1. My eyes aren’t symmetrical; i.e., they’re completely different from each other.
I mean, it’s not like I have a reptilian eye or anything, so they aren’t THAT different on the scale of things that are “completely different.”
It’s probably not as noticeable to most people, but it’s noticeable to me. My right eye is a smidgen bigger than my left, and it sits slightly higher. My right eyebrow is also a bit shorter than the left.
Also, my left eye has a more pronounced hood, which is a relatively recent development that didn’t exist prior to my late 30s, but I’m not gonna get too stressed out about it. On the scale of things to worry about in life…it’s pretty low on the list.
2. I used to be the kind of person who’d apply concealer just to get the mail.
But I’m starting to embrace more of #thatbarefaced life. Now I’m much more likely to go to the grocery store without filling in my brows, which I never would have even thought of doing a few years ago.
I dunno… I still love makeup, and I still wear it daily, almost all the time, but I also like to just throw my hair up in a bun sometimes. I mean, it’s not like the paparazzi are stalking me or anything. I can leave the house without a stitch of makeup on, and the world will not fall apart. EVERYTHING WILL BE OK.
3. Sometimes I reuse my false lashes an OBSCENE number of times.
Seriously, it’s almost criminal. I’m very careful to keep them clean, though, so they’re not completely disgusting.
4. I prefer to take pictures with my right side facing the camera.
I’ve watched more hours of America’s Next Top Model than I care to admit. Too bad I wasn’t paying attention to Tyra’s advice on how to work your angles.
For the longest time I took a willy-nilly approach to my portrait pictures. I didn’t think about holding my head a certain way, or elongating my neck or any of that jazz.
But then I did, and I started to see how big of a difference those little things could make.
When I stand with my ride side facing the camera, oh! — much more forgiving. With my left side facing the camera, however, I look like a retired linebacker.
5. Sometimes I think I have a hard time doing winged liner in the morning because I drink too much coffee…
Coffee definitely helps me get going in the morning, and it makes the writing easier, for sure, but when I’m fully caffeinated and try to do winged liner, I can’t draw a straight cat eye flick to save my life. I get the shakes!
That’s when the Nexcare Gentle Paper Tape comes out. 🙂
So, babe! The Cosmetic Lover Confession lines are open. What are some makeup/beauty-related things your fellow beauty lovers may find unusual or surprising about you? What are your cosmetics confessions?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S.
LOL!! This post made me laugh!!
1)My biggest confession, the thing I feel guiltiest about, would be the ridiculous size of my stash. I mean, I sometimes wish I had two faces or the time to do three different looks a day, because I love the vast majority of things I have but just cannot get round to wearing everything.
2)I never used to do my brows until about two years ago. I have about three brow hairs, two of which grow the wrong way, so I just left them for fear of losing them all. If I tried to make them darker I no longer recognised myself. But my life changed when I learnt to do it subtly and now I look normal LOLOL.
3) Most beauty lovers’ never-leave-home-without product is mascara or concealer or something. Mine is, and has always been, lipstick or lipgloss. No-one’s going to see my mascara behind my glasses. A lip product gives my face some colour and definition. I wear gloss to the gym; it’s the only makeup I wear there.
Hahaha I totally recognize the coffee problem! I find it hard to take photos without a tripod when I’ve had too much caffeine as well!
I prefer to take pictures with my left side facing the camera. My face isn’t very symmetrical to be honest. I can do head-on shots as well, but I can’t for the life of me make the right side of my face look good in photos!
Oh and I really do have a lifelong brow complex. I am embarrassed by the amount of brow products I have accumulated, especially in the past month! I was really happy with Hourglass Arch (I still am but I want to try new stuff), but suddenly one product led to the next and before you know it, I might need to see a shrink LOL
Ha! I have asymmetrical eyes, lips, eyebrows and cheeks! Sometimes I feel like a plastic surgeon when applying make up. Is there anything symmetrical in me?!
Yep, my eyes aren’t the same size. In fact, the winged liner isn’t an exact match on both sides of my face bc I try to accommodate the different eye shapes. I recycle falsies. And I use a bronzer as en eyeshadow. And also as a bronzer. It’s by the Cover Girl Queen collection & I think every brown girls NEEDS it 🙂
You look great without makeup
I always give my right side, never my face on front don’t like the result. I can leave the house without make up, but I cant leave without moisturizing my face if I do I feel naked and dry, also I cant leave without earrings
Btw happy new year Karen
You always make me laugh!
My eyebrows are naturally completely different shapes. One is rounded, one angled. And even when I have them threaded and I think they’re shaped and filled perfectly, pictures tell me otherwise.
My top left eyelid noticeably droops more than my right. It’s a trait amongst the females on my mom’s side of the family, unfortunately. My eyebrows arch very little, and the arches are nowhere near symmetrical. Thank God for eye makeup and the illusions it creates.
I bought several pairs of false eyelashes this year, plus new sensitive eye/skin adhesive. I’ve still been too chicken to try using them. (I haven’t tried falsies since allergic reactions to adhesives back in my 20s.)
I sometimes curl my lashes after applying mascara. I keep the curler very clean, though.
My hair is impossible to curl, and does not have a straight part anywhere. I stump hair stylists, so I don’t go get my hair done often.
I bite my nails something terrible and have to wear acrylics. My nails are actually healthier from wearing acrylics non-stop for the last six years. I was so lucky to find a great manicurist who worked with me to solve the problem. I never have an urge to bite with the acrylics on.
I never contoured other than cheekbones, highlighted other than my cheekbones and browbones, used bronzer, waxed my brows, or used brow products until this past last year. (I turned 45 in October. Talk about late to some of the beauty games.)
Most people do not have eyes exactly the same size. Slight irregularities are precisely what create beauty. And the singers most pleasing to hear are very slightly off-key some of the time. Perfect pitch is boring. So is perfect symmetry!
So . . . my left eyebrow has a spurt while my right one does not. I don’t correct the spurt but it spurts less now than it used to so I fill it in – as a spurt!
I consider my nose a bit too long so I apply whatever blush I’m using down the top to make it appear a bit broader and shorter.
The lips. There was a time in my life when I wished, just for one night, for fuller lips (and two fuller others). When the night came, it did not matter!! But I do draw my bow up and out a bit to create a fuller line.
The 1/2 of an 11 (between the eyes). Especially during allergy days I put a piece of waterproof adhesive tape there to smooth it out. Any wrinkle starts way down deep beneath the tissue layers so I know it’s only superficial but it works! One morning, though, I went out to get the box from the UPS guy and he commented on it:
“Cat scratched me!”
And that’s all She said!
My only real sin is not washing my brushes enough.
As for my face one of my brows always looks higher in photos but they look dead even in real life. Same with how I smile. It looks I have more “smirk” on one side but in real life it looks even. My forehead also looks HUGE in pictures no matter how I angle my face so I’m at a loss because it’s pretty small IRL. I think my left side is my best side.
Major confession>>>>When ever people ask me what kind of make-up product I’m wearing, sometimes I’ll lie and say it’s a drugstore product just so I don’t get that “huh” look and feel like a high end snob. LOL Believe it or not some people have never heard of NARS!
1. I can’t put down my bare minerals foundation.
2. I never go out in public without a full face of make up.
3. Make-up helps me get out of bed at the crack of dawn because I get excited about what kind of look I’m gonna do that day. It’s like my coffee.
4. My winged eyeliner makes me late because I always think I can make it better when I should have left it alone. (This is why I skip eyeliner for work most days).
5. I have really flushed cheeks and feel the need to cover them, although nothing ever does. On the bright side I can skip blush if I want!
My eyebrows are pretty much completely different. What is up with that?! Does anyone have eyebrows that are exactly or even close to the same? Oh my goodness, if most people saw my stash they’d think I had gone completely crazy. That’s why I need you and other beauty product lovers who understand…otherwise I’d feel their cruel judgment. I love my make-up loving angels. 🙂
Great post! I love Eyelure Naturals too! And thanks for the tip about Nexcare tape. I will pick some up to use instead regular Scotch Tape. And I think my entire face is crooked, but I prefer my left side 😉
Nobody’s eyes are the same, don’t worry! Nor are anyone’s eyebrows, so making them look identical makes them look unnatural. What’s that phrase…they should be sisters not twins! Great tip about Nexcare…Sellotape can be a bit vicious! Would love to know how you clean your eyelashes. Oh and gotta say, I put lipstick on to put the bins out! x
Yay! I also have two different eyes and I sometimes wonder if people can tell. But I definitely can’t tell with you, so now I’m hoping that it’s the same for me 🙂
1. I love Sephora because of the hell a samples I can get. I dont care if I am on the store, I am going online to get those samples.
2. I usually only wear falsies once or twice.
3. I dont curl my eyelashes even when putting on falsies, I have been pinched once (and that was not even when I was putting on falsies) all it took for me to stop using eyelash curler.
Always my left side in pictures, I look totally different when you take a picture of my right side!
My eyebrows are uneven, one is arched much higher than the other, and I am still trying to figure out how to make them look similar in pictures. Need to up my brow game in 2015…
Leaving the house without makeup – no problem.
But I will do my makeup when I return. Silly, because only the Little Bean and I can see it, but I will do it nevertheless. Full on bare faced days are rare.
I look tired without concealer, and I feel tired when I see my tired face in the mirror.
Love this post! My eyes are actually pretty symmetrical but my eyebrows aren’t twins, definitely not sisters 😀 My biggest confession is that I’m a beauty blogger who owns like 100 bottles of nail polish (it’s a little obscene) and to be honest…I haven’t painted my nails in like 6 months!
Ahh, Karen, you’re so beautiful! With and without makeup <3 🙂
I actually almost never wear full makeup myself – usually the only thing I will put on is a lip product of some kind, because I'm mad about them, LOL! If I have an invasively large zit, I will take the edge off it with a bit of concealer, but in such cases I find there are seriously diminishing returns, LOL!
What else… I do keep my mascaras for way longer than recommended. So long as they don't dry out or smell funny, I keep using them! I have a really sensitive nose though, so I can usually trust it to pick up even the slightest hint of mankiness. 😉
I actually don't take full face photos because of how derpy I think I look in them. Seriously, I can't take one I don't think looks ridiculous. Not ugly or fat or gross or whatever, just…caricaturish. I do keep trying, however, so maybe one day the rogue will come all the way out of the shadows…
My eyes and brows are totally not the same. I've given up even trying, hah! I have to use totally different methods for each eye and each brow, especially when it comes to liner on the former. I think this is pretty common, however, and it keeps one's makeup skillz sharp!
I cannot put much in the way of foundation on my forehead. To be fair, it doesn't need much covering, but even light layers sink into the lines that form when I raise my brows. I don't have permanent lines there, but as soon as I mke a facial expression, BAM! Horizontal lines with makeup in them. *sigh* T_T
I only started wearing makeup about 2 years ago at the ripe old age (makeup-wise) of 32. I also knew nothing about skincare. I used bath soap on my face and never used moisturizers or SPF. It was fine when I was in my twenties but then I started seeing more and more brown spots, baby crows feet, and, enlarged pores. I’ve learned a ton about beauty products and makeup application through beauty blogs and youtube videos and now I have a full 30min skincare and makeup routine in the morning. My friends and family compliment me about the changes I’ve made and I’ve even been asked to help them with their routines!
My makeup “collection” is slowly becoming insane and I have a whole drawer full of skincare back-ups. This new year I’ll be focusing on using up what I’ve bought so far, and am putting myself on a beauty budget.
I’ve only recently noticed that my lips are uneven (after venturing into bold and bright colored lipstick). They say it’s easy to adjust by overlining your lips but I can only see the wonkiness in pictures.
My right eyelashes are quite a bit longer than the left ones! I don’t think anyone else notices, but I do!
I almost never wear foundation. I wear tinted sunscreen that evens things out, plus I’ve been using an effective skincare routine. (I have some bumps on my right cheeks right now due to an allergic reaction to my friend’s dog, but it’s not overly noticeable)
I wear lightweight concealer on my under eyes, and blush, but very rarely any base (I also dislike the only foundation I own)
Most people seem to skimp on mascara, but I always splurge. My eyes are really sensitive, and I end up literally pulling out my eyelashes if mascara doesn’t feel good, and no drugstore mascara has worked for me.
Love this post! You look gorgeous with and without makeup. You’ve got beautiful skin.
My cosmetics/beauty confessions/weird tidbits:
~I once rocked the half-shaved look quite by accident – I lost half the hair on my head due to an allergic reaction. As my stylist says, I was ahead of my time on that one….I was a senior in high school when that happened.
~I am ok going out of the house and even to work without makeup other than zit concealer (I do want to appear to give a damn…even if I’m super tired and I don’t!). That said, I also like to be the badass bodybuilder and motorcycle rider wearing gorgeous eye makeup.
~I own way more eye products than anything else. I absolutely LOVE doing different eye looks that I see in magazines. I love enhancing my green-hazel eyes. The right colors really make the color of my eyes pop. One of my eyes is actually more green than the other. It’s kinda interesting.
~It’s taken me a long time to get comfortable in my own skin. At 27, I can say that I know now more or less what works, how I feel about things, and what I need to do to improve (on all fronts, not just makeup). Exercise has been the best thing for body confidence and my skin. It’s hard to do every day though – I have to keep a schedule for myself and make it part of my day.
If I had your skin I would go without makeup a lot more than I do:)! Also, my eyebrows aren´t even remotely related, one is pretty decent looking and the other is the evil step-sister of my face and is slowly becoming the bane of my existence! #firstworldproblems
Happy new year:)
I love how you bring it out! I thought I was the only one to see a difference in my face! Mine looks like it wasn’t lined up together! Ha! I feel naked when I go without makeup. I guess I’m still trying to find the perfect makeup to change my looks! But it’s amazing what makeup can do! Karen you look great!
I tend to favor the right side of my face, too! Anytime I take a picture, I ALWAYS angle my right side to the camera. I can’t help it, even when I was getting my passport pictures taken I thought I was looking straight ahead and the lady taking my picture kept telling me to stop turning my head! My right eyebrow (which also happens to be the shorter one) has a habit of raising itself, also totally involuntary like my head-turning!
The corners of my eyes tend to eat my makeup so sometimes it’s hard to wear wings. My lower waterlines do not like to be lined at all. Any time I’ve tried, it’s gone within 10 minutes.
I don’t wash my brushes as much as I should!
Lastly, I’m ok going out without makeup on. At the very least I’ll wear concealer, mascara and maybe fill my brows a bit. My eyelashes are very fine and light brown, so they look almost invisible without mascara!
Okay first off, your skin looks amazing! Very beautiful Karen! It appears we share a few quirks here lol. I also reuse my falsies for like ever. I always keep them clean and in a storage case though. But I do chuckle to myself when I hear of people only using them like once or twice. Like girl those are like brand new LOL! I’m also a right angle bandit when it comes to photos. My face is too chubby for full on pics and taking pics from my left side just feels so awkward lol. I clearly need to watch more ANTM myself!
Three confessions that I must make, 1. My both brows are definitely very dissimilar. I have to really work hard to make them look more similar 2. Fingers of my both hands are dissimilar , like they belong to two different people 3. I prefer to take pictures with my left side facing the camera
I always wear makeup when leaving the house. Even if it’s a quick trip to the drugstore. Only times I haven’t worn it is when I’m ill and had to see the doctor.
Woww.. what an amazing post Karen..
I do admit I have different brow shape with one more arched then the other .. My right side clicks better 😉 .. I tried that face angles thing and it really works.. 😀
I step out of the house with just a lipbalm most of the times..
My hands turn gothic and scary when I want to click NOTD pictures.. 🙁 😛
I always do this weird thing when I take pictures, I tilt my head to one side. I must look like a curious labrador in so many pictures 🙂
My biggest confession is probably that I haven’t done anything substantial to my eyebrows in months. I pluck the occasional straggler to keep them generally tidy, but I haven’t shaped/waxed/threaded them for months and months. I had a bad wax done at a brow bar about a year ago and it put me off a little bit. I think I probably should get them reshaped but at the moment they look okay so I’m leaving it.
I’m another one guilty of not washing my brushes enough….but I haaaaaattteee doing it so much. I need to be better at it 🙂 xx
My confession would have to be that I’m really not a big fan of lipstick…and I haven’t bought any in a very long time. I think it’s because my top lip is so much thinner than the bottom. For some reason, that disparity is more noticeable with lipstick, but doesn’t bother me so much with lighter products like gloss or tinted balm, or a light stain.
Love to see you bare faced and beautiful! Maybe try doing eyeliner beforen your second cup of joe 😉 . Also, that tape is both genius and hysterical.