i enjoy being a girl

When I was nine, I discovered lipstick. It was this beautiful Clinique Berry something or other, and I was in love with it. But, seeing as how I was in the 4th grade, not many people appreciated my dark red lips. In an effort to make my look a bit more subtle, I smeared thick, glue like lip gloss all over. To be honest, I went from looking like someone with a bad lip biting habit to a night club dancer (in a burgundy poncho and bright green shoes, but that's a sort for another time.)

So, I kinda like make up. And by kinda like, I mean if make up could somehow take me dancing and cuddle with me a night, I wouldn't need a boyfriend OR a mastiff. I've probably spent a good 1/6 of my entire life income on mascara. It's safe to say that I know a thing or two about how to put on a face.

That being said, there are some things that I've only just come to appreciate in the past few weeks. And in order to save some other girl from making it all the way to twenty without experiencing the joys of moisturizer, here goes nothin.


Lip color.

I'll probably blame this one on the terrible teasing of those awful sporty girls in 4th grade, but up until recently I've lived by a strict dark eye/light lip rule. It's tried and true, and let's face it. It looks pretty fabulous. But eyeliner and a ridiculous amount of mascara can only get you so far in the world - sometimes a girl just needs some bright red lipstick. In my film analysis class, we're discussing how make up can affect your interpretation of a character, and I couldn't agree more. And what does a voluptuous girl with a cherry pout usually signify? Bombshell. I'm personally a fan of lipstain, it lasts pretty long and feel like you're writing on yourself with marker, but thanks to Cézanne I've recently discovered Covergirl Lip Perfection. Check out her fantastic review here at HelloGiggles.com.


Blush.
Ridiculous, right? You'd think a girl who's as lacking in the color pigmentation as myself would've gotten on this train long ago, but alas. The perfect balance between rosy cheeked lass and outright Jezebel has, until recently, alluded me.

It turns out that the answer usually lies in the brush you use. Weird, right? But not only is there a huge range of quality of brushes, but their shapes and sizes make a huge difference. Turns out a good foundation brush does not a good bronzer brush make, and don't even get me started on fans vs. fluffy. Yes, you can get away with having one brush for bronzer, blush and powder, but it had better be pretty freakin versatile.
On top of that, the location of the blush can completely change your look. A pretty pink on the apples of your cheeks gives more of an innocent look, while color that fans from your apples up to your temple is more dramatic and flushed.


Primer.
Yet another Hello Giggles gold mine - Sarah Howard recently posted about the best ways to have awesome looking make up, even in awful heat and humidity. This quote particularly stood out to me:

Think of your face like a canvas. You wouldn’t paint without priming, would you? A primer is even more important come summer.

Since I am easily susceptible to suggestion, I headed out to Wal Mart to try this most important beauty product.
And guess what? I LOVE IT. First of all, it makes your skin feel ridiculously silky. Supposedly it also evens out skin tone and gets rid of wrinkles, but I don't even care because IT FEELS SO GOOD, OMG. And make up goes on so smoothly and nice, you wouldn't even believe it. I got my Maybelline Age Rewind for about $6, and I would recommend it to anyone who wears make up ever ever.



And finally,

MOISTURIZER.

I feel like a schmutz for admitting this, but I've been pretty negligent with my basic skin care pretty much my entire life. I was one of the few blessed with pretty perfect skin, no zits or oily skin or anything. Really, I consider it a win if I brush my teeth and pick my mascara off at the end of the day. However, I realize that this is probably not a good way to be, so I invested in some face wash and moisturizer.
I wish I could say my freckles instantly disappeared and I lost ten pounds and everyone fell in love with me because I suddenly had a good skincare regime, but that would be a lie. Instead, I broke out with more pimples on my face than I've ever had in my life. That lasted about two weeks, and things finally settled down on my face, but I still haven't seen any drastic improvement. I use Clean & Clear Morning Glow moisturizer, which supposedly will add a little color to my face, but I'm still just as pale as ever. I do, however, feel a lot better knowing that I'm doing right by my skin.

Also, there's nothing like looking at yourself soulfully in the mirror, wiping off your mask for the day, singing along to Jewel's 'You Were Meant For Me' until your roommate pounds on the door and says she needs to shower.


**I would strongly suggest checking out hellogiggles.com and filleosophy.com for more great make up reviews and tips. :) **