Things I’ve Learned from my First Makeup Class

I know, it’s been a while and I definitely missed it here! But you’ll never guess what has kept me busy for the past two weeks… So, I attended my first makeup class under the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) Design Institute in association with MAC Cosmetics and I successfully finished the course last Friday. Wow, I still can’t believe I get to say that. I remember getting extremely nervous the night before my first day mainly because I was afraid everyone I was about to meet would be sooooo so so so much better than me at makeup. The next day, I got there and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I met new friends, learned a couple tips and tricks, and all in all had an amazing two weeks. So, I thought, what better way to wrap the experience up than doing what I usually do? Write a blog post about it! Here are the top 5 things I’ve learned from my first makeup class.

1. But first, skin care.

First off, think of your skin as the base. It’s never too late nor too early to get accustomed to a skin care routine perfect for you, but it honestly is so much preferable to start as soon as possible. Like… right now, in case you haven’t yet. Good skin care benefits everyone—children, babies, men, teenagers—literally everyone. The same hormones that cause hair to grow under your arm also amp up the oil production right on your face, which, in turn, triggers the biggest killjoy in the entire history of ever—zits. No, thanks.

Cleanse. Tone. Moisturize. The 3 basics of skin care. Repeat until never to be forgotten. No matter what you do and no matter what you go through, it is important to keep practicing these 3 steps every single day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Let’s keep it to the T and be brutally honest, no makeup is bound to look perfect on bad skin. And I’m not saying that having bad skin is completely avoidable, because even the appearance and condition of your skin could be determined by your genes. But that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to a free ticket because keep in mind that your skin is still your responsibility. Whatever the circumstance may be, it’s you and your skin against the world—better just take care of it.

2. Less is more.

Makeup is meant to enhance your features, not entirely cover up and drastically change your look—theater and Halloween makeup are both an exception of course, or if you actually intend to play with makeup and are meaning to try to look like a different person. But on a regular day, Marie Kondo-ing your makeup look is, well, more natural-looking. It makes you look fresh, simple, flawless; as if you don’t even have makeup at all. I mean, you should stand out, not your makeup!

3. Eye makeup is definitely not a piece of cake, but also very necessary.

When you look at someone, their eyes are of course the first thing you notice about them. And eye makeup says a lot about a specific look you’re going for. However, before moving on to all those advanced eyeshadow looks you see on YouTube, it’s important to know and highly familiarize yourself first with the basics of eyeshadow: the lid, the crease, and the outer v. Having a natural knack for blending is also highly necessary, because, I mean, what are you supposed to do with all those colors, right? Got to blend them all in! And speaking of colors, don’t be afraid of them. Play with colors and you can even come up with your own looks. It takes a lot of practice though, because eye makeup requires a lot of work with its small details and fine edges.

4. Makeup is literally limitless.

Let me get straight to the point: there isn’t a list of shoulds and shouldn’ts when it comes to makeup. It isn’t something you fit in a 4-cornered box, and then you limit its possibilities only within the proximity of those 4 corners. Makeup is subjective and everyone has their own makeup style that perfectly fits their preference. Your foundation brush could be someone else’s blush brush. Maybe you like this specific foundation because it syncs in perfectly with your skin tone but your friend doesn’t because it cakes off her face. Or is there a flat eyeshadow brush you specifically like to use as a lip brush because you prefer its application over your actual lip brush? Because me, too.

5. Have fun!

I mean really, what is makeup without all the fun? I remember our instructor telling us on the first day something along the lines of, “Are you guys having fun? Because it isn’t makeup if it isn’t fun.” I guess the idea of makeup being limitless also applies to this because with makeup, you get to explore and play with cosmetic products whichever way you want to. You get to think outside the box and execute the many different looks your mind could envision. Imagine all the looks you can come up with and think of the several eye makeup looks a single eyeshadow palette could cover. I swear, makeup really is a lot of fun to work and play around with.