The Power of Makeup: Raina's Beauty Favorites

I have and always will be an artist. Drawing has always been something that came naturally to me. I remember when I was little, I always watched my mom apply perfect winged eyeliner every day before we would go anywhere. It wasn't until 7th grade that I started considering wearing makeup. For me, makeup is an artform and the face is just another canvas. I will admit that at first, I had no clue what I was doing; I just smeared gold-colored eyeshadow that I’d borrowed from my mom all over my eyelid and put on some mascara. I immediately felt a certain affinity with makeup. Since then, I’ve learned so much more and grown as a makeup artist. To me, makeup goes deeper than just putting stuff on your face to look pretty. It's a form of self-expression and helps boost my confidence. I wouldn’t say I have a lot of self-confidence at the moment, considering my life as a teenage girl, but makeup definitely makes me feel better about myself. As a young member of a rapidly progressing society, I feel that anybody of any gender can choose to wear makeup, because it is simply a way to enhance natural beauty. Personally, I stick to more neutral colors, but I still admire more extreme looks by professional makeup artists on platforms like Instagram.

Skin color definitely has an impact on the makeup one buys and wears. I am Indian, so I have light brown, olive colored skin. Despite the fact that I love the color of my skin, it is quite a struggle to find the right foundation color. I cannot even imagine how difficult it is for girls with even darker skin to find the correct color. In current American society, the ideal face of beauty has light skin and colored eyes. The same features are also sought after and viewed as the epitome of beauty in India because of their rarity. I know the media has come a long way in diversity within the fashion world, which I am really happy about, but I understand that it still has a long way to go. I still struggle a lot with being a woman of color. I am proud to be an Indian, and I love my skin tone; it's just hard sometimes to find the right shades of makeup or representation in the fashion district because the majority of the industry is white. I still find myself struggling because I don't look like other girls, which gives me the impression that I must not be pretty. I know I'm not alone in the idea that there should be more diversity in the fashion world. When I wear makeup, whether a full face or just mascara, it still manages to make me feel pretty. I mainly just do eye makeup because I have sensitive skin and haven't found the right affordable foundation yet. Now that you know a bit about me and what makeup means to me, here are a few of my favorites!

CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM. I love this lotion because it is lightweight but still hydrating. My skin is a bit on the sensitive side and this lotion is great because it has no fragrance and is meant for people who have sensitive skin. I use a little on my face before I start putting on the rest of my makeup.

Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette using shades Sandalwood, Moon Dust, Bae, and Blessed. I love this palette because it is super pigmented, the colors are gorgeous, and the shades are very flattering on warmer skin tones.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil in Dark Brown. This is great for penciling in hairs if there are gaps in your brows.

Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara Primer in brown. I love this mascara because it is good for a natural look alone. I found that it also looks great with another mascara on top of it.

Buxom Mascara in black. This mascara is great because the formula is not clumpy at all and does not flake off.

Too Faced Sketch Eyeliner in black. This felt tip liner is great for making fine lines because the tip is very thin. The liner is very pigmented which is something I always look for. It is great for tight-lighting, used for natural or more dramatic looks like cat-eyes or wings. I have a lot of control when I use this and it almost feels like I am holding a pen.

Benefit cosmetics Watts Up highlighter. This is a cream highlighter that is great for all skintones. It can give a light dewy look or a more intense glow to match the look you are going for by using more or less product.

Dreamy Panda’s Eye Brightening Base. I love this product because it's better than any other concealers I have used to get rid of under eye bags. Even though on the product it looks bright white, once it is blended my eye bags are definitely less visible. Not to mention, the packaging is super cute!

Makeup brushes. These brushes from left to right are: Estee Lauder Crease Brush, It! Cosmetics eyeshadow brush, and Hana K precise eyeshadow brush. I use these three for blending eyeshadow on my crease, and applying eyeshadow at certain hard to reach places on my eyelid.

Makeup is a tool that I use to boost my confidence, become assured in myself, and feel beautiful. If nothing else can be taken away from this article, I hope my beauty favorites will help you do the same.

By Raina Pahade

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