My amazing partner seems to enjoy telling me how beautiful I am and how he wants only the best things for me. I know... I'm such a lucky girl. Anyway. For months now, he's been giving me a hard time about the makeup I buy and how it's not good for my face. I have sensitive skin and I use a combination of Mary Kay and Physician's Formula. I don't like wearing makeup, I prefer Au natural, feeling, the wind on my face, and touching my skin or itching my nose without worrying about smearing or wearing off my makeup. It's just another one of those girly things I didn't grow up doing regularly.
Last weekend my partner and I attended a BBQ on Camp Pendleton. This was no ordinary BBQ with our regular friends... Nope! My love is translating for a group of Japanese Self Defense Force members who came over to train with our Marines. These men decided to throw a BBQ for their hosts and I soon learned the difference between American styled BBQ's and Japanese BBQ's.... The food just didn't end. It was amazing. What wasn't amazing, however, was the resulting look of my makeup. My foundation had worn off around my mouth and cheeks and the hot sun helped the makeup around my eyes give me the Alice Cooper effect. Oh yes. I was a hot mess. Scratch that. I was just a mess. My love and I had plans to go to the MCX (Marine Corps Exchange) to price check iMac computers and then take some of our new Japanese friends out to San Diego. I didn't have time to go home, wash my face and reapply. My self image was quickly diminishing and I couldn't do anything about it. That's when my super smart boyfriend decided that it would be a good time for me to sample what he called "quality makeup".
I have had my makeup done twice in my life, once for my first wedding and the other for my best friend's wedding. Makeup counters are a natural repellent for me and I just tend to steer clear. This day was different. I wanted to make a good impression on my babe's foreign friends, especially since they are working together. So I walked up to the makeup counter, pulse racing. I just KNEW that the minute I opened my mouth to this gorgeous makeup counter attendant she'd have me pegged for the backwoods, makeup novice that I am and burst out laughing at my feeble attempt of trying to be girly. "Leave it to the pro's" My imagination heard her say.
But... Of course that didn't happen. I think she could tell that price was an issue for me. Christ, the maximum I'd ever spent on a single item of makeup was $10.00 and that's when I was spoiling myself on foundation that was supposed to blend in with your skin tone (It didn't work very well so I didn't bother spending that kind of money again). Anyway. This awesome lady educated me on how to better care for my skin and use makeup to my advantage. She cleaned up my face and started working her magic. She sent me home with a 3 day supply of Estee Lauder's "BB cream" and Double wear foundation. I definitely looked much better when I left, but I just wasn't quite sold.
I had a fabulous time on our night out and as I looked through the photos that were taken I noticed that I looked better than normal. There's just no way makeup could make THAT much of a difference, right? The next day, I put it to the test, comparing my natural skin vs the new cosmetics and again comparing my cosmetics vs the new cosmetics, side by side.
I love how light the makeup feels on my skin and how it doesn't cover up my natural sheen, making me feel caked in power like I felt with my other foundations.
The woman who helped me at the makeup counter happens to be a makeup artist. If you're in the SoCal area, I highly recommend her. As an actor turned photographer for my multimedia company, Iconic Images, I've worked with my fair share of MUA's, She is one of the sweetest professionals I've had the pleasure of meeting. She was both informative and helpful. She also has some of the lowest rates I've heard of. I asked for her permission to pass her information to you. and she obliged.
MUA: Jazmin/email: Jazminartistry@gmail.com I know a lot of my instagram followers follow my blog, so for those of you fellow IG'ers, check out her profile where she shows cosmetic products and then explains how to achieve certain looks (which is helpful for girls like me).
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| Alice Cooper, or me trying to look sexy with runny makeup? |
I have had my makeup done twice in my life, once for my first wedding and the other for my best friend's wedding. Makeup counters are a natural repellent for me and I just tend to steer clear. This day was different. I wanted to make a good impression on my babe's foreign friends, especially since they are working together. So I walked up to the makeup counter, pulse racing. I just KNEW that the minute I opened my mouth to this gorgeous makeup counter attendant she'd have me pegged for the backwoods, makeup novice that I am and burst out laughing at my feeble attempt of trying to be girly. "Leave it to the pro's" My imagination heard her say.
But... Of course that didn't happen. I think she could tell that price was an issue for me. Christ, the maximum I'd ever spent on a single item of makeup was $10.00 and that's when I was spoiling myself on foundation that was supposed to blend in with your skin tone (It didn't work very well so I didn't bother spending that kind of money again). Anyway. This awesome lady educated me on how to better care for my skin and use makeup to my advantage. She cleaned up my face and started working her magic. She sent me home with a 3 day supply of Estee Lauder's "BB cream" and Double wear foundation. I definitely looked much better when I left, but I just wasn't quite sold.
I had a fabulous time on our night out and as I looked through the photos that were taken I noticed that I looked better than normal. There's just no way makeup could make THAT much of a difference, right? The next day, I put it to the test, comparing my natural skin vs the new cosmetics and again comparing my cosmetics vs the new cosmetics, side by side.
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| Left: No makeup. Center: Estee Lauder BB cream and Double Wear foundation. Right: Full face comparison. |
The woman who helped me at the makeup counter happens to be a makeup artist. If you're in the SoCal area, I highly recommend her. As an actor turned photographer for my multimedia company, Iconic Images, I've worked with my fair share of MUA's, She is one of the sweetest professionals I've had the pleasure of meeting. She was both informative and helpful. She also has some of the lowest rates I've heard of. I asked for her permission to pass her information to you. and she obliged.
MUA: Jazmin/email: Jazminartistry@gmail.com I know a lot of my instagram followers follow my blog, so for those of you fellow IG'ers, check out her profile where she shows cosmetic products and then explains how to achieve certain looks (which is helpful for girls like me).
