I understand your dilemma somewhat because I look like a “cute” little girl without makeup and I’m often treated that way (which I don’t want). But on the other hand, I run the risk of wearing makeup and having people assume that I’m a teenager trying to look older. It can be very annoying because I’m married and I carry myself in a very mature way. They see the ring on my hand and see that I’m articulate/competent, but still insist on treating me like I’m 12.

I often wear the basics…mascara, sometimes eyeliner, concealer and gloss are must-haves. I tend to wear soft subtle makeup in the daytime no matter what I’m doing (unless I will be at home all day). I went about 3 years without wearing makeup just to see what it would be like. It was OK and it taught me to appreciate my face in its natural state. But makeup can definitely be a confidence booster. I think I have a pretty face with or without makeup, but I feel more confident in some situations when I’ve taken time to throw on a bit of mascara and gloss.

Like you said, it’s a fine line. I love the look of a classic red lip and I was rocking it the other day, but sadly I can’t do it as often as I would like to, because some people tend to look at me funny like: “who does she think she is? why is this girl wearing makeup? Isn’t she too young for that?” I think red lips are smoking hot when the rest of the makeup is subtle, but I rarely do it because I don’t want rude comments from people. And I remember in high school some racist comments were made when I would wear pink or red lipstick, so that scared me away from experimenting with makeup for a while. Funny how Nicki Minaj has made it somewhat popular years later.

I think if you want to try makeup, you should go for it. Start off with the simple basics, just the bare minimum…mascara, gloss, maybe a BB cream and some concealer. This way you’ll feel a bit more polished without looking overdone or feeling self-conscious. It’s still you, only with your natural beauty enhanced. Makeup is partly artistic for me, but it is also about being more assertive and projecting confidence so I won’t be mistaken for a much younger person.

1. Allergic to most of it even hypo-allergenic will break me out. It is the dye. Which leads to:

2.$$$$$$$$. I haven’t tried mineral make-up but it is cost prohibitive at this time, because I would have to find the real mineral make-up not a knock off. I am dark-skinned enough that finding a decent foundation is a real challenge. I don’t have the money to try this or that and get in the sun or home and it doesn’t look right.

I was never a huge makeup person due to a combination of several things: near-perfect skin (blame the genes), expectations, lack of know-how, and laziness…plus, like I said above, it’s like my skin “eats” makeup, lol. Once I entered my 40s and hormones hit, suddenly I had new eyebrow hairs sprouting and that’s when I started doing regular eyebrow grooming (mainly threading, and only when I’m in a city where I can get it done for under $6). For me that and tinted lip gloss are about as close as I get to being “made up” on an average day.