What a fun topic, hehe! I don’t really know what prompted me to write this, but I thought it would be an interesting topic to put into words. I’ve had lots of thoughts about makeup over the years as to what I think is acceptable and what is not. I finally took the time to jot down my ideas, and I hope you enjoy reading! (Note: I broke this up into two parts so that you wouldn’t get bored with the length of it. This first part consists of my story of learning to use makeup, and the following post will be about my personal thoughts and opinions on girls wearing makeup in general.)
When I was younger, I remember not having a care in the world towards makeup or most anything girly, for that matter. Most of you may find this surprising, but I actually used to be quite the tom-boy when I was 8-12ish. But then again, I went through so many freaking phases when I was little, it’s hard (and also somewhat inaccurate) to summarize my younger years by simply saying, “I was a tom-boy”. It’s honestly pretty ridiculous the different phases I went through and how hard-core I was within each of them. I cringe when I think back to some (most) of them… But anyway, the point is, I didn’t even think about makeup or know what it really was for most of my childhood.
I can’t quite remember when exactly it was that I actually started to become curious about makeup and give it some thought. I do remember vaguely wondering what it was like to apply makeup for dance recitals since I would see the older girls putting it on before performances. But, it just didn’t appeal to me seeing as it took the girls so long to apply, and they always ended up looking nothing like themselves when they were done. (Little did I know there were differing levels of makeup, and that stage makeup is supposed to be heavy and noticeable.) So, even though by that point I knew what makeup was and how it worked, I still had no interest in it.
I started developing acne when I was around 13 or 14. Also around that same time, I discovered there was such a thing as a makeup product known as concealer. So, with my mom’s permission to use it occasionally, I would apply the tiniest of dabs to my acne spots here and there. I also would only do it on the days of the week that I would be seeing lots of people. And that’s all I stuck with for a couple years. When I was around 15, I learned about this thing that existed called mascara. By this point, my mom was completely fine with me starting to experiment with light makeup. And oh my, when I started using mascara, you couldn’t even tell. But I could tell. I thought it was so cool to wear mascara, but guys, I would literally just do one little swipe on each top eyelash and that was it!
I laugh when I think back to how ignorant I was about makeup products. But, I also am so grateful for how gradually I began using it. I think the best way to begin wearing makeup is by very slowly easing into it. The less you wear to start, the better! It honestly really worries me when I see 14, 13 or even 12 year old girls nowadays wearing a full face of makeup, using products that even I haven’t tried yet. They watch makeup tutorials and other videos all about how to apply and use makeup. I sure don't though! I laugh when I think about my journey in learning to use makeup.
Tutorials usually bore the heck of me so I had no interest in those. But, as a result of learning things on my own, I didn’t know the basic functions of many makeup products. Like, who in the world would use a paint brush on their face?! I just used my fingers to rub in my concealer, and remained baffled by how many brushes lined the shelves at Walmart. Why’s the brush so important?? Once I was around 16, I found out eyeshadow was pretty cool, but THANK THE GOOD LORD ABOVE I didn’t go nuts with it like I often see young girls do. I was nervous to use it, and therefore only applied it noticeably a handful of times that year.
Fast-forward to the beginning of 2017. I now was wearing mascara very noticeably on my top lashes but never on my bottom lashes because I swore I thought it made me look gothic, haha! My acne was at its height during this stage too. Luckily, I never had terrible acne, only on my forehead and chin mostly. Nevertheless, rather than using just concealer, I now was a using powdered foundation. I preferred using the powder form as it didn’t clog up my pores as much (plus, *cough cough* I still hardly owned any makeup brushes, which you need for applying liquid foundation).
I started wearing eye-liner, heavier eye shadow, and actually attempting to do my eyebrows for dance performances around this time too. I went through a phase of absolutely hating eye-liner and then the very next year, I went through another phase of wearing eye-liner (still only on the top lids) almost every day. (Again, I tell ya, the phases I go through are weird.) Wearing eye-liner almost every day took way longer to apply and, soon, I decided the look just didn’t suit me, I caved to my laziness, and quit wasting that extra time. So, by the time 2018 rolled around, I had settled into the makeup routine that I still have now, and, by that point, I had finally discovered the wonder of how brushes worked!
For those of you who care to know what my makeup routine consists of these days: I apply mascara to my top and bottom lashes. I use liquid foundation on my face, as this doesn’t dry out my skin like the powder did. Instead of using an eyebrow pencil or anything fancy, I use a brownish/gold eyeshadow to slightly color in my eyebrows (on the days I remember to). I use white eyeshadow on the top of my eyelid to brighten up my eyes. And lastly, I powder to help set my face and keep the liquid foundation looking nice throughout the day. That’s all I do and only on special occasions will I use eyeliner and darker eyeshadow to fill in my creases and further emphasize my eyes.
Also, I’m very proud to say I have never once gone to bed without washing all of my makeup off. (For those of you who don’t know, sleeping with makeup on is terrible for your skin..not to mention your pillowcase won’t be very happy either.) The other nice thing that’s happened recently is that my acne is finally clearing up and is now nearly gone. Therefore, I don’t use as much foundation as I used to-- in fact, some days I don’t wear foundation or concealer at all. And, there you have it. That’s my short(ish) story as to how I discovered makeup and learned to use it.
As I’ve grown up and experimented with makeup here and there, it’s been fun to see how some of my friends have gone about makeup in their own ways as well. I have many friends who, like me, wear a fair amount of makeup daily. Other friends of mine wear none at all. And then several others tend to wear heavier makeup and have fun regularly trying different products, colors, and overall looks. It’s additionally been enlightening to learn all of their various perspectives on makeup and talk about our personal thoughts on it. In the next blog post, I’ll be sharing my personal convictions and thoughts towards girls wearing makeup and, overall how I feel about it in the grand scheme of things.
Thanks for reading!