Our first purchases were, tellingly, positioned right by the front door. An anti-redness primer and an illuminating primer, respectively. I don’t think I fully understood what a primer was, and I’ve used it maybe five times. So, learn from us, because we’ve definitely made mistakes. “Start with the absolute basics,” Auckland-based freelance makeup artist Shane Cyrus says. “You don’t need an all-over foundation. Skin can be natural and you can get the smallest amount of correction by using small amounts of concealer. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images You really only need a couple of brushes to begin with.