No Time Like the Present

Hello world! Welcome to my very first blog post. I have been meaning to start a blog for a long while, but was always reluctant.  There was always this fear of nobody even being interested in what I have to say. Then there is the fact that I am not much of a writer and never was.  Lastly, I am completely technologically impaired. I can work my iPhone and that is about it. However, I am extremely passionate about makeup, beauty, and fashion and have so much that I cannot wait to share with you all. So I told myself there's no time like the present and will learn as I go. I was tired of procrastinating and so here I am :) 

My obsession with all things beauty and style has been a snowball affect from a very young age.  Truthfully I was a bit of a tomboy as a young girl, but growing up in lively New York City exposed me to a plethora of color, fashion, individualism, and art.  I'm pretty sure that from the time I could pick up a pencil I was sketching my favorite cartoon characters and making up my own. Sadly at the start of middle school my family moved me and my sister, Sam, to a small town in upstate New York.  My artistic side never left me, even though for a while I lost my ability to draw.  Think of it as writer's block only for artists.  This happened mostly in the first years of me moving to my new town. I felt out of place and was heavily teased.  It was a hard time, but it also taught me how to be an individual.

It was not until almost my first year of high school that my artistic streak returned. Only this time it wasn't charcoal to paper. My art started coming out in the form of eyeliner to my lash line or a lipliner to my lips.  Then I started to watch a makeup artist on YouTube by the name of Kandee Johnson and I was a goner.  I think I watched her videos for hours on end and went back the following days for more.  I started using her techniques on myself and on anyone who would let me get my hand on them. I had found something I loved and couldn't get enough.  Ms. Johnson was definitely a key player in my makeup evolution.  (I really love her if you couldn't tell. Hey Kandee! haha).  I drew inspiration from her. She had been through so much and was still able to share her spirit with her viewers, including me.  

I also started to draw inspiration from my girl, Lady Gaga. She is so un-afraid to try new things and so was I. The first time I wore red lipstick to school I think I was in 8th grade.  My teachers looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care.  I became known for it.  This guy in school would call me, "Lipstick". My friend, Matt actually nicknamed me "Gaga" for my red lip and Lady Gaga shirt I would wear to gym class.  I also tried new things with my eye makeup. Here is my first attempt at a dramatic eye look when I was 16...

And here is my 'signature' red lip that I wore waaayy too much...

And there's my sissy. Isn't she pretty? ;) 

Not bad for a newbie, eh? I had a long way to go, and still do even though my makeup skills have improved. I continue to learn something new everyday.  I have also come to learn that beauty is more than just makeup and good fashion sense. Don't get my wrong, it is important and the reason for starting this blog, but I think that the wonderful thing these blogs do is show what is underneath the exterior. That there is a person under there and if it wasn't for that person the beauty would not exist.  

I actually recently drew a picture for fun the other day. I had only taken off one half of my face and boy did they look different. I asked myself which one is really me? The answer is they both are. It inspired me to draw this:

Made up or natural. Why should we have to choose. They are equally as extraordinary and we could not have one without the other.