I don't consider myself a high-maintenance sort of person. The most I ever do with my hair is to straight-iron it, but most of the time, I comb it and pull it back - I don't even blowdry. My feet and hands are sorely neglected. I own lots of lotion, but it sits in my medicine cabinet, and sometimes I sniff them because they smell nice.
BUT... I do love makeup. I'm a makeup junkie. But not in a priss-and-primp sort of way - while I own concealer and foundation, I rarely touch them. I'm not interested in minimizing my pores. No, I love COLOR. Color, shimmer, glitter... I love it all. Maybe it's my one artistic outlet - I can't draw, paint, or sculpt, but I can work my eyeshadow brushes like nobody's business. (On myself, at least. I used to do other people's makeup for fun, but now, not so much.) Liquid liner? Check. Smoky eyes? Check. Tube of glitter? Check, check, double check.
I have major brand loyalty towards Urban Decay - they're the only brand that has ever really "spoken" to me. For one thing, their packaging is all purple, black, metallic... very little pink. (Too Faced has similar products, but everything is PINK!! Seriously!!) There are swirly designs, skulls, even a gun... they're never girly. They're all about beauty plus attitude. And I like to think that I am too. So I own mostly their stuff, a lot of it. I have a few things here and there from other brands (such as a Kat Von D palette... really, that shouldn't surprise you. I have SEVEN tattoos and counting), but mainly I stick to one, and it's because I know everything is quality.
So, after throwing everything in a drawer for the past however many months/years/etc., I finally had to get my stash organized because, well, it was driving me crazy. But I now have WAY more than my trusty old plastic Caboodles case could hold (it was purple and glittery!), and plus, I'm not sixteen anymore. (Though, really, I had UD when I was sixteen too - Radium liquid eyeliner and two face cases!) I finally decided to clean out my makeup drawer, getting rid of everything I have and never touch (to be given away... any takers? Let me know!), and to get one of those awesome TRAIN CASES I've been drooling over. Thus... I bought myself a Caboodles GODDESS case, and was able to organize my stash:
Yeah, the damn thing is so huge, I had to stand on a chair to be able to get the whole thing in frame. The top splits open, and three tacklebox-like trays extend from each side. The trays are pretty deep, as is the main box compartment, and the two sides of the top have loops to hold brushes. Goddess, indeed!
Here's the "wing" on the left. It's my eye tray. Starting from the left side, you have almost all the colors of Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner except for a small handful, and their Grindhouse sharpener. I love these and use them pretty much every day. You can tell which ones I like best by how short they are. There's also a Cat Eye eyeliner from Pop Beauty - the slanted crayon makes it super easy to FLICK! the line at the corner of your eye. GENIUS! Tray 2 has liquid liners - I don't use these as often, but they are handy for dramatic effect. Tray 3 has the new UD cream shadows (I have Rehab, Mushroom, Asphalt, and Delinquent), some glitter eyeliner (the gold one is UD and the blue and green ones are Too Faced), some mascaras (including UD's electric blue mascara and a purple mini Bourjois one I got as a free sample), and a travel-sized UD Primer Potion that I got with my Book of Shadows (more on that later).
Here's the right "wing" of the train case. The topmost tray (on the right) has my glosses, of all different brands. The newest one in there is Nars Orgasm/Hustler duo. The middle tray has a couple more glosses (the one is wrapped up because it kind of leaks), two 24/7 lipliners (that I don't use, but keep in case I need them) and four UD lipsticks (Gash, Requiem, Wicked, and Wanted). I don't usually wear lip stuff because it comes right off when I'm eating (which is all the time), but I do really love the way it looks. Tray 3 has some of my smaller "face" items - three UD blushes (including Score, which is a dead ringer for Nars Orgasm), a couple highlighters from Benefit, and some concealer for underneath my eyes.
The center/main compartment, for my bigger items: palettes (Kat Von D in Beethoven, UD Deluxe Eyeshadow, and two super-old Hard Candy quads that I can't bear to get rid of); foundations/powder, UD Primer Potion in both regular and Sin, GOsmile lip balm, and some Visine, which is AWESOME for making eyeshadows into liquid liner (better staying power than when you use water).
Brushes... I have more than this, but these are the most often used.
That is what's in my train case, but these two items had to go in my drawer:
That is what's in my train case, but these two items had to go in my drawer:
UD Book of Shadows - 8 bestseller colors, and 8 brand new ones that are not out yet. Plus two brushes and a mini Primer Potion. Glorious. The top flips open to reveal a mirror and some pretty pop-up decor. (Pretty, but COOL.)
Last but not least... dare I say it?... my pride and joy, my Urban Decay VAULT. No longer available, the vault is a box (the cover/top is the first picture in the post, with the swirly design I would love to have tattooed someday) made to hold sixteen UD shadows (not the deluxe ones), and yes, mine is full. I can't even name them all, but I've used every single one, some more than others. I had to be really choosey about which shadows to buy, and other than the Book and the cream shadows, I haven't purchased any since. And none of the colors in my vault are the same as the ones in the Book. So essentially, I have 32 eyeshadow colors in my drawer alone (not including the palettes in my train case).
So yes, I am a makeup junkie. I'm an Urban Decay junkie, to be more to the point. You're probably wondering how I could afford all this stuff? Well, number one, it's an addiction, and number two, I had lots of disposable income. That is no longer to be, since I'm now having a baby. BUT, unlike clothes, this makeup will last me through this baby and probably many other babies, should I choose to have them. Hey, at least I'm not buying cars or boats or musical instruments.
Is makeup superficial and frivolous? Maybe. Am I extremely materialistic? Very likely. But is makeup a great outlet for expressing yourself if you make it about expressing yourself, and not just about covering or correcting your flaws? YES! Like I said, this is my art medium. Makeup for me is not about self-esteem or attracting other people... it's about being who I am and having FUN with it. And at the end of the day, you can wash it all off and start over again tomorrow.
(Because sometimes, nothing feels better than a totally clean face.)
So, anyway... I'm all organized now. I just have to stay that way :)
So yes, I am a makeup junkie. I'm an Urban Decay junkie, to be more to the point. You're probably wondering how I could afford all this stuff? Well, number one, it's an addiction, and number two, I had lots of disposable income. That is no longer to be, since I'm now having a baby. BUT, unlike clothes, this makeup will last me through this baby and probably many other babies, should I choose to have them. Hey, at least I'm not buying cars or boats or musical instruments.
Is makeup superficial and frivolous? Maybe. Am I extremely materialistic? Very likely. But is makeup a great outlet for expressing yourself if you make it about expressing yourself, and not just about covering or correcting your flaws? YES! Like I said, this is my art medium. Makeup for me is not about self-esteem or attracting other people... it's about being who I am and having FUN with it. And at the end of the day, you can wash it all off and start over again tomorrow.
(Because sometimes, nothing feels better than a totally clean face.)
So, anyway... I'm all organized now. I just have to stay that way :)