Growing up I never had the desire to purchase or even use makeup. Middle school was the time I noticed my peers began experimenting with makeup. I had a rather awkward conversation with an old friend of mine where I told her there was something around her eyes, only to realize she had applied bright orange eyeliner completely around her lids.

So as middle school ended and high school rounded the corner, my friends suddenly became much more skilled in their makeup choices and application. I found myself improving as well, however, I never quite reached the level of my peers. I was able to apply foundation, eyeliner and mascara, but since I was an athlete, I never bothered going full-on with my makeup since it would all melt off during my grueling practices after school.

Now I’ve reached college and suddenly I’ve reached a new part of my life where I actually desire makeup! While I’ve embraced this change in lifestyle gratefully, considering how vastly my makeup skills have improved, there are also some struggles that accompany makeup enthusiasm.

First of all, and this should be the most obvious, is the price of makeup. While there are certain drugstore brands that work just as well as the more expensive ones, there are still times when I cannot help but spend $50 on an eyeshadow palette or $30 on a tube of lipstick. I’ve learned to skimp on certain material, for example, I am lucky enough to have good skin, so while I’ll spend so much money on bronzer or highlighter, I only need a $6 foundation from Target to be set for the day.

In addition to the price of makeup, it’s difficult to keep track of how much you have. When my interest first began, it was easy to shop because I basically needed everything. All I had was foundation, eyeliner and mascara. Now my collection has grown, so I have seven eyeshadow palettes, eight eyeliners, 12 lipsticks, etc. Additionally, my collection isn’t even that large considering some of the ones I’ve seen from my friends. Once you begin to have so much makeup, you have to make sure you aren’t buying the same thing over and over. I find myself naturally drawn to the same colors and palettes, so I need to make sure that I’m not spending $45 on a palette that I basically already have at home. I’ve taken pictures of all my makeup and keep them on my phone so I am able to look at my collection whenever I’m shopping, and prevent myself from buying what I already own.

Makeup application used to take about 15 minutes, sometimes even less if I had a steady hand that day. A quick layer of foundation, some simple lines above my eye and some mascara then I was set. Now I go through the process of concealer, foundation, bronzer, highlighter, eyeshadow primer (if I plan on being busy all day), eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and whatever I decide to put on my lips. The more makeup you have, the more you want to use, so putting on makeup becomes an hour long process depending on the kind of look you want.

To go off of my last point, perfection becomes a bigger issue as you learn more about makeup. You learn about the do’s and don’ts of makeup, and suddenly you become much more aware of how your makeup looks. If something gets messed up, then you have to wipe it off delicately, and if you don’t wipe it off delicately enough, then you’ll mess up the rest of your makeup and have to start over from scratch. Even though your makeup will look amazing, it’s definitely going to require some time to apply it just how you like.

My increasing interest in makeup is a blessing and a curse. Going to places like Sephora, Ulta or Mac provides me with great joy emotionally, but pain fiscally. I’m sure my interest in makeup will only grow, so I can only hope that my paycheck will grow as well.