Day 02 : How did you learn to put on makeup?

Through a lot of trial and error!  During my middle and high school years (back in the late 90s, heh), I was subscribed to Seventeen magazine and a few other “teen” magazines.  They were quite helpful with tips, tricks and techniques.  Also, as I mentioned in my previous post, I basically only used lip products and pressed powder. It wasn’t until my Junior year of high school that I got into such things like foundation, liner and eye shadows (very minimal).  I wasn’t one to put on loads of makeup for school, just the basics.  Upon looking back at my high school photos, I did wear a lot of red lipstick heh.  My go-to shade was Revlon’s Toast of New York lipstick and I still have a soft spot for it.

I also didn’t really get into full on makeup (that is, checking out tutorials and buying/collecting high end makeup) until my 20s. Sure I like to experiment with different looks but in the end I’m more of a neutral/natural makeup kind of girl. I don’t like to have a full face of makeup on unless I’m going somewhere special.  These days, I enjoy checking out tutorials on YouTube as well as the tried and true fashion and beauty magazines for inspiration and application techniques.

Day 1  – When did you start putting on makeup?

It wasn’t until I was maybe 11 or 12.  My parents weren’t strict or anything when it came to things like that but my older half-sisters didn’t live with us (long, complicated story) and my mom, to this day, doesn’t use any makeup (she’s a big believer of moisturizer though!) so I didn’t really have anyone to show me or steal makeup from heh.

I do recall, I started getting into the world of beauty products by way of perfume. I used to spritz myself with my mom’s perfume when I was a wee little tot. This probably why I like to collect perfume, too! But that’s a whole other challenge. Let’s get back to the question!

I remember gravitating towards  lip products because they were easy. I mean, at that age, you can’t go wrong with Bonne Bell Lipsmackers and CoverGirl LipSlicks, right?  Of course now there are all sorts of fun flavors and shades to choose from.  I had quite a few lip products and used them often. I do still have more of an affinity for lip products than say, eye shadows. To me, lipsticks and glosses are a lot more fun because you can change shades throughout the day. ;)

After establishing my lipgloss addiction, I headed towards compacts.  I picked up a CoverGirl pressed powder compact at a friend’s suggestion.  I still remember the shade I chose, Buff Beige, which was surprisingly pretty close to my skintone heh.  This was around the time I started middle school and my friends and I loved to pour over magazines and get dolled up. I was actually a loyal CoverGirl user back then and went on to purchase, try out and use their whole line.  I was a big fan of their Clean Makeup foundation for a while until I discovered high-end makeup.

So there you go, now you know how my makeup addiction started. ;)

As much as I love experimenting and trying out new makeup products, I haven’t bought anything related to makeup in the last few months. Quite shocking, I know. ;)  I have way too much make up (for one person) and have gone through my vanity a few times to toss out the ones I no longer am fond of or use. Some people prefer to swap or sell their “gently used” make up but personally, I think that’s kind of gross. No amount of “sterilizing” is going to make me purchase used makeup – it’s just a personal thing heh.

Anyway, I thought I’d show you guys the products I use whenever I’m planning to go anywhere (otherwise I go sans makeup and just use moisturizer). You can call these my ‘holy grails’ or my makeup staples. Either way, they’re currently my faves and it’s really hard for me to stray from them because they just work with everything.

Listed in order of application:

Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture Face Lotion (Sensitive Skin)
MUFE HD Microperfecting Primer
L’Oreal True Match Foundation in W4 or N4 (sometimes combined)
MUFE Camouflage Cream Concealer  in No. 15
Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer in Medium Light
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
MUFE HD Microfinish Powder
Maybelline Expert Eyes Pencil in Charcoal Grey (for brows)
Nars Blush in Angelica or Deep Throat
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly or Bare Canvas
MAC Pigment in Shimmertime or Dazzleray
MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara in Black
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara in Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Liners in Bourbon, Lucky, Baked or Honey
MUFE Aqua Eyes Liner in 10 Black

Obviously, I don’t use all of these at the same time heh. I mix and match.  My standouts are the Urban Decay eyeliners as they double as a base for some of my eye shadows.  As you can probably tell, I use the Bourbon shade often. I’ll need to pick up another one of those soon!

Another staple of mine that’s not shown here is Dior Diorshow Mascara, I ran out recently and I need to get another tube next time I’m at the mall.  Also not shown is what I use for/on my lips; that’s a whole other post altogether so that’ll be up sometime soon. ;)