As a teenager, I started to delve into makeup now and then. I was never really totally into it. I just kind of did what my mom did (minus the 35 coats of black spider mascara). My junior year in high school, one of my friends on my cheer squad commented on my school picture saying, “Wow, I never realized how bushy your eyebrows were.” Well, you can imagine my delight at that observation…by the next day I had pencil this eyebrows with only the slightest hint of the redness required to get them that thin.

Right before I left on my mission to Switzerland, in an effort to take full advantage of the fact that I was leaving the country for 18 months and thus couldn’t be properly punished for spending a lot of money on my step-mom’s Nordstrom card, I spent an hour at the Bobbi Brown counter stocking up on new makeup and brushes, along with a quick lesson on how to apply everything I was purchasing.

Then, after I graduated from college, I went to beauty school to become an esthetician. Up until this point, I’d always liked makeup, but just as something you do as a woman. In beauty school, however, I learned all of these amazing tricks and ways to totally transform how someone looked. Then I spent four years working in a salon and spa. During this time I got to do bridal makeup applications and learned more and more about what can make or break a makeup app.

Fast-forward four years. I’m still totally obsessed with makeup. The MAC counter is one of my favorite shopping destinations. I update colors every six months or so and go in periodically just to learn new tips and tricks. (Just ask anyone who has seen my makeup collection and they will tell you that I have a problem.) The best part is, I feel like I’m lucky to be someone who loves makeup considering how very fair I am, and the fact that I’m now over 30 and seriously, there are very few women I know over 30 who can get away without wearing makeup

Feb. 17 – I love makeup.