I actually only started wearing make-up when I was fifteen, in my last year of High School, which isn't that late in the grand scheme of things, however, it is in this day and age, especially as a lot of people in my school were wearing it in their first year. I began wearing make-up because I was becoming increasingly insecure about my skin and suffered badly with acne, therefore, my Mum and I took a trip to the Clinique counter in Debenhams and they sorted me out.
The lady matched my skin tone for foundation, applied it to my face and I walked outside feeling like a new person - it was amazing how much better I felt and I didn't even have a full face of make-up on or that much foundation. Foundation was the first proper make-up I started using, well, unless you count those glittery lipglosses that you get free in magazines when you're seven years old. So, I thought I compile a list of things to consider if you're buying your first foundation. It can be pretty daunting and you're left a little overwhelmed as you stare at them all thinking, "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS AND WHAT COULD THEY POSSIBLY ALL DO?!" But don't worry, you'll soon get the hang of it!

Here are just a few things that I learnt through my first foundation buying experience...

1) Make sure it matches your skin tone!!!!
I think this is probably the biggest point. It's important to ensure your foundation shade matches your actually skin tone, and match it to your neck, not your face, as one may be slightly darker and you want it all to blend in nicely and look as flawless as possible! So, don't test it on the back of your hand or your cheek, blob a bit on your neck and then make sure it matches before buying it. It's a good idea to either take somebody with you to help you so they can give a second opinion or then go out into daylight and look in a compact mirror, as make-up shops can have some pretty dodgy, yellow lighting! Honestly, my best advice would be to get a professional to colour match you. Don't feel intimidated by them or scared that they'll laugh at you - they're there to help! Plus, it is so much less hassle and it's much better to spend a little more time having someone match your skin tone correctly than buy a foundation that is totally the wrong shade and waste your money!

2) Start out cheap.
This one is all down to personal preference, although, if you're just getting into make-up, maybe don't splash out on a high-end foundation straight away. You can if you want to, however, I would say it's better to start off with something from the Drugstore, for a number of reasons. Firstly, you don't know if you'll actually get along with foundation and may end up wanting to go for something lighter, like a tinted moisturiser or BB cream, you may not end up liking the high end foundation you've chosen either and you don't want to waste your money. As you start getting more into make-up and experimenting, by all means go for the fancy stuff, but, personally, I would say it's better to spend £10 on a foundation and end up hating it than throw away over £40 on the stuff and really dislike it. Plus, if you go for a Drugstore foundation, you'll have more money left over to spend on other bits and bobs! I did go or a higher end option, (forever the hypocrite, sorry) but can't for the life of me remember how much my Clinique foundation was. However, I was advised to choose this brand by family and my make-up was from their 'Anti-Blemish' range, as they specialise in skincare, so if you're looking for something to do a specific job and cover certain things on your skin, not just even out your skin tone, make sure you go for a right brand, which leads me on to my next point...

3) Make sure what you buy works well for your skin.
It's all very well just buying a foundation that you've seen advertised on TV or that all of your favourite beauty bloggers have hyped up, however, not every foundation will work well for you and your skin. Make sure you know your skin type and then look at which products will complement it. No matter whether your skin is oily, dry or both, acne prone, redness prone, scared, has blemishes there will be something out there which will work for you! Also, certain brands specialise in doing different things. Like I said, Clinique have great skincare products and so have liquid make-up which will help hide 'imperfections' without doing any damage to your skin, so I would always recommend them. But just shop around and maybe do a little bit of research before just jumping straight in.

4) Think about how much coverage you want.
I guess this follows on from the previous point, but make sure you know how much coverage you want your foundation to give before buying. Do you want light coverage, medium coverage or high coverage? It all depends on what you reckon you'll get along best with and what sort of look you want. If you want a more natural finish, perhaps to show you're freckles, got for light coverage, for an airbrushed but not too heavy look, go for medium, and if you want to cover acne and want a heavy coverage, go for high coverage. Different foundations give different amounts of coverage so look out for that on the packaging! The last thing you want is to go out on the hunt for a foundation to cover acne and scarring and accidentally come home with one only designed to even out redness!

5) Wear the foundation in - get used to it!
If you've never worn foundation before, it will probably feel a little strange on your skin the first few times you wear it - I know I found it rather odd not just being able to rub my eyes or scratch my face whenever I had an itch! So, just take some time to get used to it! Wear your foundation around the house on lazy days and it'll soon start to feel more comfortable. Also, practise applying it too, which, once again, leads onto my next bullet point...

6) Figure out how you want to apply it.
Despite what the interwebs try to tell you, you don't need a fancy schmancy make-up brush to apply your foundation with. Try applying it in different ways and you'll soon figure out how you want to do it. Some people do it with their fingers and it looks amazing and takes no time at all to apply, perhaps that will work for you! If not, maybe try a make-up sponge or a brush? There are a lot of different types and brands of make-up brushes out there, all for a variety of prices, so just have fun experimenting, read some reviews, watch some YouTube make-up tutorials, and you'll soon pick it up. Additionally, practice makes perfect so don't worry if your foundation doesn't look flawless the first time you apply it. Don't worry if it's a bit streaky or patchy! Like I say, you'll soon get the hand of things. I know that blending foundation is now second nature to me!

I really hope some of those tips helped slightly! If you're thinking of buying foundation, just keep having a play around with different ones and you'll find your perfect one eventually. I have been through so many but have finally found one which I love completely! Watch YouTube tutorials, read beauty blog posts, ask questions to the experts, don't worry as everyone feels a little confused at first! Good luck!