Fascinated With Makeup

Since I was a little girl, I was fascinated with makeup.  During weekends in my grand-aunt's house, I would spend hours watching her daughters (my aunties) put on make-up and dressing up.  My mother who was a powder and lipstick type of girl tried to discourage this growing interest of mine and even though how much I nagged her about it, she refused to get me makeup. Of course I always managed to get some from my overindulgent aunties who would give me their leftover or soon to be discarded makeup products. You can imagine my Mom's look of resignation every time I came home with a little stash of cosmetics, but then again, she did not really prohibit me from practicing putting makeup on my face, which I often did in the confines of my room. I think she believed that everything for me at that age was fantasy and make believe...or was it?

As college soon kept me busy with studies, I sort of "forgot" my childhood fascination with makeup. Once in a while when I get hold of some eyeshadow, I would practice in my room but that's about as far as I would get.  Like my mother, I was a powder and lipstick girl...often times forgetting even the lipstick. 

picture retrieved from Pinterest

By the early 80's I graduated and started to earn money.  Among the things I bought with my first salary was...MAKEUP!  Yes, now that I had some money, the childhood preoccupation suddenly became a compulsion. I would buy makeup that randomly appealed to me, from expensive brands to cheaper ones, so that before long I had more than one drawer full of makeup products that I don't even use. Was I crazy or what?  Looking back, I think my hidden frustrations with makeup while growing up had to be gotten out of my system, and perhaps this was my brain's way of getting rid of it.  After about a year (okay, maybe two) of makeup buying spree, I stopped.  My friends, family and even neighborhood beauty salon had a field day getting free makeup from me. I had to give them away before they grew stale or expired...I mean, even if I wore makeup 24/7, I would never have been able to use them all...yes, really.

But, if there is one thing good that came out of all this is the fact that all that long hours of diligent practice made me into a competent makeup artist, so that my family got big savings on occasions when professional makeup was needed to be done...stage performances, debuts, weddings...I did them all! I can even do costume makeup! Hahahah!  So you see, I still love makeup, I just don't hoard them anymore. Nowadays, I buy the better brands, they might be a little bit more expensive, but they last longer, have less adverse effects and are kinder to the skin. You might like to read about a makeup review I made here.

Now that I have a 7 year old daughter, my makeup fascination should have taught me insights on how not to let history repeat itself.  Alas, these came a little too late but, on second thought, even with all that passion for makeup, I didn't turn out so bad, did I?  So what are these insights?  First, if you don't want your little girl to develop a fascination for makeup, don't let her watch while you put it on. I made this mistake and now, I have to deal with missing lipsticks or a face painted with it.  Second, let her have fun in other ways. Since makeup is not designed for young skin, I do not allow her to put it on her face, however I let her use colored lipbalm and kid's nail polish. Third, explain to her that makeup is a tool which can be fun to use but you do not abuse it.  There is a reason why you use makeup, when you use it, and where to use it for.  Fourth, when kids are preoccupied with other more worthwhile activities, they forget about those they are curious about and so, keep your cosmetics and kits out of her sight and reach.   Last but not the least, help her grow up to be the joyful, confident, natural, bright and lovely woman she is meant to be, with or without makeup.