The Small Everyday Make-Up Horrors

Since doing make-up on other faces I grew more and more uninterested on doing make-up on myself. I am a firm believer that less is more. I’ll never forget this women photographer I was introduce to recently. She said with shear amazement: ” You’re Marie-Pierre? Wow, I can’t believe you’re a make-up artist and hardly wear any make-up!” Yes, I like to feel polished in my every day life but keep my make-up steps to a minimum. Mineral foundation, blush, mascara and sometimes lipgloss is all I need. There was time though when I felt differently.

I discovered make-up when I was 12 years old. At that time the trend in school was to use a liner WAAAAY darker than the lipstick itself. Of course, to be just like all the other girls, I lined my lips with a plum liner followed by my favorite lipstick, a BOLD fuschia made by Revlon. The choice was brave, I had no fear.

Then I bought a black kohl pencil that I used, to draw a line on my lids and draw outwards and upwards to create the “wings”. The line stayed cleaned for about 5 minutes before looking like I had liner smeared all the way up to my my temples, not a pretty sight. I was shocked when, years later, I stumbled upon a girl with beautiful, precise, vintage looking eyeliner that didn’t move — I was told it was liquid eyeliner.

I was spared by teenage acne, my best fried wasn’t. Like so many women and men (yes, I know you do!), I spent years using eye concealer to hide pimples and blemishes. Then someone brought to my attention that the reflecting particles in the eye corrector not only didn’t hide her troubled spots but enhanced them!!!! There are actual correctors made specifically for the purpose to hide blemishes — eye concealer is NOT. We’re still friends though.

There is one mistake I never made (probably because I was totally into the goth look), but see on the street all the time: using a foundation 3 shades darker than your actual skin tone hoping to look tanned. It just doesn’t work out that way. Your foundation should blend completely with your skin, no matter what. Use a bronzer to create a sunny glow.

I love red bold lips and still give them to myself occasionally. Daytime red lips are supposedly a major faux-pas in the US. It is considered an evening make-up, darling! These arbitrary rules always baffle me. Make-up is a way to feel good about yourself, to feel pretty and have fun. So what if you feel good wearing a supposedly no-no make-up? Good for you, enjoy yourself, forget the rules! Another rule that I come across is that you have to choose between a bold eye or a bold lip. Who says??? I understand that it is perhaps a rule to prevent one from looking over made up, but every face is different, every situation is different. Make-up is fun, have fun with it!