I thought this would be fun to kind of look back into this hole of doom (i.e. makeup obsession) and think of five things I wish I knew before I took the plunge.
Research is your best friend.
Trawling the WWW in the dead of the night and reading reviews without taking much in is not research. Take note of colors that work well on you—don’t be happy with “it swatches well” as a criteria. Think of what you, as a person, would like to wear on a daily basis and then take it from there.
Hype fades away.
Refrain from letting yourself being swept away by the newest fad or product. Sometimes, you’ll run into a few gems—ahem, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder—but hyped products are usually things you can live without. Be smart and level-headed about your purchases and consumption.
Don’t always just base your opinions on a collection.
I know, I know. This is your favorite thing about makeup—when the collections make sense and look whole and well thought-out. The problem is that makeup should, in theory, be useful to you. Take product you are salivating over out of the context of a collection and ask these questions: Does it still work for you? Would you wear it by itself?
Just because something works so well for someone, it doesn’t mean it will work out as well with you.
Again, be discerning! Sometimes a product will look good when you try it on your arm, but won’t perform as well. Don’t be in denial. If a product is crap and doesn’t work for you, don’t pretend that it does. Give it away to someone who will like it more.
You won’t know unless you try.
Again, something to consider. You used to be scared of oranges and pinks, but now you kind of like them a lot? Maybe purples are next. You won’t know unless you try… but remember that you don’t have to try everything.
What are your five things?
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Softly Sometimes 
My main “I wish I knew” when it comes to beauty stuff is “I wish I knew that application methods made a difference”. Back when I was just starting out with skin care products (maybe five years ago, haha) I would be all slap-dash and not consider the amount I used (often too much) or the manner with which I applied (slathering without waiting for the product to absorb properly, and then piling everything on).
The same is true with concealer. I bought the Skinfood Salmon Under Eye Concealer years ago but hated it. Turns out it was because I was piling it on — all over my under eye area — so it would crease and settle into lines and make my eye bags look worse. I bought it again last week and it’s working so much better because I’m now applying thinly and BLENDING properly. I think back and sometimes I feel bad that I threw out so many products because “they weren’t working” when it’s likely that user error is the major culprit.
Ah, this so much! You’re right haha. I’ve recently been adopting the “thin layers” thing, too, and yes. I think concealer is such a tricky product to work with if you’re a beginner. Especially with all those colored ones out now, haha.