I was, like, not made to live without a beauty team. I guess I can do my own nails, but it’s really better if someone else does them. I’m a Real Housewife, not a real housewife. Know what I mean?
It’s not like I’m particularly bad at doing my nails. I used to be pretty good at it until several months of fills and fresh sets ruined me. I don’t know! I’m so bad at the edges now! This entire mani was invented around avoiding my GD cuticle edges.
Allll the areas around my actual nails are the splash zone. Mani specifically designed around avoiding this situation, and I’m still “cleaning up” my nails in the shower. ACK!
OH WELL. This nail art(?) is great because it doesn’t need tape, a steady hand, or, extra brushes. I didn’t even need to sit at the kitchen table to get a level work surface. I did the whole thing kicked all the way back on the couch. I’ll tell you how!
You’re going to need three colors; two for the base, and one for on top. I used two Floss Gloss colors, DONATELLA and MOON BABY, for the base, and GIVE ME THE 1ST DANCE by Nicole by OPI for the top.
First, make haphazard swipes of your base colors on the bottom 3/4 of your nails. Do all ten fingers.
Then, working one nail at a time, dab some of your top color on the tip, sort of lightly pulling the color upwards.
Wipe all the polish off the brush, onto the lip of the bottle.
Drag the brush from the tip to the top of your nail. I liked the silver color for this because it gave everything an antique looking finish. You might need to dab more polish here and there, depending on where you want the coverage. Just make sure you wipe all the excess off the brush for the thinly layered areas. If at any point, your coverage with this color gets too solid, take a q-tip soaked in polish remover, and gently roll it over the areas you want to thin out.
Cover it all with a top coat, and you’re done!
OF COURSE I got polish on my finger here.
You sort of can’t fuck this up. I mean, you can, but, it’s hard. My first finger looked like garbage compared to the rest of them. But, by the time I got to the end, they were looking exactly how I’d hoped. I was even able to go back and fix the ugly one with my q-tip trick! Just be patient with yourself, work with the dabbing and brushing, and you’ll get the hang of it!
Let’s talk about doing cool nails, quickly. Let’s talk about nail designs that look good even if you aren’t ambidextrous. The nail art on my right hand usually sort of seems like maybe my Nana did it. That’s nothing bad about Nana, she just has terrible handwriting. Always has.
I can swing a fork or a dong with either hand, but not a nail art brush.
Easy Mani #1
TANLINES and PONY by FLOSS GLOSS
This mani doesn’t really take longer than just painting your nails one color. You need all your regular mani supplies; base coat, top coat, and the two (or more!) colors you want to use.
Put down your base coat, and two coats of your primary polish color on every finger.
Let it dry for a few minutes.
Take your contrasting edge color(s), and, using the edge of the polish brush, swipe the color at various angles on the very tips of all your nails. Make sure you give the brush a wipe on the edge of the bottle before you put down the color; you don’t want any big blobs of polish. It’s a lot easier to add more color here than take any away.
TOP COAT.
That’s it! After I already put the top coat on this, it occurred to me that these colors would look good with little splashes of gold thrown in, too. So, I got that idea filed away for next time.
Sorry. You guys probably can’t tell, but I just totally took a Kardashian game break. Speaking of nails, I’m kind of thinking I should keep one of my index finger nails really short. Like, the opposite of a long pinkie nail. But, instead of for cocaine, it’s for keeping a fingertip free for tapping on my screen. I’m A LIST, BAYBAY. I gotta keep that fingie sleek and ready for action. P.S. Can I say I have a big problem with one aspect of the game? Namely, D List NOBODIES who criticize me when I call them for a date. Why shouldn’t I get extra points for canceling dates with assholes who tell me my outfit doesn’t look nice enough for them? I can’t imagine any of the Kardashian girls would stick around for dinner with someone who said, “That’s what you’re wearing for our date?”
I mean, this guy, literally, only ever wears this outfit and he has the gall to criticize ME?
Fuck this guy.
I hate him so much. He’s my strongest and longest lasting romantic relationship in the game. 🙁
Easy Mani #2
Whip by SUPER BLACK Lacquers
I threw this mani together real late one night. I was gonna get ready for bed, and then I was suddenly struck with inspiration! I gathered up a few things, and slammed this look out in no time at all. I mean, it was FAST. Aside from the normal mani supplies, you need some scotch tape.
I’ve had problems with mani art using tape in the past, but, I think I worked it out this time. Two tips: give the sticky sides of your tape pieces a quick rub on your shirt to unstick the adhesive a little before you put them on your nails, and, only do two or three nails at a time.
Thoroughly and carefully, stick your tape to ALL of your clean, bare nails, covering the tops, leaving however much you want at the bottom for color. Be sure you get the tape flat all the way across. You can gently use an orange stick or a rubber tipped cuticle pusher to smooth down the tape. Don’t forget to leave an edge you can easily grab to pull the tape off when you’re done!
After you have the tape stuck to your nails, apply your base coat, and two thin coats of polish to the uncovered nail areas on two or three fingers.
Then, working quickly and smoothly, pull the tape off your nails. This is where only doing the polish a few nails at a time really comes into play. If you put polish on all ten nails before you pull the tape up, you’ll ruin that straight line. The couple minutes it takes to do those two or three nails is enough time to set the wet polish without it drying too much to pull the tape. Polish and pull the tape off of all ten fingers before moving on to the next step.
TOP COAT. Because you’re adding the top coat to your whole nail, let your polish dry for another few minutes before you add it. I didn’t do this part, and some of the color got transferred up to the bare nail. It was easy enough to clean with some polish remover on a q-tip, but who needs the extra work? NOT ME. NOT YOU. NOT US.
That’s it, guys! Both of these manis got tons of compliments out in the world. We’re about that, right?! If you try them, I hope they work out! I also hope my instructions were clear. If they weren’t, question away!
Thanks to the freak nasty dude I live with for coming up with, “Saturday Night Beaver.”
I’m a little obsessed with the glam and disco era of the 70s. I like glitter and dancing! I like freewheeling lifestyles! I like John Travolta! I don’t know, guys, I think I would have been really popular at Studio 54. I’m a good time!
I want to start doing photo steps of these look breakdowns, but this one is super easy, so I’m just going to run through it.
The eyes are all Urban Decay. First, I used “Gonzo” from the Electric Palette around the eye, all over the lid, and dragged it out towards my hairline. Then, on the inner corners, I used UD’s Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in “Midnight Cowboy.” I also lightly patted some of the glitter on my temples, over the smudged out teal shadow. A matte nude shadow on the brow bone, and some mascara finishes the eye.
Lips were a fun combination of orange and gold. I used “Indie Flick,” a matte orange, by NYX Cosmetics. After that, I pressed a little bit of gold shadow into the center of my lips. I used “Half Baked” by Urban Decay.
I had so much fun with this look! I didn’t use it for anything, but Jason and Rowdy were really impressed! I mean, really, this was the hair day of my life. I wish it could look like this every day! My braiding skills still suck though, so I’ll just have to wait until the next time I can convince a friend to get her hands all up in my scalp.
I sent pictures of this look to my mom for an accuracy check, and she gave it her seal of approval. Let me tell you, she knows what she’s talking about, I’ve seen her do The Hustle.
Look at your girl! She got up on time this morning, and worked it out for y’all! I didn’t just do makeup, oh no. I made a hair tutorial, too.
WHO AM I?!?!?
I’m the shit.
What I’m not, is a good hair doer. Like, these big donut buns have eluded me because my hair is sort of short and full of layers. That was a bummer because I do love a bun. All bunz. Lucky for me, laziness and frustration breeds ingenuity, and I figured out a way to make it happen without all the arm killing rolling, and without my layers sticking out everywhere.
Since I’m not big on hair that takes a lot of time and effort, this tutorial is suuuuper easy. Like, the whole thing will take you less than five minutes. All you need is two big hair ties (rubber bands?), a hair donut, and a bunch of bobby pins. CHECK IT OUT.
STEP ONE
Pull your hair up into a high ponytail, securing it with a rubber band. Pin up any stragglers that fall down in the back. Then, pull your ponytail through the donut, and settle it against your head. Make sure you use a larger donut, since we won’t have the volume you get from rolling all the hair into it.
STEP TWO
Pull the hair from your ponytail down over the donut. Making sure to evenly spread it all the way around the donut, so none of the mesh is showing.
STEP THREE
Take another large rubber band and pop it over the donut to hold the hair in place where you want it. As you can see, sometimes this takes a couple tries to get the right angle. Make sure everything is smooth, even, and covering the donut.
STEP FOUR
Pull the ends of the hair around the rubber band to cover it, pinning it in place as you go. If you need to, you can stick pins up into the donut. It’s super easy.
Pin the hair all the way around, adjusting the bun as you go to make sure everything is exactly where you want it. After that, I like to pull a little hair down in front of my ears just to soften it up. But, that’s up to you.
And that’s it!! It’s so easy!
I like to add a little something extra around the bun, just to make everything look super correct. This is my new twist scarf from ban.do. It has wire inside it, so it pretty much does whatever I want it to do. You can use whatever; scarves, necklaces, bracelets, cute pins or barrettes. I’d say the possibilities are endless, but that’s probably not right. You know what I mean, GO CRAZY!
Was this a revelation for anyone else?! I was so excited when I figured it out!! My normal messy bun isn’t always appropriate for all outfits and occasions. This new option is pretty great.
I’ve been working on this post for days! I’ve just been really distracted with, like, the Olympics, and learning to play ping pong, and I’ve had on pants and a bra SO MUCH this week, which is really, very unusual. Being seen in public a lot = less time sitting in front of my laptop. Also, I think I was telling myself this post might suck and second guessing myself tons, so I was making everything more difficult. That’s just maybe laziness disguised as self esteem problems, though. I don’t know! I guess you guys will be the judge. If it sucks, I was right, and if it doesn’t suck, I’m maybe lazy, or I maybe have self esteem problems, or, maybe both. Let’s find out!
Last week, I finally got around to grabbing a few of those Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows, and now I am OBSESSED. I hate that I’ve been not buying them all this time! They’re so easy to work with, and the color is long lasting. I’ve used them almost every day since I got them, and I have fully planned to buy several more.
Today, I want to show you two looks I’ve done, using the same colors. Since the colors and placement are the same, the looks are similar, but they’re both so pretty and wearable, I had to show you guys both.
These are the colors I used for these looks. We’ve got W.O.S. from Urban Decay’s Naked Basics palette, Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows in Barely Branded and Tough as Taupe, and a Coastal Scents shadow in Wild Raisin.
L-R: Costa Riche liner, W.O.S, Tough as Taupe, Barely Branded, Wild Raisin
Before I begin, I always use my Urban Decay Primer Potion. Then, on the first look only, I used W.O.S. on the entire lid; just to even out the skin, and to give the cream shadow something else behind it. Now for the fun part!
Using a flatter brush, I applied Tough as Taupe over the lid, just to the crease.
Line the upper lash line and water line with a dark brown or grey liner; I used MAC’s Costa Riche. Smudge the line.
Using the pads of your fingers, gently pat Barely Branded around the edges of Tough as Taupe, blending upwards and onto the brow bone.
Apply Wild Raisin to the crease and the outer corner of the eye, then BLEND THE HELL OUT OF IT.
And that’s it! If you want, you can lightly line your bottom lash line with the liner or the remaining product on the flat brush from the first step. Add some mascara, and you’re done!
Lips: UD’s Naked
Look Two is exactly the same as Look One, except you switch Wild Raisin and Tough as Taupe. So, Wild Raisin will cover your lid, and Tough as Taupe will get blended into the crease. It looks like this:
Lips: UD’s Protest
I’ve worn my makeup one of these two ways almost every day since last Friday. I just love how easy and flattering it is! And how awesome is it that these shadows are super cheap? I guess the Naked palette isn’t super cheap, but that color is also sort of unnecessary to the look, so who cares?! I’ve been doing this blog for almost a year, and the one thing I’ve learned is that my makeup snobbery has been keeping me from a lot of good makeup. Maybelline, in particular, has become a new favorite of mine. I never ever thought I’d be searching everywhere for a particular drugstore product like I do with high end brands, but here I am. It’s cool though, you know. Cheap products means more products, and Maybelline is always on sale, AND you can use your Ulta coupons on their stuff. I’m rolling in affordable cream shadows over here!
What do you guys think? Do you have any questions?
Everyone has their favorite facial feature, and mine are definitely my lips. I like to look at them, I like to call attention to them, I love to play them up. It’s no secret that I buy A LOT of lipstick. And I won’t stop, cuz I can’t stop. ::Puffy Dance::
Because I am obsessed with my own mouth, when I paint it, I paint it with love. I also paint it with focus because I am always teetering close to the edge of crazy mouth. I gots all my tricks down, and I want to share them with you today. First, let’s take a look at my bare mouth.
Not bad, not bad. A little chewed, but nothing gross. Hydrated, exfoliated, I tweezed my mustache and got my one old lady chin hair. So, this is pretty much best case scenario. What I want to do is bring up the perimeters of my lips, shade where I want depth, and highlight where I want light. Although these steps can be used with pretty much any color, I’m going to demonstrate with a nude lip. Nude lips usually need the extra dimension anyways, so it works out.
Here’s what I’m using:
Chapstick Hydration Lock – Prime and lightly moisturize. MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose – Um. To highlight. Cover Girl Perfect Blend Pencil in Mink – Shading, lining and contouring. MAC Matte Lipstick in Honey Love – Very nude, cream matte lipstick. I used this color to do a 60s inspired look for my wedding. Marc Jacobs Lovemarc Lip Gel in Role Play – A creamy rosy nude with a glossy finish.
OK. First, I lightly apply my Chapstick. I don’t want to use too much, because it can make everything tricky. So, I use just enough to make sure my lips are smooth. Then, I line around my lips with the brown liner.
Do you see how things are already happening?! It’s so exciting! This liner is a pretty cool brown color, and it’s going to make the edges of my mouth recede, so my lips themselves really stand out in the center. Then, with the spongy thing on the other end of the pencil, I blend the line so it isn’t harsh and obvious.
Next, I use my Prep + Prime pen to highlight the area above my lip. You know, above your cupid’s bow, where that little divot is? There! Like, so:
The highlighter above your lip like that will give your top lip that little bit of upwards flare that really gives you a good, pillowy mouth. Blend that highlight color, and, if you like, set it with a little translucent powder. This is also where I add a little color to that mole next to my lip and set that with powder too. When I remember.
And now we’re ready for lipstick!!!! First, I’ll show you the glossier, Marc Jacobs color.
Pretty good, right?! The line around the corner edges of my bottom lip looks darker on me than it might on you because, as you can see in the very first picture, the edges of my lips are naturally darker. This color works great with this whole technique because the shine in the lipstick really makes lips pop. I love it. This lipstick has become one of my go-to colors.
Now, we’ll see how it looks with MAC’s matte Honey Love.
Faaaaaaaabulous!! I added a little bit of pink-gold gloss in the very center of my lips to add some more depth to the flat color. If you want a truly matte, 60s mouth, skip this part. Like I said, I like to play up my lips, so I usually add a little dab. I used NARS lip gloss in Super Orgasm. I forgot to take a picture of it. My bad! It’s not super crucial for you to see it, so it’s cool.
I think adding shading around the mouth isn’t something most people think to do, but it makes a difference. I didn’t think to do it for a long time! I mean, I didn’t invent any of these tricks, they’re just things I’ve picked up over the years, put all together, and turned into my system for lips. I hope this has been helpful to somebody! Air kisses!
A commenter asked about the other makeup I’m wearing in this photo from my review of the OCC Lip Tar All-Star Mini set. I was like, duh, I should probably start including that information along with my photos. I guess I probably never thought about it because I am the worst and I like to keep all my secrets to myself. Like, if you gush about my sunglasses and ask where I got them, I’ll tell you–but, inside, I really don’t want to. I know. That’s terrible. And it’s not even the grossest thing about me. Don’t worry, I get karma back on it. A couple months ago, I asked a lady at the farmers market where she got her sunglasses, and she was all, “I don’t remember.” And I was like, “Girl. Yeah, right.” It’s like Justin Timberlake says, “What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back around.”
So, the makeup in this picture!
Eyes – It looks like I used three shadows for this look. From the original Urban Decay Naked palette, I used “Virgin” for the brow bone and “Half Baked” for the inner eye corners. The bulk of the shadow, the wine color, is from a very old TIGI Cosmetics palette. I tried to find it, and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they make it anymore. I swear this is not me just trying not to tell. I bough the palette when I was in beauty school a million years ago, and I probably shouldn’t even be using it anymore. The color was just called, “Wine,” and it’s not very hard to dupe; any wine color that leans more towards a plum will do the trick. I used a white pencil liner from the Sephora collection on my lower waterline, and UD’s black pencil liner on my bottom lash line and upper waterline. The mascara is Benefit’s They’re Real.
Eyebrows – Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in “Brunette/Dark Brown” is my go to brow product. I use a light mixture of the two colors on a thin angled brush.
Blush – “Peaches” Sheertone Blush by MAC.
Lips – OCC Lip Tar in “Black Dahlia”
There you have it! I guess I really don’t mind telling about makeup and beauty stuff. I mean, if I did, I probably wouldn’t have started a beauty blog. So, the good news is, my shadiness only extends to accessories! The bad news is, I will never ever start a sunglasses and bracelets blog.
WHEW! This palette was a chore to swatch and photograph. It’s really hard to shoot a picture of a mirror without capturing your own reflection. Have you ever caught your own face in a reflective surface before you had to time to prepare yourself? Yuck, right? It’s like that, but instead of being a passing glance, it’s there on your camera roll so you can really look at how squishy your chin looks.
Photography problems aside, I’ve been having so much fun with this palette! It’s been sitting in front of my mirror since I brought it home, and I’ve used it almost every time I’ve done my makeup since then. It’s the first non-Naked palette I’ve bought in a long time, and with 30 shadows, 3 blushes, and a bronzer, I think it’s a good buy.
This post is going to be long on photos, maybe short on words. We’ll see. I never set out to write most of the stuff I end up posting.
This palette contains a wide array of colors and finishes, and they’re all coordinated to make putting together looks easier. I tried to swatch all the colors on my arm, but, they didn’t show up like I’d hoped. This is the first time I’ve swatched a whole palette! Bear with me!
Most of the colors were very easy to work with, the exception being some of the matte, light colored shadows. A couple of them took a few more swipes of the brush to get them to show up bright, but that’s ok. They were still manageable, and I didn’t go, “Eww. No.” Which I’ll totally do! It wasn’t even close to a deal breaker for me. I’ll take a buildable color over a garish mess any day. Those couple of semi-sheer shadows were nothing when you put them with the rest of the shadows in this palette. The satin, and shimmery shadows were absolutely gorgeous. They blended nicely and the color payoff was great. The silver, in particular, was soooo pretty.
I know a lot of people are intimidated by palettes. I’ve heard from two people just in the last week that they don’t know where to start with palettes, they aren’t sure how to use them, so they just don’t buy them. I understand that. That makes me sad though because palettes can be a really great buy. They’re particularly great if you want to expand your makeup collection without spending a lot of money. This Smashbox palette has 30 shadows in it for $49. Their eyeshadow trios contain colors that are just a touch bigger than the shadows in this palette, and those are $28. I think this palette would be great for beginners, or anyone who gets overwhelmed by their choices because Smashbox has made this palette very easy to use. Besides the coordinated colors, it comes with four clear plastic cards that show you how to combine colors to achieve a more in depth look. They’re really cool because you just place them over the colors you want to wear, and you can see exactly which colors you should be using where.
Isn’t that rad?! I used the cards myself a few times to check them out, and the directions were clear and easy to handle. It’s a good way to learn a little more about how to apply shadows. Once you get the hang of it using the cards, you’ll probably feel more confident on your own with other shadows!
These are a couple looks I’ve done with this palette since I’ve had it. I don’t always take pictures in front of my lights and backdrop every time I do my makeup, we’d never get out of the house if I did. But, I did grab a couple. The first one is primarily silver, and the second one uses the rust colored shadows show above.
Sorry about the lighting in the last photo. I didn’t intend to use this picture here, I was just looking at my own face. You know how in Clueless, when Cher is picking out outfits, she says she always takes polaroids because she doesn’t trust mirrors? It’s the same thing as that. I catch things that need to blended or touched up all the time like this. Plus, I like any opportunity to look at a good picture of myself!
The blushes are nice, they’re also buildable, so that’s good. I think a lot of people prefer that in a blush. The bronzer is GREAT. It isn’t shimmery, so it’s good for contouring. I’ve been using it to bring up my cheekbones, and I love it. I predict I’ll hit the pan on the bronzer, actually.
This palette is a good buy financially and artistically. It has colors that can take you to a lot of different places with a lot of different looks. It makes application easy to understand, and easy to do. It would be really good for traveling. Wait. Do other people travel like I do? Does this seem like a lot to bring with you? I don’t think it does. You could slip this in between a couple of shirts, no problem. Then, you’d have neutrals and bright colors for whatever you wanted to do! It’s so easy!
Look. I’m a little bit of a bullshitter when I need to be. I think I might be the World’s Smartest Lady, so I’m usually pretty confident in my ability to figure things out. I’ll fake it until I make it. Unless I think I can’t make it, then I’m all, “This is stupid!” and I quit. Who needs to keep at something stupid? Also, I can dish it out, but I can’t take it. That piece of info is neither here nor there, but, I thought since I was freely discussing the worst parts of my personality, it was worth mentioning.
What I am not faking is my ability to do a killer cat eye. I wasn’t always good though. I’ve spent lots and lots of time making a huge mess of my eyelids. But, at this point, I’ve been working at it for 15 years, so it doesn’t intimidate me anymore. I can bang out an even, perfect line in just a couple minutes. It’s extremely satisfying, and I want that feeling for you too.
I thought I’d share a couple tricks I use that might help you achieve a cat eye!
1. Draw the tail first! That’s the hardest part, but it’s easier if you do it first, and then connect it to the rest of the line. You can always build if you need to, but you’ll have a good line to follow. Pick a static, easy to find spot you can match to the other side, and start the end of your tail there. Like, line up the end of your tail under the end of your eyebrow, then do the same thing on the other side.
2. Do your bad eye before you do your good eye. You guys know what I mean, right? Your dominant hand will be the same side as your good eye. I’m sure you’ve already figured that out though. It’s way easier to match a good eye to a bad eye than it is to do it the other way around. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve drawn a beautiful cat eye on the right side, only to draw a completely different cat eye on the left side. It’s so annoying. That’s how you start down the slippery slope of, “I’m just going to even this up a little!” You know where that gets you. Nowhere good.
3. Start with a thin line. You can make it thicker little by little. This is self explanatory.
4. If you really struggle with liquid liner, consider switching to a gel liner with an angled brush. Years and years ago, when I would still take half an hour to do my liner, Benefit came out with a thin, angled eyeliner brush that totally revolutionized the cat eye for me. I used it for a long time, and it made my eyeliner so much easier, it was ridiculous. After I went back to liquid liner, I didn’t really have the same struggles. Those brushes are like liquid liner training wheels.
This one is available at Target for $5.99. I have it, and it’s solid. The angle makes it much easier to see what you’re doing, and it feels more natural in your hand. Get a little pot of liner, and you’re good to go!
5. PRACTICE! Like I’ve said here before, you might be bad at something the first few times you try it, but you probably won’t be bad on your twentieth time. If you have the time and attention span, do your cat eye, wipe it off, and do it again. Or, do it on days you don’t have anywhere to be. The experience adds up, especially if you’re working at it regularly.
These are the best tips I can think of right now. Keep at it and you’ll grab that cat by the tail, I promise
Today, I have a post from MY NEW INTERNET FRIEND, STEPH. I asked her to write a guest post after another friend, Denys, said she thought, based on Steph’s comments, she’d be a great fit for the site. After Denys pointed it out, it seemed so obvious! DUH. The only reason I missed it was because I spend most of my time thinking about myself.
Because cosmetics and beauty have always been a part of my life, I often forget that not everyone has the experience and know-how that I do. It’s come up here before. Steph pitched her idea for a post about tips for beginners who are looking to step up their beauty game, and I was like, YES, DO THAT!! Her recently acquired knowledge is thorough and insightful. She’s a natural!
I’m super excited to have her stepping outside the comment box and into the spotlight! I hope you all enjoy reading what she has to say as much as I did. Thanks for your great comments and warm messages, Steph! I’m so happy your voice is a part of The Lab Bunny!
Hi! I’m Steph, fellow beauty junkie! I’ve been a fairly regular commenter on The Lab Bunny and was extremely flattered to be asked by Sarah to guest post. I’m a novice when it comes to makeup, especially compared to Sarah’s mad skills, but I’ve been actively working to get better over the last year. I want to offer some advice on getting started to my fellow newbies, but first I want you guys to understand why I stayed away from makeup for so long.
My first experience with makeup was a traumatic one. I was in the fourth grade and had been picked to represent my school for a fundraiser. Being the representative was a BIG DEAL; I wanted to look perfect for my moment onstage, so I asked my stepmom to give me a makeover. She agreed, and I immediately started imagining what I’d look like once she was done. I’d never worn makeup before, but even at that age I was a firm believer in its ability to make the ordinary into something more.
I remember sitting down in the dining room, surrounded by her beauty tools. As she went to work, I envisioned what the end result would be. I was guessing I’d pretty much look like Cindy Crawford or Jennifer Aniston. As soon as she finished, I raced into the bathroom to check out how gorgeous I’d become, only to see this staring back at me:
I wish I was joking, but I had bright red lipstick, an insane amount of blush, clumpy mascara, and blue eyeshadow for days. I’ve got nothing but love for Mimi, but I just don’t have the coloring to pull that kind of look off. As I stared at my reflection in horror, I heard my dad call to me that it was time to head out. There was no fixing this before school started.
I’m not going to get into the details of how that day went down for me, other than to say that the adults at my school were surprisingly polite about my brand new baby hooker look. Predictably the other kids were assholes. I decided that day that makeup was not to be trusted. Some people looked good with it, but I was not one of those people. I stayed pretty far away from makeup after this, except for lip gloss and mascara when I occasionally went to a school dance. Luckily I was a big tomboy in high school, so it didn’t come up often.
It wasn’t until I hit my mid-twenties that my girly gene finally kicked in. I started small by having mini spa days every few weeks, complete with manicures, face masks, and deep hair conditioning treatments. To me, these things are basically the gateway drugs of the beauty world. They take almost no knowledge or expertise to use successfully, so using them served as a good transition into girliness. After a few months of that, I felt ready to start tackling makeup again.
Getting into makeup can be really intimidating. There are a million different products, many of which you may not have realized existed before. Below is the best advice I have for someone who’s just starting out.
Know what look you’re going for, and don’t get overwhelmed. There are so many different ways to do your makeup, and if you don’t get an idea in your head of what you like, it’s going to be hard to decide where to start. Take some time to look at pictures and think about what speaks to your. Do you want to look natural? Dramatic? Retro?
Personally, I’m obsessed with a perfect cat eye and really red lips. When I started out, I knew that’s what I wanted to be able to do; it helped me get an idea of what products (other than the basics) I need to buy and what techniques I needed to learn. Going to a makeup counter and asking them to give you an application in your favorite style is also a good idea before you start buying products. A smoky purple eye could look amazing on you, or it could make you look like you’ve just gone up against Mike Tyson for a few rounds in the boxing ring. It’s best to find that out before you buy the eyeshadow.
Practice every chance you get. DO NOT wait until an hour before you’re leaving the house to attend a party to become an expert on creating the perfect smokey eye. You will fuck it up, you won’t have enough time/expertise to fix it, and the night will end in tears. When the pressure’s on, stick with tried and true makeup you’ve done in the past. Practice applying colors, products, and looks you’re never used or done before when there’s no rush. One of my favorite times to test new tricks out is just before I wash my face at the end of the night. Even if I completely screw it up, I only have to look at my face for a minute before it becomes a clean slate again. There are still things I regularly make a mess of, but practice really does make perfect.
Use the internet! Seriously guys, it’s not just for porn anymore. There are a million different resources available, including everything from product reviews to step-by-step tutorials. Whenever I’m getting ready to buy something new, I do a ton of research before I take the plunge so I don’t get stuck with something I hate. Once you’ve got a short list of products you’re interested in, head to a Sephora, Ulta, or department store makeup counter and test all the things. There is no substitute for getting a product in your hands and checking it out for yourself. I always feel better about making a big makeup purchase if I do both of these before I pull the trigger.
Some of my favorite online resources for buying products and getting tutorials (other than The Lab Bunny, of course) are listed below.
Reddit’s Makeup Addiction Subreddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/) Reddit can be an awful place sometimes, but their Makeup Addiction subreddit is fantastic. You’ll find links to articles, tutorials, information about new products, and before and after pictures. You can also post your own pictures up for constructive criticism and suggestions on your makeup.
Reddit’s Makeup Exchange Subreddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/makeupexchange/) This is another really useful subreddit, and it’s one of the first places I go when I want to try a new product. It’s premise is this: users post up lists of the products they have that they’d like to get rid of, or lists of products they’re trying to track down. Other users can then offer to swap products from their own collection, or buy products outright. Sometimes the products are used/sanitized, sometimes they’re brand new. I’ve had great luck trading here; this month alone I picked up Urban Decay foundation and the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette for well below retail. More details on how the swapping system works are listed on the site, and there are many other makeup swapping sites out there if this concept interests you.
Temptalia (http://www.temptalia.com/) This is one of the greatest sites for product reveiws. Not only do you get detailed descriptions, ratings, and gorgeous swatches to look at, duplicate shades from other brands are linked so you can check out all the options available to you.
The Beauty Department (http://thebeautydepartment.com/) This site has so many comprehensive how-to guides for basically every aspect of makeup application. If you don’t even know how to apply foundation yet, The Beauty Department can help.
xoVain (http://www.xovain.com/) This site has a lot of good (and completely random) makeup tutorials. They did “how to look like Bowie” earlier this year! Alle’s posts in particular are wonderful.
I hope this was helpful! I know I’m kind of long-winded, so thanks for putting up with my rambling.
