You Get What You Pay For aka My Makeup Journey
When I was 20, I wore very little makeup at all. I was blessed with long eyelashes, but they bleached in the sun when I was a child. So I always had to wear mascara if I wanted my eyelashes to show, which was most of the time. If I were dressing up to go out or to a party, I'd put on eyeshadow. And as I grew in confidence (practicing makeup with friends and such) I would dare eyeliner are times, but that was it.
No foundation. No concealer. (What was there to conceal?) Definitely no blush. (I'm already pink enough, thanks.) I'm not sure I even wore moisturiser most of the time. The most I wanted to do was bring out my eyes a bit for special occasions.
Cut to three kids and a few (several?) some years later, and it's a whole other ballgame.
But now, things are different. I do buy more (my husband would probably say "A LOT OF", or else that's how much money he'd speculate I spend on it) makeup these days, and I'm careful where I buy it.
Unlike years ago, and even in some more recent years, if I'm honest, I don't just buy the first thing I see or whatever appears on an advert. That used to be me, and you could tell by all the discarded tubes and boxes in my medicine cabinet.
Not anymore.
Now I'm reading reviews online, watching YouTube videos to see the products (sort of) up close, testing makeup samples in the stores and having makeovers done by the cosmetic counter technicians. I want to know my products and how they perform before I spend my money on them.
And when in doubt, I go back to my safety position.
My cosmetic of choice is generally Bobbi Brown. These products are really, really good. Developed by a makeup artist, this stuff works. It doesn't produce miracles, but it does make you look good. The range, the makeup and moisturisers for specific skin types, the way the products work together, it's all good. I use their moisturiser, foundation, concealer, powder, almost everything. I do buy other cosmetics (especially things like eyeshadow, bronzer, mascara -- items that I can either use a cheaper version with little impact, or else other products that have fantastic reviews elsewhere) where appropriate, but if I'm not sure where to get something, or if I want to try something new, my default stop is definitely Bobbi Brown.
And I love visiting the Bobbi Brown counter at a department store. (Although for me, this means to trip to Fenwick in Tunbridge Wells. It's a bit of a drive for me, but worth it to see and try all the products firsthand. Plus all the technicians on the counter are well trained, good at matching colours to skin tone and very knowledgeable about the products they sell. Always worth the trip!
And once I know what colours and products I need, I can order online. Plus the website has a Talk To An Artist link that's just great. When I can't get to a store, I can ask questions about products (even about colours that will work with the cosmetics I'm already using) from a live Bobbi Brown representative online. And my results with this option have been really good -- they always recommend products that work well with my current makeup regime.
So I'm a die-hard Bobbi Brown fan now. And hopefully you can see why. My face isn't 20 years old anymore, but hopefully it doesn't look too (terribly) much older. And I'm careful to try to keep it that way. :-)
About Me
Leanne BennettI'm an American living in England, married to a Brit and the mother of three children. I work for the local council, building and maintaining servers and networks for primary schools.
I think my background, my citizenship, my experiences and my location give me a unique take on life. Herein are my musings on such...
