I have no formal training pertaining to the application process of makeup; what you see is applied with a steady and light hand. I am conservative with my choices and very rarely will you catch me with a full face of makeup. Even though I don’t wear a lot of foundation, concealer or lipstick, it certainly doesn’t mean I don’t love it! I have vivid memories of watching my mom apply hers before heading off to work. I think that time together gave us the opportunity to bond; however, I don’t think my mom fully realized that I was absorbing all of her knowledge on how to look like a classy lady.
My mom and me on my wedding day
Cut to the mid 90′s, I remember watching an episode of Oprah which featured Cindy Crawford and Sonia Kashuk. Cindy Crawford has insanely flawless skin and I wondered how she managed to look so beautiful without wearing a lot. Sonia was the artist behind the face of the then Revlon beauty. Upon catching a glimpse of these two women, I knew instantly that’s how I wanted to look. But what did I know? I think I was 13 or 14 at the time.
Photo courtesy of kakisky
I experimented a bit more as I got older; I even begged one of my childhood friends to let me do her makeup before a dance. Krissy gladly obliged, but her dad didn’t; he took one look at her and made her wipe it all off. I was crushed. My handiwork was quickly transferred to tissues and cotton swabs and I was sent home. My ego may’ve been a bit bruised, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t continue to experiment on myself.
Sephora has been a huge constant in my life. It was my playground in high school and college and is a place I greatly miss now that I live in Melbourne. I am still holding out hope LVMH will eventually open a few stores here in Australia. Until then, I will have to get my makeup fix at Myer, David Jones, Mecca Cosmetica and Priceline. Online makeup shopping isn’t something I’ve tried yet; I like to see things in person, try them out and perhaps buy if I like it enough.
In terms of fashion, I would certainly not call myself a maven. I have years of retail experience thanks to trying to keep higher education expenses down and to also support my shopping habit. At the start of college I worked at the Gap and styled the mannequins according to the guidelines provided by corporate. Every once in a while I got to decide what they would wear when our store didn’t receive all of the clothing from headquarters. I like to think a few shoppers bought something based on what I put the mannequins in. With that said, one might call me a preppy American and they have!
Meet Jeanne, bagful’s contributor!
Hi! My name is Jeanne, and I love makeup, music, food, and dogs. I’m half Thai, half Australian and I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. I attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston where I was a piano principle and double majored in Film Scoring and Electronic Production & Design. I’m currently living in Perth, Western Australia for the first time and learning how to be an Aussie.
My interest in makeup began in middle school, where it felt like I was the only girl suffering from acne! Foundation and concealer became essentials in my daily routine. A couple of years ago I noticed I had become slack in my personal style (due in part to a hectic class schedule and brutal Boston winters) and decided to give myself a makeover. At first I struggled with eye makeup application due to my eye shape (not quite monolidded, but still with not a lot of lid space) and lack of practise and skill. I took to the internet and discovered the world of beauty bloggers and YouTube makeup gurus. After much trial and error (and honest criticism from loved ones), I can confidently apply different styles of makeup. Now that I live in Australia, I’ve been exploring Australian brands and so far have been impressed. I’ve also been taking advantage of the strong Australian dollar and online shopping.
I love bright and colourful eye makeup and experimenting with textures. I go through colour obsessions, first it was orange, then pink, and now it’s anything neon!
Jeanne can also be found on Twitter @jeanniesmiles and Instagram.