My first memory of putting on makeup was in grade school when my two younger brothers and I were part of a play written and directed by Fr. Reuter. It was a production of The Night Before Christmas and I was one of the ballerinas. Back then, my mom was the one who did our makeup. She bought green cake foundation (for stage, she said) and did my eyes in a gradient of fuchsia pink and royal blue. I thought I looked amazing. Haha!
In college, we would do our own makeup for performances and I only ever knew one style of eye makeup. Blue and silver shadow plus black eyeliner and mascara. I guess blue eye shadow from watching My Girl multiple times kind of stuck with me. I don’t think I even knew anything about foundation or grooming my brows. So I only did my eyes, put on pressed powder and blush, and I was done.
Makeup for Elevate competition in 2003. Hai to 2/3 of my Driving Queens!
Fast forward to when I was interviewing for jobs as a fresh grad, I unearthed my mom’s old Estee Lauder palette that was in the perfect neutral shade for everyday, no-makeup makeup (before I even knew that this was a thing~ years later in my job) looks. I pilfered an old Ever Bilena pencil eyeliner from her vanity, too, and that was basically my makeup stash until I could buy any of my own.
I’ve always been drawn to earthy nudes and rose gold tones because I figured even if I didn’t know how to properly put on makeup, the colors would be a lot more forgiving. And now, I have a total of six palettes and I don’t know how that happened. Haha!
(Clockwise from top left) Amber Times Nine, MAC; Naked 2, Urban Decay; Eyes Are The Window – Soul, Stila; Bronze Palette, Kylie Cosmetics; Give It To Me Straight, ColourPop; Michief Minx, MAC; Naked 3, Urban Decay / Photos courtesy of brands featured
Before you judge (haha), I only bought 2 of the palettes in the picture. Three came in a press package from my old job and 2 were given to me as gifts by family and friends. I have used and abused my Naked 2 palette ever since I got it from my cousin Gail. I probably use just 4 to 5 shades so maybe I should explore this one a bit more. I did my own makeup at my brother’s wedding a few years ago and just used the Naked 3 palette. I love love all the colors in this one and I would probably choose this if I had to pick only one out of the 7. My go-to for every day (that is if I’m leaving the house, haha) is Amber Times Nine. I’ve been using the darkest shade as eyeliner lately, too. I spritz a bit of Glossier rosewater spray on my brush before dabbing on some pigment. It creates a really soft wing for days when I don’t want to use liquid liner. If you’ve seen me in the past couple of months, you’ll notice that I’ve been digging orange-y, copper lids. I’m probably using the Bronze Palette or Mischief Minx (or even both!). I’ve only ever used the Stila one maybe thrice and mostly for weddings or the very rare nights out since the colors are a bit dark. I recently ordered the Give It To Me Straight palette and I know, I know it looks like all the other palettes I have. BUT it was recently restocked and it’s only $16! Shout-out to Mikko for notifying me and ordering for us, LOL.
So the next time I rave to you about eye makeup, please direct me to this post so that I may be reminded that I have more than enough.
