Making Up is Hard to Do: My Makeup Picks

One day at the beginning of January, while high on the fresh promise of New Year’s resolutions, I woke up and decided I was going to teach myself how to do makeup.

Yes, I already wear makeup, but my current routine consists of using my fingers to slather on some concealer and then layering on some bronzer with a broken brush I got for $1 super long ago.

I watched a few beauty tutorials on YouTube, but each one felt overwhelming. So many products and so much time! If you’re a former or current coworker of mine, you know I spend about six minutes (max, tbh) getting dressed and ready for work in the morning, so these 25-minute videos just weren’t going to cut it.

I decided to go to Ulta for the very first time and just wander around the aisles. I must’ve looked lost, because a sales associate swooped in almost immediately. I turned to face him and was blinded by his STUNNING makeup. Full, flawless face and multicolored eye makeup with lashes to the heavens. Yup, this was my guardian beauty angel.

He asked what I was looking for and I admitted that I wasn’t really sure, but that I wanted to stick to the drugstore brands because, well, I’m the sole breadwinner…of me, myself and I. Instead of scoffing or trying to convince me that my face is worth a bigger investment, he was all about it. He gave me a couple recommendations, then picked out a few brushes for me while I asked what I’m supposed to do with each one.

I wandered around for far too long and kept adding things to my bag, suddenly feeling overly confident in both my surely-soon-to-come makeup skills and my financial stability.

In the end, though, I spent just over $100 for a ton of products…and a lifetime of knowledge, right?!

My ideas of grandeur (that is, the thought that I would wake up and do “real” makeup on weekdays) were quickly overshadowed by my desire for sleep, but my friend Annie’s birthday party served as the perfect occasion to try out my new skills.

I was pretty proud of my look, so I posted a video (come on, a photo just doesn’t show that highlighttt!) to my personal Instagram account and was asked what products I used. So that’s how you ended up stuck here reading my monologue about face paint.

Anyway, here’s what I bought that day at Ulta:

• Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless Foundation in Light Beige (I actually owned this but had to admit defeat and finally buy my winter color, ugh)

• ELF Maximum Coverage Concealer in Nude (been using this forever and always stock up when I see it)

• Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless Powder in Natural Ivory (apparently this sets your foundation and concealer! Who knew?)

• Ulta Waves of Wonder 3 Piece Cheek Palette (Comes with a blush, a dark bronzer for contouring, and a highlighting powder, all of which I used for this look)

• Brushes:
  • Morphe E7 Angled Buffer (for contour)
  • Morphe M444 Deluxe Definition Buffer (for foundation)
  • Real Techniques Powder Brush (I actually use the sponge that came with my powder and then use this brush to blend my contour)
  • Morphe Beauty Blender (that I’ve never taken out of the package because IDK what it’s for, truly)

And here’s what I supplemented with from my existing collection for this particular look:

• Maybelline Total Temptation Eyebrow Definer Pencil in Deep Brown (Am I a Maybelline groupie or something??)

• Urban Decay Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette (I would normally never spend $54 on any one makeup product, but this was gifted to me by a friend and now I totally understand why it has a cult following. 10/10 would buy, even with my own money 😉 )

• Maybelline Master Precise Ink Metallic Liquid Eyeliner in Galactic Metal (more Maybelline OMG I swear this is a coincidence)

• L’Oreal Infallible PAINTS/LIPS Metallic in Moon Lust

• Covergirl Total Tease Mascara (TBH, although it looks good I actually don’t recommend it because it’s flaky AF. Once it’s empty I’ll be going back to one I should’ve stuck with—L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara!)

Now that I reread this I realize that it sounds like it takes as long as these beauty vloggers but it really doesn’t…trust me! Easy and surprisingly affordable…just buy little by little like I did, or supplement with whatever you already own! Make it yours, hunny.

Colorfully Made-Up and Yours,

Haley

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