Matte Lip Color , Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm )
To apply these lovely products you should invest in a beauty sponge for your foundation and a small set of brushes that has at least a few eyeshadow brushes and a blush and powder blush.
When you'll be shopping for these items you'll still probably gonna feel a little uncertain and kind of feel like you have no idea what the heck you're doing or whether or not any of these products are gonna be any good (that's pretty normal!) BUT trial and error is a part of the makeup process and you're gonna learn more and more what you like the longer you work with makeup.
Right now, it's all about getting something you can build upon. You're venturing into new territory so it's okay to be a little (or A LOT!) unsure of yourself.
Just take the first steps and things will keep getting better and better from here!
Step 3: Practice, practice, practice!
Most people are making a huge mistake when they're trying something new with makeup: they're only practicing by doing their makeup right before they have to leave the house.
This puts so much pressure on you to look good and it sets you up to be pretty stressed and pretty frustrated if you don't get something right.
As a beginner there gonna be a few things that you can't nail on the first try! A way better way to go about this is to practice in your spare time when you can actually relax and enjoy the process.
If you decide to purchase the list of items recommended by Melissa, you can watch this tutorial where she shows you how to put all these products together into a full look.
If you feel confused about how to use any specific product you're trying, try to find a tutorial that demonstrates that product only.
A quick search on YouTube will fill any information gaps you're coming across.
These beginner style tutorials are always a lot better than watching people bang out these really complicated full looks, especially if their makeup is very glam and very over-the-top!
Anytime you're practicing, don't forget to take a step back and assess your results. Make note of the things you did well and kind of notice the areas you're struggling with and keep working on those.
By paying attention, you'll definitely see progress and also know what to work on next.
Once you've gotten started with makeup in a systematic way, you're gonna feel a lot more confident as you start to branch out and try some new things.
Melissa Murdick is a celebrity makeup artist in Los Angeles. She has been doing makeup for over 18 years professionally and she has worked with international celebrities like Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Kim Petras, Doja Cat and others. She has also been a makeup instructor at the LGBT+ Center's Trans Lounge in LA. She gives pro makeup advices in her IG , YouTube and TikTok and she has also created her website: The Pretty Fix , exclusively for the trans community. Check her profiles to find her free tips and classes, her courses and her one-on-one couching offers.
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