I missed my Sunday post but I'm glad to be more or less on track for my every-other-day blogging schedule :)
As promised in my Dream Starter Makeup Kit post, I'm taking everyone down my personal memory lane today by showing you my college FOTD. I mentioned that I started wearing makeup in high school but I only got to do so during Sunday mass with my family... because even the Nivea strawberry balms weren't allowed in my high school :o I'm dong this throwback look for beginners who want to start their makeup journey in manageable, little baby steps.
The Look: College Student Wannabe
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| Headband, Dangling Earrings and Sweaty: Just another day in college! |
It's been a few years since I've graduated so it was fun recreating my college look! Headbands were my thing, when I wasn't wearing dangling earrings (or both - I'm sorry!) I didn't really care much about the dryness of my face back then because our non-airconditioned campus made sure I was always glowing with sweat.
I did, however, allow myself to overdose on the blush because I easily sweat it off. Plus, I was hardly wearing any lip color so I had plenty of room to intensify on the cheeks.
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| Where's my student ID? :D |
I've mentioned here and in my previous post how I only really ventured into makeup because of my dark circles. If I could get away with putting just concealer (MAC Studio Fix Concealer in NC 25,) I probably would. Wearing concealer, of course, meant that my undereyes looked like they got a reverse tan, and in a waaaay creamier and dewier texture than the rest of my face. So then that led me to powder foundation.
The Rest of the Face:
I didn't enjoy wearing powder foundation (Pixy Ultimate Cake in Peach Beige.) And I didn't think I needed it either, were it not for that dratted concealer. So I just stuck to the easiest and sheerest powders. Given my dry face, this often led me to look a bit ashy in the mornings but it's easily remedied throughout the day because, sweat and oil.
Pixy Ultimate is not sheer, by the way. But I like its "petal-like finish" (as Liz would say). It has dimension and isn't crumbly-looking on the face. It's long-wearing too, so it's probably something I would've appreciated back then.
Peach Beige is a smidge of a shade darker on my NC 25 face but passes off still natural. If you prefer a brightening effect I suggest to jump up a few shades and use this foundation wet.
For the lips, I played it safe with MLBBs and Pixy Silky Fit Satin Lipstick in Rosy Pink is just perfect! It's not a full on color but it "influences" my lips to turn into something better and brighter.
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| College FOTD |
Then, since everything is a bit understated, I go heavier on the blush (Pixy Blush On in Carnation Bloom) than I normally would. Not only is it a great way to balance a pretty toned down face, but I easily sweat off blush so I could manage with a thicker layer. In a few hours anyway, I'd be so overheated from all that walking in that university that sweating off the blush is actually fine by me.
And that's it! That was my manageable entrance into the world of makeup. When I would get up early for late days that would only have two classes, I sometimes put mascara on but that was veeeery rare. I preferred getting lash extensions, which I don't like as much nowadays because I play a lot with eyeliner, mascara and eye shadow.
Eyebrows do a lot in prettifying you, but I caution beginners against jumping into something that requires such precision and where a lack of skill may easily pass you off as a Betty La Fea costumer.
Developments in Makeup Style:
As I grew up, I either turned uglier or just began seeing my face more clearly. Either way, I'm now more mindful about the redness around the nose, scattered pigmentation around the lip edges and MY IN-BORN LACK OF EYEBROWS. Eyebrows are part of my daily face nowadays, but I only clean up pigmentation when I'm not going to be stuck in the office.
I also developed a quick aptitude for eyeliner because I love cat eyes. I gotta admit, the first few two months I wore it regularly, I looked like my niece played with my face. It was a slow process of actually starting somewhere, anywhere I was comfortable with, and slowly determining my liner weight and flick length tolerance.
I think that's very characteristic of my whole makeup journey, actually. I hardly venture out into couture or crazy choices on the first go. Whenever I'm uncomfortable or new to something, I start with a very safe choice like say a light mauve or MLBB for a new lipstick, or a neutral brown smoke before doing a full-on black smoke.
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| Before and After: Easing my way manageably into makeup with a simple face |
Many people find it difficult to start wearing makeup because they get too ambitious. I say start small and know your own limits. Look at your face in the mirror at the end of the day and figure out how you could've done better. You can't judge yourself after just applying liner: you're gonna have that oh-I've-redone-this-flick-ten-billion-times-this-is-good-enough bias. Keep looking at your face when you're done for the day until you figure out what specifically suits you. Kind of like how I figured out how to unevenly distribute my eyeliner weight to make my eyes look more or less even.
This way, you avoid looking like part of the awkward mime troupe and none of us have to tell you how wonk your eyeliner really is.
You may like Pixy through their Facebook page, Pixy Philippines.
Pixy is currently available in Watsons at SM MOA, SM Sucat, SM Aura, SM Bacoor, Festival Mall, Podium and Don Jacinto.
You may also visit their website: Pixy.co.id, to browse the items.