Makeup is fun. With makeup I can make myself look like anything I want. I can glam myself up, or play out a more natural look. I can turn myself into a sex kitten, or an innocent girl next door.

But it has taken years and years of trial and error to know what looks good on my face and what makes me look like Mimi from the Drew Carey Show. Looking back I’ve had some pretty disastrous makeup moments that I have comprised into my top 5 makeup regrets.

1. Sweat + black eyeliner = scary raccoon eyes. Now I love me some black eyeliner, especially when I’m putting on a cute little dress and going out to a club, but there are certain places where it’s probably not a good idea to pile on the black and, unfortunately, I’ve learned this the hard way.

One night my friends and I dressed ourselves up to go out dancing and I had put on a ton of dark eyeshadow and eyeliner. The dance floor was completely packed and after about half an hour we were all sweaty and gross. My friend and I went to the bathroom to cool down and when I looked in the mirror, I found that the makeup I had so meticulously applied was now all over my face! Seriously, it looked as if I had rubbed a huge piece of charcoal all around my eye and down my cheeks. My black eyeshadow had literally melted from me sweating and was now sitting in clumps on my eyelids. Needless to say I had to scrub it all off before anyone (besides all those people I saw pre-bathroom trip) saw my disaster of a face. Read More »

The other day, I was tricked into going to Costco with my Mom. I just really wanted an excuse to wear my SWEET new rain galoshes, so I agreed to go on what I knew would be a torturously long errand. I soon found myself wandering the massive aisles, bored out of my mind, considering buying 600 plastic forks, just so I could use one to poke out my eyes. Maybe then I could go home?

I figured this was a bad idea, so I meandered over to health and beauty, where I knew I could find something to occupy myself with. And then I saw it– a Smashbox Picture Perfect Kit with eyeshadow quad, mini lip gloss trio (with pink leather mirrored case!), mascara, and face highlighter– for $19.99!! The kit came with detailed instructions on how to apply the makeup, much like other cosmetics brands that are now taking the guesswork out of makeup application . I snatched it, threw it inconspicuously into Mom’s cart and tore it open as soon as we were in the car.

Opening up the new makeup kit felt exactly the same way it did that very first time. My Grandma (against my mother’s desperate pleas not to) bought me a GIANT pink and purple kit full of awful pink lipsticks, hooker-blue eye shadow, fake mascara, fucshia blush and glitter, glitter, sweet glitter when I was three. It was then that I fell in love with makeup. I put on all of my face decorations, just like mommy did, every day before I left my house. I sometimes had loaded my face so full of makeup that it couldn’t take anymore, and, consequently, I applied some to my helpless baby brother.

Which brings me to my point. Read More »

I have a love/hate relationship with makeup.

On the one hand, I go into a drugstore and guaranteed I’m making a beeline for the makeup section. I can’t resist! The bright colors, the sparkle, the textures–man, just try and keep me away.

But once I put it on, it’s always kind of a let-down. No matter how perfect the application, it always looks…well, kind of fake.

So I’ve said it before, but this time I mean it: I am giving up makeup. And it will be glorious.

Here’s why:

(5) It’s bad for your skin.
You know it, I know it. The more crap you put on your face, the more likely you are to break out, and then the more makeup you need. Fact of life. I mean, that’s how they sell the stuff, right?

(4) Guys don’t wear it.
What the flip? Why are we covering ourselves in powders and paints when the boiz iz goop free? Foroget that!

(3) I’m tired of getting carded.
Look, I’m pushing 24. I really should not be getting carded at this point. Especially, I mean, I don’t smoke but I’ve had to buy cigarettes as props for plays (really!) and gotten carded. Do I look frickin’ 18?! I think make-up is largely at fault. Who wears a lot of makeup? Teenagers. Let’s stop freezing ourselves at 19, ladies! Off with the blush! Read More »

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over and over again in recent months, it would have to be that less is most definitely more. Just like Mom used to say, this almost always rings true for makeup. Unless, of course, it’s Halloween, you’re in a theater production, or some other extenuating circumstance.

So why limit the theory to just your face? Why not try lightening up your makeup bag and going for a three- or four-in-one product that just may be able to change your life?

NARS is a brand that’s definitely made a name for itself in the way of staple, Sephora-endorsed items, particularly their powder blush in Orgasm. The shade works on any skin tone and gives that rosy, euphoric glow to any complexion. I personally discovered NARS by way of a lipgloss in the same shade, and let me tell you, the day I could scrape no more from the tube was a sad one. It’s just enough warmer than a complete nude hue to make your lips a shiny, kissable pale pink without being sticky or goopy. Read More »

I hate lipstick. I hate the way it wears off about two minutes after you put it on, I hate how it leaves stains on your coffee cup or your wine glass, and I really hate how my hair always ends up sticking to my lips on a windy day.

I had pretty much resigned myself to a life without lip color–I’ll play up my eyes, I thought–and figured I’d just never be as glamorous as those gals with a deep slick of ruby red on their lips.

But then, like a blessing from heaven, beauty companies everywhere introduced me to my saving grace: the lip stain. Neither lipstick or lip gloss, the stain does as promised–it actually stains your lips, so you get a really deep color that says “oh yes, I just wake up looking like this.”

The color sinks into your lips and doesn’t rub off, plus it rarely needs re-applying. Sound too good to be true? It gets even better–most lip stains can double as cheek color as well, for a really natural flush that stays put. Read More »

Most of the time, I look like a hag. Though I wish this was untrue, it’s hard to deny when I check myself out in the mirror. The reason? I hate makeup.

When I was eight years old, I distinctively remember sitting at the kitchen table and watching my mother put on her makeup, just like she did every other morning. It was an elaborate ritual, lasting for five or ten minutes and transforming her from my mom into some painted-up, clown-type figure with a mask.

“You know,” I told her then. “When I grow up, I’m not ever going to wear any makeup. And I’m going to save so much money because of it. Just think about how much money you spend every year on makeup.”

I don’t remember how my mom reacted, but she probably rolled her eyes at me. Read More »

I’ve heard it a million too many times: “Wear makeup so that it doesn’t LOOK like you’re wearing makeup!”

Too often, the advice is being given but no one is hanging around to do the instructing. Painting your face (and yes, I will stoop to this level) so that it looks natural is actually quite an artistic gift that one needs to work long and hard at honing.

It requires actually understanding the difference between your real lip color and candy apple red. It requires putting your purple eye shadow in detention until that glamorous-hipster-weekend party rolls along. (Or not so glamorous groupie rock show…either or). But if you can bear to face your day without these neon signs that scream “She might be UGLY under all of this!“, you’ll succeed in not only looking hotter than you actually do when you wake up, but also in fooling a whole lot of people that you’re ridiculously naturally gorgeous.

So here are some tips I’ve got for you. I do not bring them to you in vain. These tips have collected themselves in the beauty corner of my brain only after numerous glitter spills and eyeliner smears.

1. Mascara. You’ll need it. But lets keep it real, shall we? Your eyelashes aren’t blue. G et a color that makes sense for your natural complexion. If you’re one of those born blonde babes, try a light brown.

2. Concealer. Sometimes you simply have some stuff you wanna…ugh….CONCEAL. Dark circles. Pimples. Yeah, they’re the “real you”, but who needs to know? Try dabbing the makeup around the area you’re covering instead of wiping it in. Making sure you cover the area under your eyes can really lift them and make you seem way more awake than you probably are. Read More »

I have a naturally rosy complexion. This means that using a blush product has basically been out of the question for me due to my face ending up looking like this. In other words, ridiculous and unattractive. No matter what color or brand I would try out, it seemed like blush and myself were a hopeless cause.

Until, I found a new product, Smashbox O-Glow, and it’s amazing. According to the retailer, it is “the first intuitive blush, this clear gel reacts with your personal skin chemistry to turn cheeks the exact color you blush, naturally in just seconds! What it is formulated to do: When applied, the skin’s moisture activates the energizing Goji Berry-C Complex™.

It creates a microcirculatory effect, producing a rosy flush that lasts all day. Completely natural looking, waterproof, preservative and fragrance-free formula glides on smoothly for a healthy, glowing blush that’s you, only prettier.”

So basically, it goes on as a gel and magically reacts with your skin for the perfect shade of blush. I tried it, loved it, and am now an advocate. It left me with dewy, slightly tinted cheeks that looked natural and not painted on. Read More »