Why Do You Wear Makeup?

Before I begin, I would like to thank sleepandwater for tagging me (if she still remembers) haha because this post has been dusting in my drafts since December and I forgot about it until I was doing some blogger clean up recently. This tag is a bit old, but it was fun to do and I always like reading other people's responses to these questions! I'm not going to name specific people because they've all done it by now haha but if you haven't, you're welcome to join!

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1. When did you start using makeup?

In terms of frequent, daily and regular use, I'd say I started near the end of high school and the beginning of university. I never used much makeup throughout high school, I'd play with my limited amount of (primarily gifted) makeup at home or get make overs from my sister occasionally for fun but that was about it.

2. What was the first makeup product you bought and loved?

Cover Girl Lash Exact Mascara, Cover Girl eyeshadow trio in Shimmering Sands and Mayebelline eyeshadow quad in Chai Latte. When I bought Shimmering Sands, it was a cheaper alternative to Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes Kit. I remember picking up this cute Benefit catalogue and wanted to buy every product featured but I changed my mind when I swatched Shimmering Sands against Big Beautiful Eyes Kit in the drugstore. The colours seemed close enough and I wanted to save money to buy all the essentials on my starter's kit list. As for Chai Latte, I bought it because Christine from xteeener raved about it in almost every other tutorial I watched of her at the time (she was one of the first youtubers I watched).

3. What is your most used eyeshadow?

I actually don't use eyeshadow all that much on a regular basis, but the ones that I find myself reaching for the most when I do are definitely Urban Decay's Naked and Naked2 palettes and The Balm's Nude'tude. These palettes have a great range of neutral shades that you can't go wrong with. You can create pretty much any look that is suitable for all occasions.

4. When did you begin loving makeup?

I started loving makeup near the end of grade 12 and the beginning of university (this would mean, around 4 years ago). What really kicked off this unhealthy addiction was the discovery of beauty gurus on youtube. I was intrigued, fascinated, inspired and sucked into the girl world that I haven't discovered. I basically learned all my makeup skills from youtube.

5. How do you feel without makeup?

I think I'm in a transitioning stage right now. There was a time when I had a strong opinion to this question but now I'm feeling slightly shaken. There's no denying that I could care less about my looks when I'm at home and when I go out, I feel more self conscious and uncomfortable without any makeup or even minimal makeup. However, I'm starting to have second thoughts on the latter half. I went out quite a few times without makeup over the last couple of months and boy, can I tell you how happy I was to be able to touch my face and rub my eyes whenever I wanted knowing that I wouldn't mess up anything lol (of course, I did it in moderation and only when desperately feeling that annoying itch). In addition, I'm starting to care less and less about impressing other people, looking made up and proper. I'm beginning to embrace the natural face look or maybe I'm just getting lazy because my boyfriend keeps telling me that he loves my bare face...

6. What do you like about makeup?

I like how you have a control on the flexibility of it`s power to make a difference. You can use it to enhance your features, hide your flaws, create different looks, have fun with extreme transformations, and use it to express yourself.

7. Three holy grail items.

Shu Uemura lash curler, Bobbi Brown Corrector, Urban Decay Naked 1 and Naked2 Palette (sorry this has to count as one item cause I can't choose between the two....don't make me.)

8. Why do you wear makeup?

I think sleepandwater's answer to this question really sums it up for the majority of those who wear makeup but I'll add a bit of my two-cents on this too. When I first started wearing makeup, it was for fun and for practice to improve my application skills. Gradually, when I got better at it I wanted to be more polished and presentable when I go out for whatever occasion.

My unsurprising secret that I would like to share with you all is that I've always felt like the little ugly duckling. From the family conditions that I live in, I'm always more inclined to feel inferior and below average. It seems a little dramatic to put it this way, but I've had a rough time for the majority of my life. I wasn't a very happy and cheerful person like I am today because of certain circumstances and things that happened. But when I entered university, I promised myself that it would be a new start. I didn't like the way things were and I wanted to change it; things don't get better by itself if you don't do anything about it (this is my little life "philosophy"). It was a new beginning to finally be able (and old enough) to do what I wanted to do, try new things, explore, have fun, and enjoy myself. Getting into makeup was the transition for me. I felt more confident about myself with makeup on and confidence comes with new doors of opportunity. Thus, I wouldn't say that makeup changed my life, but it changed my perspectives in an indirect way which led me onto a more enjoyable route. Whenever I look at my makeup stash, it would always remind me of how everything I now have, came to be.