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When you were little, did you have someone you watched apply makeup?


When you were little, did you have someone you watched apply makeup? Share your memories!

I can’t remember watching any one apply makeup until the ninth or tenth grade, which was when my best friend at the time was wearing her makeup, so I’d sit and watch her sometimes. My mom never wore makeup (and rarely has)!

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stacey Avatar

Not when I was little. I only remember watching lipstick and powder being applied. As I got older, I watch everyone everywhere apply their makeup…on the bus, at school’s bathroom, talking to them when they are applying makeup, whoever and whomever. Not that I dont have makeup crawling out the walls, but I like to watch people apply makeup….it is so entertaining.

Ani_BEE Avatar

Same, no one in my family wears makeup… It wasn’t until my 20’s that thanks to yourtube I was able to see foundation techniques. I had only done stage for school makeup prior which is more face painting then anything. haha

Liz Prato Avatar

Ursala from the little mermaid haha I know that sounds silly, but my mom doesnt really wear make-up so all I could think of was Ursala painted her lips red with that shellfish thingy 🙂

Steelnpurple Avatar

I remember when I was small I watched my big sister apply cake mascara! Her lashes got really vavavoom from that mascara, I loved watching her apply it.. I have never tried cake mascara myself, is it even possible to get it? My Mom rarely wore makeup but she always used different skin care products and I sometimes got to try them!

divinem (Melissa) Avatar

Yes. My mother was a model and was meticulous with her makeup and hair. She didn’t teach me; I just watched. My 80+ yr old great aunt, whose hands were too shaky to apply polish used to have me do her nails, so I’m fortunate enough to have learnt how to have a steady hand at a young age. Makeup is a wonderful creative outlet for me.

Ana Avatar

Sadly no 🙁 My mom never wore makeup, ans still doesn’t, and I never got to see my aunt (who is one of the only people who likes makeup in my family)apply her makeup, although she is fun to go makeup shopping with!

The only thing I can recall; seeing is my grandma occasionally put of face powder from her clinique compact.

Liz Avatar

I always watched my mom, sisters, and grandma it was so fascinating! Once I was old enough they gave me various hand me downs. The summer before I went into Middle School one of my sisters took me to a Clinique makeup counter, they made me all fancy and she got me the 2 neutral eyeshadows they used 🙂

Meghan Avatar

Neither my mother nor my sister ever wore much makeup, maybe some mascara and foundation at the most. Once I hit high school, I tried putting it on going off what I saw on cosmetics commercials, which was not at all helpful. I’m pretty sure I looked a fright for years, before I bought a bare escentuals step-by-step eye kit. I got so many complements the first day I wore it, I’ve been hooked ever since!

CatherineM Avatar

No, I didn’t get the chance, since my mom never wore much makeup (except maybe some lipstick on special occasions). Most of my friends were the same, and I ended up being the first person to use makeup – thank God for beauty magazines and youtube …

timothybcat Avatar

Oh jeez, I used to watch my mom all the time! She was really meticulous, really knew her colors and never looked “made up”. She knew how to look like herself, but better. She still does, but products have come such a long way that I try to get her to experiment with different things. She’s still a die-hard Estee Lauder fan, though. Not a bad thing at all!

Niamh Avatar

My first memory of makeup was walking into my parents room as my mum was getting ready for mass. Intrigued by the makeup I asked if I too could wear makeup to mass. Mum: “Little girls don’t wear makeup to mass!” Me: “Well where can little girls wear makeup?” Mum: ” Little girls don’t wear makeup!”. I was about 4 or 5 at the time and was NOT impressed!

I also have lovely memories of my Granny applying her lipstick (and of course adding a little bit to the cheeks! She was getting value for her money!!) and showing me how to pucker my lips to apply lipstick as at the grand age of 7 I was now allowed a little bit of pink on my lips… 🙂

katherine Avatar

No. My Mother never wore makeup and she didn’t allow me to wear it even in high school (not even as a senior). But I did anyway. I just put it on at a school and washed it off before going home.

Michelle Avatar

I watched my sister who is 10 years older than I am. I was fascinated and asked lots of questions. I remember when she gave me my first makeup brush (Estee Lauder powder/blush brush). It lasted forever, and now 30+ years later I still have it on my counter as a sweet reminder.

Mariella Avatar

Nope, I don’t think there was anyone I watched. That’s what so great about youtube tutorials…young girls can get ideas/help from those and even at my age, I find them so helpful and inspirational to watch.

Carrie Avatar

I remember watching my mom do her hair and put on her makeup before she went to work. She worked third shift as an RN and as she would get ready for work, I was getting ready for bed. I remember certain smells from her makeup, and a specific cream blush she used. It came in a little square glass jar. Good memories!

jessica sanchez Avatar

My movie moment was watching home alone when the mom pulls out her white estee lauder compact and lip brush on the plane I thought that looked so classy! Another memory is following my cousin around the house getting ready for an event and her and I singing along to Sylvia’s “Nobody” and applying her makeup was like being in a dream….such fun memories My 6 year old watches me put on makeup and i am glad she is getting to learn from me and we sing along to songs too while applying makeup!

Julia Lee Avatar

I used to watch my mom put on her makeup, but it was my grandmother who i always loved to watch. She inspired my life long love of clinique and the smell of their foundation still reminds me of her (i don’t know if they still make it actually, it was very liquidy and you had to shake it up a lot). She used to give me the stuff that she didn’t use and that’s basically why I love makeup lol

Saffy Avatar

My mom and older sister don’t wear makeup, so no. I taught myself how to apply makeup, but I definitely became better at applying it after discovering the beauty gurus on Youtube in my late teens.

Daphne Avatar

I remember watching my mom and her really bright and bold lipsticks in pinks and reds (for an Asian skin tone!) It’s only fair because she was pretty pale, and never ever had skin problems let alone pimples!

Also, my grandma was the brow master!, seriously, I always wondered -from childhood- how she got them so symmetrical from one eye to the other.

Lark Avatar

Every one of the ladies in my family wore make up; every house I remember visiting as a child had well stocked dressing tables. It’s never occurred to me that people wouldn’t do that.
I remember my grandmothers doing their faces every morning. The term was “getting dressed” and it was interwoven with hair and clothes. Nana taught me how to wriggle in to an elastic long line girdle “just in case the libbers don’t get rid of these damn things”. (The Feminist movement. It did and be grateful!)
Granny had a full on dressing table. The smaller ones called vanities are new to me; I grew up around big desk sized work tables with huge wall mounted mirrors. Set to use a blast of daylight if one could get it. Granny would get her clothes on and then receive visitors, meaning mostly just me when I was there. They farmed and ran some other things and she worked 24/7. Getting dressed was her me time and the only time we had to chat alone. She was always perfectly put together, even if it was just to manage a farm in the middle of no where. The staff loved it- They bragged about working for her. And you never knew who might come by. Even when she was very old and I’ll she hit that table every morning and evening for some powder or cream and comb her hair. “One has to have standards” is what she’d say.
My much hipper aunts taught me to put on eye liner but Granny taught me some style! And to use witch hazel as toner. And that a big well stocked dressing table is a great place to chat with the girls. Have extra chairs handy, lol.

lazeny Avatar

I remember watching my Mom applying her makeup, then I got so obsessed with it that I played with her lipsticks. She didn’t get mad at me though. I think she saw then that I would end up loving cosmetics when I get older.

Debra Avatar

Oh gosh, when I was about 5, I’d watch one (of 4) older sister(s) apply her makeup. The Maybelline eyebrow pencil, the eyelash curler (ouch!), and the thin metal wand mascara (great tool, no longer around).

Makeup has come a long way since the early 1960’s, but I still press my long straight lashes up with my finger and avoid curlers!

Natalie Avatar

My sister! She’s 14 years older than me (I’m 23, she’s 37), so when she was my age I was just at the stage where I started to notice that stuff and watch. I used to give her crazy tips and ideas and sometimes she would actually listen to me!

Karmen Avatar

I’ve watched my mom do her makeup sometimes and Mulan (!) when I was a toddler. I would always rewind to that scene where Mulan would get her lips and face painted.

Nat Avatar

My mom has never really worn makeup either. I only really remember watching my Grandma put on her blush and lipstick when I was little. I remember her commenting before we would go somewhere that she’d better put on her lipstick/blush, so she wouldn’t scare anyone. lol

Della Avatar

I remember my mom putting nail polish on when I was little and she still did her own nails. Sometimes she’d even paint mine for me. Her coloring was always different than mine, lovely black hair, green/gold hazel eyes, and olive skin to my reddish brown hair, muddy grey eyes, and pale/slightly ruddy skin. She never put on all that much make up, really, Eyeliner a little, and then blended out eyeliner – just a tad- up by the crease, chubby eye pencils sometimes. She never wore mascara during my lifetime, but I’m sure she did when she was younger. I’ve seen picturs where my mom had the most fabulous 60s winged eyeliner and mascara. She looks like a more familiar version of Sophia Loren with black hair.

She used blush, but never that much, and it was never the product of much concern. What she always focused on was her lip products. Until my mom lost her hair from cancer, it was almost excusively a red lip. Brick red, orange-red, brown red, reddish brown, MAC, clinique, prescriptives, Lorac, Paula Begoun (she had a thing for the liquid lipsticks that she made), and multiple drug store brands. She liked semi-matte formulas, nothing too too glossy. Certainly not lipglosses, too goopy and too much re applying. My mom was classic, simple elegance.

She wore several perfumes, but ones I remember best is Lauren by Ralph Lauren. She wore that when I was a child for years, and I still remember the bottle from then. There were others over the years, but that one sticks in my mind. I wanted to wear perfume when I saw her put that on.

My mom was never much of a beauty collector/hoarder. She thought my obsession was crazy 🙂 But she was okay with it. She understood that I loved it. She even started me on it as a kid, wearing “tinkerbell” cosmetics. I think she knew back then that I was always going to be one of those girly girls. She passed away in September, and I still have some of her things. I won’t get to see her slightly gap toothed smile outlined in red lipstick any more, but I’ll always remember the love and lipstick kisses she gave me, only the latter which got wiped away. 🙂

wallflower Avatar

My mom only wore makeup until about age 35. I don’t exactly remember when I became obsessed with makeup but i was quite young, maybe around 8-9.
One of my first ‘makeup’ products was a labello rosé, which was basically a light pink colored lipbalm. I remember that I kept staring at it in awe and kept smelling it and putting it on my lips, I enjoyed it sooo much!:D
Then I kept stealing my mother’s makeup bag and tried everything on that I found in it.
I have a very funny memory: when I found her concealer stick, I had no clue what it was and how to use it, so I put in on my lips and then smeared it all over my face, like a foundation! Umm, she was not happy about it, but I totally understand because I would absolutely hate it if someone messed around with my makeup! So I kind of enjoy that my mother no longer uses makeup and I don’t have sisters, because this way my makeup stash is all mine!;)

Dawn Avatar

I only ever saw my Mum use Max Factor Creme Puff and occasionally the one lipstick she owned. I’ve never had anyone show me how to apply makeup, and my Mum doesn’t wear it at all now. Thank goodness for Youtube! I’m no expert though, even now, and struggle to choose the right colours to put together. According to Mum, I have too much makeup (I’m in my 40s, not my teens)

Cherokee Avatar

When I was little I watched my mother put on her makeup when her and my dad went out. I use to kiss my mother on her lips so that I could get her lipstick on mine.

Kate & Zena Avatar

Yes, my grandmother. My grandmother is a very classy woman, so whenever I was over or she visited (which wasn’t often when I was younger), she would let me watch her dress. It always intrigued me how meticulous she was in her dressing. She would always put a little on me to show me how it’s done.

Of course, I went through a bad phase of makeup application. Then I discovered the power of Youtube!

Malia Avatar

My mom would use her red lipstick for blush, but my fascination with make-up began with my cousin. She was about 10 years older than me. She used a half slip as a nightgown and would sit cross legged on the bed and apply her make-up. Winged eyeliner (this was about 1973). She was an expert in applying makeup in addition to being gorgeous. At 11 years of age, I started wearing mascara, lip gloss, and painting my nails orange. Later I would apply makeup to my nieces. It was fun. Today, Youtube has brought the love of it back for me not to mention you too Christine. Thx.

Faye Avatar

My mum used to always wear mascara and lipstick, I really associate lipstick with her as she was never without it and drilled it into me that you don’t leave the house until you’ve showered, washed and blow dried your hair and put your face on! She died almost a year ago and had stopped wearing it for the couple years prior to dying (due to being so sick) and they made her face up in the coffin, which was really weird to see having seen her bare faced for the past two years.

Angie Avatar

My mom 🙂 she actually always pushed me to wear makeup, which is why I hated it, it felt like a chore lol!! I remember always seeing her use the lipstick she wore that day as a blush on the same day, so it would always match. Actually I didn’t know blush existed until I started buying make up myself haha. Anyway, yeah my mom wore a full face of makeup everyday and she would wake up really early to put it on before dad would wake up, and go to bed later than my dad so he wouldn’t see her without it. I am sure that he saw her without it sometime though…

queenfrostine Avatar

My mom’s the type of woman who seldom allows herself out in public without makeup on, so I was was exposed to makeup at a very young age. So young in fact, that one of my earliest childhood memories (I think I was only 2 at the time) involves breaking into her makeup case and going to town with her blush and lipstick. Clearly her makeup routine left a strong impression on me! I’ve been a makeup addict ever since.

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