Makeup Lessons

For the past couple of months I've been wearing makeup nearly every day. Putting it on in the morning makes me feel just a little bit more in control, which is a nice way to start the day. It feels especially good when I manage to get my eyeliner perfectly symmetrical. And I've been having fun playing with colors and working out bold or subtle looks.

I've also learned a lot in my last couple of months of experimentation. Through signing up for Birchbox, reading various blogs, and just buying things that look interesting I've tried a bunch of different stuff. Here are some of my key lessons:

BB Cream is amazing. What is BB Cream? Yeah, for a long time I didn't know either. It was just this thing that everyone was talking about everywhere. One of those mysteries that everyone seemed to be in on except for me. It turns out that it's a magical combination of moisturizer, sunscreen, and foundation. So instead of looking for a moisturizer and foundation that work well together, or trying to remember to put on sunscreen *before* foundation (or at all, let's be honest), you just put this on and you're done. It has less coverage than actual foundations, but I like that it looks a bit more natural.

All mascaras are not created equal. For the longest time I thought mascara was just mascara and would just buy the cheapest one. But then I started wearing it more often, because I liked the look. And then I started losing eyelashes and no amount of makeup remover would get it off so I'd wake up every morning with raccoon eyes. Then I upgraded to something just a little more expensive and those problems vanished. It was like magic.

Eyeshadow Primer is your friend. What? Why do you need primer for your eyeshadow? I'll tell you why. It keeps it there longer. And okay, I don't actually use real primer. I get that color tattoo cream shadow from Maybelleine in neutral or white and put it on under my color of choice. And then it stays on all day long. I can go to work for eight hours, head to the gym and work up a sweat, then rinse off in the shower, and my eyeshadow will still be perfect. No runs or weird color uneveness. Also the white base makes the colors I use pop just a little more.

Exfoliate! Okay, this one's less about makeup and more about proper skin care, something I never really paid attention to until I started caking my face with makeup every day. But I got a sample from Birchbox so I started using it. Within a few days the blackheads on my nose, the ones that have been living there stubbornly since I was in high school and that I barely even saw anymore, just straight up disappeared. It was incredible. So, yeah, exfoliate. Take care of your face.