My make-up breakthroughs

I'm into a bit of nostalgic mood today (maybe it's because yesterday I watched my brother's graduation day at Columbia Law School through live streaming; the internet really is amazing...) and I started thinking about my earliest experiences with make-up and what were my favorite looks and products... So I thought it might be interesting/ funny to share it with you, guys :)

I think my make-up experiments actually started in the secondary school. I was in a theatre troupe and often played main parts in our performances, so I really wanted my costumes and make-up to match the character. I remember playing a young girl who went mad because of her unrequited love for a handsome knight; I had a long, white gown and I thought my make-up should look otherworldly. This is why I purchased some absolutely crazy products back then, like a metallic, silver/beige lipgloss which I never used, I think not even for the play :)

At that time I also got some other extreme (at least for a 13 year old) products, like a super dark, brownish cherry lipstick from Lumene. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking. I'd have problems to pull it off even now, and then... I remember it was very pigmented and I think it was actually a good lipstick, after all, I just went crazy with the shade :)

Then my preferences did a complete 180 thanks to some article posted in a teenage magazine. It was a praise to natural looking girls and natural make-up: using only clear mascara (hell, what's the point of using a clear mascara on your lashes, I don't know the secret till today, it does absolutely nothing), clear gloss and some transparent powder. Not that this is a harmful approach, just totally not me...

In high school I started experimenting more and more again. My main issue was acne and I did everything to cover it, but at times it would get worse and I would feel absolutely down and ugly and refuse to leave the house. I guess everyone who has had similar skin problems knows what I am talking about. So I tried countless concealers and color correctors, none of them really working to my advantage, I guess. I also remember ordering some make-up from Avon, because my class mate was a representative, and this is how I came into possession of a ridiculous, glitter-ball lipgloss, just because it smelled of artificial peaches. This is also when I discovered some good stuff, though, like make-up application techniques, brushes, loose face powder from Bourjois (love the smell!). My biggest breakthrough was using highlighting shades on the inner corner of my eye and up to the brow bone as well as blending colors together. One of my favorite color combos was true gold eyeshadow on the first half of the lid and shimmery pink on the other half. You see, I was way into shimmer :)

During uni, I started using more eyeshadow colors thanks to my cousin, who got me my first eyeshadow palette. It IS crap; the quality of the eyeshadows is just terrible now that I can compare it to some decent eyeshadows, but I still owe her :) I also ventured into the world of blusher, which I skipped earlier since I thought my skin was too pinky on itself, and I perfected my winged eyeliner. When I got my first, long-term job as an English teacher in a private language school, I started putting more and more effort into my make-up looks and settled on using liquid foundation to even my skin out, which I had never done before except for the nights out.

And then, finally, around December last year, I discovered the online make-up community. My very first and favorite make-up guru was Amy from Ask Me Make-up; unfortunately, she doesn't do videos any more... Then I started watching other people on YT and then I discovered beauty blogs and then I decided to start my own :) I have learnt A LOT since then, for which I am really grateful :) You people are fantastic!!!

What is your make-up story? I'd love to know what were your make-up breakthroughs! Please drop me a line in the comments. Also, I wanted to let you know that for the next two weeks I won't be able to post so often, however expect some haulage very soon! Take care, my beauties. xxx