Makeup Monday: The Background

I believe everyone should have something in their life, aside from a relationship, that makes them crazy happy. Something they look forward to, read about, participate in... anything. Many of my friends are fantastic photographers, one in particular. Being very close friends and teammates for five years I was surprised that I never knew this about her, and today - looking at her facebook pictures of her house, her dog Moose, the seasons, anything...I can't believe this is a hobby she just "picked up" and turned out to be amazingly good at.

I'm not saying I am amazingly good at my obsession - but mine, is makeup. Beauty, skincare, fashion - I adore all, but none as much as makeup. I can't pinpoint when I started to develop a real interest (not just a liking) in makeup. In university, I used to leave my makeup on for days, rubbing my fingers on my night-before-bar-smudged eyeliner in the mornings as a quick touch up before class (or weights...yuk). Sitting here thinking about the disaster I used to put my skin through makes me cringe. Nowadays, I wash my face religiously every morning and night, using different products nightly to rid myself of every having to go through adult acne again. I do this not only to take care of my skin, but because the key to good makeup is good skin. Your skin determines the type of makeup you should be using, and the type of makeup that you shouldn't even own.

Let me preface all of my Makeup Monday posts by saying that I am not a trained makeup artist, nor have I ever taken any real cosmetology classes (yet). What I have learned is from personal experience and mass amounts of time reading, researching, and watching videos on everything from application to colour selection based on race, skintype, and hair/eye colour. I never buy any makeup or skincare cold turkey, I always read reviews and ratings from my all time favourite makeup website Makeup Alley.

[Note: If you're a makeup/skincare/product junkie like I am, sign up for this site, its free, and you can read reviews on millions of products from high end to low end, see recipes for masks using simple out-of-your kitchen ingredients, and swap makeup with other users all over the world!]

So from now on, every Monday will be dedicated to my love of makeup, and I'll share with you the tips and tricks I've learned, some product staples in my kit, and cheaper alternatives to expensive products. As you can see from my kit, my collection is rather large, and rather expensive. Yes, I use expensive makeup, but this is the love of my life. You don't need to use expensive makeup. Expensive makeup does not necessarily look better than lower end cosmetics. In most cases, application is everything. Hence, I will focus more on application tips and tools that you can use with whatever makeup you have in your bag, drawer, or stashed in your purse (eek, no judgements).

So next Monday will be the beginning, and I'll start with the typical way that I apply my makeup - foundation first. I thought I would start today, but this post has already been too long, and my face brushes are definitely not clean enough to post a pic right now ;)