I Really am Bad at Makeup

I'm not kidding about this. I can just some really basic looks and that's about it. I'm also, sadly, bad at photographing this (getting better). I love the really exciting and bright colors that some people use, but just about every time I try anything bright it turns out, I dunno, smoky. Which isn't a bad look but it'd be nice if I could aim for some look and actually GET the look I'm after.

(As far as foundation stuff goes, I think I mostly use J. Lynne foundation and primer powder.)

Here's what I did for the Med Fair:
This was mostly done using some of the samples I bought from Morgana's Cryptoria, which I really love. I can't remember everything I tried, but I know I tried to use Ectoplasm which is a lovely, bright green. Like, Slimer from Ghostbusters green. (If I were to be guessing at inspiration...)

Note: I currently do not own any mascara. This will be corrected soon, as well as getting some of the gel liner I've been recommended (I think it was Physician's formula?)

As an amusing sidenote, I occasionally get drunk and do my makeup. I have a folder that's labeled Drunken Makeup, and is full of pictures that are almost completely unusable. Here's what I did one night when I was really quite drunk (cropped because I look like a drunken idiot).



I didn't get any better pictures, which is sad, because this turned out really well (for me). It was done I think entirely from my Sephora palette. I didn't use any primer at all but I'm fairly certain that I used one of the cream eyeshadows that came in the Sephora palette as a base.

I have turned out only one look that came up vaguely bright, which was done (I think?) with Zombie Ambrosia and BeWitches from Morgana's Cryptoria, but this was like a month ago so my memory is sketchy at best. I need to take notes when I do these.



Part of what happens is I get makeup on and kinda freak out about how it looks. I'm going to try to continue to do makeup and post how it looks regardless of any makeup fails that came about.

I think I understand some of what I was doing wrong, in regards of application and how I'm using brushes. I do use primer NOW, I have Too Faced Shadow Insurance that I use.

I have ordered some shadow samples from Shiro Cosmetics new Science Collection, inspired entirely by the banner picture she used. I am going to attempt to do something like it. I also want to do a real dark black gothy thing with some red accenting, it's based off a character's tattoo from one of my favorite books. Yeah, I know, I have no clue how this will turn out, but it's something I want to try.

Any suggestions as to people to watch for tutorials, any obvious mistakes you can pick up from a photo, or smart ass remarks regarding my lack of skill are welcome.

Misconceptions, the Series (Part 1)

So I just wanted to briefly talk about things I didn't understand a while ago.  Most of this is stuff I've learned in the last year or so, but they were probably some of the bigger things keeping me back from doing makeup.

"Plumping lipstick doesn't actually plump your lips, it's just shiny and makes your lip look bigger."  I'm sure that not all  plumping lipstick stuff works, but I did learn that a lot of them have ingredients that do 'plump' lips.  By plump I think they mean 'cause to swell'.  Which means I'm still pretty 'thank you, no' about it but I did learn something, anyway.

"Mascara doesn't actually add length, it may add volume but they're just more pronounced because they're darker now."  Okay, so this is sort of a 'yes and no' kind of thing.  My basic understanding (and correct me if I'm mistaken) is that mascara coats the full lash, even the light ends, which enhances the lash and makes it look darker and longer.  However some formulas are designed to lengthen and have special chemicals that I assume build up on the end or something and lengthen or boost volume or whatever.  I use mascara roughly as often as I wax my car (read: never) so it's not like I'd know (okay I guess that's the point of the blog but we're getting into excessive parenthetical territory here).  Probably because I didn't see the utility in it.  It also seems pretty expensive for a tiny little bottle of stuff, which is among my big hangups about makeup in general, I think.  I'm getting over that, but it's an effort.  Anyway, I'm still not sure, but at the heart of my misconception is that all mascara is just mascara, which I'm learning is not really the case.  There is one truth about mascara, though: if I use it, I am sure to jab myself in the eye with it and then get some on my eyelid somehow.  No escaping it.

"It's all the same shit anyway, so get the cheap stuff."  This stems from two places.  In grocery shopping, this generally is true.  Most generic brands are actually created by the same companies as the bigger brands, and in most cases the taste difference is negligible.  Add that to the fact that I have always hated spending money on myself- that it has always seemed wasteful to spend money on things that I enjoy (even when I have the money and I don't have anything else to do with it) that when I get the urge to get makeup I tend towards the super cheap NYC over the more excessive stuff.  I realize that the truth is that this kind of varies, I have heard some good things about Wet N Wild and some of their palettes are pretty sought after, even though they're one of the cheaper drug store brands.  And I happen to know that the Wet N Wild waterproof liquid eyeliner is in fact just about anything proof, which would be great if I could figure out how to get the damn stuff on my eyelid properly.  I need a waterproof liquid crayon or something.  I also know that expensive stuff is sometimes crap, but sometimes worth the money.  This is where my 'Google carefully' mentality came from, I think.  (It's a wise policy.  And I needed one more parenthetical.)

In conclusion: a lot of my assumptions have to do with mental hangups.  I think that some of this has to do with how I was raised.  Not only was I brought up believing that makeup was a waste of time (which, the way I was applying it and from what I knew, it was) but that doing for and spending on myself was also a waste of time.  To the point where I don't even like spending money on things I need, like clothing, and only do so when I absolutely must (like when my last pair of jeans tears out in the ass or something). I realize that convincing myself that I wasn't losing out on anything by buying cheap makeup that won't stay on my oily skin was a defense mechanism, and that learning to take time for myself is probably going to help me be a little less insane.

Blogger Status: Alive

So a lot has happened in the last month.  Moved the blog (okay, that happened today).  I've been kind of in and out on the makeup thing, and some personal stuff has kept me from writing much.  This is my 'relax' kind of writing, I don't intend to do anything with this other than have fun and probably look like an idiot.  But if there's a bunch of stuff going on, then I can't focus on getting one word in front of the other, much less actually getting some writing done.

Anyway, excuses aside, I have a lot of stuff I'm working on.  I went to the Medieval Fair in Norman on Mars at the beginning of the month (and I wore makeup!), I road tested a lid primer, I want to talk about some misconceptions I have had about makeup (that will probably turn into a series) and I wanted to talk about idiotic things I've done so other newbs can learn from/laugh at my mistakes.

So that's where I'm at right now.  But I'm back and I'll be picking up again. In theory.