The Beauty Diaries

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Furthering My Education

I would in no way shape or form say that I am 100% literate in makeup. However, I am still on my journey and continue to educate myself. Literacy can be defined by Merriam Webster as “knowledge that relates to a specified subject”, which is exactly what I do every day. Whether I’m flipping through fashion magazines, watching online tutorials on YouTube, or walking down the aisles at my favorite stores, I am constantly learning and exercising my education of makeup.

Just Jared

Magazines, especially Teen Vogue, are a great source of inspiration. I'm able to get an inside look on popular trends and get inspiration for possible looks. There is a huge stack of Teen Vogue magazines in my room that range from 2006 to 2014. The covers display people as diverse as Emma Watson to Lindsay Lohan. I find it interesting to see how different the makeup was depending on the year.

However, my hands down favorite way to educate myself is through YouTube. Having a visual to learn different techniques is how I learn best. Embarrassingly, I spend hours upon hours on YouTube catching up on my favorite videos from vloggers such as Zoe Sugg, Tanya Burr, Shannon Harris, Lauren Curtis, Nikkie de Jager, Sam and Nic Chapman, and many more. Whenever I'm interested in purchasing a new product to add to my makeup collection, I go on YouTube to see how these respected makeup enthusiasts feel about it first.

Meet some of my favorite bloggers/vloggers:

Sugarscape, Company Magazine

Zoe Sugg is a 24 year old British blogger/vlogger with over a whopping 5.9 million subscribers on YouTube. She focuses on beauty and lifestyle and everything in between. Zoe is also very open about having an anxiety disorder and offers all kind of life advice for her viewers. Amazingly, Zoe has published a book, Girl Online, won a Teen Choice Award, and launched her own line of beauty products.

Sugarscape, Company Magazine

Tanya Burr is make-up artist turned YouTube sensation. The 25 year-old's channel focuses on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Burr has her own line of lip and nail products that launched in early 2014. With over 2.4 million subscribers and an expansion of her beauty line to come, Tanya continues to capture the interests of inspiring beauty gurus across the world.

"Putting on makeup is like painting"

The other day I was applying my makeup at my college dorm room desk and there were a few of my friends sitting on my bed hanging out. It wasn’t until I was halfway done that I noticed every girl’s eyes on me. One of the girls remarked, “Putting on makeup is like painting.” She was exactly correct. Just like painting, a makeup artist needs to understand techniques like blending, selecting complimentary colors, different textures, and much more. I look at each person as a blank canvas, similar to how a painter begins his or her work, and create something entirely new.

Take a look at some paint brushes...

Thaneeya McArdel

Now notice how they don't look that different from makeup brushes...

Maha Haven

Not much of a difference is there??

Also, as I proceed further into my journey, my materials are becoming more complex. Just as a painter may begin with finger paints and mature into 3-D sculptures, the makeup I use takes more skill to use properly.

Ashley Brooke

In elementary and middle school I strictly used makeup from my local drugstore. The makeup offered at drugstores is by no means considered to be great quality. Drugstore makeup was a great way for me to get familiar with different products and develop my abilities.

Prettychichousewife.blogspot.com

Currently, the majority of my makeup collection consists of high-end makeup. I personally enjoy the formula and performance of high-end makeup much more than drugstore makeup. Yes, the price of it can be ridiculous, but if you take makeup seriously it is a great investment.

Like an artist, a makeup artist covers the basics and is then able to graduate to better quality materials. Trying different types of makeup gives you an idea of what brands, textures, and finishes that you like to work with. Without this experimental time in my life, I would not know how to judge brands and products for my own. I would have to rely only on the word of others.

Similar to how Dennis Baron compares patterns of new communication technologies in his article "From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies", I am currently trying and testing new beauty technology. Baron writes, "Both the supporters and the critics of new communication technologies like to compare them to the good, or bad, old days." Meaning, whenever I'm introduced to a new brand or product, I compare it to other company's and make my judgement from there. Sometimes I prefer the drugstore makeup over the high-end makeup because I genuinely feel like it does a better job.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Testing My Ability

According to the Terry Gross Fresh Air NPR Interview “Rapper, Producer, Composer: The RZA”, chief composer of the Wu Tang Clan, The RZA, dedicated his life to music. In order to be successful, The RZA explains that it wasn’t a simple process. He talked a lot about his experiences from his childhood and using that to benefit his music. When he first started out, he admitted to collecting all his parents and friends’ records. He would listen and play around with the different sounds that were around him. As he grew up, he developed his own sound and listened to what interested him personally. From there, he was able to accomplish amazing things and become the artist he had always dreamed of. Although The RZA and I have virtually no similarities in our story, the moral is the same: taking something that interests you, getting accustomed to it, putting time and effort into it, and lastly, making it your own.

When it finally came time to creating my own looks, I was not as confident with my abilities as The RZA had seemed. My junior and senior year I was asked multiple times by my friends to do their hair and makeup for dances, proms, graduation, concerts, weddings, ect. Although I am confident in my makeup and hair abilities, I never wanted to disappoint my "customers". So, like The RZA does, I would take everything that I learned and form it into my own creation.

Junior Prom

Graduation

Junior Winter Ball

Working on my friends proved to be a stress-free experience. I found it easy to work on people who you already had a relationship with and would not be offended by criticism. However, word spread around my school that I was doing people's makeup for any kind of event. I suddenly had requests from girls I had never even met before! This was a huge step in my journey because I had to step out of my comfort zone and seriously build up confidence about my capabilities.

Our school's junior prom of 2014 was a beyond hectic day in my life. Not only did I complete an up-do all by my own, but I also did three girl's makeup. I was very proud of my accomplishments and was happy to have the girl's complete trust in my ability. After all my practicing and studying, I was finally able to complete an original finished product.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

My Introduction

Growing up with two older sisters, makeup and beauty was no stranger in my household. Of course, as an impressionable young girl, all I wanted was to be as cool, pretty, and popular as my sisters were. I always thought it was so interesting how they would wake up for school, sit in front of the mirror, and do their everyday makeup routine. Everything they did looked so cool to me. It wasn’t long until I found some spare makeup in my mother’s bathroom and began my own literacy journey with beauty.

Many people can argue that 5^th grade is too early for a child to start experimenting with makeup. However, I don’t believe that is entirely true. Having parents who let me decide when I wanted to start dabbling in makeup evidently helped me form how I feel about beauty today. Since it was my choice to start wearing makeup, I never felt like I was wearing it for anybody else. Adults jump to the conclusion that people wear makeup because they’re insecure. That’s obviously not always the case. Makeup has such a negative connotation that it is sometimes embarrassing to admit I enjoy wearing, practicing, and applying makeup.
Read what these hit songs have to say about makeup....

Searched News

"What Makes You Beautiful"- One Direction

"You're insecure,

Don't know what for,

You're turning heads when you walk through the door,

Don't need makeup,

To cover up,

Being the way that you are is enough."

Inland Empire Weekly

"Try"- Colbie Calliat

"Put your make up on

Get your nails done

Curl your hair

Run the extra mile

Keep it slim

So they like you, do they like you?"

Though these songs are attempting to be empowering, they are completely stereotyping the makeup industry. Not everyone wears makeup to "cover up" or "make people like them".

Even to this day I have justify my reasoning for my infatuation with the beauty industry. Especially if you are anything like my dad, you question what is the point. Why put so much time and effort into something that is so insignificant in the long run? Just like any hobby, such as knitting, basketball, drawing, or hiking, the end result doesn’t have to be life changing. That’s why it’s a hobby. Practicing makeup is just a way I like to spend my free time and it makes me genuinely happy. Similar to any hobby, makeup takes skill that not every individual possesses. It took hours upon hours to get where I am today in my literacy journey and should not be talked down just because of silly stereotypes people put on the beauty industry.