Archived Post
What was the very first makeup item you used?
What was the very first makeup item you used? Share!
I believe it was Benefit Show Offs!
Thanks to Judy for today’s question!
Got a question idea? Submit yours here.
Explore Temptalia
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
143 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
it was a green clinique compact foundation that i “borrowed” from my mom. i was 9 years old :p
Haha. Same Answer. But I was 15. 🙂
omg what indeed. I think one of my mother’s lipsticks when I was 5…
Avon eye shadows and their mascara.I was 12 or 13.
I think it was eyeshadow or a blue mascara 🙂
lancome juicy tubes
and
covergirl last exact brown mascara!
Lipsmackers lipgloss!
L’oreal Voluminous mascara I hated that mascara and still do to this day 😛
Oh, my… first ever, at all? I think it was a mood lipstick from WAY back in the day. But I was just a wee kid, so I doubt that counts at all.
First item used when I was actually old enough to wear makeup was probably a Cover Girl automatic gray eyeliner. My skin was still young and pretty enough that I didn’t need to fuss with anything else beyond eyeliner. I miss those days… hah.
First thing used on me was lipstick, I think, for dance competitions. The first thing I ever used myself was my mom’s leftover YSL Faux Cils mascara – which I still swear by!
Probably Cover Girl powder compacts, unless Lipsmackers count haha
That’s what I was thinking! Definitely lipsmackers.
i believe it was an avon lipstick sample!
I’m not sure if it counts as makeup, but lipsmackers lip gloss. I had a vanilla frosting one and a strawberry one.
I don’t know the very first but i started wearing mascara on a regular basis when i was 13 🙂
I used my mom’s old mascara…It was blue!!
Now that i think about it it’s kind of gross… hahaha
My mom used to have a makeup bag and inside was a covergirl cheekers blush, MAC studio fix powder, and a wetnwild lipstick. I used to sneak into her room and play with those! I was only like 7 or 8! Still love the studio fix powder to this day! 🙂
Lip Smackers, definitely! First department store items were Clinique concealer, foundation, and eye shadow duo when I started high school.
Oh this brings me back…I first used Maybelline 3 in 1 foundation stick, the one advertised with Sarah Michelle Gellar. I wish they still made those lol.
I think it’s my mom’s Maybelline blush on.
The first cosmetics I used where Bonne Bell kits sold in the 80’s,however the first “real” makeup I wore was in 1987 and it was a horrible frosted pink Wet N Wild lipstick,I think it was called Pink Ice.
Lipsmackers lipgloss and clear mascara!
I think it was some blue Hello Kitty eye shadow. 🙂
some lavender Lip Smackers blusher that has sparkles in it. I still have it actually…
Eyeliner at age 12, and it was awful because that’s all I wore and it was so dark an harsh looking. Knowledge deffinetly comes with age, lol.
I remember my friend’s mom put together a Mary Kay Birthday party for her (the mom sold mary kay), and she invited me and I got to play around with makeup and if I wanted to we got to purchase it. I was 13 and I remember the first thing I put on my face was mascara and I had no clue how to apply it! But I remember when my mom picked me up, I begged her for an eyeshadow quad, mascara, blush and a lipgloss.
I am sure when I was younger I played around with my moms makeup but to be honest I really don’t remember. I did however use lip smackers lip balm, religiously… but I don’t think of that as “makeup”
bonnebell grey eyeliner =D
probably my mom’s sparkly blue aziza eyeshadow.
I got a pimple on my cheek the next day.
she yelled at me and told me thats what happens when you wear makeup.
Eyeshadow!
My aunt took me to MAC to experience makeup. The artist put eyeshadow on me first.
You have the coolest aunt ever!
Max Factor Compact..I guess it was my Moms hand-me-down.. 🙂 I must have been like..9 or 10yrs old.. 🙂 Gr8 memories..
mother’s lipstick.
I ate my mother’s all-time favorite lipstick when I was a baby or toddler (around 1979). She still has what is left of the poor thing in her medicine cabinet! It just smelled so sweet and apparently tasted good enough to scarf down the whole thing. I also chewed up her favorite metallic belt and my dad’s shoe liners, so maybe my taste was questionable… Even through a bathroom remodel in the 1980s, she did not throw away her makeup from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It is a veritable museum! And believe it or not, quite a bit of it is still perfectly good and has not turned or spoiled.
My mother’s Elizabeth Arden’s Victory Red Lipstick.
a rollerball lipgloss in the flavour canada dry, oh the memories of childhood just came flooding back.x
It was Barry M’s black eyeliner!
absolutely zero idea because i was a dancer at 5 and was caked in various layers of makeup from then on… but i remember my mum liked using avon samples and stuff from japanese brand menard!
Mum’s concealer as lipstick(!) at about 7, and my sister’s silver eyeliner at about 11 (mum and I had a huge fight about it!)
Oooh I did that too!
I was never allowed to use nail polish or makeup when I was little but I did have a peel off nail polish. It was red and to remove it you just rubbed it and it came off. My first proper makeup was probably a Rimmel Hide The Blemish concealer stick. I used to take makeup from my Mum’s drawer and put it on my doll haha.
Cutex Peppermint Pink Lipstick (it was flavoured with peppermint). And Max Factor lip gloss (it was a GREAT lipgloss and I wish it were still available, to tell you the truth…sort of the colour of Smith’s original Rosebud Salve but in a twist up tube).
All of my mom’s lipsticks! 😀
An Innoxa lipstick
I have no idéa what was actually the first, but the first product i remember was a metallic lightgreen creamshadow 😛
I think it probably was a bright red lipstick. Loved the bold look from a young age.
Aside from Lip Smackers, my first actual “makeup” item was a CoverGirl LipSlicks lip gloss. I can’t believe I still remember that. I think my first one was in a yellow tube and I also had one in a purple tube.
clear mascara 🙂
it was a sample of a lancome mascara and a white eyeliner
crikeys, first ever?! probably a clear mascara, though I can’t remember which one exactly!!
Covergirl liquid foundation! I slathered that stuff allll over my face!
Bonnie Bell Lipsmackers, and we all had our ‘signature’ flavor. I believe mine was Dr Pepper! I quickly moved up to Aziza ( anyone else remember this line?) lip gloss which was so thick and sticky it could keep my lips content for a whole day of skiing.
I “borrowed” plenty of my older sister’s & mom’s (she was a makeup artist) makeup when I was little, but the first product that was ever all mine was MAC’s Pink Freeze lipstick!! It was the definition of frosty hot pink “grandma” lipstick! Maybe now I could make it work but back then, I’d say about 2000-ish was when it came out, no way! I still have it because I’ve grown sentimentally attached to it (haha!), I don’t use it though. I just can’t submit my first product ever to a recycling bin!!
Hmm..Cover Girl foundation. I started using that at 17 :p
Probably a drug store lip gloss I don’t remember. The first one I remember for sure was prescriptives foundation.
eye liner….soo…much…eyeliner….
Cornsilk face powder and this weird CG highlighter powder that I just put ALL over my entire face. HAHAHAHAHAHA
I used the Sally Hansen Cornsilk powder when I first started wearing makeup in high school. Good times 🙂
First thing I probably bought myself, Wet and Wild black eyeliner that I used to melt with a lighter in junior high! But I do remember playing with those tiny avon lipstick samples:-)
Besides Lip Smackers and Bonne Bell Lipglosses, my first makeup was Maybelline’s Full’n Soft mascara on my mother’s recommendation.
Lol, my mom’s YSL lipstick. I totally destroyed it and my mom’s room was a mess, lipstick all over it! xD I was like 4 propably, or younger : D
black eyeliner LOL..and covergirl pressed powder 🙂
Some Revlon lipstick that my mom said I could have. It was a dusty rose color.
Gosh, I remember going to the grocery store every Friday during the summer with my grandparents. My grandpa spoiled me, he’d always let me get one thing, and usually it was makeup. I think the first thing I owned, was probably an Almay black eyeliner, which is still my go-to stick eyeliner to this day!
Clear mascara in 7th grade! I was so excited to be able to use it. My lashes were so crispy!
it Was Boots 17 mascara I was 14
a powder compact for those oily tween years, afterwards i secretly wore make up in middle school – lipstick blush and eyeshadow!
My first makeup was a creamy color from Covergirl I think. And Maybelline mascara in the white tube. My Mom left for work before I had to leave for the school bus and I would use both. After that, I jumped to Ultima II and Borghese.
Other than playing around with my mom’s makeup, the first time I really felt like I was wearing makeup was Limited Too glitter! Haha that was the best!
My first serious encounter with makeup was when I 14 and I used some random brown Revlon eyeshadow and my mom put it on me as an eyeliner. Before that it was lip gloss only and I used Lip Smackers 🙂
A clear Rimmel lipgloss 🙂 It tasted like lemonade! Memories..
Mom’s costume lipstick. It was white! And I began to wear Covergirl eyeliner, nyc powder and mascara, and L’Oreal lipgloss in middle school
My first item was from my mother’s medicine cabinet – a pearly light peach Sally Hansen nail polish. 🙂
Lipstick given to me by my mom’s friend when I was 4, unless you want to count the Avon Halloween makeup stick set my mom gave me when I was 2.
Wow! First beauty product was a Brucci lipstick (called capuccino, I think) I purchased from the beauty supply store with my own money when my mom allowed me to wear lipstick for the first time (15 years old).
I used my mom’s palettes when I was still a kid, but the first thing I bought was a L’Oréal Le Grand Curl mascara, I was around 15. Never found a better curving mascara since then!
I loved watching my mom do her makeup and was always peeking through her makeup bag. At age 7 I can remember stealing her eyelash curler in an attempt to curl my lashes haha definitely not safe. First actual makeup products I used around 10 years old would have to be bonnebell lipsmackers and wet n’ wild lipsticks (how 90s lol). Then around 12 or 13 my mom let me wear her covergirl face powder, even though I didn’t even need the coverage I loved to wear it. I wonder if it still has that smell to it…like chalky makeup lol
If this counts, it had to be orange flavored Chapstick where I actually took a big bite thinking I can eat it. I must have been 3 or 4. It didn’t taste like oranges :(. For makeup, I would have to say these teeny, tiny Avon lipstick samples that my mom got. I loved them and even used it on my Barbie dolls.
Kajal for some strange reason…
The first makeup item that I ever bought and used was a drugstore black eyeliner pencil. A powder compact came shortly after. My first ever non-drugstore makeup purchase was Urbam Decay’s Oil Slick.
When I was 7 or 8 I had some child’s make-up that was a blush and matching lipstick from Strawberry Shortcake or Holly Hobby. I don’t quite recall the brand but I remember it was a very lovely reddish brown shade.
My mom used to give me her clinique products she had hit pan on or didn’t use. I wore a different grape lipstick to kindergarden! Unless nail polish counts because I remember she painted my nails nude in preschool.
My VERY FIRST would be this dark fuchsia/burgundy lipstick from jordana and an apple eye liner in black… LMAO… And both were .99 cents each at any urban beauty supply store… Hell they still are .99 cents… LLS!!
Bourjois 3D effect liploss for me
Lancome mascara! I was in sixth grade and on an overnight field trip, so my mom never found out about it.
I think it was Revlon Street ear solid eyeshadow sticks when I was 12. My favorites were the glittery white one and the gold one!
Max Factor compact powder
I think it was a Cover Girl mascara when I was around 9 years old. I’ve always had long eyelashes, but they’ve never been dark enough for my liking. 😛
I had maybelline define a lash mascara and le crayon kohl in blue from lacome when I was 10 😉
Oh geez…LipSmackers for sure, the Covergirl pressed powder in the teal package, and smelt like Noxzema. I used to wear just clear mascara too, for some reason. I didn’t really start wearing makeup all the time, until late high school/early college. Great question! It’s fun to think about what we used to use. 🙂
Clinique Mauve Crystal lippie
Tinkerbell Cosmeticts. They use to have lipgloss, perfume, blush, shadow, and powder. It came in the cutest cosmetic bags!
Yes! I think they sold it at Hallmark of all places. In second grade my best friend brought some bright pink Tinkerbell lipgloss to school and I put it on during recess…and our teacher yelled at us. I think that’s my first makeup moment, except for maybe my mom painting red circles on my cheeks (I was an elf in a Christmas pageant) with a nasty red lip gloss that came in a big plastic wedge.
I don’t know about the first item I used, but I think the first makeup I owned was CoverGirl lipstick that I bought at CVS when I was maybe 11 or so. I probably played with my mom’s makeup before that though.
I believe it was some cheap lipgloss that came with a Barbie doll…
Maybelline Line and Shine…it was a double ended wand with a lip liner on one side and a matching lip gloss on the other
i remember mine was a hand me down (from mommy) lavender/purple eyeliner pencil…it was really creamy and my brown eyes popped! i was about 13 yrs old (16 now).
Clinique Lipgloss in Air Kiss. I got it to wear at a wedding I was a bridesmaid at. I was around 12 or 13.
I used the Clinique Face Powder and it came with a free gift…….
lancome mascara – and until today i always return to lancome for mascara 🙂
A robin’s egg blue Maybelline eyeshadow of my mom’s!!
If Lip Smackers lip gloss doesn’t count, I think the first real “makeup” item I used was the CoverGirl WetSlicks Fruit Spritzers lip gloss, or maybe it was CoverGirl Fantastic Lash
I miss the days when I had like 2 things of makeup
most likely the blue shade from the freebie eye shadow palette i got with my teen magazine subscriptions.
Wet-n-wild eyeliner in blue or green when I was in 7th grade.
Lancome juicy tubes and a dark pink Chanel lipstick.
The first makeup item I used, that I knew what I was doing with, was Yardley’s lavender eye shadow and Bonnie Bell mascara. It was 1967! I used my mother’s lipstick and face powder when I was four or so, but, looking at the pictures, I can tell I had no clue as to how to use these items. ☺
Oh, I forgot to say, I was 13 years old.
I think it was my mom’s BeautiControl wet/dry face powder when I was 11.
I was like 14 years old and Tommy Hilfiger had makeup and a skincare line… The first makeup item I bought was a powder and a Raspberry Shower Gel! By Tommy Hilfiger! Seems like ages ago! Hahahaha!
prolongear concealer mac
For me it was a purple minnie mouse eye shadow. I was 6…. I can’t remember how I got it (probably as a gift since I wouldn’t have any money to buy it myself…)
For real… Bobbi Browns Face touch up stick. For when i was REALLY little…. Lipsmackers probs 🙂
The first was chapstick,lipsmackers that kinda thing.
Mine was benefits showoffs too. They had the awful tube packaging but they were so cute!
lip smachers lip sparklers 🙂
I danced when I was younger, so I’m not sure of my FIRST product. I do recall my friend putting on blue mascara on me during an overnight camping trip. But the first product I got to actually wear regularly was Maybelline’s Eyestudio Gel Liner. I only put it on my waterline. . . oh lawdie!
I think my first make-up was Stila Kitten eyeshadow and Clinique pressed powder.
:O Thank you for answering Christine! I was curious 😀
Plus i think its quite an interesting question.
Mine was definitely one of my mom’s Clinique eyeliner 🙂
a watermelon-scented lip gloss/balm from Avon. Can’t remember the name 😀
the next one was a Maybelline mascara…
Not sure if anyone remembers the line… but my first makeup was the “Streetwear” line Revlon had out. I had a bunch of those cream eyeshadows that stacked together.
Orange Crush flavored Lipsmacker and mood lipstick when I was little. Then Cover Girl foundation and blush (some kind of orangey tan color, applied in 80s-style streaks under my cheekbones) in junior high.
Covergirl cheekers blush and black eyeliner, back in dance shows from when I was, oh, 4?
Laura Mercier lip gloss in Lilac…or at least that was the first product I bought.
in elementary school, i used black eyeliner to “shade my brows.” i have light/medium brown hair and had stark black eyebrows for a week!
It was a brown pencil eyeliner that I “borrowed” from my mom. It also sparked an unfortunate phase of wearing way too much dark liner.
l’oreal water shine liquid diamonds lipgloss and maybelline volume express mascara
I mean maybelline water shine liquid d.
i think its a lipstick and foundation from rimmel, and a stick gloss from redearth
black eyepencil and lilac lipstick from Bourjois
I used to sneak into my mother’s lipstick, lock the bathroom door & apply it when I was about 4 & 5.
The first makeup items I started using were these slimshine-like sheer “lipsticks” (I think it was called “Mocha”) from Claire’s about 15 years ago (I’m nearly 25)& the Bonne Bell Lip Smacker Gloss in Cotton Candy (it was a pale sheer pink with shimmer & a YUMMY SMELL!).
I then moved onto CornSilk translucent pressed powder. I don’t know why I thought an 11 year old needed this; I think I just saw my mother using it & thought it was fun.
At age 12 I started wearing mascara but I forget the name. Age 13, I used the champagne eyeshadow from CoverGirl to brighten up the inner corners of my eye & brow bone along with the mascara. Age 14, I added in liquid liner.
I didn’t start wearing actual “eyeshadow looks” until I was 18 (7 years ago)! But luckily it came to me naturally. And now my collection is just ridiculous.
Oh, makeup I <3 you.
*** Cotton Candy Clouds LipSmacker Gloss – Now called Smackers Lip Sparkler -THEY STILL SELL IT, HOLY COW! I’m buyin’ it.
The Body Shop Born Lippy Lipbalm, Maybelline Lash Discovery & Maybelline Watershine Lipstick (I forgot the shades name, but it something sheer brown/berry-coloured I guess). I bought it all in the same time.
Revlon Lip Gloss in Clear. haha. my mom bought it for me, so i could put it on for special occasion
Used to used my mom’s eye shadows when I was like, 6 or something. lol
mom’s lipstick when I was 8
Some 50 cent lip glosses I begged my mother to buy me when I was 14 years old and she would only let me wear it on special occasions.
It was this blue frosty cream liner, I forgot what brand.
lip gloss. The fruity scented and flavoured one. Don’t remember the brand. That was the only thing i was allowed to wear and then eye kohl
So, I’m from the middle east and they put a kind of eyeliner on their babies lol its a black powder which you apply with a stick…since then I would wear my mom’s red lipstick.
Mary Kay basic 5 shadow shell in 1970. It had brown, yellow, white, blue and green
Lip Smackers!
Unless Lip Smackers count then a bunch of covergirl products that my great aunt sent me. My Mom said I couldn’t wear them but I did anyway! I still have the eyeshadow quad and did have the lipstick until one of the kids I babysit for ate it. Oh, well!
Jane Megaberry megabite lipstick.
It was a huge staple for me, until my last surviving tube ran out a few months ago.
Compact Pressed Powder when I was about 12