What are three beauty-related things that bring a smile to your face?

Applying eyeshadow, especially color, always makes me happy! I love creating different combos by layering gloss and lipstick together. My third is moment where you’ve finished applying your makeup and it all comes together (well, hopefully).

— Christine

37 Comments

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Celesta Avatar

Oh, I love this question.

I really good duochrome just makes my heart pitter-patter, an unusual shade of lipstick (usually something that is one color bordering on another with a different undertone), and a popping, glossy highlight. Those are also my favorite parts of doing my make up too: eyeshadow, highlight, and lips.

Lisa Avatar

Applying the final coat of mascara and finishing my brows. It finally finished the look and makes me more awake.

Swatching an intense shimmer shadow and having it go in so smooth and pretty in the light! I don’t wear shimmer/ glitter much but swatching them in store defo makes me go whooaaaa!

Pulling off a pore nose strip. ‘Nuff said. ?

Seraphine Avatar

1. Lipstick! Buying it, applying it, wearing it, reapplying it, and admiring it on other people.

2. Getting into a fun discussion with a friendly sales associate at a makeup counter–the type of person who loves chatting about makeup and isn’t just trying to sell me stuff.

3. Catching myself in the mirror late in the day and seeing that my makeup still looks good.

Pearl Avatar

Yes, yes and YES to #3 – I take great care in the morning perfecting my face so when I have had one heck of a day and I catch myself in passing and I still look fabulous, it is a nice pick me up.

Deborah S. Avatar

There are days when my base just comes together and my skin looks the best that it can at my age and I really love how that makes my whole look just come together. It doesn’t happen often anymore and it requires a lot of work so I appreciate when I have that time and the right products. I love how completely transformative a lipstick can be for your look. I really appreciate how absolutely spot on Christine’s lipstick choices always are and knowing that, I always check out her lipstick choices. It is really a gift to pull the right lipstick for your look and it isn’t my strong suit so when I manage to get it I think it is my favorite part of my makeup look. I think the third thing that brings a smile to my face is perfume. I know it isn’t something that can be seen but a scent that captures how you are feeling that day or that season, is really something that I love. In particular, I like layering scents and I tend to be a little schizophrenic in my choices. I love strongly “male” scents with a real smokiness and then I have never met a floral scent I didn’t like.

Kris Aleli Avatar

Thank you for this question! I love how you make such a positive community here in temptalia!

I love layering highlighters and blushes, cream and powder! I love the dimension it adds to the face, just seeing the subtle changes in color.

I finally found an eyebrow routine that works for me, diorshow brow styler with surratt expressioniste brow pomade. It makes me so happy to finally have something that comes together in 3 minutes! It’s a great “model brows” look, i am heading to japan soon so I may get some suqqu brow stuff! Let’s see!

I love a good bottle sunscreen!

Nancy T Avatar

1.) Rediscovering an old favorite in my stash, using it, and falling in love with it all over again!
2.) Those days when it all comes together perfectly and I look at myself in the mirror with a sense of deep satisfaction because it’s exactly as I pictured it!
3.) When a Sephora or MAC mua or SA compliments me on my look. Especially when they follow that with “hey, how would you like to come work here?” or “you should apply for a job with us”. ?

Seraphine Avatar

I’ve gotten compliments, but I’ve never been offered a job! But I had two brow specialists on separate days at separate stores tell me that I already do my brows really well when I approached them to get some advice and help. That made me feel really good because my brows are such a struggle.

Mariella Avatar

Three? I’ll have to dig for 3, as much as I love my makeup and skin care “stuff”

1. The ABH Mario palette (I am so glad I bought it when it was around; it’s not absolutely perfect but I love it so much in spite of its very teeny and forgivable flaws)

2. For sure the Chanel Empreinte du Desert quad

3. Trying hard not to make it all about eyeshadow (or I’d have put the Dior Bonne Etoile 5-pan as my 3rd) – I’d say the OLD Revolution formulation of Urban Decay lipstick in the colour Manic. Or the Dior Glowing Pink Glowing Gardens LE highlighter

Mariele Storm Avatar

Mariella… I just had to comment because our names are so unusual and so SIMILAR! I also have fair, pink undertones and normal-to-dry skin. Are you my long lost twin somewhere? 😉

Mariella Avatar

Mariele, my “long lost Temptalia twin” seems to be Genevieve who lives on the other side of the Equator and looks nothing like me (she’s a stunning red-head; I’m a brunette) but the similarity in our lives and in our makeup tastes are all quite uncanny (children born on the 13th; we’re both teachers, it goes on and on…). Maybe we’re actually triplets and you’re #3!!!!

CeeBee Avatar

1) Opening a brand new palette for the first time – it always gives me such a thrill to oooh and aaah over something new and take my time to look it over 🙂

2) Getting a perfect lip line with a really bright colour. I don’t typically use lip pencils or even a lip brush so precision is everything!

3) Using my nice fresh, clean, dried out in the sun makeup brushes – before I make them all grubby again.

Genevieve Avatar

1. Choosing my lipstick shade and seeing how it instantly brightens my face and adds colour.
2. Watching my foundation as I apply it, smooth out my uneven skin tones to create a canvas on which to apply my blush.
3. Choosing which eye palette or collection of singles to use to finish my look of the day. I always co-ordinate my eye colours with my clothes. Such fun.

Jennifer Avatar

1. Blending in a nice medium coverage foundation with a makeup sponge & seeing how it instantly evens out my skin tone.
2. Adding on bronzer, blush, and highlight and seeing the dimension come back into my face. Seeing a smooth, yet reflective highlighter on the face is a bonus!
3. Applying on a bullet lipstick that glides on perfectly without being slippery to finish my look.

Mary Avatar

Oh just reading through everyone’s responses made me happy and I can relate to each one .
Put me firmly In the Lipstick camp . I love wandering Beauty isle swatching and playing with lipsticks.,, especially after Temptailia reviews it , I like reading about it ( waiting for By Terry Lip Expert Shine and Matte to hit the stores.). And I love applying it .
2. Discovering new looks from my existing stash , like I combined my warm bronzy rose blush with a cool peach highlighter topper . or rediscovering an existing product , ( I forgot how good the Sheisedo Rouge Rouge lipsticks were.
3 refreshing my look like forever I applyed my eyeliner and shadow with an upward corner sweep with varying degrees of success, , and just recently started applying it in a more elongated outward sweep , if that makes sense ,
so out instead of up and , it’s a subtle change but love it .

Mariele Storm Avatar

A nice, vintage hunter’s bow red lip paired with a lovely flush.
My hair being fabulously curly and looking just right when pulled back, not sad and limply wavy.
Gold packaging. 🙂

I try to hit these every day!

Eri Avatar

1. Blush application. Seeing the color making my face look more radiant overall.
2. Lining my eyes, because it’ll make them pop!
3. Looking into the mirror in the morning and my skin looks plump.

DVa Avatar

1. Foundation set: When I get the concealer and powder on and around my nose settled and it hasn’t started to break apart (like the coming together of the perfect marriage of primer, foundation, concealer and powder). My nose sweats, I don’t even have to be warm; it’s the weirdest thing. Hubby laughs at me because he can literally see it happen.
2. Mascara: When I get my mascara on. Mascara completes the eye, I find eyeshadow looks odd, even when it’s perfectly applied, without the frame of mascara.
3. Highlighter: The last additional layer of highlighter (I tend to layer, wet and dry). That glossy, mirror-like finish is like the perfect finishing piece of jewellery.

Blue Avatar

GLITTER
bright lipsticks
textures incorporated into complexion work (glitter, shine, shimmer, all of em?)
I also love sickly colors on the eyes and a 90s grunge/goth vibe generally.

Christine Avatar

We removed them due to them not being used very often (and having a lot of other buttons/things to click on and wanting to present less options as the biggest complaint from users is that “Temptalia is confusing”). I will definitely tally up your complaint in our log to revisit after a few weeks (when we evaluate all feedback on the new design). Thanks!

Bonnie Avatar

I think the most happiness I felt all at once was last year when I was moving. I packed up my entire collection, no easy feat, and as I was packing, I was admiring my things, especially my palettes. I felt so happy seeing all my stash.

Next up would probably be, as so many of you mention here, finding people to talk to about it that are passionate like me. That’s been hard for me, so I’ve sort of found it on YouTube, blogs like this one, and podcasts.

Also, just sitting down and doing the whole transformation, all the steps to take myself from just woke up to today’s glam look. I just love it and yes, I take selfies of my work afterwards.

Honorable mention goes to shopping, usually online, for new makeup. Cruising the “New Arrivals” section of Ulta and Sephora, picking stuff out, waiting for it to arrive, and then checking it out once it’s here!

Seriously, makeup does make me really happy. It pales in comparison to animals, but after animals, it’s my next biggest passion.

Jane Avatar

1.) Choosing color combinations for eyeshadow application. Selection alone helps me to relax, like looking at jewels.
2.) Feeling the texture of shimmer or holographic-like eyeshadows. I like the silkiness.
3.) Achieving a unique look that I haven’t done before (and likely will never redo). Like cooking, I tend to rarely redo a look, even if I like it a lot.

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