The Journey

In last two years, i went through a journey where my aim was to look superficially good,colorful and vain. I went from painting only lips to painting eyes,cheeks and face. From owning zero blushes to 3 and also added various lipsticks especially from hues of pink and red and a plum which i avoided earlier since i have dark pigmented lips and because i really have nowhere to wear a red lipstick to !
    Now i wear brighter lipstick even to a supermarket and banks !Earlier i used to care how people would percieve me , now not so much !
      Now my new stress buster is following and reading up 2-3 blogs which i find give honest opinions about make up and skincare products. I instantly readup before i buy if there is a review about it.
      When i started trailing make up blogs a year and half ago my expenditure increased....you know,....'this is a must have' 'this is superlative' and ' oh if you don't wear an aqua blue eyeliner you are definitely missing something" and 'sale at XYZ site'.
  Soon, I realised that on some blogs opinions expressed are vague, superficial and plain bland and orchestrated !. Its like 'everything is ok' and really their categories were 'ok' and 'superlative'. They seem to never ever encounter DUDS !And i used to wonder...hey i have used this product - 'its far substandard in performance both for the price and claims.'
     Eventually reality set in -   I don't really need that super expensive eyeshadow in yellow, parrot green and pink  because i can't really use it daily...infact i won't. Too many rushed mornings, too much work and too many disapproving looks at work and on public transportation!
So untill and unless you are an actress or model- you don't really need gazillion hued eyeshadow palettes. All does an average and above average working brown/ wheatish or fair skin Indian girl needs is a nude to brown eyeshadows and a couple shimmer colours for wedding and parties.
        Another thing i realized- 'hey, you still have to get out of that morning slumber,prepare breakfast, cook lunch and then eat breakfast in time and then get dressed and then comes make up....so ? I never really have the time to blend that stupid foundation which seems to set so fast, forget the prepping and moisturizing ! Oh boy,now i have to hunt for a new foundation which suits my skin colour and blends like a beauty in flat 2 minutes !
Stuff will expire just sitting in the cabinet and accumulating bacteria!

     
When Pond's TM died, i cursed Pond's people ! You see, i have never got a foundation [thanks to ALL salesgirls  and companies in India] which suits my skin to the T. Its not all the gazillion brands even exist in my city for me to try out !
Now i think a perfect foundation is a mirage- you know, the one which blends in 2 minutes,and gives good coverage and is pocket friendly ! Its really not there no matter what all the beauty blogging fraternity says ! Some may work for you not all !And then search begins all over again because companies go ahead and DISCONTINUE products !
        Right now, i do jugaad ! I mix my Panstik with moisturiser and it blends like a dream and i don't bother whether its longstaying or not etc etc.For summers, i have found Revlon's Colorstay for combination skin but i had to get it from Amrika and luckily my guess work paid off and its a perfect match for me. In India, for all makeup companies we fall into : Light/Ivory, Natural Beige , Golden Beige, Dark. That's it !
      My fascination for blushes - well did not exist ! Before now,I had 'blushed' only once or twice for weddings.That too with a lipstick! Now i 'blush' all the freaking time ! And i love it. I blush and blush and then blush some more ! You see, earlier , i had no idea how to apply a blush ! Now I do thanks to Lisa Elridge !
Lipsticks i use more as blush and i love using only one color on my face - on cheeks and lips and eyes. It just looks so much better and wearable,not to mention quick .
      I even use my Lakme Earth trio as eyeshadow - just any one color on eyes, cheeks and lips. For lips i apply plain lipgloss and then dab the powder. I am so much happier because i am going to probably use up all my blushes then just throwing them away !
For skin and hair care, i think beauty blogs could be used only as guidelines- more like introduction to new products in the market ! They are of no help at all since everyone's skin is different and really shampoos and conditioners performance is more dependent on the type of water [ hard,soft or medium] you get in your bathroom , your diet etc !
   I do experiment when i am itching to try new products but i never really deviate from my general rule of thumb: Face wash to only clean face, moisturiser to supply / preserve moisture and sunscreen - well my only criteria to buy suncreen are the suncreen agents used in the formulation,price and feel on the skin. I absolutely hate suncreens which make skin more oily- i am afraid many do ! I just dab powder on -what to do ?
   All in all, i do believe i have become more colorful....but then that's it. People and stuff around me has not changed, neither has my life and its challenges. Applying make up for me is still secondary - i find i am more interested in sewing,cooking and walking ! Nevertheless, when you are down and out and feeling blah....there is something about picking up that lipstick and painting the face. Literally. You can hide behind makeup as long as you want,whenever you want !
Its worth finding that foundation which hides everything with as little work as possible. And its worth finding that lipstick which makes you want to use it everyday no matter what and brightens up your mood.Even if you don't know how to do make up - you could learn. I did ! No, you don't have to follow makeup trends and you definitely don't need eyeliners or lipstick in rainbow colours but you need that one black kohl or dark brown eyeliner and that one lipstick to shine !
Believe me,it doesn't even have to be costly ...it just has to be what you like and love and want out of it !