Answering the 40 Random Beauty Questions Tag

It might seem a touch ironic, given the fact that makeup has a tendency to drip, drop and downright vanish from our faces during the hottest months of the year, but it is, rather interestingly, during the summer when I most often feel like experimenting with my makeup.

Part of me wonders if this harkens back, at least to a degree, to when I was a very young grade school girl and was allowed to wear nail polish during the summer, but not (to class at least) during the school year. Perhaps it's also due to the fact that we're wearing less clothing during these sizzling hot months, so we may want to enliven our looks with the extra dimension that cosmetics can impart. Or maybe it's just that summer is massively fun and so are most beauty products! :)

Whatever the case, I really do find myself reaching for vivid shadows, popsicle hued polishes, and firework worthy shades of make-up more often during the summer. As such, I thought that - on this gorgeous Friday morning, while the season is still going strong - I'd take a moment and share my answers to a fun make-up and skin care related tag that's been floating around the web (particularly on YouTube) for a few years now.





Called The 40 Random Beauty Questions Tag, this quick and easy questionnaire is just that and is a fun way to get to know anyone's "war paint" (I've always loved that term in relation to makeup) routine better.

I periodically receive questions on mine (which is, fundamentally, quite lowkey), so that's all the more reason why I'm keen to tackle these forty questions. I've kept my answers light and airy, like a great loose powder, and hope you'll enjoy getting to know more about these elements of my life.

SKINCARE

1. How many times do you wash your face daily? Generally speaking, twice (once in the morning and once at night when I take off my makeup).


2. What skin type do you have? My skin is, and has always been, very dry and immensely sensitive.


3. What is your current facial wash? I'm super old school here and often just use Dove's Sensitive Skin Bar.


4. Do you exfoliate? Yes, either with a mild homemade sugar scrub or with an apricot one geared towards sensitive skin.

5. What brand do you use? St. Ives or the in-house brand from Real Canadian Superstore, as they have a near identical apricot scrub for about 2/3rds of the price of St. Ives.


6. What moisturizer do you use? Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer. I've tried many others, at a wide range of price points over the years, and absolutely nothing to date has worked more effectively for me.





7. Do you have freckles? No, and I've always sincerely wished that I did (how gorgeous are Joan Crawford's in the photo above?). I know that there are products such as freckle pencils and even freckle tattoos on the market these days, but they've never appealed to me. If nature didn't see fit to give me freckles, I'll respect that decision and leave my skin dot-less.


8. Do you use eye cream? No, but I will use chilled cucumber slices sometimes, if they're on the puffy/red side. Good quality eye cream is an expense that I’ve never felt I could justify, but I would like to give one a shot at some point – if only for the luxurious fun of it.


9.Do you, or did you previously have, acne prone skin? I'm very fortunate that to date, acne has never been a problem for me.


10. Have you ever needed to use Pro-activ? No, but if I needed, I'd certainly give it a shot. I've known some people over the years for whom it literally changed their life thanks to the degree to which it transformed their skin (but to be fair, have heard a few horror stories, too).

MAKE-UP

11. What foundation do you use? I'm not uber loyal to any one foundation, but for the last few years, I've mostly been using CovergGirl Clean Make Up Sensitive Skin. It's very budget-friendly and works just as well, if not better, than some other foundations I've tried that cost four or five times as much.


12. How about concealer? This year I've mostly been using ones from Joe Fresh and Physicians Formula. I honestly don't use a lot of concealer though, and tend to just dab it on under my eyes to help with any redness there or to aid in covering up small blemishes, as they arise.


13. Do you know your skin's colour tone? I'm fair with subtly warm pink undertones. I like to affectionately refer to my skin tone as "strawberries and cream".


14. What do you think of fake eyelashes? Love them to bits, though don't wear them that often. I really should though, as I adore how awake they can help you look!


15. Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? Yes, I've heard and read this many times over the years. I find that a tube of mascara usually lasts me 2 - 3 months, so that point is usually taken care of organically for me.





16. What brand of mascara do you use? Maybelline's wildly iconic (and incredibly effective) Great Lash. I’ve tried many others over the years, and none, absolutely none, have been able to even hold a candle to it for me personally.


17. MAC or Sephora? MAC, but to be fair, I've never purchased anything for myself from Sephora (though I have done so a gifts for others, including my little sister), so I can't really compare the two...yet.


18. What makeup tools do you use in make up application? An array of brushes (mostly MAC, Quo, and Clinique, but I have other brushes from various brands as well), a blender sponge, and my fingers.


19. Do you think you look good even when you’re not wearing makeup? Definitely! Though I strongly prefer how I look with makeup on, I don't feel that such defines my beauty in any meaningful way and truly hope that the same rings true for all of you and your perceptions of yourself, too.


20. Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? Typically not. I don't find that I need it with most of the types of (powder) shadows that I use. Plus the fact that my skin is very dry to help makeup in general stay put.


21. For the face? Yes, for sure, especially in the winter months when my skin gets uber dry and I find that it helps my complexion to look less parched.





22. What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? Hard call! I really adore shades in the plum/purple family, as well as aqua/turquoise, but most commonly wear bronzes/golds, creams, and pale pinks, all of which I love, too.


23. Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? Both, but primarily (black) liquid liner.


24. How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? Thankfully, almost never (every now and then I do accidentally jab my eye with a mascara wand though).


25. What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? I think they're gorgeous, but I don't have a ton of experience with them, especially loose pigment powders.


26. Do you use mineral makeup? I do indeed. I find that my dry, sensitive skin tends to respond wonderfully to most mineral makeups and usually have at least a few such products in my cosmetics bag at any one point in time.


27. What is your favorite lipstick? Russian Red from MAC.


28. How about lip gloss? I don't wear that many lip glosses, in part because it can often be hard to find gluten-free ones that don't break the bank. I'd say that in recent years my faves have come from Red Apple Lipstick and Annabelle Cosmetics.


29. What is your favorite blush to use? Again, I’m not super loyal to any one blush and in general just like those with subtle rose/light pink tones. Clinique and ColourPop both make some that I’ve really enjoyed over the years.


30. Do you buy makeup on eBay? Once in a blue moon. Chiefly for products that simply aren't sold in Canada, be it online or off.





31. Do you like drugstore makeup? Absolutely! A very decent percentage of my makeup comes from drugstores and big box stores.


32. Do you go to CCOs (Cosmetic company outlets)? No, but only because (other than Sally's and Chatters, the latter of which is more hair centered) we don't have any beauty supply shops in my town. If we did, I'm sure they'd be regular haunts for me.


33. Have you ever considered taking make-up classes? I adore the idea of such, but have never taken a makeup class. Who knows, maybe one day!


34. Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? Typically, no, especially after so many years of wearing the same general "face" most days and thus having applied the products that I use literally thousands of different times.


35. Name a "makeup crime" that you hate? I'm not a hater. To each their own in all areas of appearance. Though, personally, I can't stand looking down at chipped nail polish, so as soon it starts to flake, I try to get it all of pronto.


36. Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick, eyeshadow, etc) or neutral ones? A blend of both honestly. I tend to wear neutrals on my eyes and vivid hues on my lips (and nails).


37. Which celebrity do you think always has great makeup? Sophia Loren. No matter the decade, her makeup has always been stunning in my books.




38. If you had to leave the house having used just ONE make up item, what would you pick? I know, I know, "use" is even in bold here, but for me, I'd have to select two things: eyebrow pencil (as I have almost no natural eyebrows and the few hairs that do exist there are super pale blonde) and mascara. If I have those two things on, my face rarely feels naked.


39. Are you able to leave the house without any makeup on? For sure! It might not be my ideal, but I can certainly do so and have found that leaving the house sans makeup has gotten a lot easier as I've grown older.


40. In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? This is wildly subjective and just about impossible to define. I personally love, love, love just about anything I've tried from MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder, ColourPop, Cover Girl, Maybelline, NYX Cosmetics, Joe Fresh, Physicians Formula, Annabelle Cosmetics, and Benefit, but there are so many amazing brands out there at all sorts of price points, so for me, there isn't one "best" brand, just numerous favourites.



{To learn more about a specific image used in today's post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

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I wasn't tagged by anyone in particular to answer these questions, instead I caught wind of them a while back on YouTube. Thus, I'm not going to tag anyone specially, but if you'd like to play along, too, by all means, please do (and then feel free to come back here and comment with a link to your own post so that I can be sure to check it out).

And by the same token, if you have any questions for me about what I’ve said here or would like to see more posts about my beauty routine/favourites, please don’t hesitate to left me know.

Lowkey though my beauty routine may be (by which I mean, I tend to use the same very select group of products, I don't usually shell out for expensive beauty treatments or skin care products, and I typically wear the same general mid-century style "face" most days), I - like countless others around the globe - am wild about cosmetics and get giddy whenever I try out a new brand, score a limited edition product, or rediscover an old favourite.




So while I might get more adventurous with my makeup choices during the summer, I really do adore beauty products and the act of getting ready the whole year 'round. How about you?