My Intro to Makeup

I have always been a makeup junkie.  I started dancing when I was in second grade.  I loved going to performances and dressing up and getting to wear makeup.  I would wear my costumes around the house on a daily basis.  As soon as I was old enough I started buying up all the makeup I could.  My collection started with those lip smackers on a bracelet (ok come one whose didn't).

Then I branched out to other makeup I could buy at Target or Meijers while my mom was grocery shopping.  That Great Lash mascara is still a hit.

I had tons of Maybelline, Cover Girl, and Almay shadow palettes.  But once I was old enough to work and go to the mall on my own, I started buying up all the Bare Essentials eye shadows that I could.  I probably own close to 100 shadows from them.  I still love them.  They last for years, the pigmentation is fantastic, and they don't crease.  

The only downfall to these shadows that I have found is that since the lid is black I have to store them upside down so that I can see which color is which.  Storing them upside down makes all the loose pigment settle in what is supposed to be the top of the jar, and I am too clumsy for my own good and I have dropped countless jars and spilled them all over the counter, floor, and myself.

Once I started competing in dance competitions on a regular basis I started a small collection of M.A.C. shadows that I used for competitions.  They were generally in some vibrant shade of pink or green.  I still have an almost completely full Hot Magenta M.A.C. pigment.  It is insanely bright pink, that, for years, I thought was completely unwearable outside of a dance competition.  But one day I decided that I was tired of all of this makeup just sitting collecting dust and I was going to do something with it.  I mixed the pigment with a little water and used a pencil brush and used it as an eyeliner.  I then went in with a black gel liner and angled liner brush and made a thinner line in black.  I've worn this look a few times now and I have always gotten tons of compliments from both young and older people.

My renewed love for makeup compelled to to apply for a job in the cosmetics department at Macy's.  I got the job almost on the spot, and I have loved every day of it.  I work at the Origins counter.  I love working at this counter.  While Origins focus is on happy, healthy skin and not as much makeup, I truly love working at this counter.  I have learned so much about what it means to have naturally beautiful skin and I am embracing it.  I also get plenty of time to hang out with the makeup artists at other counters and learn tips and tricks from them.

The purpose of this blog is to let you all in on the tips and tricks I learn from the pros.  A lot of times the pros will make youtube videos or pictorials on how to accomplish a look.  While these videos and pictorials can be very informative, the average girl doesn't have thousands of products to achieve these looks, or the money to get them all.  From one broke girl to the next, I will do my best to debunk the myths of makeup without breaking the bank. Enjoy and happy artistry :)

"Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself, inside and out." --Unknown