A Jaded Makeover, Part I

I've never been into makeup that much. I mean yes, I do indulge in massive amounts of Clinique lip gloss (all variations of the same shade, mind you) when they're having a Gift With Purchase deal, and I have accepted the importance of concealer and mascara in my life, but in general I always found the whole applying-makeup-everyday practice to be too time-consuming for a Jaded gyal like me.

Still, sometimes you just want to look a little spruced up, you know? I can't see myself doing up some elaborate color scheme on my face everyday because I prefer to just get up and go. However, there are times when you want a dramatic eye to accentuate your stank face. Or lips so perfectly rouge that no one can resist them.

So a couple of years ago I made a random comment on Twitter about how I wish I knew the ins & outs of applying makeup flawlessly, and lo and behold, that year for my birthday, fellow Brooklynite The F$%k-It List gifted me a makeup application lesson at MAC Cosmetics. It took me two years to use it because...hmmm, I don't really know why, but probably something along the lines of "I'm too busy" or "It's too hot to wear makeup" or "Oh, I forgot I had this gift card..." Whatever the reason I finally decided that last Friday would be THE day, especially because I had this, um, photo shoot (we'll discuss that later) and figured I could get my face beat by a pro instead of slapping on some paint and calling it a day.

I chose the MAC store on Montague St. in Brooklyn, went in after work with my usual naked face:


and let Rebeca (I hope I'm spelling that correctly!) show me how to create a neutral daytime look that I could easily glam up for the evening. It was a bit daunting because I'm a perfectionist, and I wanted to do it EXACTLY as she was describing it, but then she was all, "Relax, have fun with it, experiment." She did one side of my face and then handed me the brushes to replicate the look on the other side of my face while she held up a mirror. And in the end, we had this:


I really want to thank Rebeca for her patience and encouragement (even though she pretty much implied I was HIGH YELLOW when she switched me from a pink-based mineral powder foundation to a "golden"-based foundation. hmph!) and for showing me how I can present a cleaner, sharper, better face and still be Jaded.


And a huge shout out to MAC Cosmetics for making a product that can survive a night of jumping and waving with my Trini massive and still look flawless:


(It even carried over to the next day for the photo shoot but you're not supposed to sleep with makeup on so you didn't hear that from me...)

*smooches...with a whole new face*
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I never knew how TIRED I looked until I took these before and after shots. I need more sleep and cucumber eye masks in my life!