Looking Back

I realise I've been wearing makeup for the last 10 years or more. That's about half of my life spent clogging up my poor pores! I started wearing makeup in highschool, long before any of my classmates did. As a teenager, I suffered from severe acne breakouts, which left me with both physical and emotional scars. Makeup did wonders to my self-esteem, but not my skin! It was a vicious cycle - the more makeup I used, the worse my skin became, but I couldn't stop, I couldn't face the world without my makeup. I wish I discovered facials earlier.

Over the last decade I must have committed a ridiculous amount of beauty blunders while trying to perfect my makeup application technique. I always cringe when I look back at old photographs of me wearing foundation that was obviously a few shades too light for my skin. Another mistake was not concealing the dark circles under my eyes. And I regret over-plucking and shaving my eyebrows because they won't grow anymore. Recently my sister, a medical doctor, told me that surgeons are advised not to shave their patients' eyebrows as it may not grow back. I started shaving my eyebrows after looking at Japanese teen fashion magazines. I learned the hard way when I realised my brows wouldn't grow back and when the trend for thicker brows was back. Now I have to resort to using eyebrow pencils and eyebrow shadow. I won't consider getting them tattooed because I don't trust beauticians' brow tattooing skills and since brow trends keep changing. I read somewhere that olive oil and castor oil helps but I have yet to try it. I wonder if Talika really works. I'll probably buy it online a few months before my wedding next year.

I started learning about makeup from any makeup book that I could get my hands on. I would get demos and makeovers at departmental store cosmetic counters and even attended a few beauty workshops. There are so many different techniques and styles that it's difficult to draw a line and say which technique is wrong or right. It's all a matter of preference and what looks good on you. Not everyone looks good with a smokey eyeshadow effect or eyeliner on the lower lid. But in general, you should ensure that your foundation matches your natural skin tone. The experts always advise to apply makeup in natural daylight.

My current favourite look is the Korean minimalistic look. I stumbled across this look while browsing through some Korean bridal magazines and later, after watching a Korean drama series. I want to become a freelance makeup artist, but first I need to attend proper courses and get certified! Patience, patience, patience. Will post pictures of my work when I find someone who agrees to be my model!