I have to admit, I’ve gotten stuck in a rut when it comes to makeup. I definitely enjoy watching makeup tutorials and beauty bloggers, but I’m not interested enough to try the looks out myself. As someone who works a full-time night audit job, I don’t usually interact with people much in my day-to-day. I work five days a week and attend ASU online (even pre-pandemic), and rarely wear makeup on my days off. I’ve been with my boyfriend for over two years and while I still do my makeup and get dressed up when we go out, most of the time my beauty style is natural-casual. I like playing with makeup when I have time, but I’ve never set aside any to do my makeup in fun, new ways during a regular week, until now.
My weeklong ASU Attempts challenge to create colorful makeup looks forced me to step out of my comfort zone and embrace the creative, almost meditative state that playing with makeup creates.
Waking up earlier than usual to give myself the time to do my makeup before going to work felt like being robbed of sleep for the first two days. Normally, my makeup routine is granted about five minutes when I wake up: I swipe on some mascara and eyeliner and occasionally use some slide on eyeliner to color my eyelid in lieu of a more time intensive eyeshadow.
Making time to play with makeup, awaken my creativity, and come up with a different look each day ended up being a fun way to mix up my daily routine. I got better at blending eyeshadows as the week went on and had fun getting bolder than I usually would for work. Externally, I got compliments from co-workers and guests at work who were surprised by the bold color choices.
I don’t know if this experiment will lead to a complete overhaul of my typical routine, but I am definitely more willing to embrace getting out of my comfort zone. It’s easy to get stuck in a beauty regimine, and my ASU attempt tapped into my creative side. Doing my makeup each night for a week led me to spend more time on myself and lead to a sense of calm usually only experienced during yoga or meditation. I learned to carve out time to do something that would make me feel good about myself, rather than rushing out of the door looking “presentable” and “professional.” Focusing on creating colorful eye makeup made me feel more creative, relaxed, and honestly, happier.