topic Re: what were some of your first makeup items ? in Beauty Confidential

what were some of your first makeup items ?

jemly — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 23:41:40 GMT

i know we've had these sorts of threads floating around fairly regularly, but i figured i'd start a fresh one ! just some innocent reminiscing & nostalgia, partly inspired by mocha's "haunting" thread. i encourage anecdotes !!

my mother was open to me wearing makeup the moment i expressed interest in it (her parents wouldn't let her wear any until she was 17 or so) and i'm very grateful for that. things are a little better now, but in the late 90s there were no foundation options for super pale girls at the drugstore (perhaps more age appropriate for a 13 year old, but that's up for debate). i tried to do my thing, but my mother quickly intervened to stop my orange and demarked face and took me to--do you guys remember this ?--the prescriptives counter. i know that prescriptives went out of business, and now exists online or something, but at the time it was known as the counter you could go to to get a foundation custom mixed to match you. they had the color wheel that taught you all about tones, shades, undertones, etc. i remember my mom saying "people are going to tell you you're pale pink, BUT YOU'RE NOT". thanks mom--she was so right. the palest foundation was yellow rather than pink; i think i ended up not getting a custom mix but going with the palest one available in the regular range--i remember the shade was called ecru (i wish i had any evidence of it so i could see now if it was a good match or not; i frankly don't remember). it all came with a generous gift with purchase including a mascara and--what i remember the most and actually still had until just a few years ago--a lipstick that hadn't been in fashion since 1998.....until now. it was like a griege-dark plum duochrome. i'm not much into the metallic trend now, but i would kill to have that lipstick again ! i used to wear it in my room when i was feeling dark and broody but was too embarrassed to be seen.

a year and a half later, the first MAC counter opened in my city, i discovered their 'club' single eyeshadow, and the rest was history. i'll write about more of my first objects / distant memories down below 🙂

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jemly — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 23:56:09 GMT

i also, around this time, had some items from a pretty short-lived but to me and my friends uber-cool bath & bodyworks cosmetics range. one was a cream compact foundation (likely the foundation i was trying to wear when my mother staged a color intervention) and a pale pink/beige lipgloss that remained my HG one and only most loved lip product from 7th grade through my jr year of high school. google images provide NO EVIDENCE of this range ever existing which i find so surprising !!

my very first BBW fragrance was country apple. i wasn't that into it but i felt cool for owning it. my first 'this is my scent' scent in middle school was (everyone else's) GAP dream. i remember liking grass and especially OM the most, but i had the big bottle of dream so it's what i wore.

my first "real" fragrance (as i saw it) was gucci rush. which i wore wayyyyy too much of my freshman year of high school and i'm sure made all my teachers and fellow students judge me harshly.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

sabrinas — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:41:30 GMT

Oh man first makeup was some NYC face powder which was so cakey and gross and I didnt even need it. Also random drugstore mascaras were my ish!

My first high end products other than mac stuff was Nars Turkish Delight (I wanted kim k lips lol....) and I think I also got super orgasm blush in the same order. I think it was my first Sephora purchase!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

txcatx — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:44:03 GMT

Here's what I remember:

Clinique Black Honey

Clinique 3-step skincare system

Clinique blush

Various items from Clinique GWP bags

Various items my mom didn't want from her Lancome GWP bags (I loved those eyeshadows and mascara minis!)

Lorac green eyeshadow (my first Sephora purchase!)

Bourjois bronze lip gloss (other item from my first Sephora purchase!)

Pots of glitter gel

Bath and Body Works Pearberry

Victoria's Secret Love Spell

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jemly — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 01:55:17 GMT

i always got my mom's GWP left overs as well ! CLINIQUE tenderheart was the classic ! thank you for essentially reminding me. this really was one of my firsts ! i don't remember 'treasuring' any of the gwp items (other than the makeup bags) so much, but i did treasure tenderheart.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

CheerMomma — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 01:56:45 GMT

I was an Avon Baby. Iced Champink lipstick with matching eye dust (baby pink, severely frosty) , electric blue eyeliner and mascara. No base or blush.

My my first high end item was a prescriptives foundation that they specially colour matched and mixed in store for me. It's only available online now.

up until I turned 40 I used the same items and look day in day out for every occasion. I'd just rebuy when they ran out. Then Sephora opened near me, I was too intimidated to go in, my boss got me a gift card for my birthday and took me in one lunch break to get a tubing mascara because I always complained about panda eyes and flakes now I'm . 20 palettes, 100 lippies and dozens of all types of product later so that was either the best or worst thing to happen to me beauty wise lol.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

Titian06 — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 23:24:49 GMT

I was absolutely, positively not allowed to wear makeup. Well, my mom had this quad (some cheapo drugstore brand) with white, grass green, sky blue, and ocean blue (something like that) eyeshadow that she threw away. Well I saw it in the trash and pulled it out. I wore the sky blue eyeshadow everyday (I was maybe 13?) for maybe a year before my mom notice. Boy did she have a cow! She said something to dad, and was like "yea, she's been wearing it the last year." It was so funny!

I pretty much didn't wear makeup until my early 20s when a friend started selling Mary Kay. I wore this brand for a several years. Then started wearing a combination of Mary Kay and drugstore. I remember Neutrogena foundation. It was the only brand that had a foundation light enough.

My makeup from my early 20s to my early 40s was hodge-podge. In my early 40s, about 10 years ago, one of my work colleagues told me about the Sephora that just opened, so I went there. My first purchase and first high end purchase was the Tarina Tarantino Floriculture palette.

My makeup game has completely changed! I have learned so much thanks to Sephora and BT. I look better now at 52 than I have at any other time in my life!

Also, growing up "the" perfume was Loves Baby Soft. I wore that from preteen to early teens. From early teens until last year, I don't remember any other perfumes. Last year, I bought my first full size perfume from Sephora, Cartier Vetiver Bleu. My perfume library is growing, mostly thanks to the recent perfume challenge!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jemly — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 23:54:47 GMT

@Titian06 thank you for responding !! i love that your dad noticed and clearly made a conscious choice not to say anything and let you do your thing ! (or that's how it sounds, here, at least !!)

i'm enchanted by that deep dahlia shade

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jemly — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:09:31 GMT

i just remembered something ! my first nail polishes are one of my happiest memories of my childhood ! these predated makeup wearing years, slightly.

i was in 5th grade, and suddenly there were more colors than red and pink for nail lacquers. I WANTED SOME. my mom wouldn't let me (she just couldn't wrap her head around the concept and therefore nixed it for me). i remember i went off to summer camp, WROTE MY DAD and told him how it had been raining a long and boyyyyyyy wouldn't it be nice if i had some nail polishes so we could spends some of those rainy days painting each other's nails. AND HE SENT ME NAIL POLISHES ! to this day i don't know if he knew my mom had forbidden them and was pulling one on her, or if i actually conned him. and i don't remember the brand, unfortunately, but i remember the bottles were tinyyyy and cute. off the top of my head i remember there was a yellow and a baby blue and maybe a deeper blue or green. i treasured those.

when i returned home and mom saw my nails she just sighed and walked away so i knew she realized she couldn't win that battle. not long after that--definitely that same year--i got a HARD CANDY lavender color, and i remember that one vividly because i was obsessed with alanis morissette and i'd read she loved hard candy nail polishes SO IT WAS LIKE WE WERE SISTERS. or something.

definitely this exact one on the right, here:

THE END ! 🙂

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

niki172 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:35:59 GMT

I remember these being featured on MTV's house of style and I wanted a bottle so badly.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

starsandbucks — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:48:01 GMT

My mom let me start wearing light makeup around 7/8th grade. This was in the late 80s so I bought a lot of Maybelline, Bonne Belle, Aziza (remember that brand?). I went to an all-girls high school and there wasn't any pressure to wear makeup or look done-up at school at all. I would probably wear concealer a couple days a week around then.

The summer I was 17 and going into my senior year my mom took me to the Clinique counter and set me up with my first grown-up makeup and skincare. I got foundation, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and powder. I also got (of course) the three-step skincare system.

My freshman year college roommate was into cosmetics and I learned a lot from her. I went to NYU and we'd go to Ricky's and poke around and spend what little money we had on new foundation and shadows. We'd also go to department stores and get makeovers on the weekend. We were friends with a lot of crazy flamboyant club kids so that influenced our makeup as well. She also taught me everything about hair removal. In 1992/93 I had never known anyone who had waxed anything before! 🙂

From then on it just grew and became a part of my life. I think a lot of people still don't get how makeup can be a hobby and outside of here I still feel self-conscious telling people that. Like, if someone asked me what I'm into I'd probably tell them "design, food, animals..." but for some reason I'd feel strange saying "I collect makeup." Hmm.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

JenniferOhJenny — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:04:15 GMT

This is a sweet idea for a thread @jemly 🙂

The first makeup I remember really using and loving was this L'Oreal palette that had a little eyeliner, blushes, and eye shadows. I don't know how to describe it but it kind of folded up into a little box shape so it was really handy for carrying. I used that all the time, even though the colors were probably too dramatic for a 13 year old. 🙂

My first high-end makeup was a few things that my dad brought back for me when he was on a business trip. The woman sitting next to him worked for Clinique. He mentioned that it was my birthday (I think I was turning 15) and she gave him a little bag of products for me. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Clinique. ❤️

The first perfume that I considered my signature scent was Liz Claiborne (in the triangle bottle!). I was on poms in high school and I wore that every time we performed, so my uniform always smelled like Liz.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jen81 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:11:14 GMT

Yes yes yes to the Clinique! I remember saving up to buy something when they had gwp. Then we would bring our Clinique pouch to school to hold our stuff. I used the 3 step system for a time but it was way to drying in my opinion. I also loved Lancome gwp. I love BBW pear berry and VS love spell. Yeah this makes me very nostalgic!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jen81 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:12:14 GMT

Oh I remember this shade!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jen81 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:14:34 GMT

I was just in a gap factory store last month and I saw gap dream and heaven and I just had to smell it. So funny what was "in" back then!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jen81 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 01:19:53 GMT

Your college roommate sounds like lots of fun!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

Titian06 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 07:28:53 GMT

@starsandbucks - I forgot about Bonne Belle! When I wore Bonne Belle in the mid 70s, it was on lip balm. EVERYONE had to have the strawberry scented balm! This would have been maybe 5th to 7th grade. It was a tall, fat, redish stick (compared to today's much shorter and much thinner sticks) with redish balm. I don't remember if it applied in the redish color, but I can still smell the strawberry scent! It was the best!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

Titian06 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 07:43:51 GMT

@jemly - Here's my swatch of Deep Dahlia. I didn't realize just how much I've used this palette. I haven't hit pan, but the valleys are deep! The color is powdery in the palette (judging from the mess), but it's been quite a while since I used it. I don't remember how it applies. If there is a problem, it didn't stop me from using it!

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

Mochapj — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 14:46:13 GMT

Oh man, this is about to get SO nostalgic!

One of the first makeup items I remember owning was this:

And I'm sure it was in the shade Mocha somethingorother, because of course it would be! 😄

I also remember starting to buy makeup at the Body Shop (before Sephora had come to Canada, IIRC). One item I recall vividly (perhaps for it being such an awful choice, in hindsight) was this matte pastel mint green eyeshadow. I've scoured the internet trying to find a photo but it's so old I can't even find any photos of the packaging from that time. I actually found it in an old box not too long ago and had a good chuckle, and then tossed it in the bin. It was a round dark green plastic compact with a clear domed screw on lid. The shade looked something like this, only more chalky and powdery:

And then for lipsticks, I had 4 or 5 tubes of these Maybelline Wet Shines, and I'm fairly certain a few of them were these 3 - I definitely had a 'sand' one, a 'lilac' one and a mauve one. I know I also had one that gave a similar effect to Bite Opal, but was a coolish baby pink in the tube.

Lastly, I recall having some of these *I thought* in my early 20s because IIRC it was the first thing I bought at Sephora when they finally came to Canada (2004). I know I had this exact one, because I found it in the back of a cupboard recently, but I also had 4 or 5 others 😄

I never really struggled with my parents over wearing makeup because I was raised by my dad and I think he realized how futile it would be to try and stop me (because I'm hard headed). I appreciate that he gave me the freedom to experiment, even if it meant I sometimes looked terrible.

Re: what were some of your first makeup items ?

jen81 — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 14:39:34 GMT

I remember the body shop makeup! I had some tarte lip gloss similar to that above.