base, mascara.. erase.

true story: i don't wear makeup.

never have, perhaps never will. it's not that i never wanted to. maybe it's because my mother wasn't a big makeup person, but i never had the desire to actually put the effort into learning how to use it. in fact, i remember once, when i was really young, the entire family went for an outing one evening in new york city, and my mom wore lipstick and eyeshadow. i begged her the whole night to take it off, telling her that it looked like she had two black eyes and i didn't like it.

when i first got into reading magazines - seventeen magazine, but still - i was prepubescently fascinated by all of their makeup tips and tricks, but still never inspired to buy the supplies and attempt it on myself, outside of a little lipgloss here and there. i even avoided the whole face glitter debacle that affected most of my girlfriends in middle school.

i decided that senior prom was a good a time as any to finally make the leap, but when megan took me to the mac counter and they tried out a couple of products on me, i balked, convinced that i seriously looked like a clown. i still bought some of the products, and told megan that i'd let her do my makeup the day of, but when i was running late, i decided to skip it altogether, and i've been makeup-less ever since, save for a little - and i mean a little dabbling with masacara.

i've kind of learned to own it; i enjoy not feeling like i have to 'put on my face' before leaving the house, and it seems to me that if i did wear any, i'd be horribly self conscious about some flaw in my makeup exposing itself throughout the course of day. but sometimes i do wish i at least possessed the ability to apply makeup, since i see people do such fun things with it. [a note about seeing interesting makeup: it actually has to be pretty damn interesting. perhaps because my general lack of concern, i've learned to take for granted that people wear it at all. unless there's something really discernible and striking about someone's makeup, they might as well not be wearing any at all. my eye is desensitized to cosmetics! anyway.]

sometimes i'd like to be able to use makeup for certain occasions and moods that i find myself in, but i fear i'm too wrapped up in my au natural ways. also, there's a definite lack of cosmetic direction (in the magazines i read anyway) for those of darker complexions. so when the magazines are exalting the virtues of teal lips! or fuchsia eyes!, it's all fine and dandy, but it may very well leave anyone without a porcelain complexion looking like a two-dollar hooker. i hate to close the door on anything, so maybe one day i'll be a makeup maven, but only time will tell.

but moving from thoroughly modern to amusingly retro:


fresh-faced,