as i've mentioned in my other post, i was cleaning up my vanity table and re-organizing it when i realized how my regulars have grown over the past two years. growing up as a little girl, i never saw my mom taking care of her skin. she might have a cleansing milk and toner, but she barely had anything else. so i had no one to teach me about skincare and makeup. my guides came from beauty magazine and advertisement. and then there was internet and the information was flowing. now here i am, having a full set of skincare and a stash hidden in my closet, and bunch of makeup stuff i didn't know before. considering this is the end of the year, it won't hurt anyone reminiscing my old days when i had no idea about makeup. this post will discuss about makeup mainly, but i had another post talking about my skincare journey.
when i was in high school, makeup was a strange thing for me. sure i saw my friends putting on makeup and bought some. i passed a lot of makeup display in supermarket and department store, but that didn't attract me back then. i only had baby powder in my closet back in that day. then one day, my dad came home from abroad, and he bought me a travel makeup kit. it was dior. and it was pretty. it comes in a little zip-box, covered in white leather. and when i opened it, it had everything in it. four pans of eyeshadow, a blusher, a mini lipgloss and a mascara. i think it had pressed powder too, but it was too long, i forgot the clear detail.
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| my current makeup organizer |
and that was my first encounter with makeup. i treated it like jewel. the eyeshadows were pretty. it had four pastel color. on the pan it looked pretty, some was glittery (not shimmery, i think it's more suitable to be labelled as glittery), but back then i didn't know that even though it looked pretty on the pan, it might not translated well onto my eyelid. and the color combination was terrible. back then i didn't know lid color, transition color, darker shade to deepen outer V.. all i knew that the colors looked pretty. little did i knew that the color looked ridiculous on me since the pastel color was too bright, it was very glittery. and it only had light colors, white, pink and light blue. i didn't think it had dark shades at all. the blush was okay, it was pink, and luckily i am fair enough to pass a bright pink blush. the lipgloss was ordinary, nothing special, but the mascara though. it was the famous dior addict mascara. and the wand was big. although it was very black and famous, somehow i couldn't find a way to use it properly.
then my oldest cousin was getting married. i didn't know about makeup artist back then. i had to to my own makeup so at least i looked okay for a wedding party. thanks to a bunch of advertising i saw on the magazine, i decided to get a foundation. i clearly remembered that it was revlon, the same revlon foundation that still hanging around today. i had no idea what shade of foundation to get so i believed the beauty advisor. little did i know that even though it was a worldwide brand, they sold regional products and shades, meaning that there was limited shades available in indonesia. and i'm too fair to be indonesian, so most of the shades available here were too dark for me. i kept buying all the wrong shades and formula so i didn't get too excited about it. my last foundation was a little bit success, and it was max factor foundation. then i knew about korean skincare and makeup, and bb cream became such a huge trend around that time, so i decided to get various bb cream samples and steered toward bb cream instead of foundation. and cushion happened. it was so practical and the shades was only two so it was simple for me to pick one and use one. until now, i still like cushion better, but thanks to online shop and youtube and whole lot other blogger, finding a good foundation shade is possible now. and lately, i've found a good one from wet n wild in my shade!
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| my new brush set |
blushes and mascaras are things that i like, merely because i had better luck with them. since i was fair, many blush colors are okay for me. i usually had powder blushes, but lately i found new joy in cream blushes too thanks to canmake. and now i've tried liquid stain for lip and cheek and i love it too since it's perfect for travelling. mascaras are the quickest rotating product in my makeup stash. maybelline and loreal are usually my go-to brand for mascara. love them. but since we went to japan couple of times, somehow i bought a lot of japan mascara to try. many people rave about them, so i'm curious to see whether it's really good or not. i remembered my first blush was revlon, and my first mascara was lash discovery. both were okay, but not super special. i tried a lot of mascara, but somehow i held on my revlon blush for quite a while before changing to nyx. and now i have 3 blushes in rotation, catrice powder blush, canmake cream blush and TBS lip and cheek stain. it's pretty tricky to get the right shades for me since i don't like pinky shades, and somehow most coral shades are a little bit too dark for me. oh well, one can keep trying, i guess.
back then i used baby powder as my powder. then i used my dermatologist's powder for quite a long time before trying new powder. i also changed from loose powder to pressed powder, merely because they're more practical and not messy. i've just finished my catrice powder, which i'm proud of since i rarely finish a makeup product. right now i'm trying a japan powder, which i also like and will try to review soon. as for lipstick, this is my love in makeup world. i like trying different shades and brands. although i rarely finish a tube, that doesn't stop me from buying more. i couldn't remember my first lipstick, but i remembered my first lipgloss was from revlon and it was perfect for me that i finished it. then revlon released their butter lipstick and i loved them too. i finished peach parfait and had a bunch of other color that i used in rotation until i was bored with them. i've tried maybelline but it felt too dry for my lips. i also tried revlon regular lipstick and didn't quite like it. although they have large shades selection. then comes colourpop! they had lots of shades and the weight of the lipstick is third of normal lipstick, so i was excited. i was hoping that i could finish a tube, but somehow they are everlasting. i haven't finished a single lipstick.
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| my eyeshadow palette, contour set and highlighter and foundation |
then babies come along. regular lipstick usually stains baby cheek and some of my lipstick are creamy so i tend to get my hair stuck on my lips sometimes. i thought it's bothersome to re apply since i was pretty busy with babies, and then i found out about liquid lipstick. i was worried that they might be too drying for my lips, but if you found a good one, then you won't have to worry about dry lips anymore. i had nyx lip cream which i've tried before but i didn't quite like the shade selection so i decided to grab more nude shades, and i like it better. then i tried some local lip cream which are great too. i like how they are minimal to no transfer so it's safe to kiss the baby. right now i'm trying to finish up my colourpop before buying another lipstick, although the temptation is pretty strong. there are a bunch of new lip cream out there, and even local products are getting better each day.
i also progressed in the eyeliner area. from pencil eyeliner to liquid eyeliner. i used to think that i will always like pencil eyeliner. then gel type pencil eyeliner came along. some are creamy while some dried up faster than the other. and then japan came along. i found out a lot of great liquid eyeliner with brush tip that was easy to use, no fuss, and still gave great pigmentation and long wearing too. i still have some more in my stash to try. as for eyeshadow, i wasn't good in applying eyeshadow for a long time. i only bought 4 quad of revlon eyeshadow and i didn't like it. the color was okay, but it was me who couldn't apply it on my lid. i was almost giving up trying new eyeshadow when urban decay naked palette came out. and everyone raved about it. it was pricey, so i got myself a good dupe from coastal scent. i like it, but still, i didn't know how to apply it properly on my eyes. i bought a set of eye brushes and my skill is upgrading a little bit. but it was boring. until recently, i decided to get myself new makeup. i was searching and reading lots of reviews, watching swatches and stuff and decided to get iconic 3 and naked chocolate palette. both are great. i love them, how they gave me more option. now that i understand makeup better, somehow i realize my coastal scents palette are too much and somehow the neutral shades are not good enough for everyday use. and lately i decided to grab a dupe from infamous ABH modern renaissance, which is beauty creations irresistible palette and i super love it. now i'm not afraid of eyeshadow palette. the key is using the right brush and right technique for your eyes. watching a lot of tutorial is helping too. thank God for youtube!
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| my bb cushion, lipstick, lip cream and eyeliner and mascara |
last but not least, last year biggest trend is contour and highlight, thanks to kim K. and i decided to get myself a new contour set to replace my old sleek contour set. and then a new contour stick which is good for travelling. i bought a single highlighter and i'm searching for new highlighter since the one that i have is pretty subtle. i was tempted to buy a highlighter palette, but i keep hesitating. i don't like if i can't use the whole palette, seems a waste of money. and being fair doesn't help either. most of the highlighter shades in the market usually suitable for medium skin since there are lots of people with medium skin. i don't like icy white highlighter which is usually marketed toward fair skin. so i should keep searching. as for eyebrow, this is a new area for me. so far i've tried using powder and pencil. i still have to learn how to correct my eyebrow (one is higher than the other) and i have a liquid eyebrow product in my stash before deciding which type works best for me.
if you're reading this post right, i haven't mentioned about concealer, because i only had two concealer and both didn't end up well. i haven't tried any face primer, although i've tried eye primer. and i haven't tried any setting spray either. so there's still something else for me to try. isn't makeup a wonderful world? let me tell you, i was afraid too. i thought only pretty girls could wear good makeup. and i thought drugstore product are bad that's why i didn't get good result from my makeup. turns out i was wrong. after i take care of my skin, i realize the important thing for your makeup to show is your skin. if you have good canvas, then your drawing will be shown better. the same as makeup. take good care of your skin then your makeup will adhere well. and techniques too. good brushes too. back when there was no internet, i only learned from beauty magazine. now there are instagram, youtubers, bloggers.. any information that you could get, get it. learn from them. try it. if you fail, try again. try which one is best for you. and don't get stressed. makeup is supposed to be fun. it's supposed to help you be a better you. not covering your true identity, but help you shine better. have fun playing with makeup next year!
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