How to buy makeup online…even if you are clueless

I am really embarrased to say this, but I haven’t bought makeup in years. Infact, I still used my contour powder from 7 years ago up until weeks before writing this!

7 years people! 7 years! *face palm*

I am aware that this is an utterly shameful admission, talk less of how unhygenic it is but I have a good explanation.

The last time I got excited about buying makeup was actually about 7 years ago when I was going to meet my husband for the first time.

I saved and researched so much till my eyes hurt. I watched every beauty tutotrial I could find and I even remember emailing beauty gurus on product recommendations. Of course they ignored me. Haha

I also worked as a lifestyle journalist and got invited to many press events. I got a ton of free products so I didn’t really see the need to buy.

Then I moved to London and if you know how isolating it feels to live here, you know that there is bareely any need to wear makeup.

But I woke up one day and finally decided to toss the junk in my makeup bag. It gave me a chance to get excited about buying makeup again, learning about new products and just enjoy the high we all get from shopping.

If you are like me and you haven’t shopped for makeup in what seems like forever, you might feel like a deer in headlights. It took me two weeks to come up with products and shade matches.

So I know you will find this very helpful. Here’s my guide to shopping for makeup online if you are clueless:

Save makeup tutorials on Instagram

Everytime I come across someone talking about makeup on Instagram, I always save to my makeup folder so that I can reference later. This will prove so helpful when you eventually plan to buy because a lot of people that review makeup on Instagram typically list and tag the brands.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bisola Omoregha |MAKEUP ARTIST (@bregha) on Apr 1, 2020 at 7:54am PDT

Find makeup gurus and influencers you trust and watch their reviews

This is a no brainer but the first place you should check is Youtube. I always try to find gurus in my shade range just so shade matching is a little simpler.

Here are some of the gurus I watched while doing my research.

Jackie Aina, Dimma Umeh, Bregha, Dodos

Use Findation.com

Omg, I can’t believe how valuable this website and whoever came up with it deserves a big kiss. The way Findation works is, you select foundation/concealer shades you’ve used in the past that are a good match for your skin and it helps you find your match in other brands. Genius right?

Use Google Image search to see swatches

When I need to check and double-check a shade, I do a simple Google Image search to find swatches and dupes for products that I have either found on Instagram or these beauty gurus have recommended.

I know this is a lot of work, but you will find that it’s completely worth it because you won’t get the chance to return any opened makeup. Save your coins sis!

Ask for recommendations and read reviews

Lastly, you want to speak to your friends and family and ask for real recommendations. I call them real because the people we are in closest contact with are the best influencers. They will give you real, raw information without you ever wondering if they are getting paid for it.

For instance, my makeup artist friend told me about My Kit Co brushes and I am so glad I went with her recommendation. They are a mix of natural and synthetic brushes and even though they are not as popular, they are basically the same quality as MAC brushes.

Without further ado, here’s the list of makeup products I got.

MY MAKEUP HAUL

These are the makeup items I ended up purchasing.

LIPS

Nyx Lipliners in deep red, toast, espresso and mahogany
Nyx Butter gloss in madeleine, fortune cookie and eclair
Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid lipstick in Gilded and Naked
Fenty gloss bomb in Fussy

Happy shopping my dears,

Till next time!

Here's my guide to shopping for makeup online if you are clueless about makeup like me.

I share tips for finding your makeup shade match and more.

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