Makeup is something that I have a strong interest for. I think it’s incredible how a few products can change how you feel entirely and the affect it has on others as well as how creative the makeup community is.
I started experimenting with makeup at quite a young age with those tacky glitter lip salve and bright eyeshadow palettes you would get from Woolworths (yes I’m that old) or putting my mums old eyeliners on a dolls head, as well as practicing on my sisters when we got a bit older. I never really put makeup on myself because I had no idea what to do and I didn’t really have the internet until I was about 14 where I became swallowed up by the YouTube wormhole with endless smokey eye tutorials and Halloween inspiration. I had an obsession with using two of my sisters as models and we would love dressing up as different kinds of people, the likes you get from Mean Girls and St Trinians (huge style inspo). I loved making them into characters and found it fascinating how you could change a person by wacking some lippy and a dark eyeshadow on. As kids we loved face paint so I’m guessing that’s where the interest stemmed from but as I got older I was introduced to so many more colours and styles and types of products.
My mum never encouraged us to wear makeup but she also never discouraged it so it was down to us to explore and find an interest which was pretty cool because we had free will. Some of my friends in school wore it but I didn’t until Year 9 when suddenly I felt it necessary to wear eyeliner and mascara every day and then found out you could do things to your eyebrows and I was astounded. Of course, as you grow up you develop different insecurities and start exploring self-expression so by discovering these things I could do really changed my mind set.
I have always had quite dry skin which I struggle with so one thing I have found on this makeup journey is that I just can’t deal with foundation. I think, in a way, this is a great thing though because it takes off loads of time for me in the mornings now as I don’t necessarily do the ‘full’ face. I think the other benefit of me never really feeling that I had to wear makeup is that I could go to my job (as a swimming teacher) and not feel like a completely different person. I still had confidence with a fresh, clean face. As many people my age have experienced I did get quite bad spots and I was the worst at leaving my face alone which did make me anxious in public but I never plastered my face with all sorts like some people do. Those who did/ do I sympathise with because, as a society, we have been brought up to not really love ourselves and that people prefer the magazine cover look with perfect skin and beautiful features.
The ‘no makeup makeup look’ is honestly so damaging to an audience as we are continuously being lied to about how these influencers appear and that they are flawless all the time which, as we learn when we grow up, is very far from the truth. Something that I will talk about more in a body confidence post is how makeup can change your attitude and outlook. As simple as it is, it can really affect your mental health in many ways both positively and negatively.
As time went on I found more and more things I could put on my face and played it pretty safe with plain, light colours and not applying anything too heavy. Once I started Sixth form I made some new friends who were a little different from the ‘norm’ and this led me to becoming a lot more comfortable and properly allowing myself to explore my identity and how I wanted to present the ‘real’ me. I began with having a slightly darker eyeshadow and trying different coloured lipsticks and fulfilled my love for glitter by purchasing ones that could go on my eyes and make a huge difference to the overall look.
Over the last few years I have been building my makeup collection more and more and yes, a fair bit of money has probably been spent on it, however I have always been quite savvy with money and found dupes or generally cheaper alternatives. My go to places to shop for makeup have always been Boots and Superdrug and through the years I have found some amazing makeup brands.
Over time, I educated myself to be a lot more aware of the companies I was supporting and the products I was using regarding animal testing. I now only buy cruelty free makeup because I completely disagree with the production lines practicing their formulas on animals and believe that if so many brands (such as MUA, Barry M, NYX, Too Faced etc) can create incredible products without harming animals then many others can also follow the same regulations. It is such an unnecessary factor to be hurting innocent creatures. If one company can do it, so can others. My most recent post for Risen talks more about this topic.
The development of my makeup has become almost legendary (lol that’s a bit far but yeah). I started rocking up in my year 12 classes with sunset eyeshadow of oranges and pinks and yellows with shocking red eyeliner and topping it off with some purple stars around the edges. It is a form of art in my opinion and the plethora of looks you can create truly excites me. I’ve turned up to school with the most outrageous array of colours and patterns and glitters on my face but what’s great about our Sixth form is that we could wear whatever makeup we wanted.
Not that I’m considering myself a trend setter, as I’m sure loads of people have done this in the past, but I started to notice that other students were starting to be a little more daring with their makeup too. I also had a lot of people giving me compliments which I never really got before and of course this made me feel great and urged me to keep practicing and experimenting. I took inspiration from some artists such as Mykie (from Glam and Gore) who meshes Halloween with the more elegant looks and creates absolute MASTERPIECES!! I also follow a multitude of Instagram accounts dedicated to doing abstract creations which truly inspire me to be more daring.
The possibilities are truly endless and there are no rules. Some influencers bang on about ‘how tos’ and ‘makeup mistakes’ but there really is no wrong way and that’s what I love. People like things that are out of the ordinary and push unspoken ‘boundaries’. For those who tell you that it is over the top or weird I recommend you just ignore them and continue to wear what you want. No one is going to be the best at something when they first start so the only thing you can do is to practice. I am by no means an expert in this field but I’ve projected my looks online and given inspiration to people who might have never known they needed it.
At the beginning of 2018 I created an Instagram account dedicated to makeup to create an online profile of something I really enjoy (@glitter_kidz if you wanna give it a cheeky follow). At a time where I was quite stressed about school and life in general the account gave me a creative outlet which I loved fleshing out. I also promoted on there about cruelty free brands that I like as well as affordable products which my followers could purchase without blowing the bank.
Some of my favourite looks I have done include the following:
These looks have been made with a combination of face paints, SFX makeup and your usual makeup products. It’s cool to try different things out for different occasions such as Pride, festivals, school, awards, formal occasions and general confidence boosting.
My younger sister, Lauren, is a bit like a mini me. She has also made a makeup account and has tried out things to imitate me which is a little annoying on days where we look the same but it’s also interesting to see that development in another person who you have directly influenced. It makes me proud to see that positive influence on her as well as allowing her to also be creative.
When I want to feel like a bad bitch I opt for a dark, bold lip with large winged black eyeliner and an iridescent glitter on the inner corner and when I’m feeling particularly funky or it’s a sunny day I go for the more colourful looks on the eye such as a rainbow eyeshadow or blue mascara. It doesn’t always necessarily link up with the weather or how I’m feeling but they are both huge contributing factors to what I put on my face that day.
Brands that I absolutely adore are: NYX (their vivid bright’s eyeliners are a godsend), MUA (who have great matte liquid lipsticks that are not at all drying, if you’ve prepped your lips, and feel so light through the day) and Sleek (who are an amazingly diverse company that have very affordable and their eyeshadow palettes and highlighters are to die for). These are just a small handful of companies I support and as mentioned previously, I don’t buy high end makeup as it just isn’t necessary. The luxury of having a Tom Ford highlighter or a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick must be immensely enjoyable however, it just isn’t the reality I’ve experienced and that’s fine! There are many other superb alternatives to choose from if you don’t want to get into debt because of your liquid lipstick obsession.
The argument I have received from my parents is: 'why do you spend so much money on makeup; you don’t need any more' but my argument for that is, it’s something creative; it’s not hurting anyone and I could be buying much more expensive, much more harmful things. I love makeup and I will continue to broaden my understanding and interest of it as well as continuing to promote the cruelty free lifestyle which I believe everyone should adopt.
As this post is already quite long I will draw it to a close but I am sure to talk more about this topic and I may also do some tutorials! For now check my latest video out that I had a lot of fun with and stay tuned :)
