Diary of a makeup lover

There's no way around it, I'm in love with makeup. In the past, I'd described myself as a makeup addict or makeup junkie, but those terms are pretty much derogatory and I don't think I'm addicted. Do I have an impulsive part to my personality which leads me to purchase makeup I don't need or haven't thought through, often whilst tired or distracted? Yes. But did I just go one full week without makeup? Yes. So I couldn't be addicted to the application of makeup. Perhaps, I simply love the thrill of buying it, and that's the scary part.

I live my life more in-the-moment than your average 30-something, or at least that's what I'm lead to believe when I see people my age buying houses, owning cars, being frugal and hardly eating out. Is that the life I want to live right now, though? Hell no. I'm quite happy knowing that every day could be my last and planning for the present and near-future as priority. This is how I think about everything I do and buy, including food, meals out, travel, clothing and makeup.

I have a cautious aspect to my personality too, which insists I research, when trying to decide what new makeup products to buy. The impulsive nearly always overpowers that logical side, and I tell myself I can return the item if I don't like it (but never do). The thought of returning makeup seems so strange to me. I'd rather give it to a friend or someone who needs it more than I do. Once I've opened a sealed package of makeup, how could I take it back to the shop used? Knowing they will destroy it. I know it's a legitimate thing that people do now, but I have rarely done this. Mostly because I don't have time. I tell myself I made the choice to buy it, so I now must live with the consequences. It's different to returning shoes or clothes or furniture that's faulty. Change of mind isn't an excuse to me.

When I first started to excessively buy makeup, I used to enjoy going to the department stores in Sydney, perusing the latest addition to the beauty department or heading to Priceline (more suited to my budget at the time) to swatch whatever had testers, but I would ultimately purchase multiple items to try later at home.

Now with so many new brands launching online, many not available in store, and the sheer volume of imagery from instagram and videos on YouTube, showing me everything I wanted to know about the product, it makes the purchasing decision so much easier.

I'll keep this short and to the point. I love makeup and I don't know if that will ever change. I love my morning routine where I sit at my fairly organized desk-turned-vanity, looking out the window at the Downtown Los Angeles skyline and I paint my face. I lay down a base or blank canvas as I like to call it, because it is art after all. Then I sketch my brows, which I've become known for, and I've got this down to an art. I do have off-days, but it doesn't bother me spending 8-10 minutes on brows. People often ask me if I'll get micro-blading (tattoos) and I always say no. I don't like tattoos generally (for myself) and am too open to change and could never commit to something being on my face, even for a few years.

Next is the rest of my face, including eyeshadow - my favourite. If I had to choose between wearing one thing only for the rest of my life between eyeshadow and lipstick, I will always choose eyeshadow. It's the most creative part. I can mix colours and textures and sheens that I don't get to work with even in my design job. Playing with contrast and the shape of my eyes is fun to me.

I don't wear makeup to try to be perfect or to look better than I do without it. If you don't believe me, that's totally fine, because many people do. I wear makeup because I enjoy the process, and I love to show what I created that morning, whilst sipping my iced coffee.

I'm sure as this site unfolds, I'll go into more specifics about makeup and myself, but for now, this is the gist.

x Lucy