If there’s one aspect of your personal style that’s changed from high school to college, it’s definitely been your makeup routine. Now, the time you’d spend in front of the mirror covering up the little blemishes no one noticed in the first place could buy you a couple extra minutes sleeping in bed or few more flashcards memorized. The motivation, money and time it takes to apply makeup in the same way you did in high school isn’t the same. It isn’t a bad thing. It’s forced us to shift from applying makeup for coverage and transformation to enhancement of ourselves. Our makeup routine has changed and we’re so much better because of it.
Here’s the five most significant ways your makeup routine has changed since you’ve been in high school:
1. Less
There’s just so much less of everything, everywhere on your face. No longer is makeup about covering up or trying to fit an image outside yourself. Unlike in high school, now it’s evident how much of a waste that time and effort was that went into pursuing an artificial image of who we were. Having the lack of time and motivation to put into “making up” your face can be a good thing because it forces you to realize that you’ve got to work with what you’ve already got – and what you got is actually pretty great.
2. Moisturizer
If there’s one reason you’re in college, it’s because you are pursuing your future – the very same reason that made you realize how important it is to include moisturizer in your skincare routine. High school was all about the presentation of your face, who cared what was happening to your skin as long as it looked good? Now it’s time for the marathon: avoid wrinkles for as long as humanly possible.
3. Lipstick
When you said goodbye to high school, you also said goodbye to your signature winged eyeliner soaring from hairline to hairline across your eyelids and took on the trademark of many boss women: lipstick. There’s something about it that instantly makes you feel in charge. It’s a feeling we all deserve to have.
4. More Than One Look
It was easy to master one makeup look. Sure, you were the trusty friend who could be counted on to exhaust the same intense eyeshadow and always try a little too hard with the contour day or night, but now you see the importance of the occasion. It can actually be fun to experiment outside that one eyeshadow palette your mom bought you when you were 12. The world’s your oyster.
5. The Right Shade of Foundation
To be confident in your own skin, you have to be sporting the makeup that compliments your own skin. If you still haven’t found your right shade of foundation, it’s a trial with a great reward and if you have found it, you’ve proven there is hope for us all.
Sure, we still got a lot to learn, but we’ve made it through some terrible high school makeup choices. It’s bound to only get better from here!