put on my face and study in the mirror

[sienamystic]

I'm in the middle of yet another one of my periodic and ultimately-doomed-to-failure experiments with makeup, and once again I'm kind of baffled by the whole thing.

I didn't grow up learning how to use it, which is weird because my mom wears it and has opinions about it, but it never really became part of my girl culture. I made a few attempts here and there to use eyeshadow, which is what seemed to be the big important thing, but the whole concept of foundation and powder, of how to apply mascara or eyeliner...those things really escape me.

For some reason, I keep trying. Right now, I think it's rooted in a sort of comfort-thing, mixed with perhaps a little bit of feeling unattractive and wanting something to magically repair that. I am smack-dab in the center of "I feel young but I am so old! I have missed out on my days of carefree sex and male attention! It's only one step from here to the grave!" Clearly, makeup will resolve all of this for me.

I picked up a few things at Target - not the really good stuff because that's expensive and I feel like I shouldn't put money I don't have into something I will most likely abandon quickly - but foundation and powder and a small blush. I have a nice neutral eyeshadow that is probably too old to be used but I'm using it anyway, and some pale pearly pink lipstick that I like (along with a few others that I don't like as much). I'm avoiding mascara and eyeliner because my eyes are always doing something...watering or itching or whatever, probably because of allergies but also because I can be weird and twitchy. The foundation and powder is a little bit too pale, but it's doable. That's another thing with makeup that baffles me - how the heck does anybody figure out what color foundation matches them? I stand with my arm up against the sample palette of colors, completely confused about which one is the right one. And then obviously I'd get a little more tan in the summer, so I'd have to go buy another color, right? Otherwise I'll be Ghostface McTanarms. And the results are that the undereye dark circles are a little more concealed, and the pale red blotchy areas on my forehead are covered, but I don't know if I look better. Different, maybe. More polished? Not sure. Probably. Maybe?

The other problem I have is that it all has a fragrance to it, and usually one that I don't like. My lipstick is pretty, but it tastes horrible, and it gets on the lip of the soda can so I'm swigging Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Now With Added Lipstick Flavor.

I wonder how long the experiment will last this time. I'd love it if I could come away with a really simple routine that polished me up a bit but didn't require so much mental energy or which gave me good, consistent results. But I think I'd have to invest a lot more time thinking about it and practicing with various things and buying a bunch more stuff. And if it happens like it usually does, it'll all get stuffed into my Hula Girl makeup pouch, or my big pink basket that sits on top of my chest of drawers, to be resurrected in another year or five when I get the urge to put stuff on my face again.

Comments

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Search me.

I don't go for the whole foundation/powder shebang because I hate having my skin coated in stuff.

However, I DO like messing about with eyeshadow and so on. Of late, I've been using cream eyeshadows, which are really easy. I love eyeliner. Liquid liner, if it has a good brush, is dead easy to apply on the top lid and stays well - can be very dramatic, too. Mascara isn't hard to apply. I recommend a waterproof and made-for-sensitive-eyes version if you tend to get itchy eyes. After that, just try your best to not touch your eyes at all.

I hate lipstick, but when I wear it, I go for a shiny pink/neutral, as I have almost nonexistent lips.

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

The mascara advice sounds like a plan - maybe that will cut down on the itchiness. I went through a cream eyeshadow a while back and am now sort of in a minerals zone, but I do remember the cream stuff working pretty well.

[siliconivy.livejournal.com]

wow, so much about this I completely get. But I went the other way, the only make-up I wear with any regularity is mascara, because I have short, sparse, pale eyelashes & look like I don't have any from a distance unless I wear mascara. But I didn't learn how to put make-up on until college (thanks to 2 female friends I made) and even now 20+ years later, I'm pretty sure I'm rather bad at putting mascara on. Probably because most of the time I do it in the car without a mirror.... And at the end of the day, I either have raccoon eyes or its all wiped off because I rub at my eyes so much.

As for all the other stuff ... foundation always makes me break out, regardless of whose I use and yeah, I've never been good at figuring out the shade. I make the occasional rare experiment with eye shadow - I like the concept of eye shadow (natural colors, not like blue or green or anything), but stop wearing it quickly because I never have time to put it on. I have a strong dislike for blush & lipstick, haven't worn blush in probably more than a decade & have only tried lipstick a couple of times.

"I feel young but I am so old! I have missed out on my days of carefree sex and male attention! It's only one step from here to the grave!" Yes yes YES!

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

Heh, it's good to know that someone else grew up with the same delayed makeup curve.

I like eyeshadow, but didn't bother with it for ages because I wore glasses and figured nobody could see it anyway. But with the style I have now, it's a little more visible.

[(Anonymous)]

You might find that all you need is a tinted moisturizer. I also now use a cheek stain for blush and it looks more natural and stays put longer. You can swipe a bit of that on eyelids for a tiny bit of color. I only use lip gloss and then, rarely. Burt's Bees has a new tinted moisturizer for lips that acts like a stain, so it wouldn't taste bad or leave marks.
Jess

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

I think this is a good plan - I've just trawled the web and came up with a few possibilities. I think I just spotted the Burt's Bees stuff in the student union store, so I may give it a try.

[(Anonymous)]

I've started using mascara regularly and I don't even know why, except that I always feel vaguely unpolished compared to my friends and co-workers and I am starting to noticeably look like a woman in her 30s. I used to not leave the house without lipstick, and in the last 10 years, I have done away with it except for special occasion. I put some on today b/c I just got my hair done and thought it might be a nice effect. One that I likely won't maintain very well. :)

Foundation is tricky. I'm really pale and use the pale color, but it looks a little too chalky in the summer even though I don't tan. I'd suggest going to a counter and having them match you up. Get a sample, take it to the drugstore and see if you can get a similar shade. My best suggestion for blush is to get a blush brush and not use the brush that comes with the make-up. I love my blush brush. It makes a huge difference.

Personally, I wish I had the knack for eye shadow. I suspect I look like a little girl playing with mom's make-up when I put it on. :-/

>>It's only one step from here to the grave!

Ha-ha. Weirdo. :)

~Kate-h

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

Foundation is so difficult! I'm going to try Jess's suggestion of a tinted moisturizer, and see if that works as an easier solution.

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

For foundation, go with the color on the inside (palm side) of your wrist. If you are in a place with testers, that's where you test to see how well it goes with your skin tone. And if you're wearing foundation, you want to make sure you go over your jaw line, blending down to your neck so you don't look like you're wearing a mask.

I never liked the feel of wearing foundation but I have worn it in the past. Doing plays in school, they taught us how to apply make-up.

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, all these years I've been doing it wrong. I've put my arm up against the strip with all the colors and tried to judge it on that.

I do try to blend downwards, thanks to observing a coworker who was never taught that trick and was, if possible, even worse about picking the right tint of foundation. She was two steps away from Kabuki.