TAG: My Make Up Story

I saw this on another blog and thought it was really interesting. If you haven't done this yet, I tag you!

1. How old were you when you first started wearing makeup?
I think I was around year 9 so I would have been about 14. It was just a bit of concealer for my dark circles and then later got onto a teeny layer of mascara. I used to sneekily apply my make up because we weren't supposed to wear it to school and I thought my Mum would tell me off! Gradually I started wearing eye liner after seeing an Asian girl putting it on in the girls toilets and watching her to learn how to do it.

2. How did you get into makeup?
At first I just wanted to disguise my dark circles and blemishes. I just wanted to enhance my eyes a little and feel a bit prettier (I got picked on a lot at school about my looks and was always self conscious). I wore basic make up until I was in the 6th Form and reading a thread on the Lush International Forum about make up inspired me to get a bit more experimental so purchased the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol II. It has gone from there really.

3. What are your favourite brands?
MAC is probably my favourite. I also really love Chanel recently, I love the quality of them. Illamasqua and Bobbi Brown are other brands I like to dabble in.

4. What does makeup mean to you?
I feel more alive, more like me. I feel healthier and it perks my mood up. It allows me to play around with colours and be creative. I just love make up shopping and playing with different products. I don't wear make up every day but if I go out, even to walk the boyfriend's dog, I like to put some on just because of how it makes me feel. It also helps me be more confident and daring which are things that I am always trying to get better at.

5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?
Concealer, eye liner, mascara and blush. They are my basics.

6. What is your favourite thing about makeup?
The creativity of it. You can make yourself/someone else look so different. Whether it be every day looks to wild crazy stage/film make up. Then when you don't want to look like that any more, you just take it off. Nothing is permanent so it makes it fun to play, just like small children like face paints, it is like grown up face paint!

7. What do you think of drugstore makeup vs high end?
I have tried so many drugstore things in the past and often been disappointed. BUT there are some absolute gems out there too. Sleek and Barry M do some really good budget make up and Collection 2000 have some good bits too. I think it is just as important to read reviews on your drugstore purchases, just like you would do for high end things so you don't end up wasting your money. The thing I cannot stand about drugstore make up is the testers, ugh! They are often just so disgusting that I wont even touch them which ultimately means I wont buy the product.

8. What is one tip of advice you would give to a beginner?
Start at the basics, mascara and neutral toned gloss/balm is a good place to get started. Spread out into neutral tones as they are harder to mess up and go for palettes with a good colour selection such as Urban Decay Book of Shadows if you want to use colours as a lot of them will work well together and they are very good quality. Go buy some decent brushes, they don't need to be expensive but rubbish brushes which shed and don't pick up colour will be hard to use. When buying a foundation/concealer, get yourself colour matched if possible and then walk outside into natural light to check for yourself, store lighting is not good to make sure it is the right shade. Read reviews/watch Youtube and be selective, try not to get overwhelmed.

9. What is one makeup trend you never understood?
Too much fake tan. I love the bronzed look but there is no need to go overboard. Pick a bronzer that compliments your skin tone without being too dark or orange and apply it lightly!

10. What do you think of the beauty blogging community?
I love it, I've learnt so much through reading blogs and watching Youtube. I really enjoy blogging too, I'd been lacking creativity since leaving school even though I work in a creative job but since starting my own blog I feel spurred on to get more creative. There are bloggers that I find so inspirational and really look up to and respect.


- Jennifer