Makeup Madness Part 5! Mascara Monday!

It's been a minute since I did a makeup madness right? Ooops. Summer has been kinda busy.  But I figured I need to get rid of a lot of Mascara so a makeup madness would be really productive right about now.  I have 15 mascaras and only use about 3...also some are old...like a year old it's time for them to go! Now I will be the first to admit I keep mascaras past their recommended expiration date. Most people recommend getting rid of your mascara after 3 months to avoid eye infections, but a lot of mascaras have a 6 month expiration date printed on their tubes. (I just learned the cool makeup code that looks like a jar with the number of months it's good on it. My benefit products have it and they say 6 months.) So I'm going with 6 of when they dry out.

Here's what we're working with...

Wow this is a terrible picture...sorry.

Now I've never finished a mascara tube, I've never used one so long that it ran out- how much mascara are you people putting on?!?! I'm a two coat girl. So usually my mascara has to go bad before I pick up a new tube, but I'm going to be very forceful with myself and get rid of mascaras that are old...hopefully.

Let's start with my faves. Benefit makes some good mascara. My first Benefit mascara was the They're Real This little sample came in my Sephora Favorites kit that I got a lot of fave products from- good job Sephora. And it changed my eyelash life. I already have pretty curled lashes and they're relatively thick, but I lack length. I talked about it a little bit here. When it started to get dry-ish was right about the time the Benefit Roller Lash came out and I thought you know what I'm going to get that instead.  AND OMG it was even better than They're Real! This is a $24 mascara and it is worth every penny. Length, volume and curl! Like I said my eyelashes don't need a lot in the curl department but this stuff is amazing. My lashes look real and flawless with this on. I don't know how it does it. You can also use it in tandem with They're Real for more amazingness. I have a backup sample of my They're Real so I wont be repurchasing either right now, but both of these are over 6 months old now and need to be retired. I'm keeping both wands to try to help some of the weaker mascaras we'll talk about soon.  Both of these wands have rubberized bristles and they're kinda hard stiff bristles that hurt like a mother if you ever poke yourself in the eye.

My first foray into high end mascara came at the hands of my first Ipsy bag. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. This stuff gives you false eyelash looking eyelashes with just two coats. I even used this stuff during a show and got away with not having to wear eyelashes! It was amazing. When the sample started to dry out I bought the Pervserion/Subversion Duo from Ulta. The Subversion is a lash primer that's supposed to give added umph. I used it but I don't think it didn't anything too magical.  The full sized version of Perversion however is incredible. It's like the never ending tube of mascara. I have had it since September and it is still rich and creamy and applies as well as the day I got it.  Now considering it's been 10 months I am going to let this mascara go but it pains me because there isn't anything wrong with it! It's just old.  The bristles on these mascaras are fibery traditional bristles very tightly packed. Your lashes do clump a little bit it makes them so thick is doesn't really matter. Right now I don't need to repurchase but if I ever do a theatre show again I'll totally shell out the $22 for this mascara instead of buying flash lashes.

Maybe she's born with amazing lashes...or maybe it's Maybelline. Maybelline is the gold standard of mascara for me. I've used Maybelline my entire makeup wearing life. My first tube was one of those pink and green Great Lashes in Blackest Black and also Royal Blue. The Great Lash classic mascara tube isn't going to do anything spectacular for your lashes, it'll color them and add a little bit of length and separation, but beyond that you're on your own. This is a perfect mascara for no makeup makeup days. Pictured here I have Royal Blue that I purchased for the 4th of July. It's good for the lower lashes but not much else.  Maybelline's the Rocket is another great standard now with rubber bristles that are super short and get great separation in the lashes. This was my go-to before I found the high end ones. Then I've tried a few others the Colossal Pumped Up was a hand me down from my sister and like her I didn't find it too impressive and the Lash Sensational I got because it's supposed to be a dupe for the Roller Lash. I love the formula of it but the brush sucks, I'm keeping my Benefit brushes to see if they'll work with this formula. I'd probably purchase all of these again given the right circumstances or money limitations. Maybelline makes great mascaras. I'm only keeping the Sensational.


My last little group of high end mascaras leave something to be desired. I wish I had my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes because I love that stuff, it's right up there with my Benefit Mascaras. Another $20 mascara I got in an Ipsy bag and that stuff is the shit, so I had high hopes for another Tarte mascara Gifted. This stuff sucks! It's not the worst mascara I've ever used we'll get to that, but it's awful and should not be $20. Then I have a Clinique sample from my sister and a Lancome sample. All three of these are bristle brushes and all three have the same problem. THEY FLAKE! The Clinique one was really good for about a month but then started flaking terribly and the other two flaked from day one. I hadn't had a mascara flake on me in so many years I almost didn't no know what all the black specs on my face were from! I don't have very oily eyelids so I didn't know why my undereyes suddenly looked grey- these mascaras were smearing too! So they just didn't work for me so I will not be purchasing any of them and they're all being retired.

Last but not least my total failures. So two of these are cult favorites! The L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes in Carbon Black is what so many people go back to time and time again because they love the length and volume it gives. This did nothing for me. Spikey rubbery brushes that I usually like but the formula is so wet it wont dry and my lashes stuck together! It was the saddest thing ever! Then the CoverGirl Super Thick Lash was supposed to be a dupe for my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes and whoever said that should shut their dirty mouth because it's not.  Then the last one Volume Eyes from Model Co I got in an Ipsy bag and it just flaked and transferred so I didn't give it much of a try at all.  All three of these bad boys are going in the trash because one they're old now and two they suck.

So at the end of this Makeup Madness I know what I like and what I don't like in mascaras. I prefer a thicker dryer mascara formula with either short rubberized bristles or long fibery ones that are packed super tight together. I have ones I like in both the High End price and the Drugstore range. I hate spending $20 on mascara especially when a $10 sample will usually last me just as long. I'm currently working through my Lash Sensational and another tube of They're Real (sample size) and so I'm set for right now. I'll probably buy another Roller Lash next...it was just so good!

Previous Makeup Maddnesses include Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners and Lippies!

I don't need anymore bronze shadow...

It started the other day when I misplaced my Bronze Max Factor single eyeshadow I've been using this summer- talked more about here. So I went searching for other options and found this...

It turned out I had quite a few options... I have bronzes in warm tones, cool tones, with some gold shift and silver shift...bronzes all over the place! I've probably been wearing bronze eye shadow the longest of any other shade. Back in the day when I got my first makeover from Clinique they gave me an eyeshadow duo with a bronze color in it AND a bronze lipstick (mistakes were made, I've learned and moved on from this). So apparently bronze is just one of those great universally flattering colors of eyeshadows. Pretty much any eye color can wear them and they look great on most skin tones. For today's purposes we're just talking about eyes- I have some bronze bronzers (go figure) but it's the eyes where I use bronze the most.

Let's start with creams. So as I mentioned in my previous post I like to use two of these products as eye bases to place a powder shadow over. It's easy and makes the products last a long time.  I'm a little more than half way through the Maybelline Bad to the Bronze. This one is my favorite and I'll be sad when it's gone, I'll probably repurchase it because it's a really excellent base, lasts all day and doesn't crease.  The other pot is my ELF Cruisin' Chic Smudge Pot half the price of the Maybelline and works just as well honestly. But it has a stronger smell and you have to use a lot of it to build up the opacity.  Then I have a jumbo eye pencil from ELF that I totally forgot about! This is in Turkish Coffee and smells so strongly of crayons that I don't use it...I may give it a try but it's not my favorite.  

I have several Bronze eyeliners (not pictured in the swatches) that are just okay. I'm not really a huge fan of anyone. I talked about Tarte's Sunstone Bronze in the last post as well and while I hate that it's so soft it gets the job done. I have another Tarte Bronze liner that's just their regular line that is a little more firm but doesn't have the lasting power.  I also have a Rimmel Scandaleyez in Brown but it's a shimmery bronzey brown.  This one is also too soft for me so I haven't used it in months, if I can remember to sharpen it and let it sit overnight without a cap it's usually fine, but it's way too soft for practical everyday use.

Now I have a few single bronze shadows as well. As mentioned before the Max Factor doesn't have an actual name but it's a very decent shadow. I've tried to use it without one of my cream bases and it just does not pack enough punch on it's own. But layered it's gorgeous. Then I have the L'Oreal Infallible in Bronzed Taupe now this is n interesting one. If I layer it over my Bad to the Bronze it looks very grey and cool toned. It's got almost a silver cast to it, but on it's own it's much more of a typical bronze color. I have a love hate with this thing. It's a pressed pigment so it's got the pay off you want in a shadow but it's very delicate and fragile and can have lots of fallout if you're not careful. I know a lot of people will apply this with their fingers but I'm really more a brush kinda girl and so I don't reach for this one a lot.  Then my last single shadow but certainly not leave is my Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Single in Between the Sheets. If you can't tell by the fact that I've hit serious pan on this bad boy, I loved this color. I used to wear this all the time! It's been discontinued and it makes me want to cry. It's the second to last swatch on the right above and it's just the most gorgeous bronze ever. I'm going to leave this bad boy out and finish it up because I forgot how much I loved it.  It's a bit of a warmer tone than the other two so we'll have to see how it does, it's also fairly old so it may need a base. We'll see but I'm glad I found it again because I love this one.

Lastly I have a bunch of palettes that have a bronze shade here and there in them. To be honest I haven't been reaching for any of these over the summer because I've been using my creams and singles but it's good to know that there are lots of bronze shadows out there in palettes if I every use up my singles. I doubt I'll ever use up that Max Factor single because there is just a ton of product in that thing. 

I'll start with the trios first. I have the Wet 'n Wild trio in Walking on Eggshells and the middle crease color is a really pretty neutral bronze. It's pretty light and comes off warmer on me that some of the others. It's got great color pay of for a $2.99 eyeshadow trio and it's always on sale for less. I got mine for $1.99 so talk about bang for your buck. The other two colors are just as nice.  The Clinique trio I can't find online, I got it from my sister and the packaging looks like it might have been in a free gift set, but the middle color Buttered Bronze is another delightful warm bronze. The Tarte 8 Shadow palette was in a Holiday Gift set from QVC called Sweet Indulgences it was a limited release but you can see what all came with it online. The bronze in this kit does not have a name but it's the darkest bronze I have and is much more of a cool tone than some of the others. Then I have two Too Faced Palettes. I love Too Faced and the Too Face palette that I've panned two shadows from was actually my first high end makeup purchase post-college. The Too Faced Natural Eyes is a gorgeous neutral palette and has a couple of bronzey shades in it.  Push Up and Erotica are my favorites and they're pretty pretty shimmery too.  These are a little too shimmery for me now but for specially occasions I could probably still pull them off.  This palette has been repackaged and some of the colors have changed but those two are still in the new one.  Then last but not least my Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette I love this thing. Hazelnut and Haute Chocolate are two very different bronze colors but bronzey none the less. Hazelnut is lighter and warmer and Haute Chocolate is very dark. I usually use these two together and it's gorgeous.  They're not as shimmery as the Natural Eyes shadows but they're still reflective in a subtle way. 

So yah I have a lot of bronze shadow options. I just find it such an easy color to work with. It's very neutral but can go warm or cool depending and it's easy to find. I have a good array of high end and drugstore options in every form and that's fun. I think for the summer bronze is perfect and works for both day and night. You can get a dusty smokey eye with bronze or keep it light and natural. Bronze is the perfect multitasking shadow. 

Easy weekend makeup, March 2015

I don't mind wearing lots of makeup every day really. I love the finished product so the fact that I wear lots of makeup for the most part is just fine with me. But I do like to take as much of a break as I can on the weekend. I like to not cover my face and if I can get away with not using gel eyeliner or more than like 2 products on my eyes I get really excited.  So this was my go to makeup this weekend. I only left the house like twice and knew the people I was seeing wouldn't judge the lack of makeup on my face.

So here are the products I used. Just seven and one brush. Considering that on a normal day I could use anywhere from 15 - 20 products on my face this is a huge slim down. Here's what I did:

1. I used my Benefit Fake Up in 02 under my eyes. This stuff is a super hydrating concealer with a little bit of pigment. It's not strong enough for everyday use but when I'm going for a lighter/more natural look it does the trick.
2. Next I took my Master Primer by Maybelline in the Blue + Smooth formula and put it on the apples of my cheeks, near my nose, on my nose and the top of my forehead. All the places I have problems with pores. This is a somewhat hydrating primer, it's not really hydrating, but it doesn't dry me out so I feel it counts.  I only use it in targeted areas. This helps give the appearance of smoother skin and since I wasn't topping it with a BB cream I made sure to really focus on my problem areas.
3. Next I took my Define a Brow also by Maybelline and worked on my eyebrows. In the picture below you'll see my left eyebrow was really having some fun, I toned him down after I took the picture to make it look a little more natural.  I love using an eyebrow pencil because they're so much faster, but they don't have the added bonus of being controlling. 
4. Then I took my Maybelline (may used a lot of Maybelline products this day) Color Tattoo in Creamy Beige allover my eyelid and up a little in the crease. I love this color. It's a beigey brown that is just a little darker than my natural eyelids. It's the perfect no-make-up-make-up eye color. When you pull it up into your crease it naturally looks a little darker, it's beautiful.
5. Then I took my Tarte eyeliner in Bronze very close to my upper and lower lashline. Drawing very small strokes and really just trying to darken my lashes a little. I smudged it out a little on the ends with my fingers.
6. Next I used a sample of Clinique's High Impact mascara in black that my sister game me. It is not high impact, but actually gives a really natural flutterly look to my lashes. I gave two quick coats to my lashes and moved on.
7. Finally I finished with my Elf blush in Jest Setter. I love this color, its a very natural mauvey-pink. I like it because it goes with everything and is hard to get too much of, so it looks super natural. I took this on my Real Technique's Blush Brush and just really focused on blending it out and making it look super soft.

Here is my before and after- remember the eyebrows were addressed later no worries.

Easy Saturday makeup. 7 products only. #nomakeupmakeup #saturday #spring2015 #colortattoo #fakeup #blush #mascara #primerpower #brow #freshface

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Mar 7, 2015 at 9:50am PST

In the picture on the left I just have moisturizer on my face and it was a little pink.  I've been trying out and enjoying my Pond's Dry Skin Cream. It's really thick and creamy and smells deliciously like Baby Powder.

Makeup Madness Part 2! Bronzer and Highlighters

It's time for part two! Part One was on Blush and now we're onto Bronzers and Highlighters.  I didn't really think I had this many, but there were a few in my collection that I had totally forgotten about. So what I'm sharing are things that can be used to highlight, bronze and contour.  I really only started highlighting and contouring last year but I've been bronzing since High School.  Bronzer was very big when I was in high school to make you look tanned without actually tanning...that was all I knew about it back then.  So lets take a look at what I have.

Again sorry for the poor pictures...

We have some repeat offenders from last Makeup Madness my Tarte Palette and Duo from the Too Faced le Belle Carousel.  So lets start with bronzers and go from oldest to newest again too.

1. Cargo Bronzer in Medium- My first bronzer ever! It amazingly still has pigment and doesn't smell! This bronzer I used the heck out of and while you can see I've hit pan (it's in the upper left corner in the bottom right picture)  There is a ton of product left in this thing.  It started with 8.9 Grams.  I remember using this thing all over my neck, decolletage and arms. It's very orange in the pan but comes off really pretty and somewhat sparkly.  This was about $30 15 years ago so I have no idea if they still carry it or what, but I got it at Sephora when one first opened in San Antonio.  I'm gonna hold on to this one and see if I can't put it to use this summer when I bronze up.
2. bare Minerals warmth.  This is from my very first bare Minerals kit I got a 10ish years ago and there is just a little less than half left.  I remember using this as instructed, but it never really looked right. It's very warm brown...not really what I'm looking for. I thing it served it's purpose in my life during my mineral makeup phase, but I can't imagine every reaching for this thing again. I know too much about makeup now.  I'm going to toss it and not give any more thought to the subject. Although I do know it's still out there and you can buy more at Ulta...I shall not.
3. Wet n Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer- This was my first YouTube recommended purchase. I saw StilaKiss33 (my first youtuber) talk about it being perfect to give an allover warmth to your face and this was right after I went blonde and felt super washed out so I snatched this up.  At $3.99 and you can usually find Wet n Wild half off, I bought it and was so pleasantly surprised by the wonder it did.  There is so much product in this thing too I never thought I'd hit pan but this thing is great. It's a beautiful bronzey orange that matches my tanned skin perfectly, but with a light hand adds just enough color to make me not look dead.  I use this also like I used to use my Cargo bronzer, on my neck and decolletage area.  It's perfect and so affordable.  I will repurchase this and I'm keeping it. 
4. NYC in Sunny- another YouTube purchase recommended by EmilyNoel from Beauty Broadcast. This is a matte bronzer in a medium light brown that is perfect for contouring.  It's amazing the variety of skintones this color works on.  I use this thing almost everyday to contour and carve out my non-existent cheekbones.  I've hit some serious pan on this one and am hopping to kill this compact by early spring so I can buy a new bronzer.  Another ridiculously cheap bronzer at $2.99 I've recommended it to everyone and will repurchase it. I do want to try some other bronzers out there but this is a really great standby.
5. Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette, bronzer in Park Ave Princess-  This is Tarte's Standard matte Bronzer and it's beautiful.  I feel like it's the grown up version of NYC's Sunny. I've made a pretty good dent in it but have used it sparingly because it's in my limited edition palette. I really use it mostly when I take that palette traveling because it's easier than hauling other bronzers around.  I can't repurchase this set, but I imagine I'll pick up another set with it in it in the future.  Or Tarte sells it in it's own kit with a blush and highlighter.
6. Too Faced Le Belle Carousel, chocolate soleil bronzer.  One of the mini palette's in my Christmas purchase! I had been wanting to try this bronzer forever.  Another standard matte bronzer, this is Too Faced's probably most popular bronzer because again it is universally flattering.  It is also the bronzer I've used the least of. I have been trying to use up my Sunny before I dip into this one so I'll probably get to this one later in the spring.  We'll see if I want to purchase it later, again I can't get it in this kit or format but if I like it Too Faced is always adding it to things.

Bronzer wish list- I really want to try Benefit's Hoola bronzer and maybe the Tarte Park Avenue Princess palette that has bronzer, blush and highlighter...we'll see. 

So up next Highlighters. I only have one highlighter from before I went blonde and I totally forgot I had it and I don't think it was sold to me as a highlighter but that's what it is. So let's look!

1. Glo Mineral Makeup- gloShimmer Brick in luster. Glo mineral makeup is one of my favorites from years ago when I got monthly facials, I love this brand to death and totally forgot I had this.  It's a quad of shimmery neutral colors that I probably used as eyeshadows.  One color the bronzey one has hit pan and there are serious dips in the pink and champagne colors as well.  This makeup brand wasn't cheap so I'd bet I paid about $30-45 for this.  There's a lot of product in it.  All the colors still give pigment and it doesn't smell so I may keep it around to see if I can incorporate it into my routine.
2. ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal. I bought this thinking it'd be a good eyelid base color. I love pale pinks on my eye, but it ended up being too shimmery.  I didn't realize I could use it as a highlighter till much later.  I've used it a couple of times as a blush topper and it's beautiful.  You have to use a really light hand because it is shiny, but for $1 what's not to like.  I'll keep it around till it starts smelling bad.
3. Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana- this is the same format as my Ticket to Brazil, but I got it because a YouTuber said it was a good under eye concealer setting powder.  It doesn't have much shimmer as it's sister, but it does have a little.  When I'm tan I can't set my concealer with it but when it's the winter and I'm paler I totally can.  It's a nice highlighter the rest of the year though.  I don't use very much of it and have a bunch of other setting powders so I can't imagine going through this thing in the next year so I doubt I'll repurchase it. There's nothing wrong with it but I don't need it. But I'll keep it around till then.
4. ELF Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls- this is my favorite highlighter, my go to everyday highlighter.  It's the perfect subtle shimmer for my cheeks and inner corner of my eyes. I love it.  It's a light champagney color but doesn't transfer much pigment. It lasts all day and a little bit goes a long way.  This one was $3, I use it every day and it looks like I've only had it for a week.  I don't really need anything else from a highlighter so if I ever get through this one I'll definitely repurchase it.
5. ELF Blush in Gotta Glow. I unfortunately bought this in the same haul as the baked highlighter so this one didn't get any love. I bought it because I heard it was a dupe for one of the NARS highlighters, but I just wasn't impressed. I've used it a couple of times but it has too much pigment and just kinda can brush off.  I think this was one of the $2 elf blushes, but I will not repurchase. I may keep it around and see if I can use it for something but this one I'm very blah on.
6. Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette, highlighter in Champagne.  Another gorgeous Tarte product.  This is a very simple and light highlighter. Great for everyday.  It has a really weird texture in the pan but one the skin it goes on evenly and gives you a very lit from within kinda look.  I don't think Tarte does highlights as well as they do blush or bronzer or eyeshadows, but I wouldn't turn down a future kit because it had this highlight in it.  When I don't use my ELF Baked Highlighter this is usually the one I go for instead.  And it's great for traveling because it's a complete kit.  
7. Clinique Glow Blush. This I got from my sister when I was home for Christmas. I thought it'd be good for a blush topper it's a creamy stick blush with lots of shimmer.  But unfortunately it's gone bad and smells like cheap lipstick. I bet it was pretty once upon a time, but unfortunately it's past it's prime. 
8. Temptu Highlighter in Pink Pearl (not pictured). I got a tiny sample of this liquid highlighter in an Ipsy bag in the fall and it is gorgeous. I never use it but should because it's separating but I think I can shake it up and it'll work again.  It's the perfect lit from within glow and you just apply it with your fingers and it's gorgeous.  It's supposed to go with an airbrush makeup kit so I wouldn't purchase it on it's own and also it's not the easiest to work with but it's super pretty, I'm going to keep it till I use it up or it goes bad. 

So I only got rid of two items this time around, In the next few I should be able to get rid of a lot more. I know I have some super old liners and lip products so those should be productive.  But slowly we'll get through this.  Next up will be liners, eye and lip! 

A quick history of my life with makeup.

I'm obsessed with makeup.  Of course I am, I'm so obsessed I started a blog about makeup.  In the last 8 months specifically my makeup obsession has grown to outrageous proportions. It's grown so much that strangers have started commenting on my makeup and friends/family ask me for makeup advice.

So how did it all start...I guess you can say it's my mom's fault (love you mom!).  Growing up we weren't allowed to wear "makeup" till we were in middle school.  And right before 6th grade my mom took me (and years before my sister) to the Clinique counter at Dillards or Foley's in the mall to get our first makeup.  I was so excited for my "makeover".  Clinique declared me and countless other teenagers in the 90s as "Tawny" I remember the blush, the eyeshadow duo in a sparkly orange bronze and a matte cream, and the black honey lipstick.  I also got all set up with their face care products, their standard face bar soap, the toner for dry skin and the regular yellow grandma smelling lotion.  This makeup routine carried me throughout middle school but as I slowly had to start supplying my own makeup I downgraded to a little more affordable items and also a little more nontraditional items like purple mascara and all the glitter. Anyone remember those True Color kiosks in the mall? They were loose pigment shadows before we called them that.

For as long as I can remember I've loved watching people apply makeup.  I used to love watching my mom put on her makeup.  I thought it was so cool how she blended her eye shadows together and used the dark brown as shadow and eyeliner. I learned how to apply mascara by watching her too- she'd start at the base of her brows, wiggle the brush and pull up. She wore cream blush  that looked super red till she blended it out and always put lipstick on then blotted it with a tissue.  These are things I remember.

Growing up my sister was the one who was better at makeup than me.  She used to rim her eyes with black liquid eyeliner and it made her look like she had rabbit eyes.  I thought it was so cool and pretty but could never recreate it- to this day I still suck at liquid eyeliner.  I loved watching Haley apply eye makeup too.  She wore a lot of greys where as my mom wore a lot of natural colors, so of course I stared wearing more greys, silvers and blues with black eyeliner.

In high school I still experimented with makeup a lot and at the same time not.  For a couple years every spring for Lent I'd give up wearing makeup.  But I also did musical theatre in high school so there was lots of experimenting with what stage makeup could do for you.  Whenever there was something fancy or formal to go to in high school I'd ask my mom or sister to do my makeup, I just always felt like they did it so much better than me.

It wasn't until college and after that my makeup use and abuse sort of leveled off.  I started just wearing pretty neutral colors, browns on the eyes, mauve-y cheeks and no lipstick.  Still at any chance I had I'd let someone else do my makeup though. I just always felt if I tried to do something out of my usual I'd mess it up and look like a clown.  There are numerous times where friends would tell me I had a little excess blush on.  I went through tons of different brands of makeup, for a while I was obsessed with Victoria Secret's Very Sexy makeup line, I still have tons of their quads and palettes. I tried Bare Minerals for a while but I was too clumsy for loose pigments. I used Glo Mineral Makeup for sometime and loved it, but not the price. Those brands got me pretty much through my early and mid 20s.

It really wasn't until 8 months ago that I started becoming obsessed with makeup, I was content wearing my natural looks.  Immediately prior to 8 months ago I was wearing very little makeup, some Too Faced natural eyes, Lancome Terra-cotta blush, brown eyeliner by whoever and black Maybelline mascara. I never wore foundation and my skin has always been too dry for allover powder.  Then 8 months ago I was cast in Little Women as Amy- a character 16 years younger than myself but more importantly Blonde.  Instead of doing the logical thing and just wearing I wig I volunteered to dye my hair Blonde. Not just Blonde, but platinum blonde. I went from dark dark brown hair to white blonde hair in about 5 hours. It completely changed the color of my face! Or at least my perception of the color of my face.  I felt washed out all the time and started applying more blush (always a mistake) and so I took to the internet to figure out what makeup works best for blondes.

And then I fell into the rabbit hole...

Down and down I went.  Starting first with Beauty Bloggers. There was so much great information out there! Bronzer, I needed bronzer! All over bronzers like Wet 'n Wild's Ticket to Brazil it was perfect for all over color, just enough to make me look less dead. Then I needed highlighter, just on the tops of cheekbones, brow bones and cupid's bow. I needed to put blush above the apple's of my cheeks and back towards my temple.  It was also painfully obvious I needed to start filling in my eyebrows, how had no one ever recommended it to me before! How dare a blonde have light eyebrows, they must be darkened up! Then one day a beauty blogger reference her favorite Beauty Vlogger.  YouTube.  I fell into YouTube. So many videos, so many product recommendations. Have you heard about this contouring thing? Matte lipsticks? Where have you been all my life!  I spent hours watching YouTube videos and making my lists of products I needed.

8 months later I haven't stopped. I dyed my hair back after 6 months, 6 months of being an unnatural blonde was plenty- fun- but I'd had enough. Going back to brunette I worried all my new makeup knowledge wouldn't be needed anymore, but luckily that proved not to be true. If anything it's gotten a little worse. As a brunette I feel like there are so many new colors available to me. I still have a classic natural look I like to throw on when I'm in a hurry, but life's too short not to have fun with  makeup! Time in the morning is often frequently too short to play with makeup too long. I've found myself rushing more than usual with the rest of my morning routine because I spend so much time playing with my makeup.

So I guess while I can blame my mom for my initial introduction into makeup, I can also blame the theatre, the internet and especially YouTube.  I haven't asked anyone else to do my makeup in quite sometime, but I still love watching other people do their makeup and love hearing about products other people are using. So this is going to be my makeup outlet, where I can share what I've learned, what I've discovered and what I'm trying and sometimes failing at.