I have a few rules about where and how I shop. I trust certain brands and I shop certain stores because I trust the staff and the brand. Trust is a difficult thing to come by in the world of retail, but when you find that you can trust a brand, you will be loyal to that brand no matter what.
I’m 47 and the beauty industry is nothing like what it was when I was in my 20s. I shopped at CVS, bought cheap mascara and some eyeshadows and called it a day. As I got older, I looked to department store makeup counters, like my mother had, to show me which foundation to use, maybe get some eye cream. I found these interactions frustrating. When they did my makeup, I looked nothing like myself (in a bad way) and they were always looking to upsell me more products.
In my 40s, as the 20-something beauty bloggers have taken over YouTube and Instagram with crazy makeup tutorials about cat eyes, liquid liner and contouring, I felt old, and unhip and ignorant. I started looking to the tween daughters of friends for advice and laughing because their smooth, young skin bears no resemblance to my 47-year-old complexion. When I was a teenager, I had blemish-free skin, now, suddenly, I have adult acne, rosacea, dry and sensitive skin and yea, wrinkles. I was attempting to cover all this up with foundation, then buying primer because the makeup counter lady told me to, concealer from another recommendation, face oil from someone else’s advice – all to no avail. My foundation caked and flaked and all the blemishes showed through anyway. The pores on my nose were accentuated rather than minimized. I wanted to cry.
I stepped into a Sephora with this disaster on my face and stared at a wall of foundation and concealer til a nice sales lady asked me if I needed help. On the verge of tears, I said, yes…I can’t seem to keep this from happening when I apply my foundation – and I showed her my face. Can you recommend a primer or concealer or something that will cover this up? I asked her in desperation. She said, quietly, that I didn’t need more product. What? Yup, no. She asked how I was applying it. I told her I was using a little sponge. She nodded. She suggested a foundation brush. It was a revelation. I hadn’t even considered the tool I was using to apply it with was the problem. She suggested wetting the brush with water lightly, then applying the foundation to the edges and lightly tapping on my face. She even taught me how to hold it so I applied the correct amount of pressure. She explained using more products was only making it worse. I wanted to hug her. She could have sold me any number of products and I would have bought them all in a desperate attempt to fix my problems, but her honesty endeared me and made me a loyal customer.
The brush she sold me, the PRO liquid foundation brush in #63 is a miracle tool! I did what she told me, and my foundation went on smoothly and lightly yet covered up the redness, the adult acne and the uneven skin tone.
