u/Mxjjvega

Just wanted to come here and talk about inspo. I think finding non-makeup inspo is the best way to push yourself out of your norms and challenge yourself as an artist.

I pull inspo from everything around me. Things I love like the original Hairspray by John Waters (no I don’t care about the broadway musical and no I don’t care about the Zac Efron and Nicci Blonksi movie), funny phrases like “Jack and Jill went up the hill”. Or my love of Greek mythology like my Hermes “Don’t Kill the Messenger” look. It’s also not always the colors. Sometimes it’s a shape I want to translate into makeup. Sometimes it’s how a song visualizes in my head by how the song makes me feel. (I don’t have synesthesia or a visual imagination)

At one point in doing makeup since 2013 I started saying “I just do the same look in different colors” when people complimented my makeup. I got really tired of that after some time. I wanted to say “all my looks are different, all unique, always evolving.” I wanted to learn again. Part of that came from challenging myself. And I gave myself some rules:

1.) it has to look different than the previous look.
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2.) I have to use every color in all my palettes and products before I go buy something new.
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2B.) if I’m going to buy new products it has to either be refilling an essential or it’s filling a gap (like a specific color or texture)
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3.) It’s okay to not like how a look is going/turned out. It’s okay to wash it off, start over or just not look at makeup for the rest of the day. Cuz you know what? I still picked up my brush and did it.

4.) Have fun. The second I stop having fun and start getting frustrated is when the brushes go down and the cleanser comes out.

Having non-makeup as my makeup inspo allows me to focus on what I’m crafting and not making an exact copy of a look I saw. It allowed me to look at shapes more as an equal in the narrative than what’s going to flatter my face or a clients face.

I’d love to know where you all find inspo for makeup looks. And if you’re having trouble finding inspo I challenge you to look at more than just makeup. Pull a color palette from your favorite movie. Make a funky shape based on a sculpture or a painting. Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Have fun.

And for once I will list the eyeshadow palette I used because I only used ONE palette this time. It is the Drench Cosmetics Lunar Retrograde palette and is currently on sale for $10. They don’t pay me to post but they do represent me and community. Go support a black queer owned indy brand!

Jk I’ll be 33 next month.

Not my fave look but I did it so I’m posting it.

Makeup inspired by the song Hedenist by NotNorth. Highly suggest giving them a listen.