She's Probably Not Born With It

No one is born perfect.
As much as some people truly want to believe they are...they are not. Makeup was invented to cover up imperfections and enhance the good features. No one has mile long eyelashes and perfectly pouty lips that are naturally red and glossy...even celebrities wear elaborate makeup to hide their flaws, and overly playup other features.



I have always loved makeup. I used to steal my mom's all the time (and spent more time than I would care to admit grounded for the said offense.) There's just something appealing about being able to change your appearance, sometimes rather drastically on a whim. As I have written before in my post Beauty Is The Beast, as much as I love makeup, I hate it when people depend on it as their crutch, their mask to the world for fear of feeling ugly without.

I have spent many an hour in my "woman cave" (aka: my walk in closet complete with vanity) playing with different shade combinations. To me, and many others, it's a form of art. It's something that brings me enjoyment now that I know how to do it correctly. It wasn't always the case...

I remember the awkward days of junior high, when I was first starting to experiment with makeup, and would sneak it to school. The chalky, low-end drugstore eyeshadows and gloopy lipgunk haunt my dreams. I have learned however, it does not have to cost a lot to achieve gorgeous results.

Thanks to the internet, there are now millions of reviews and tutorials online. You can grab your laptop, curl up on the couch, or sit at a mirror, and view videos done by makeup gurus who are knowledgeable, fun and most of all REAL. You can "rewind" the videos over and over or pause and come back to them. It's the best way I have found to learn new techniques, find out what products are duplicates for another, tricks, homemade tools and recipes, etc. I have also learned which products to splurge on, and which ones you can get by with the cheap stuff.

I have compiled a short list of some of my favorite beauty gurus. I am not being paid to mention their names, nor am I affiliated with any of them in any way. I am just someone who has spent countless hours watching many different YouTube channels, and these people are the ones that in my opinion, are the most informative, funny, and helpful.

Here they are in no particular order:
MissChievous
Kandee Johnson
Tiffany D
Michelle Phan
Panacea

Those should at least be a good start for anyone interested.

Who is your favorite makeup guru? Who is your makeup/style inspiration (even if they have inspired you to wear nothing but jeans and t-shirts!)? What is your favorite makeup tip or trick? Leave it in the comments below for anyone who is new to makeup, or feels perhaps slightly intimidated by all the options out there.

Thanks for reading everyone!  Happy Monday! ;)