I cannot believe I’ve been in this
world for a whole 27 years. It seems
like just yesterday I was...well, 26.
That’s a joke my cousin Dylan would be proud of.
Any way, it really does seem like just
yesterday I was battling the war against acne and refusing to allow my dancing
teacher to put eyeliner on me because it creeped me the hell out to put
anything so sharp near my eyeball.
This post is about everything I have
learnt about beauty in the last 27 years.
Lesson
#1: Skincare is everything
I remember every so often on our drive
home from church on Sundays, my dad would pull into Southgate Mall for my mom
to run in and buy her Justine skincare.
I can’t remember when exactly she switched to Clinique, but the one
thing that I will always remember about my mom growing up was her absolutely
flawless skin. Her skin has always been
pristine because of her simple rule: wash your face every day.
To be honest, my mom has only recently
started aging mildly. I can’t say she
looks a certain age because I already know how old she is, but when Julian and
I first started dating, he initially didn’t believe that my mom was over
50. I mean, he’s not exactly the
benchmark for observative boyfriends, but it kind of proves the point that if
you take care of your skin, your skin will take care of you.
Lesson
#2: Roaccutane is NOT the enemy
Roaccutane gets a really bad rap for
all the negative side effects (depression, super dry skin, increased
sensitivity to the sun and deformed babies), but I firmly believe that my skin
would not have self-corrected if I had never used it.
My skin has always been excessively
oily. Oily that you could fry an egg on
my face. Add slightly higher levels of
testosterone and you have the poster child for acne. I battled for years and used every product on
the market, before my dermatologist finally persuaded my mom to let me go on
Roaccutane.
With regards to the negative
side-effects, I did suffer – especially with the depression, which in
retrospect, maybe should have been addressed back then too. Would I change anything? Definitely not. Roaccutane worked miracles on my skin, to the
point that I only get occasional pimples now which disappear within a few days
of some benzoyl peroxide treatment. I
never have to worry about the ugly, purple breakouts I used to get ever
again.
Obviously this is just my personal
experience and everyone reacts differently, so please don’t hate on me if you
used Roaccutane and it didn’t work.
Lesson
#3: Maybelline Dream Matte mousse is NOT your friend
If you didn’t use this in the early
2000’s, did you even exist? Everyone and
their mother used this foundation back in the day. Also, what was a makeup sponge? You rubbed this stuff in with your
fingers! Lovely. Thank heavens for moving on and moving
up.
Lesson
#4: Purple eyeliner... don’t do it!
My go-to eyeliner was a purple Rimmel
(I think) wind-up pencil that I wore every single day of the weekend (I obeyed
the rules of the school) with some form of extreme Maybelline mascara. I would line my lower lash line and my
eyelid. Waterlines and inner eyelids
freaked me out completely, so it was always blended a little too low to be
eyeliner.
Even worse, it didn’t matter what I
was wearing. Red? Brown?
Slap that baby on! *cringe*
Lesson
#5: Lipstick is not optional
I literally never wore lipstick. In 2010, I remember buying a Maybelline
lipstick that was marketed with “diamonds” of some sort and it was pretty much
a tube of tinted lipbalm with a packet of glitter in it. There was almost no pigmentation in the colour,
but that glitter went everywhere. I even remember my boyfriend at the time
asking me not to kiss him hello when I was wearing it because it would get all
over his face too.
I’ve only recently discovered the
importance of wearing lipstick. Lipstick
adds the balance you need in your makeup look: you tone it down when your eyes
are super dramatic, or you amp it up when you have a really simple eye look
going on. It ties everything together.
Lesson
#6: It’s ok to splurge a little on some makeup products
I did economics at university and I’m
fully aware that a R600 foundation is by far less economical than a R600 pair
of shoes (in terms of cost per wear).
That being said, sometimes a cosmetic product is super expensive not
only for the name on it, but also because of the amount of research and
development that goes into certain formulae.
These products often mean that you can use a lot less per application,
therefore increasing your cost per wear ratio.
More importantly, it’s important to
take care of yourself and have “treat yo’self” occasions. I mean, don’t treat yo’self and have peanut
butter and provitas for the rest of the month, but treat yo’self within reason,
I guess.
Lesson
#7: Your makeup is for YOU
Never let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t
wear a certain look because they don’t like it.
You wear your makeup for you to feel
beautiful.
So if you’re ever told that your
makeup is “too much” or “too loud” or “too dark” or whatever the case may be,
just tell that person to sit the hell down.
Note: disregard this advice if it’s
your boss – they’re probably referring to dress codes which you have to abide
by and you’ll probably get fired if you tell them to sit the hell down.
Lesson
#8: It’s not a waste of money if it’s something you love
I can’t tell you how many eye rolls
I’ve gotten from my mom and Julian every time I buy more makeup. “But you already have something similar to
that” or “What do you need more makeup for?”
The fact of the matter is, it’s your
money (hopefully) and it’s your passion and you can do whatever you like to
make yourself happy (except for heroin – you probably shouldn’t do that). You’re going to encounter negativity your
whole life for pretty much anything you do.
If makeup is your passion and it brings you happiness, no one else’s
opinion on how much makeup you already own or what you do with it matters.
That, of course, brings us back to the
treat yo’self proviso that you shouldn’t spend all your money and eat provitas
and peanut butter (or nothing, if you’re particularly reckless). Just do what you love...in moderation, ok?
Lesson
#9: Everything does not have to be a multiple of 3
Yes, it does.
Wherever you may find yourself on your
beauty journey, I hope these lessons inspire you along the way. While I may have embarked on my own at a much
later chapter in my life in comparison to other bloggers and makeup artists, I
am no less motivated and excited to learn every day and reach more and more
readers.
Here's a little throwback for you so you can see how beautiful I always have been *rofl emoji*
Wishing you all the love and light the
universe has to offer, until next week ♡♡♡