Confessions Of A Makeup Geek

"I just accidentally charged my mother's credit card $733."
-Alex DelloStritto

I laughed when I first saw that a teen in Pennsylvania charged her mother's credit card almost a thousand dollars at Sephora a couple months ago, but it was quickly replaced with nervous chuckling when I remembered this past month I spent a total of $833 at the same place. I could relate.

Hey, listen, it's not my fault liquid lipstick is $20 a pop and that an eyeshadow palette can be up to $60. I'm looking at you, Too Faced. And yet, I still dish out the money to get it anyway.

Then I realised something. I have a problem.

Like, a legitimate problem.

I'm not talking about that in a jokey kind of way, either - it's not some "haha relatable" type of situation. It's something I probably need to be controlled with. Some people are addicted to drugs, I'm addicted to highlighters that can blind people from metres away.

It's very similar, too. The consumer pays about $40-65 for a powdery substance that ultimately ends up on their face. The only difference is the intent behind the usage of said substance. Now, I'm not encouraging all makeup lovers in the world to snort their products - in fact, please don't - but there's no denying there are parallels to these addictions.

And yet, I see nothing wrong with it!

I see nothing wrong with going into Sephora, spending a few hundred dollars just to indulge in an obsession that could probably have no end. If anything, I think it's healthy to obsess over something that's not harmful to the individual or anyone else around them.

Now, if it got to the point to where people were neglecting bills and self-care just to get makeup, that's when it gets not only unhealthy but also kind of pathetic. I say kind of to be nice. However, I've never heard of such a case because makeup isn't that addictive. We know when we can't afford it, so we know not to buy it. That's what makes us different from druggies - we know when to pause.

Yet, we don't seem to know when to pause when we're getting ready in the mornings.

Oh, I'll just do some eyeliner and some foundation to cover my acne today.

Oh, look at that. I did my full face again.

It's a legitimate problem.

And yet I see nothing wrong with it.

However, my makeup routine and my makeup obsession seems to be popular only in three places: Twitter, Instagram, and the beauty vlogging side of YouTube. Other than that, nobody else knows what a beauty blender is. Nobody knows that "baking" has a different term in regards to makeup. Nobody truly understands the mind of a girl with so much makeup it's overflowing out of her bags.

Because of this, I decided I'm going to be responding to some very common questions a makeup hoarder like me has to answer on a daily basis. Hopefully, this will clear a few things up.

1.) So, you have to do that like, every day? Isn't it tiring?

Yes, I do it like, every day. But no, it's not tiring. That's the fun in makeup! If you're doing the same exact look every day, it may be boring to look at all the time, but there are so many different methods one could go about doing just that look alone. Let's not mention once we throw in the fact we change shades on our face, the colours of our eyeshadows, which brand of liquid lipstick, etc. We have so much so that we don't get bored with our supply. We have so much makeup to keep us inspired and entertained with our faces for years - because you could do a different look every hour of every day for all 365 days, and there would still be more possibilities.

2.) Doesn't that take forever? How do you have the time to do that?

Well, some methods take a long time like baking and dealing with the hellish hassle that is false eyelashes, but other than that it's honestly not that long if you know what you're doing. To put things into perspective: my sophomore year of highschool I started to wear makeup for the first time (and it consisted of BareMinerals foundation, concealer, blush, eyeshadow, mascara, finishing powder and lipstick with only about four brushes. Very basic setup, I know) and it would take me two hours to do it all. Now, I'm about to be a freshmen in college with a whole different makeup routine in the morning (consisting of face primer, eyeshadow primer, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, falsies, eyebrow dip, foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, highlighter, under eye powder, finishing powder, contour, lipstick and setting spray with a grand total of 57 different types of brushes) and it takes me less than twenty minutes.

It's literally a matter of practicing something so many times, getting better at it, and then being quicker at it because you're getting better and better with your skills. So the answer to that is yes and no about taking forever, it all just depends on how experienced you are with the tools you have.

3.) You're wearing too much [Fill in the Blank]!

I'll answer this one very quickly and very simply: hi this is my face let me do what I want with it thanks.

4.) You don't need to impress anyone! You're beautiful just the way you are.

Easy answer: I do not wear makeup to impress you. I do not wear makeup because I'm insecure. Because frankly, I look good without makeup too. Just saying. Anyways - I do struggle with self-confidence, and it did take me years to realise that I had a pretty face naturally; so while I may have started wearing makeup because of insecurity, I slowly learned to love the face I was working with so often.

5.) You look like a clown.

Oh yeah. That's so original and it's so funny I forgot to laugh at it. Hey, at least this clown is prettier than you.

6.) You don't need all that makeup.

Technically yes, you're right, I don't need all of it. But I want it, therefore I am willing to go and pay for it. We all have our own weaknesses when it comes to shopping - things we splurge on and things we can't help but obsess over. For some people, it's collectible toys. For others, it's stationaries. For me, it's keychains and makeup, so let me do what I want with my money, okay? I'm at least being responsible with it.

7.) I don't even know how to wear makeup, so I can't do it.

Do you think my pathetic excuse for a sophomore knew what the heck I was doing with my face? No. Thankfully, in this day and age, we have a special place called YouTube where people give tutorials for the simplest types of makeup so that we know what to do. Not to mention, the girls at your beauty stores will be more than happy to help teach you. That's their job. The lovely woman that taught me at BareMinerals my sophomore year gave me just a basic rundown, and even her phone number for when I have questions about the routine. She wrote it down for me and walked me through it step by step at least three times. Trust me, an amateur can pick up this skill and slowly learn to master it within less than a year, depending on how fast they learn.

8.) Won't that cause acne? Why are you covering acne with something that will cause it?

Well, the easy thing is, the makeup brands I use are known to be very gentle on the pores and easy to take off. Some makeup brands are very cakey and will clog your pores up, but there are also some brands that use all natural products, so my acne has actually decreased since wearing makeup. Plus, it's recommended that you have a skincare routine before and after you put on your makeup, which will prevent acne from appearing even more.

9.) Can guys wear it to?

Why is that even a question? Absolutely they can! In fact, I encourage males to have a feminine side just like how I encourage females to have a masculine side. If they prefer not to, that's fine! It's all for personal preference and for your own happiness. If it's makeup for you, my dearest gentlemen, then knock yourselves out. It's a whole world of fun.

10.) Why is that a trend?

Don't ask me why something is popular, ask me why I like it enough to incorporate it into my face. It's the same reason why I ask my parents why they thought 80s hair was a good idea. It's a trend for a reason - it'll probably change in a year or so, and so we just follow that. Even then, there are some trends that I don't include on my face all the time, so ultimately it's up to the user.

Basically, the rundown of this is simple: let makeup lovers do what they want with their face, and move on with your life. Trust me, things are so much easier for you that way.