FAN MAIL FRIDAYS: Best eyeliner for newbies, lip products for dry lips, and on Acidic Skin

Hello guys! Welcome to my late Fan Mail Fridays segment. Was buried under a pile of work yesterday and decided to spend the night getting my nails done and my brows groomed at Browhaus. I also ended the night with a nice dinner and mini hauling with my mom. How's your Friday? Excited for the long weekend? :)

We have two questions from The Beauty Junkee's avid readers, Judy and Gen-Zel.

Hi Miss Martha!

I really enjoy reading your blog posts because I gain information about make-ups. I just want to ask, what would you prefer to use, gel liner or liquid eyeliner? I am still practicing on putting make-up and I am having a hard time deciding on what eyeliner I should buy. Should I buy a pencil or liquid eyeliner? So, as a make-up guru, what specific product can you suggest Miss Martha?

I still have another question. I really have dry and cracking lips and every time I put on lipstick, my lips will get dry. I am currently using lip balm but that doesn't help me. So what specific brand of lipstick can you suggest for my dry lips? And please suggest an affordable one. Hehehe! Thank you so much miss Martha. Looking forward to your answer. :D

Judy

Hi Judy!

Beginners will fare well with liquid and eye pencils. They're the easiest to use and are quite foolproof. Choice depends on you. If you want a nice patent- like shine on your lids, use liquid eyeliner. If you want an au naturel look, go for pencil eyeliner. Personally, I prefer pencil eyeliners because they're easier to use and control than liquid eyeliner. :)

Regarding my preference, I love gel liners primarily because they're very pigmented, easier to manipulate, and I like the feeling of using a brush. I like using liquid and pencil eyeliners for variety, but I always find myself going back to using gel eyeliners. I wouldn't really recommend gel liners to you (unless you can multitask) because unlike using liquid and pencil eyeliners, your momentum gets interrupted every now and then because you'd have to dip your brush in the pot and put eyeliner on your lids and vice versa, and I know some newbies who really lose it once their focus is disturbed. And since you're a newbie, application time might take a while because you're trying to familiarize yourself with two separate tools. The beauty of liquid and pencil eyeliners is that they're faster to use, and you get to focus on creating flawless lines rather than the tools. Start with them first. You can always advance to more complicated eyelining tools given that you're already good at it. :)

SPEND: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Pencil

PROS: Very pigmented; silky smooth; soft; long lasting

CONS: Expensive

SAVE: Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner

PROS: Has a smudging tool; has good quality in spite of its affordability; inexpensive

CONS: Pencil is scratchy; does not last long

ON DRY LIPS

- Make it a habit to scrub your lips with an emollient scrubber such as Go Naturals! Sugar Lip Scrub. Do it twice a week, preferably during night time. After scrubbing, apply an emollient lip balm on your lips liberally so it will help heal your lips overnight. If you can't find this product, I have an alternative and it is my Homemade Lip Scrub.

If you want to look for other brands, make sure that the texture is not too gritty, and as much as possible, go for the unscented and all natural ones.

Here are some products that you could check out:

Revlon's Just Bitten Lip Stains have the texture of lipbalms, pigmentation of lipsticks, and staying power of lip tints. You might want to try this out because honestly, your severely dry lips won't really allow you to wear lipstick most of the time. :(

Or if you really, really wanna wear lipstick, go for the ones in creamy and glossy finishes. Maybelline is a good and affordable brand so please check it out.

You might also want to check out VMV Hypoallergenics' lipstick lines, particularly the Velvet Matte line. It's one of the best and non- drying matte lipsticks I've ever used. It's quite costly but as as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the gentlest matte lipsticks in the market.

Last question is by Gen-Zel:

Hi Ms. Martha,

Your blog has been part of my morning routine the moment I get in front of my laptop. I like the way you answer questions by your readers. I have this problem: everytime I apply foundation or sometimes even bb cream, after a while, it will look dark on my skin. I think it oxidizes? Can you suggest anything that I can do to avoid it? Or whatever I can do to solve it. I have combination to oily skin.

Thanks Ms M! More power to your blog. :)

xoxo,

Gen-zel

Hi Gen-Zel!

Looks like you have Acidic Skin because in general, most people with Acidic skin suffer from the same problem as yours. FYI, Most people with Acidic Skin are the ones with Combination-Oily skin types.

I'm not really sure if you can avoid Acidic skin, but I know how you can manage it. Here's how:

To prevent your foundation shade from oxidizing, get a foundation shade that's two shades lighter than your skintone. So if your foundation starts to oxidize within the day, the color will still end up at your desired and ideal foundation shade match.

You may also seek the help of face primers to help makeup adhere better to your skin. Face Primers will also help keep oil at bay. Make sure you do a patch test first before purchasing! :)

Disclaimer: Some photos are not mine. If any of these photos is yours, please call my attention by commenting below so I could give you due credit. :)

Thank you for the questions girls and have a great long weekend everybody! :)

**Got a burning question about makeups, skin care products, beauty, dieting, and health tips, relationships, and whatever? Just send them to martha.stabarbara@yahoo.com or shoot 'em up at The Beauty Junkee's FB Fan Page via the MESSAGE button and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. (Please, do not send me Math- related queries. :D)