Anonymous wrote:When my teen started buying this stuff, it didn't taper off. There are now so many little bottles and jars in the bathroom.
Not a makeup mom so I dont really understand it.

Me either. But this isn’t entirely some new “influencer” thing as some other posters have noted. Teen Magazine was telling us what to buy in the 80s. Having a million expensive things is because access is easier and those of us posting are usually in a higher income demographic.

When my daughter was this age I took her to Bobbi Brown for a full make up lesson and we got a few key pieces of makeup. My reasoning (which worked well) was that BB's slogan was "You Only Better" and the effect would be along those same lines.

I have never heard of CVS taking back opened makeup. Nor would I try that.

This is their policy
https://www.cvs.com/retail/help/return_policy#100_satisfaction_guarantee
Be 100% happy or receive 100% money back on any beauty products. If you're dissatisfied for any reason, you can return the beauty product (opened or unopened) along with your receipt or invoice to any CVS Pharmacy store.

Regarding color matching it isn't that hard.

As a teen girl, I would go to a big Target-sized drugstore section and look at all the makeup lines until I found the less-scented "clean" lines. I used to use Neutrogena, Cover Girl, Revlon, and Almay. Then I would hold up the bottles against the inside of my wrist. Apparently the color of your skin plus how visible your veins are and what color they are (wrist is good for showing veins) gives an idea of whether you have a warm or cool toned complexion.

There are usually only a few colors in any product line that will be close to your natural shade. That's true for foundation and concealer both.

Now for concealer, the next decisions relate to what you are concealing. If it's redness from pimples you need a different tone to cancel out redness (the concealer color adds a color which blocks/blends with the red to reach the illusion of the basic skin tone). If it's dark eye circles, I think you pick a lighter color. It would be easy to get the details on the web if you specify the purpose.

I recommend drugstore cosmetics for experimentation. There truly isn't much difference in ingredients between cheap and expensive makeup. It's reasonable to try a few different shades and have them not work out.

I have never heard of CVS taking back opened makeup. Nor would I try that.

Anonymous wrote:When my teen started buying this stuff, it didn't taper off. There are now so many little bottles and jars in the bathroom.
Not a makeup mom so I dont really understand it.

It’s from social media. They watch these beautiful influencers putting on full faces of makeup and think they need all the things. And no, drugstore makeup won’t do because that isn’t what the influencers are hawking. Do not buy into this garbage, OP.

Anonymous wrote:She’s 14. Why concealer? She is likely watching too much Instagram/social media stuff. If she has blemishes or acne she wants to cover- address skin care and get her to a dermatologist. Otherwise she doesn’t need concealer and I’d be probing what media she is consuming

+1000

Anonymous wrote:People who wear make up, NEED make up.

It weighs down the skin and causes it to sag.

Buy her those little stickers that dry up acne that’s all she needs at this age

I was also going to ask if it was undereye concealer or pimple concealer that was wanted.

I wish the hydrocolloid stickers existed when I was a teen. They work perfect on my skin. Most of what I used in my teens didn't work at all.

They are cheapest in bulk from less famous brands on Amazon. I do not find the famous brands to perform better.

Getting individual pimples to shrink and heal is important for putting on foundation evenly if going for a full face of makeup. I never found spot sticks or other painted or dotted concealers to do that well on my skin because I had lumpy pimples with broken skin that would look flakier with any substance applied on top.

Sephora can be a good place to start but the makeup can be pricey there for trial and error. The salespeople can suggest colors and types of concealer for her to try (different levels of coverage, finish type) but then go to CVS and find a couple affordable options using what you learn at Sephora. Also, she can ask the Sephora salesperson for samples of the concealers she’s most interested in. That can also be a nice way to try different products.

For dark circles I recommend Bobbi Brown color corrector stick. NARs has nice concealer and foundation.

When my teen started buying this stuff, it didn't taper off. There are now so many little bottles and jars in the bathroom.
Not a makeup mom so I dont really understand it.

Why does she think she needs that?
Unless she’s performing on a lit stage, she doesn’t need that. Certainly not at her age.

The thing is that Sephora is expensive and I'd hate to start a 14 year old on an addiction there. Ulta has more affordable options, or better yet, just take her to CVS and let her buy a bunch of different ones - they allow returns on gently used products.

People who wear make up, NEED make up.

It weighs down the skin and causes it to sag.

Buy her those little stickers that dry up acne that’s all she needs at this age

Food for thought. I have always had dark circles under my eyes. I started wearing concealer as a freshman in hs. Now, I have of many lines under my eyes from what I assume is years of putting on concealer. My sister who looks just like me and has the same skin has the circles, but never used concealer and has perfect skin under her eyes and the dark circles really aren't that noticeable on either of us.

Not that DD is going to care about that at this age. But I would make sure whoever is teaching her uses a creamy concealer and teaches DD how to pat gently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s 14. Why concealer? She is likely watching too much Instagram/social media stuff. If she has blemishes or acne she wants to cover- address skin care and get her to a dermatologist. Otherwise she doesn’t need concealer and I’d be probing what media she is consuming

Nobody asked you to weigh in on whether or not it's a good idea. This is a very common interest at 14. He asked for help on where to start. Butt out.

+100