ME, MYSELF & MAKEUP
Writing a blog for four and a half years means that sometimes it all feels a bit self-indulgent, but occasionally I like to remember that beauty reviews aside, this little space I have on the Internet is pretty much my online diary. I’ve had a diary since I was 10 and to me this blog is just an extension of those diaries that are now stored under my bed (don’t tell Rich!). So with grammar and spelling mistakes included (as always), I’m going to write today’s diary entry about beauty. I know, surprise surprise, it’s always about beauty. But no matter how shallow or materialistic it may be, I love how beauty and makeup means something different to everyone and we all have our own memories and stories. So here are some moments and vague memories I have on my history with makeup…
That time when Jojo presented mum with a fully made up 4 year old…
It was no surprise that my sister ended up as a makeup artist. She used to give me makeovers all the time. It started when I was too young, she’d pile on the blusher, mascara and tie my hair up in a scarf. As I grew up she’d always do my makeup before parties, whether it was blue eyeliner, blue lipstick (yep, you heard right!) or face paint for fancy dress. For our year one school play we performed Noah’s Ark and I was a ladybird. Jojo and my friend’s mum helped with the face painting and I thought it was so cool. She had one of those MAC brush rolls and I used to take it out from the cupboard under the sink and lay it all out to have a look. I’d take some of the brushes out and just pretend to put makeup on, they were so soft! I also remember watching her wash them all… could this be the reason for my makeup brush obsession now??
The first time I attempted proper makeup myself…
The year 6 dance. It was traumatic enough being turned down by the boy I fancied and having to go with “a friend who’s a boy”, but the whole outfit and look didn’t help things. I wore a lavender Tammy Girl dress and wore my hair in a low, frizzy ponytail with a few flower clips in (I wasn’t very good at special occasion hair). I wanted to give makeup a go though so I cracked out the purple glitter and clear lipgloss. From what I remember, the glitter went somewhere near the edge of my eyes and the clear, coconut flavoured lip gloss was reapplied all night – because it looked cool, obviously.
Mum, I reaaaalllly want a juicy tube…
You know that feeling of – oh my god I really want that product, I don’t even know why but my life depends on it – well that all started for me with the Lancôme Juicy Tube. A small, colourful, delicious smelling lipgloss that all the popular girls at school had. I hadn’t even heard of Lancôme but I saved up my pocket money (with a little advance from my mum) and picked up the pinkest, yummiest smelling shade. It was sticky but I didn’t care, it was like gold! Apart from the odd trend here and there, makeup didn’t really excite me that much at school. I had a black eyeliner phase but I think I was more into what I was wearing at this stage as my school had no uniform. Fourteen was the handbag age… That’s when the handbag obsession started.
When I bought my first MAC lipstick but didn’t use it for years…
The first MAC lipstick I ever bought was Saint Germain. The brightest, blue toned, bubblegum pink there is… It didn’t suit me and it never will, which is probably why it sat in my room for a good couple of years before I actually wore it at Uni – big mistake. It took me a while to get into MAC as I found it all a bit overwhelming, but I remember loving their bronzers! I was all about the bronzer back then.
The housemate that introduced me to Benefit…
My housemate at Uni was very much into her beauty stuff and she was the one to first introduce me to Benefit. The first product I picked up was their Coralista blush and still to this day it’s one of my favourite blushers. I had the most fun with makeup during Uni. All the fancy dress nights meant I could really get creative and I think that’s when I really fell in love with it all. Let’s just say my student loan would come in and go out very fast.
Generations of women and their skincare…
Despite having a mother and grandmother with strict skincare routines and impeccable skin, I fought the whole skincare thing for a while. My mum always begged me to ditch the face wipes and actually wash my face but I could never be bothered. Now I love my skincare and it’s a pleasure to share the passion with the older generations of women in my family. Don’t worry mum, I didn’t tell dad how much you spent on that eye cream, your secret is safe with me…
So that’s my beauty story. Some key moments that really stick out for me along the way. Beauty is such a small part of people’s lives but for some of us, it’s one of the most enjoyable. I don’t mind if that sounds sad, I’m happy I let myself become obsessed with it all because it’s nice to feel passionate about something, no matter what it is.
I’d love to hear your memories and stories, so if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, give yourself a pat on the back and leave me some comments to read tonight!
