The Make Up Memory Lane Tag

I've been planning doing such a post for about a year, even had a whole folder ready, but I never got round to it. Then I saw this tag and I just had to do it. It was created by Laura from Buy now/blog later after watching Anna's video. So let's dig into my memory.

First makeup item ever purchased?

It was a L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick. I was 13 and I really wanted a proper lipstick instead of those horrid frosty-white Labello lip balms (those were the only ones available here that actually left any colour on the lips). I don't know which shade it was, but it's was a very wearable colour, a my-lips-but-better rosy-pink. Unfortunately someone must have nicked it, which left me devastated.

The shade on the upper picture is called S100 Satin Pink. 

But my first proper "haul" experience was with Oriflame. I got a couple of stick eyeshadows (gold and pink), an eyeshadow duo (lilac-pink), a stick concealer and a tinted moisturizer all from their Visions line (now renamed and repackaged. My tinted mosturiser was in a clear tube). I also got their fragrance called Sun and their Silk body lotion. 

First MAC item? 

Mac Myth lipstick. It was my first purchase on eBay when I was 18 and I still have it. Since I'm so pale, Myth actually looks decent on me, like a nice peachy nude, so I wore it a lot. A few months later I went to London and got eyeshadows in Wedge, Graphology and Contrast.

First MAC/other brand collection?

I don't have anything from MAC collections and I've never been fan of LE's (what's the point of buying something that you can't repurchase if you like it), but I bought several items from Alverde's Rose Garden collection (along with this eyeshadow, I got a blush and a lip gloss). It was beautiful because it had exactly my type of shades: mint greens and deep roses. Wonderful.

First high end make up splurge?

Oh, there have been many splurges when I was very young. Drugstore makeup was of a much poorer quality back then and it was far less exciting. Those were the years when Essence wasn't around here yet, but when it came their stuff was not as good as today. 

I think I had at least one item from each of the high-end brands available in Slovenia. My first splurge might have been either a Chanel nail polish in Fantastic or Chanel's Inimitable mascara or Lancome's Color Ideal foundation (which was the only choice for me because there were no other light shades for me in Slovenia. I loved that foundation, though).

First makeover experience?

Honestly, I've never had a makeover experience. I'm not comfortable around other people in general, let alone with someone applying my makeup. I've also never been to a cosmetic salon or had a professional manicure. I scarcely go to the hairdressers. People are usually quite surprised to hear that.

I even did my own "prom" makeup and it wasn't horrible considering there weren't many makeup tutorials back then. I wore Lancome's Color Ideal foundation, Diorkiss lip gloss in Cotton Candy (man, was that the shiniest and prettiest lip gloss ever), Nars Orgasm blush, Revlon's Eyeshadow quad in Sultry Smoke and Dior Iconic mascara. I was all high-end back in the days. I miss that. But to be fair, drugstore makeup was rubbish in those days (that Revlon palette isn't particularly good and Revlon's eyeshadows were considered to be excellent in those days). My only regret is that I wish I knew that trick about waterproof mascara keeping the lashes actually curled as it would have looked better.

First makeup brush?

It was a pack of Coastal Scents brushes and I still use every single one of them. They are seriously good. I've never found a better crease brush for my eye shape than the Italian Badger Round Crease brush.

First eyeshadow? 

I got it as a freebie in a magazine and it was Manhattan's Wet or Dry Eyeshadow in 17 Caramel. The quality of it is fantastic and I still have it. It's just a simple skin tone colour with shimmer. The first eyeshadow I bought was from Maybelline and it was one of those in roller ball form (yes, those existed as well). It was pink, but on the lids it just looked like a ton of shimmer.

First skincare "investment"?

When I first discovered the beauty community I got the complete set of skin care based on the best recommendations (before I wasn't using anything). Everything was based on how good the ingredients are as well as good reviews, so I'm really happy I had such a good skincare experience from the start. I was a part of a Slovene forum called Čudovita.si and those girls gave great recommendations (are any of you my readers?) I got the Scheller cleansing gel, Garnier Essentials toner, Garnier Total Fresh cream and Neutrogena 2 in 1 cleanser/mask, I use the latter to this day. I later invested into Clinique's Dramatically Different Gel and L'Occitane's Lavender Matte lotion (which was beyond brilliant. The new Angelica is pretty much the same thing). It was in my teens that I feel in love with L'Occitane's skin care, particularly their ranges for young, blemish prone skin (Lavender and Red Rice). Oh, and I patiently waited for every new collection because I was addicted to their lip balm/lip glosses. I still find L'Occitane's skin care suits me very well. 

My favourite skin care investment was Advance Night Repair and I can't tell you how much I miss this in my skin care, but it costs an arm and a leg, plus your unborn child.

First nail polish owned?

My mom loves nail polishes, but she rarely wears them, nonetheless she got me my first nail polish very early and I was one of the first girls in my class to wear nail polish. There were two, both from Rimmel, which was sold in our DM's at that time (yes you read that right. We had Rimmel in Slovene DM's), one was light pink and the other lilac. Really pretty colours. But I mostly wore Manhattan's clear nail polish because I loved how it looked. I only realized after buying the third bottle in a row that I've been using a nail hardener (it was in a different packaging back then and it said it contains vitamins in the front). Maybe that's why my nails are so healthy all the time, who knows.

First fake tan attempt? 

I embrace my paleness and I even like being compared to Snow White, but so many people around me have a problem with me being pale. Even my doctor had me tested for anaemia like a thousand times (bimbo). Slowly that rubbed off on me, so when the first cheap drugstore gradual self-tanners arrived in Slovenia, I got the Nivea version. It smelled horrifying straight from the bottle, so I don't recall ever even using it. I then got the Sun Dance version, which I liked a lot and I was never orange or anything. (I always research things extensively before doing them. That's why people give me the instructions manuals to read first before using their electronics #uberdorkallert). But in general I'm rarely self-tanned in my life because it's a hassle and a little bit out of spite. Despite loving being pale, it means that a lot of my favourite foundations don't really fit me, so I when I self tan it's because of this or because I wan't to hide the damage on my legs. 

More Make up Memories 

First mascara: Manhattan Professional mascara. First waterproof was Maybelline's Sky high Curves and high end was Chanel's Inimitable.

First powder: Givenchy Mattisime Absolute Matte Finish Powder Foundation SPF 20.

First blush: Essence Silky Touch Blush in 10 Adorable, soon followed by Nars Orgasm, which I wore for years.

First red lip colour: Manhattan X-Treme Last Lipliner in 54W. First lipstick was Revlon's Red, but I never wore it because it didn't look good on me, so it quickly got a new home.

First lip gloss: Max Factor Silk Gloss in Mellow Pink. It was so good. Too bad they discontinued it.

First palette: Not including the children's toy I had, Sleek's Original and Storm.

My first fragrance: So...So what…? edt

My favourite fragrances through the years: Puma Woman,  Puma Jamaica, L'Occitane's Vanilla (gutted that's it's discontinued), Paco Rabanne Black XS (my signature scent for years), Escada Marine Groove and Taj Sunset, Calvin Klein Euphoria and Britney Spears Fantasy.

First "fancy" shampoo: Fructis Fortifying Shampoo for normal hair. I got a sample in a magazine when I was younger than 10 and I asked my mom to get it for me. It was the day my life changed. Before my parents were buying shampoos and they sucked at it because they were only buying those cheap 1 litre ones. 

First conditioner: Subrina, what else.

First hair serum: Avon Advanced Techniques Daily Results. Later I also used Klas Revital Silicone with vitamine E and Gliss Kur Haarspitzenfluid.

First hair styling product: Subrina Wax. My hair dresser recommended it to tame the frizz. I don't like it.

First hair care investment: Tigi Oatmeal and Honey conditioner plus Tigi's Curls Rock Amplifier. I used all of these for years.

Even before I was blogging, I posted a lot of pictures on different forums, everything from swatches to new ins. Unfortunately I was saving them on Shrani.si, which apparently deleted them, but I still found these few pictures just for the kicks. I loved displaying my stuff, but this was before I had the whole thing organized like now. Have you spotted Clarins' Instant Lip Perfector? I had it way before the hype started and didn't find it worth the price. I also miss Nivea's Toddies gel like crazy.

I hope you enjoyed my walk down the memory lane. I know I was quite detailed, but I just remember a lot. I won't tag anyone specifically, I just tag all of you if you'd like to dig around your memory. 

Have a great day!