Makeup basics from a rookie

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the countless brands and selection in the makeup isles? I know that feeling quite well myself. I've always said it, I'm not a full makeup kind of woman! Seriously, I have always tried avoiding makeup because I suck at applying it, and suck even more at purchasing it.
 Over the years I've had my go-to basics, such as mascara and lip gloss; but as I grow more beautiful (that's right! I'm not growing older but rather more beautiful, (and I don't care who disagrees lol), but I know I need a few more 'touch-ups'. I've never liked seeing women with cakey faces, you know what I'm talking about, women who rather than enhancing their beauty, they completely change their faces with a TON of makeup. I'm not like that! and hope to never be.

I've been blessed with good skin (thanks mom and dad) however nature doesn't stop its course and has no reservation when it comes to giving us the good ol' aging process.  I've always hesitated to wearing makeup (other than mascara and lip gloss), but after seeing what a great job many of my friends do (particularly Sarah) I had to try a few things.

Here are some, rather inexpensive items I just purchased to 'try' and practice before committing to more pricey options (I mean, why spend money on great quality if I don't even know how to use it right?)

Here's what I purchased at Target:

Brow pencil (Rimmel), corrector (elf), triple eye  shadow (elf), & pore filler (NYX). I have always had visible pores and I wanted to see my options, since the one I used to wear for a while is a bit pricey.

Here's the face I started with (your eyes!!!!, I know) I do admit I was wearing a thin coat of mascara, I put it on as a habit before realizing I had to take my before pic aaaaannnnnd didn't really have a whole lot of time to wash my face again and start all over.

(The above pictures are my before)

I had nothing on my face other than that coat of mascara, and so it began. I used the pore filler first (light coat), let it set in a bit, then I used the corrector under my eyes and a bit on the eyelid, I started with a sponge and didn't like that it absorbed most of it, I tried a soft brush to finish and that helped better.

After the corrector I used my basics, True Match powder & a bit of bronzer below my cheekbone. Then came time for the scary part, defining and filling in my brows (I hated this part!) I like my natural brows, but they've always been thinner on the edges), I did very soft-short strokes up and to the side, I only did this to fill them in and not to draw new brows (I just can't see my face with full, unnatural brows). Then came the eye shadow, I have always loved natural and bronze colors, I used a bit at a time and blended the heck out of it :) don't ask what type of brush I used, I tried most of the ones I have.  And I finished with a natural lipstick my sister gifted me (from 'it' cosmetics) and another coat of mascara.

Here's what I ended with: 

All in all, I really liked the final result, it looks more put together but natural. My brows were a big difference and only by filling in a bit.

My honest two cents: if you are very new to makeup, or are trying to branch out into a new product, try one less expensive first, I'm finding out that often times they'll give you very similar results, I'm not about to dish out $20+ for a product I might not even like or use again (brow pencil for example!) so for $6 this was a great find, it was very soft and easy to apply too, keeper!. The corrector was not very easy to work with and I might not use it often (but hey but for $3 it was worth the practice!). The eye shadow was GREAT! and for $3, it's definitely a keeper! The pore filler ($14), was really good, but I'm not sure I'd let it and the concealer overlap because they left this cakey feeling and I had to wipe it off.

Four new products for me to try, and I liked them all. Good buys and at a great price.