Welcome to The Banana Makeup Show!

Sorry, sorry - I know this was supposed to be posted yesterday! The day went something like this though:

Woke up at 7 am at Boyfriend's house, took Barky for a walk, ate breakfast, came home, went back to sleep for two hours. Then after another walk with Barky, I went out to the pool for an hour, showered, went to the grocery store, and then got started on this here Beautification Project.

Not only did I do my make-up, but...I colored my hair! And for the first time ever (oh I can hear my hair guy groaning from miles away)...I cut it myself, too! I know, I know. I'm insane. But it was just a smidgeon off of the ends (uh, duh - of course OFF OF THE ENDS) to clean it up a bit.

Thankfully, it turned out fine! You'll see at the end of this post.

Then, I put on my new dress and we went out to a nice dinner to celebrate my new look. Afterwards, we took Barky on a "late-night" walk and then went to bed. So that's why there was no post yesterday as promised!

Okay, so ready to see how I do my makeup? Alright, here we go. Please don't laugh at the before pictures. I know, I'm one ugly mo-fo before I get to my mascara and lip gloss. I could not function without them.


Here are all of the tools I used for my makeup application. Don't be scared; I know it looks like a lot. On a normal day, it takes me about 20 minutes and I do it on the bus on the way to work. I am a pro at Bus Makeup Application Techniques, or the BMATs. (I think Kaplan has a test prep program for those if anyone else wants to get their certification.)

So here's the before picture. Gob help us all.

I look so tired! You know how we all have at least one thing we hate about our faces? Mine is the under-eye area. If there's an area on me that I always want to Photoshop, that is it. (By the way, none of these photos have been altered other than cropping and reducing their size.)



The first thing I do is put concealer on the "bad" areas. (Damn you, bad areas!) For today's makeup, I put on foundation, which I only use for special occasions. I bought mine at Sephora where they helped me match a tone to my skin. However, that is ALL I bought there because you can get acceptable makeup brushes and eyshadows, etc. at CVS. I apply my foundation with my fingers because it gives the most natural application. I pour a tiny bit of the liquid into the palm of one hand and then my other hand to apply it to my face. You don't need much; a little goes a long way!

Then, I use my loose powder. I dip the powder brush into it, tap the "excess" off, and then brush the powder over my entire face. It sets the liquid foundation. (The pressed powder pictured above is for touch-ups throughout the day.)

The next thing I do, which most of you probably do not have to, is fill in my eyebrows with a brow pencil. I overplucked my eyebrows when I was a teenager and now they're quite meager. (Huge regret!) I just fill it in the inner-most area to give them a tiny bit more substance. *sigh*

Then, I curl my eyelashes.

Like how my hair is coming out of its barrette? HOTT.

I recommend pulling your hair out of your face during this whole process, by the way.

I love the look on my face. Like I am so goddamn tired. (That's how I feel right now. As soon as I finish this post I am going to take a nap before I go to the shelter!)

Then I do eyeliner. I trace a medium-thin line along the upper eyelid and then lightly line the bottom eyelid. I line the entire top from side to side, but for the bottom I only go along the outside corners. I don't draw on the "moist" part closest to the actual eye, I go along the base of the eyelashes. I don't make the bottom eyelid very dark because otherwise it looks to harsh. (You don't even have to do the bottom at all! It all depends on the shape of your eyes and the look you're going for.)

Next is eyeshadow. For a long time, I wasn't wearing eyeshadow and then I noticed what a huge difference it can make in the way you look. If it's done right, it'll brighten up your whole face. The most important thing is to find a creamy white color with some sheen to it for under the outside corners of your eyebrows, the inside of your eye-area (on the sides of your nose), and HERE'S THE KICKER: the inner-bottom part of your eye. THAT makes a big difference. It makes your eyes look bright and alive.

I used slightly shimmery pale color to go over pretty much the entire eye area. Then I put the white accents on. Then I took a shimmery light purple color to go over my eyeliner (this softens the look) and put a darker purple color under the bottom eyelashes (only on the outside edge of the eye - not along the entire bottom). Finally, I put a medium brown color in the crease area - focusing on the outside edge of the eye and then tapering as I got closer to the inside of the eye. This creates a bit of depth.

It's mascara time! I use regular old Maybelline and it works wonderfully. But what I bet you don't know is that using an old toothbrush is a great way to clean up any mascara "clumps." (Remember the girl whose wedding I was in last summer who has since stopped talking to me for reasons unknown? Her mom taught her this trick, and she taught me.)

I do top and bottom lashes.

Meanwhile, Barky is thinking, "Damn, woman! You are so boring! Are you going to look at yourself in the mirror all day?"

We're almost done! Normally I put these on before I leave the house so that I don't have to deal with applying powder on the bus (not something you read every day, huh?) but when I'm at home preparing for a special occasion, I save them for last so that I don't mess them up at all while applying my eye makeup.


You can't see it very well in this photo, but the bronzer adds just a bit of color and a nice subtle "sparkle" to your face. (NOT like GLITTER. Just a "glowing" look.) The kind I got was from Bonne Bell and I love it. I use the big powder brush to apply this as well. Just tap the "excess" off before brushing it on.







Then I add some blush (also has a tiny bit of "sheen" to it) if I want to give my face a little bit more color. I sweep the brush from my
cheeks up towards my ears. Don't use too much or you'll look like you're having heat stroke all day long.






And the last step: lip gloss or lipstick! It really brings the whole thing together, no? Just remember - if you're going to use a lot of dark colors around your eyes, make your lips subtle. If you're doing subtle eyes, go nuts with your lips. Or in my case today, I kept it all kind of simple.

This is my attempt at "A Makeover Story" before and after. (I successfully made my "Before" shot look like a mugshot, right?) I'd say the difference is rather alarming. I'm definitely enjoying the new hair color... And it's proof that with the right makeup, someone can look a million times better. You just have to experiment and see what looks best on you. Good luck!