30 in 30: Question #1When Did You Start Putting On Makeup?

The other day I was checking in on my friend Mariella on her site, Musing on Beauty, and I happened to catch the introduction of her "30 Makeup Questions in 30 Days" challenge. I thought, "Hey! That sounds fun!" After all, these are the types of questions I'm asked all of the time, so I decided, "why not?" In the next 30 days, I'm gonna dish. So, on with it...

Question #1: When did you start putting on makeup?

I have to admit, I don't really know the answer to this question! Like most little girls, I had my share of flavored lip balms and pretend makeup, and my mom has used Mary Kay ever since I can remember, so I was never a stranger to makeup.

I suppose my first “makeup” makeup came in the form of the electric blue mascara that was on the lashes of everyone who was anyone at Jackman Elementary; I was no exception. My true cosmo-revelation didn't come for another year or two, when a gorgeous gold tube of Coty Flame Red lipstick came into my life.

I don't remember where, when or why I bought it, but I remember the adoration. I remember the feel of the tube in my hand. I remember wearing it proudly- the scalding, matte red almost glowing up against my milky pallor. This, at an age and time when most other girls were tanning themselves silly and shellacking on frosty pink gloss. I didn't care, I knew I was on to something special. This gilded totem lives in the highest echelon of makeup memory for me, and it remained a coveted piece of my arsenal for years. Alas, a girl who loves color can't be limited to just one for long...

Perhaps I should be ashamed to admit it so brazenly, but later that very same year, my thoughts began to stray. The confidence Flame Red had given me had taken root. Maybe if a particular Beetlejuice-esque outfit hadn't found it's way into my closet, I wouldn't have wandered. I don't think it was the thick vertical stripes that tainted my thoughts. After all, they were banal black and white. No, it was surely the golf ball-sized, multi-colored poppies interspersed over the stripes (obviously I was never content to "blend in") that inspired me to take things to the next level. No longer satisfied with matching my lips to the bold red flowers on the outfit, I moved on to the other, slightly less conventional hues featured in the ensemble. Since color availability wasn't quite as varied as it is today, this meant getting creative. That might have meant filing in my lips with with blue eyeliner, or perhaps crushing up some green eye shadow & mixing it with Vaseline. The horrors, I know, but I did what I had to do.

In the end, though, it all turned out fine. A little experimenting turned into a life-long affair with color. As I sit in my Atomic Vomit Green* living room, I can truly say, we've lived happily ever after.

Tomorrow's Question: How did you learn to put on makeup?

*Actual name of the paint shade used in my living room. No, really. But if you Google it, please remember to use the word "paint" in your search. Trust me.