BLOG: My Makeup Lessons
Last Updated (Wednesday, 17 March 2010 13:26)
by Sandie Torres/YourBeautyIndustry.com
I have a confession, I'm very stubborn. When it comes to my own personal beauty regimen, you cannot tell Sandie Torres what to do. I will do the exact opposite of any un-solicited advice, just to spite you. Isn’t that silly? Perhaps, but it’s the truth. It’s not something I’m proud of because I happen to LOVE to give un-solicited advice to others. So now, my confession is even sillier.
Just because I won’t take un-solicited advice, doesn’t mean I don’t take any advice. I may ask an expert or colleague a beauty related question occasionally. For the most part throughout the years I just choose which beauty lessons I want to accept and try out. My belief is that as far as your individual style goes, it’s totally up to you. Trends don’t work for everyone and I think it’s better to choose what works best for you and what looks best on you. Not everyone can wear skinny jeans or pull off super red lipstick, so just do your own thing.
My Makeup Lessons:
If I go back to the beginning, which I seem to do quite often in these blogs, I began taking lessons from a supermodel named Laetitia Casta. It 
was the 90’s and flannel shirts and unflattering clothes were in style. I desperately wanted to wear more makeup but I attended school with girls that I’m pretty sure were anti-makeup. This movement continued even through high school. There were a few who ventured out and wore makeup- I so appreciated those people. I specifically remember a new student arriving at our high school with mascara and instantly she was a whore. Really? For mascara?? Mascara is a necessity. She packed it on heavy but still, can you imagine? I wear mascara to go to my mailbox. So there I was with my flannel shirt always looking for makeup ideas from magazines. I found what I liked and copied it the best I could, sometimes putting my own spin on it. Bronzer in the 90’s wasn’t so great. I spent so much money on blush just trying to mix and match to get the right color for me. I wanted to be bronzed, not orange -more on this subject later. During that time Laetitia was a teenager, just like me, with one major exception- she was looking fabulous in ads and magazine covers left and right. I loved her face- the shape of it and they way each makeup artist could transform her into a different character for each ad or editorial that she did. There was one particular picture that stood out in which her bronzer/blush highlighted her face around her hairline and on her brows. It looked magical to me and very natural and subtle. “That’s it!” I declared and celebrated in triumph (probably not that dramatic). And that is the moment I learned how to apply bronzer. Thank you Laetitia.
Somehow I made it through high school with just a little eyeliner and occasional blush, knowing that I too would soon be off to college slapping on mascara as well, just like the mascara whore. Off I went to college I had two gorgeous roommates with two completely different styles. One didn’t wear too much makeup and one wore lots! I was so excited! I was able to finally be myself and start actually wearing all the looks I had been trying out for years. One of my roommates loved eyebrows. She talked about eyebrows frequently and spent a lot of time working on hers. I had no idea what went into eyebrow grooming until I met her. She told me grooming your eyebrows right completely changed your look- the importance of it was new information for me. She didn’t call me out specifically, which as I stated in my opener, would have back-fired. Perhaps she knew all along how to handle stubborn Sandie and the subtle eyebrow discussions were a way to influence me. Well, whatever it was, it worked. On my first trip home I was off to the salon for some major eyebrow improvement and some maintenance tools. I wish I could properly describe the scene when I returned to school and my roommate saw me with my freshly groomed brows. She looked like a proud mother and she literally screamed with delight. She noticed immediately. Thank you Melissa.
Rewind back to high school. I spent so much time trying to find the perfect lip color for myself. Nothing seemed to look great on me. I liked this
maroon red color. I call it maroon because that’s literally what it looked like. It didn’t look good on me but I just couldn’t find the right color so I stuck with that one. Fast forward to college. In college I wanted to switch it up. I wanted a natural lip color but had trouble finding my perfect match. One day while I was studying I’m sure, I was watching Janet Jackson on Oprah discussing her makeup secrets. I loved her lip color. It was a natural base with just the slightest hint of brown. For Janet it was a “nude” shade, for me I would need more brown. Of course, Janet and I have different skin tones but I just knew that color would work for me. She said her makeup artist used a brown lip liner, filled in her whole lip and then just put a clear gloss over it. Off I went to the drugstore and created my new lip color which I think started with brown eyeliner and lip balm. Now, in 2010 of course lots of brands have amazing natural lip color choices. I still attempt to mix it up once in awhile but I definitely favor the nude lip color. Back in 1997, Janet would rock dark smokey eyes with a nude lip- still one of my favorite looks to wear . Thank you Janet.
Back to bronzer. I’m pale- if you read my self-tanning blog, you know that’s hard for me to admit. I try not to get much sun so I need to use other resources to create my tanned/bronzed look. Over the past 5 years there have been major improvements in bronzer. There was a time when it was so hard to find something that didn’t make me look orange. I know some of you can relate to this! During that time I probably spent thousands of dollars looking for the perfect bronzer. Then came J-Lo. Not Jennifer Lopez, specifically J-Lo. What I saw was a pretty but rather pale dancer on “In living Colour” transform into an amazingly beautiful bronzed being. Her bronzed “glow” look was so amazing that cosmetic companies finally got the hint that bronzer should make you looked bronzed. Her Makeup Artist Scott Barnes created this look for her and it became a trend. Scott went on to create his own fabulous products and I was able to rid the look of orange. Now of course we all know that I can’t quite pull off the J-Lo glow like she does…or even close, but I created my own version. Thank you J-Lo and Scott.
An accidental lesson was one of my best lessons! For years I tried different foundations and powders. Pressed powders never looked right on me. I 
felt like my face looked oily and I was always blotting and felt super self-conscious. I tried professional loose powder by CoverGirl and it made a huge difference. It still wasn’t perfect. The powder I used was Translucent Light, because I felt that I had “light” skin. One day I bought the wrong color, “Translucent Fair”. Fair? Not me, said the palest girl on the block with the serious denial issue. The Translucent powder was magical. The powder didn’t make my foundation change color; it did exactly what it was supposed to do and created a matte look over my foundation. Now of course this wasn’t obvious to just me, as most top makeup artists use products like Makeup Forever’s HD Translucent Powder. At the time it just seemed like destiny to me. The makeup Gods had to switch it up for me to get the hint. Thank you destiny.
Last but not least my mother has always been concerned with matching my face to my neck. My neck never tans so even during my days of baking in the sun my face has always been darker than my neck. To this day my mom will let me know if she doesn’t think I’ve matched them correctly. When I first began wearing foundation my mother heavily emphasized going past my jaw line so you don’t have that horrible line. I probably had that line and didn’t blend properly all through high school, just to spite her and the un-solicted advice. That line can be difficult to see yourself, especially if you’re not looking for it. We’ve all made mistakes, ok? Don’t look down at me for spending probably four years with horrible foundation…during the 90’s with my flannel shirts and horrible long hair and split ends. Things got better, I improved and life got better. As a teen I was defensive with my mom’s makeup suggestions but now I am thankful that she was looking out for me and her voice is in my head each morning when I apply my foundation. Thank you Mom.
There are so many more but those are the lessons that stand out to me the most. Do you have an early makeup lesson that you still use today? Chat with me HERE.
Photo Credits:
Sony Music/Jennifer Lopez, CoverGirl, Anastasia’s Brow Kits
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