How has your makeup application evolved over time? Share!
When I first started, I only applied eye makeup, but nothing else on the face, and I think I am better at balancing the two. I also think I am more conscious of taking time to get details right, because any mistake shows up ten times worse in a macro shot.
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At 13 when I was first allowed to wear makeup, I really had no clue whatsoever what I was doing! Eyeshadow, but only on my sliver of visible lid, black liquid liner encircling the entire lashline, but no cat-eye flick, and if I remembered, mascara and maybe lipstick? And now, I go pretty much the whole nine yards, except false lashes! Perfected a cat-eye that suits my eye shape, got quite adept at doing better contouring & highlighting, and got quite quick at laying it down & blending it out. And eyeshadow? Well, I found out the rudimenteries of how to apply it from my cousin, and it has taken on a life of its own, always improving & progressing. It’s an art form!
I remember when it was just foundation or powder, a single eyeshadow and mascara in high school and college. I gradually added more basics in the years afterwards, started experimenting with colors other than browns and grays for the eyes, but it’s only in the last few years that I’ve gone for the full face and moved the makeup process out of my bathroom. I was afraid of bronzer until a couple years ago, and I’m pretty sure it took a full year of feeling like an idiot to be brave enough to actually wear makeup on my eyebrows out of the house.
I love the new site layout Christine! Goodness knows how much work has gone into the change and I’m enjoying playing with all of the features!
i think it’s always the same – if i look on old pics of me it only think “WTF?!?”. I think the worst thing was when i didn’t do my eyebrows – i looked like an albino 😛
X
Oh that’s a question I have to think about! Also it’s like waaaay past when I should be asleep so that probably doesn’t help… I’m pretty new-ish to makeup (I’m 27 now and got into in what I was about…22?) and also I’ve had to hit the pause button on it mostly because health stuff has made it so I can’t do things like wash my own hair, let alone apply makeup, so what I did right before I started having to not wear makeup (gradually got worse over the last 2 years or so) vs what I WANT to do now are more the things I’m going to compare. When I first started out, I was very hesitant and pretty light-handed. I also didn’t think I could pull off a bunch of stuff like corals (which look amazing on me) and things like bronzer. What I would like to do now is, first off, probably a light to medium foundation, which hasn’t changed. Now I like a slightly more intense eye. I still like more of a wash of color instead of a bunch of stuff because it saves time and is lower maintenance, but instead of something like MAC Satin Taupe something more like Charlotte Tilbury’s Eyes to Mesmerize in Bette which is a bit more intense and can be smoked out a bit. I’ve embraced every shade of lip color instead of just MLBBs. I also worship at the altar of the lipliner. I didn’t use highlighter at all before and now I have maybe 5 different ones in different forms (liquid, powder, etc) and tones. Aside from that, not much has changed because I haven’t been able to change it.
Anne, I don’t know what was causing your limitation, but I hope they improve or at least stabilize. That’s so difficult. Perhaps we can collectively come up with work arounds.
It’s been a long time coming, and is likely related to my spine. I was born with a severe form of c-curve scoliosis (where it bends to one side instead of the usual S-curve form where it’s more like the Sephora logo), and had a spinal fusion when I was a little under a year and a half old so my spine wouldn’t crush my heart and one of my lungs. I had about 6 months in a cast and another year in a brace, none of which I remember because I was so little, and then aside from being a bit less flexible in that part of my back I was fine. Fast-forward to when I was about 19 or so and I started getting minor back pain from time to time. When I was 23 and at university in Canada, something shifted and I had instantaneous, acute pain in my neck, with nerve and muscle pain fanning out to my shoulders, upper back, and down my arms. If I was back in the US and Obamacare had been around, it probably would have been dealt with in a few months. But I was in Canada and only had access to my crappy school clinic docs and walk-in clinics due to the massive shortage of GPs. As a result, none of them bothered to do anything and I just got worse and worse until I finished my degree in April. By then it had been almost 3 1/2 years (January 2014-April 2015). When I got to the US and had insurance things went pretty quickly. I went to a pain clinic in Portland but got a crappy PA that made it worse, and about a month ago I switched to a different pain doc who really seems to know his stuff. He’s ordered a full workup (MRIs and other scans, full neuro workup, etc) but agrees with me that it’s likely the upper (cervical) spine compensating for the imbalance that my middle (thoracic) spine has due to the scoliosis. So I’ve slowly, over time, developed arthritis in my neck, pinched nerves, worn down discs, etc. Once we know exactly what the landscape looks like, we can do a lot to fix it. There are injections that stop the muscles from spasming, plastic discs we can replace the discs between my vertebrae with, injections that deaden nerves, and various forms of surgery that can do things from widening space between the vertebrae to (hopefully as a last resort) another spine fusion. So it should be fixable, I was just in a system that didn’t care to fix it. Statistically, if you are female, and if you are young, chronic pain tends to be ignored and considered “all in your head” (don’t even get me started on if I wasn’t white…). So there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, I just learned the hard way that some medical systems won’t work with complex health issues (and the US wouldn’t have pre-Obamacare anyways). So it sucks (I’m usually around a 7-10 on pain scales, do things like pass out or puke from the pain a lot, etc) but for the first time in a while I can see a time when I am either completely pain-free, or have so little that it stops getting in the way of my life. It’s been amazing how supportive people are online, and that’s been one of the major things to get me through (aside from my sheer stubbornness about finishing my degree XD). Sorry for the long-winded reply, and thanks so much for you concern!
I Understand, as an and a person with disabilities. Omg
Herrera as bad as yours. I admire you courage and determination to experiment with products to make you self image more mainstream. I hope you are co injured to be able to experiment within your disabilities and hopefully blow the away. As you may well know, there are adaptive devices to help you with application. If not please contact me and we can fry different things together. It would be an honor to m ed to help you if that is something you enjoy. You, are courage and seem to be determined.ino longer work bc of physical limitations and may be able to help. Let me know if you want to play.
My first makeup look consisted of pink / purple eyeshadows and a full face of products but all were completely wrong for my skintone / skin type. Looking back the eyeshadows were shockingly unblended, greasy foundation, blotchy blush / bronzer and concealer lips (I once actually ran foundation across my lips and put some clear gloss on top and called it a day). I am glad over time I have much improved from where I started and I’m pretty much confident now with my techniques (I was trusted to do a bridal makeup look and a makeup class for my colleagues) 🙂
I’m just going to be honest. This new design is so bad I might not be able to use your site anymore, and that makes me really, really sad. I mean, a giant ad under the header that you have to scroll past to reach the first post? Then more ads between each post? And a condensed middle content portion to make more room for MORE ads on the right side? Pick one of those spaces for ads, or MAYBE two, but not every single space! It’s also incredibly visually difficult to tell the difference between content and ads because there are no boarders or solid colored spaces to set them off from each other. Which, maybe is what your advertisers want, but certainly not what your readers want. It makes it really hard to scroll from post to post without stopping to take a frustrating second and go “oh wait, that’s not the next post, it’s ANOTHER ad”…. I really hope something went wrong and this is not the “finished product”, because this is just unreadable. And, honestly, it’s so ad-stuffed it feels kind of disrespectful to us, the readers, the people who keep you in business.
She posted that there is an appropriate area for such comments in her post about the new layout. First thing this morning on my iphone I agreed, but on my PC I’m not seeing all these ads you speak of.
Thanks for your feedback! Ads are a necessary part of the site – we actually removed one or two ads in total, I believe, from the previous layout. Mobile ads are exceptionally low-paying compared to desktop ads, and the ad industry in general has decreased payments to publishers over the last five years. I would love to have an ad-free site, but it is not financially possible at this time. Temptalia doesn’t just support me – it supports myself, my husband, and my brother-in-law – three full-time employees, as well as part-time HR.
We are going to increase the space between posts and ads – it is on the list (please see the post on the new layout specifically) – but I do ask for your understanding that we cannot function without advertising. There was no intention to make it hard to distinguish one post from another – that is not our style at all as we are very transparent and upfront about how we run the site.
I’ve been on mobile…I love the new format.
Thank you!!
Every website has to have ads on it to support the business – it is a reality these days. I understand that having a website like this is quite expensive and it is not something that one person can do alone – you need an IT team behind you. I am OK with the ads and everything because I know they pay the bills. No worries Christine, Shaun and team. You do a great job.
Thank you for your understanding, Genevieve! It is very, very much appreciated 🙂
I”m not minding the ads, either. I use a laptop so I don’t get the mobile ads, and since they’re sort of content-related, I’m not offended by any of them. They seem to fit in with the theme of the site.
I love reading your blog and would gladly scroll through ads to see what you have to say about things anyway!
Thank you, Kelly! 🙂
I don’t care about the ads, but I’m not a big fan of change, LOL! Things are running much faster, though! The only real “negative” is sometimes I get a ad bar running right through the comments box, and I can’t see what I’m writing, which is a bit of a pain when using a tablet.
Hey Amy,
We’re going to be adjusting some of the sizing on medium-sized devices (probably encompasses your tablet) next week (it’s a little more intensive), so hopefully that fixes that, but I’ll also make note of it to check.
I know that when a reskin pops, it is overlapping on the right side slightly, but my ad network hasn’t confirmed they’ve updated it to reflect the new site design, but I’m not even sure a reskin will deploy on tablet.
Thanks for the response! I think what I was seeing last night was not the finished product. Perhaps the new layout loaded half way for me? I closed out my browser last night and when I opened again today what I saw was totally different. The ad under the top banner is no longer so large I have to scroll past it to get to the content, it now fits nearly under the header. The ads on the right side also fit in their space now instead of crowding out content. When I loaded up last night what I saw honestly looked very much like the stereotypical click-bait site– BIG ads everywhere and you had to hunt for the smaller bits of content between them. I’m guessing it was a glitch, and ads that were supposed to be horizontal were showing vertically, because now that I’ve exited out of my browser totally and reloaded the site it’s lovely! It’s actually a really great design. Good job to you and your team!
That’s great! I’m glad it loaded properly when you came back. Thanks for the update, Aimy!
i learned that less is more, and to blend for however long you need to until it turns out perfect
I used to be all about eyeshadow and paid little attention to everything else. Now I realize that doing my eyebrows and using blush really make my look complete. I also am more likely to use a bold lip, and use a lip brush and liner to apply reds, oranges, and hot pinks.
Sometimes I still apply eye makeup only! For at least 20 years I wore nothing but neutrals, specifically dark browns and plums. It’s only in the last 10 years (if that) that I’ve added colour, with coloured eyeliner and shadow, and my neutral look is brighter with the dark colours going in the crease instead of all over the lid.
So. Much. From foundation that was way too light and cakey to messy and low-quality eyeshadow looks and bleeding lipsticks from just a few years ago (it really hasn’t been long and I have been an adult for a while…), my skills and the self-knowledge involved in picking the right products have really grown. Temptalia has been a crucial part in all that. Thank you 🙂
I almost never used to wear eye shadow, or if I did it was just a sheer wash of pale yellow or taupe. THEN I went through an exploratory phase where I approached eye color the same way I might painting on canvas — I got bright primary and secondary colors, figuring I could mix and match them to create whatever I wanted! Turns out this is not the easiest approach…
But the biggest difference is that when I was younger, I preferred a completely flat, matte look to my face. Blush, sure, but NO shimmer/sheen or dimension. These days I quite enjoy highlighters, teeny touches of bronzer, blushes with shimmer, and dewy /radiant finishes.
(My love of lipsticks, especially reds, has remained constant. The quality of lipsticks I’m able to afford has increased, as well as availability, but other than that… Still not a gloss lover, either)
It pretty much went from quick, easy and minimal to very extensive and complicated to basic again! My main goal these days is to get my make-up on as quickly as possible and to get the best possible results using as little time and effort as possible 🙂
When I first started, it was all eyeshadows (shimmery pale pinks and purples), black pencil eyeliner, and mascara (on not curled, pointing-straight-down lashes!). I think I used a horribly cheap and dry blush and maybe some lipgloss.
Then I realized color eyeshadows can be fun! I did a lot of bold eyeshadow with black winged gel liner looks. I also wore heavy powder foundation for a while.
Then I did nothing for a long time because I lost my eyelash curler lol…
Now I do very thin and light foundation (thank you, Lisa Eldridge!) natural eyeshadows (just easier. I’m a boring old lady these days), brown eyeliner, and nudey plum blushes. I’ve also recently been using highlighters. I remember I used to think they were so pointless… Ah, so naive.
I’ve definitely learned a lot about applying makeup to my severely hooded lids. About 3/4 trial and error and 1/4 from YouTubers (especially Stephanie Lange recently). It’s amazing how it changes my look so drastically!
I’d have to say a little at a time. I got into make 7 years ago big time with mineral makeup (2008) because it was the first time I had ever seen foundation shades that actually match my fair olive skin tone! It was a learning curve to use mostly all powder products from foundation, blush and eyeshadows.
But I found that once I started to use pressed powder, it was crazy easy to work with!
A lot of techniques where trial and error, but I’m a visual/sculptural artist by nature so this came pretty naturally to me.
I never even knew about foundation brushes until my 30’s! (Thanks Youtube) I was a finger/sponge girl.
I’ve only ever owned cheap brushes (for contour/bronzer) and a couple MAC eye shadow/liner brushes my whole life, since I’ve invested in nearly every kind of brush so that has transformed my makeup application TREMENDOUSLY of course!
I’ve always had full eyebrows, but everyone has sparse areas so it wasnt until 22/23 that I started to fill in the sparse areas makes such a difference and now with the new formulas of tinted brow gel itso much easier!
When I first was allowed to wear makeup at about 13 I only wore powder foundation because my skin was so oily, plus a ring of black/dark brown eyeliner and no mascara (throwback to my emo days). I graduated to eyeshadow and liquid eyeliner for cat eyes in high school, and really only started actually blending and using more than one color on my lids in college. I’m also way more careful of how I do my makeup now, even my everyday lowkey look, because people are hypercritical and ya know, everyone is apparently a makeup artist now and has to put in their opinion whenever your makeup isn’t perfect -_-
When i first started wearing makeup at the age of 12 ,I would only wear blush and concealer to try and minimize the dark circles passed down to me by my ancestors since the dawn of time. (ALL HAIL COLOR CORRECTING is my family’s motto). There were no brushes involved other than the brush that came with the blush. I blame the 90’s early 2000’s for this look but most of my teens i only wore black eyeliner on the water line and a “smokey eye” which consisted of me smudging black eyeliner all over my lids lol. There was absolutely no eyebrow grooming , no mascara, no foundation,no contouring, no bronzer or highlighting. I could go on and on but i feel like nowadays there’s so much more information and outlets for people to learn over even what was available 10 years ago. It’s awesome. I look back at my younger self and think of all the awkwardness that could have been avoided if only the internet had been more evolved lol. Since then i definitely have polished my look a lot more. I can say that my eyebrows have been tamed and I now can do more than just the “vampire fan girl” eye look.. YAY! I also own multiple brushes and know how to use them hahaha.
Long story short , I can say i use wayyy more products than i used to and i’m not going back !
My style used to be: heavy, full-coverage foundation (set with lots of powder, of course); heavy concealer; invisi-brows (mine are blonde naturally, but my hair is brown); mascara (no eyeshadow/liner); and red lips.
I have no clue what this looked like in reality, but I thought I looked great. And I’ll admit, my lip game was on point. But good lord the foundation. Needless to say, I’ve moved to lighter coverage to more suit my needs, and use concealer only as necessary.
Great question! I have learned so much about makeup, especially through Youtube. My eye shape is unique and it took me awhile to learn how to apply makeup to my monolids. I also can’t live without bronzer now, when I hardly knew what it was for before. Experimenting and doing research online has helped my makeup routine and skills evolve so much.
I’m glad to see so many people started with just eye makeup XD. When I first started I was really obsessed with using all of the bright colors from my ELF 144 color palette and this black pencil from the Dollar store and great lash mascara. I didn’t start wearing any all-neutral looks until someone gave me one of the ELF beauty books with an eye primer.
It wasn’t until about two years later I started wearing foundation and lipstick and a year after that I started wearing blush. I bought a ton of lipsticks before I ever wore any of them outside, because I had such a hard time matching my lipstick with my eyeshadow.
Now I mostly just wear lipstick and face makeup for day-to-day (blush, highlighter, foundation) and I fool around with elaborate gel liner and eyeshadow at night.
I’m much more careful about my skin care (moisturizer, etc.) BEFORE I apply makeup. I wish we could all get past the mindset that makeup is fun but skin care is work; I’m still guilty of it. Anyhoo, I rely more on good brushes and sponges for application now instead of using whatever crappy applicator came with a product. I try to keep in mind that some of the dark colors that may have looked good on me at 20 make me look like death at 50.
It wasn’t until 3 years ago that I tried black eyeliner. I was always afraid to do more than basic brown, and although I wore makeup every day you may never have known it since it was so subtle. That black liner was like a revelation…I’m much more adventurous with my looks. I’m willing to try all kinds of looks now, and even if they don’t always work out they do often enough. YouTube has taught me a lot of techniques and provides me with inspiration. Tightlining my upper waterline and filling in the gaps of my brows is also fairly new (last couple of years). The most challenging has been my brows. There’s such a delicate balance between filled in and lightly defined brows and too much.
It’s evolved from only lipgloss, to lipgloss plus a single eyeshadow, then both of those plus mascara. I wore powder occasionally in middle school & high school to cover my acne. I began using liquid foundation during my junior year. I started using more than one eyeshadow color at a time when I was around 18, and eventually experimented more with coordinating colors when I bought a palette that had them (prior to this, I only had UD face cases, and the shadows in them didn’t blend well with each other). I’ve experimented more and gotten better at applying makeup throughout my twenties.
Until recently it was all about covering breakouts and creating a perfect canvas. Now, I still need coverage, but, I focus more on various eye looks etc.
So true re: macro, ugh blogging problems 😉
I used to wear powder, blush, concealer, mascara and a little eye pencil smudged around my eyes.
then I went into a period of no makeup, to just concealer and tinted red lip balm.
However I realized that it was too plain for me eventually so I started investing in makeup and now I love my highlighters, eyelash curler from Shiseido, liquid/pwdr foundations and have a collection of eye shadow palettes to wear for my various occasions. I even have other stuff like bronzers and some blushes/lip colors
I looked very backward back then and now I get compliments when I go out!!!:)
I started with makeup way later than most of the readers. Probably because I grew up in a country where grown up girls hardly wear any makeup, let alone 13 year olds. I started with black eyeliner along my upper eyelash line at 19. That’s pretty much all I wore till I was 28 and maybe sheer lipstick. Then I came to the US and always wondered how girls always looked so perfect with their perfect skin, hair. After that I started looking up beauty blogs, YouTube videos and there’s no stopping me ever since. I am 34 now and so much more confident about my looks. Now I wear light-medium foundations, shimmery eyeshadows(still trying to master the art), bold lips and rock the winged eyeliner. Thank you Christine! You have changed my life more than you can imagine
I’ve been wearing makeup for 30+ years, so I’ve added products, changed products, and changed with the times as necessary. I started with collecting Village Lip Licker flavored lip balms as a pre-teen, and was wearing foundation and full face by high school. I could write a book describing how it’s changed to what I wear now.
I think getting better quality products was a big evolution, especially when BareMinerals and other mineral makeup became available. I finally had makeup that matched my skin and didn’t oxidize. I did much more with my eyes, because I had shadows that didn’t instantly crease. I was in absolute heaven when eyeshadow primers came out! I could really get fancy then.
As far as actual application, that’s evolved with using brushes. I used to use my fingers, or the applicators that came with the product I was using. I thought brushes diminished the color payoff of my eyeshadows, but I came to realize it was really the fault of the crappy ds shadows I bought at the time. Now I use proper brushes for almost everything except foundation. I use a beauty blender-type sponge or my fingers usually (I have a couple I use a brush for).
My latest evolution has been adding things I was afraid for wear with my fair skin: Bright and dark blushes: I just need a formula that will sheer out and the right brush. Vampy lip colors: I learned they don’t make me look dead if I keep my cheeks a warm, but natural color. Contour: I’d started contouring under my cheekbones in college, but now I also do a little around my chin and nose. Highlighting: I used to do just my browbone and cheekbones, but now I do other areas. Foundations: I’ve added some liquids and creams due to aging hormones: I’m not always uber-oily any more. Brows: I never used to bother with my brows, but now I wax and do some light filling with powder or a pencil. I’m still trying to find how I like best to do my brows.
Not overly much. I know what colors work for me now though, when I started wearing makeup someone told me I was an Autumn coloring which I can tell you made me look sickly.
When I first started wearing makeup, at the tender age of thirteen, I was attending a private school that spanned from kindergarten to high school senior. Some of the older girls wore too much makeup, sported that abrupt line between where their foundation ended and their neck began, and had major fallout on their faces from eyeshadow and mascara. I was terrified of looking like that, so I used used a very light hand when doing my makeup. Such a light hand that most people didn’t even realize I was even wearing makeup. I still think about those girls and get a little nervous when I use a lot of product.
It wasn’t until age eighteen, when I got into modeling and cosmetology, that I became more confident with makeup. I was also introduced to brushes, eyelash curlers, and other tools and techniques. However, as much as I may have learned from those experiences, I have definitely learned so much more during the past five years through reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials. Because of the internet, I’ve learned about Beauty Blenders, setting sprays, primers, serums, luminizers, and so much more.
I know that my application methods, and the products I use, will continue to change and evolve as I age to accommodate the ever-changing texture of my skin as well as the challenges that come with getting older.
In high school, I’d wear nothing whatsoever on my face, but would wear neon pink or dark eyeshadow totally not blended out at all. I’d also wear crappy eyeliner in my waterline and I’d apply it thickly on the lower lash line so it’d get nice and goopy and gross throughout the day… all without any lip color or even mascara. <_< I'm so glad things have changed! haha
Now, I do still skip face makeup much of the time, but I love playing with makeup and wearing full face looks when I have the free time. I'm no expert still, but I'm tons better now than I was in high school. 😛
My makeup has completely changed in the past few years – especially since I was reading your website! In the past when I had my face “done” by MUA I was never completely happy and I never knew why. Now I know that they and I were using the wrong foundation shade.
I have had my knowledge broadened about eye shadows, how to apply them and what brands to buy. I now spend selectively on eye shadow palettes that are of excellent quality and thus better results. I am using brands – like UD, bareMinerals, Tarina Tarantino etc that I had never heard of before.
I am taking better care of my skin too – using serums and eye creams. I get complimented on my skin tone. Even my daughter in law think that my make up is much better now than it used to be and I am passing on what I have learnt to her. This website has totally changed my makeup life!
I used to use TONS of eye makeup, dark shadows, liner on the lid and waterline and little to no makeup on my face otherwise. Lately I’ve “evolved” to using more natural colored shadows and I’ve stopped using liner entirely. I have large, round eyes and while I used to think I should accent them with all that makeup, I’ve since changed my thinking that since they are so large and deep set that a lighter hand all around will be more flattering. I still use tons of mascara but the shadows I use tend to be lighter, more natural colors and I am really rocking the no-liner look.
It used to be about a dramatic neutral (if there is such a thing) eye and lipstick. Always a lid color, transition and crease color and an outer v, and a liner for lashlines. Until they came out with mineral powder foundation, I never wore any because any foundation would break me out and I never knew how to apply blush. Then I went through this phase where I watched way too many makeup tutorials and thought I had to use everything they did, so I was wearing a lot of product and a full face of makeup. Now, it’s evolved to being all about application and checking after every step to see if I “need” to add this or that. It’s my zen time in the morning and I love building a look. These days it t might still be a lot of product and a full face look I wear one day, but I’ve gotten a lot better at blending and buffing and transitioning colors.
In high school, my goal was to disappear in the crowd, which was impossible for someone of my size, stature and appearance. I wore thick cream-to-powder foundation in an attempt to cover the freckles – SO MANY FRECKLES! I have since learned to embrace and love the freckles.
Also (and this is going to sound ridiculous) when I started using a dense eyeshadow brush to blend concealer, it felt like I had discovered the wheel, fire, and movable type all at once! Before, when I would use my fingers, the concealer would disappear.
Mainly the use of actual brushes, LOL! Until I was 18, and took a stage makeup class, I had no clue how to access brushes, and there was a ton of improvisation involved. I started with literal paint brushes, and eventually found makeup brushes (aside from sponge-tipped applicators & blush brushes) become more mainstream. I did have a few from the occasional GWP/PWP, but nothing worth mentioning… I now have a massive assortment of brushes, many 20+ years old, and am always looking for interesting shapes/sizes, and repurposing.
Another thing that changed is that, unlike many others, lips were my main focus. For one, I could find affordable lip products that were great quality, just like now. Eyeshadow, however, just wasn’t that great, and color ranges were quite limited. HE eyeshadow was actually designed to be sheerer, and DS products were hit & miss, so there was some experimenting to be done. I would actually use Halloween makeup as eyeshadow bases, LOL! Blush was not a part of my repertoire, as I just never found the right type of shade that worked for me, until about 3 years ago. Now I’m the proud owner of 15-20 dusky rose blushes… I did always contour/highlight, though, since 1991!
The most important realization I had was not basing color selection merely on my skin/complexion. I dyed my naturally auburn hair black when I was 17, and what looked good previously was no longer flattering, and vice-versa. Also, I’m fairly pale & neutral, so in theory, pastels should work; however, my eyes are extremely dark, and I have classic Mediterranean features, so bolder shades are a better choice.
Overall, my aesthetic has remained fairly consistent (there will *always* be a touch of Goth in there!), but my technique has drastically improved. I also experiment less, as I know what works, and what doesn’t.
I used only shadow , mascara and lip gloss as a teen. Added foundation as a young adult. Eventually ascertained and foundation in late twenties. Blush after that.more recently have added primers, bronzer and highlighters. Of all, I think primers have made the biggest difference.
I’ve improved my brushes , sponges, and skincare with makes a huge difference. I’m 66 and my dermatologist says my skin is 20 years younger. No plastic surgery or fillers tried botox twice over ten years ago
At start only mascara, then added eyeshadows, that didn’t last on my oily lids. But eyeshadow was fav beauty item. I also liked cream ones, but they creased in like 1 minute. Then pencil liner, that smudged. Few years ago I started to wear foundation with spf. With all that I got an eyeshadow base, and wore gel liner. Now I wear liquid one, foundation and 1-2 shades of shadows. Over years with everyday use, my make up now looks simpler, but neater and cleaner than ever xD
Up until I was like 18, I would do a smokey eye without doing my skin (like, i wouldn’t apply foundation or concealer. I mean, my skin has always been pretty smooth and blemish free, but you still always need a little something to even out the occasional redness or dark circle) or my eyebrows (they have always been pretty thick, bushy and unruly lol). Now (i’m 22) I do the whole routine.
I also used frosty baby pink/baby blue eyeshadow that I’d apply (but never blend hahaha) with those little sponge brushes that come with eyeshadows.
I was such a mess! ??? now i take my time, blend everything in, with the proper tools and all!