Makeup is OptionalSidetracked Sisters

‘Chelle in 9th grade

I didn’t start wearing makeup until I was in 9th grade. I never went out to buy my own, but simply acquired it from either Lisa or Mom. I only wore concealer, mascara, a little blush, and eyeliner. At one point, I tried wearing white concealer as an eye shadow, but I quickly stopped that practice because we were at a high school football game and Lisa screeched above the din of the crowd “Why do you have white creases on your eyelids? What did you do?” I was horrified.

At that point in my life, the “cool” thing to do was to wear your eyeliner only halfway across your eyes. I loved to wear a navy blue or black pencil liner. I never used eye shadow because my eyelids are so small, you could never see it anyway. My makeup technique did not mature very much thru the years, but I did start to wear my eyeliner across my entire lash line the older I got.

I remember the summer of 9th grade, teaching my best friend how to apply eyeliner and she was completely confused about the process. I don’t remember having all of the choices that exist now. I just remember having a very thick liner pencil (think crayon) to draw on the line.

I also usually wore some shade of pink blush. If it had sparkles, awesome. I wish I had the videos to learn from like kids do now. Looking at some of the kids today (my daughter and niece included), they are makeup experts and apply it so beautifully. I’m still a novice.

Mary Kay make-over

I once had my makeup done by a Mary Kay consultant and when I came home from the event, my significant other asked why I was made up like a prostitute. The consultant had put me in bright pinkish lipstick and dark grey/black eye shadow. I never wear a color eye shadow. I swear it makes my eyes disappear. I had more makeup on that night than I’ve ever worn in my life, except for on Halloween.

Now, being in my 50’s, I don’t wear a lot of makeup. I apply a very thin layer of foundation to my Tzone area. That is followed by my concealer (as a kid, I always put on concealer first). Next is a smidge of dark rose blush, a touch of light beige eye shadow (just to soak up the oils on my lids), black liquid eyeliner (where I try to create a wing) and finally a touch of mascara (on my lashes that are disappearing year by year).

I’m not the type to wear a lot of makeup and now that I work from home, I find that I only wear makeup on my Thursday nights out with the Sidetracked Sisters.