Beauty Lessons I've Learned in My Late 20's (Part II)

Hello friends, Happy Friday!

Today, we are chatting more about beauty lessons I've learned in my late 20's! If you haven't read Part I on skincare, you can scroll down on the page or click right here! Some big, some small, here are 8 beauty lessons I've learned on makeup, hair, and body.


My mom is the kind of person who spends so much time on skincare, but rarely wears any makeup. I didn't get into makeup until college, so hello Sephora and goodbye savings... Looking back, I've had my fair share of streaky foundation looks, unflattering haircut/color (and a Freshman 15!), which I've certainly learned from. I understand not everyone wears makeup (props to you for going au naturel!), but for many of us, makeup does help us look more polished and feel more confident. As Charlotte Tilbury puts it:
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I didn't start filling in my eyebrows until after college. I obviously had more brow hair back then, but I swear as you get older, parts of your eyebrows just don't grow back anymore! While I'm comfortable leaving the house without most makeup, I HAVE TO fill in my eyebrows. Eyebrows provide definition and structure to your face and make you look more polished instantly. In terms of products, I've used and enjoyed Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz ($21) and Brow Definer ($23) over the years. Now, I mostly use Benefit Cosmetics Goof Proof Brow Pencil ($24), which gives you a little more product for the price. In short, never leave the house without sunscreen and fill in your eyebrows!



Needless to say, I'm not a morning person, but I still want to look somewhat put-together. I want my daytime look to be simple, natural, and fast. Over the years, I've simplified my routine to the following steps, which takes me 5 min or less!

I'm glad my bad eye shadow and over bronzed days are long gone... 
Okay, it wasn't terrible, but certainly not up to my current standards. Nowadays, I pick only one area of the face to emphasize - a smokey eye, rosy cheeks, or a bold lip, while keeping everything else natural.

It took me a while to realize to blend the makeup on my face down the neck and upper chest if it's showing. This will help your makeup look more natural and seamless, so your face doesn't look like a different color from the rest of your body :O. 

PS: You can also use highlighters on your body - collarbone, top of the shoulder etc. for that extra glow ;). 


Let's take a trip down memory lane of unflattering haircut and color in my early 20's, which looked totally fine to me at the time! I wasn't particular about what cut I wanted or who cut my hair. My mom was the one who dyed my hair at home with those L'Oreal box hair dyes. I also didn't embrace how much hair I had, which literally became half after thinning shears (evident below). Another lesson learned? Bangs can also make a difference!


Now, I go in knowing exactly what cut I want, how many inches to cut off, pictures of what color I want and what I don't want. For me, nothing quite like a new hair to make a girl feel like a new woman!


With a little planning ahead, you can save so much time and heat when you curl your hair! On most days, I enjoy the heatless curls from overnight braids (and lots of sea salt spray!). So for special occasions, I'll start with that, then pick out random pieces from the the top section to curl. This only takes 5 - 10 min, compared to 20 - 25 min if I were to curl all the hair. Just remember to hold the curl in your hand for a few second until it cools down. Hairspray and shake out the curls as usual!


Realizing this in my late 20's has changed the way I look at my body. I started to appreciate what it does for me every day and the imperfections I have. While I have lost weight and still trying to tone up, I've learned to set realistic expectations and love the body I'm in now, rather than pressuring myself to look like the girls on magazine covers or Instagram photos.

First of all, they are celebrities, models, or influencers, which is such a small percentage of all the girls out there. It's almost their job to look a certain way, have a certain body type, or live a certain lifestyle. Secondly, there's a whole team involved in a photo shoot, from professional photographers, designers, to stylist, makeup artist etc. What you see is only one out of hundreds or thousands that were taken and then edited to be picture-perfect. We should use them for inspirations or motivations, rather than accepting them as the norm.

Almost everyone has cellulite or stretch marks; it doesn't mean you are fat! I find it very empowering when Chrissy Teigen posted a close-up of her stretch marks last year. While a coffee scrub and self-tanner certainly help with the appearance, it's important to realize that cellulite and stretch marks are totally normal and nothing to be insecure about. At the end of the day, what really matters is you are healthy, no matter what shape and size you are in.


Whether it's your first time or 100th time, getting a wax still hurts and can be uncomfortable. We stare at the blank white ceiling, try to strike up a conversation to make it seem less awkward, and try not to scream every time it hurts, while a stranger yanks tiny pieces of hair out of our hair follicles. As long as the place is clean and the waxer is licensed and knows what they are doing, I'd say save your money on this. For example, I honestly think my eyebrows look the same after, whether I pay $7 at my local nail salon or $21 at the Benefit Brow bar. Despite the pain, I still prefer waxing over shaving and I do find my hair grows back slower and softer.


* A note on Becca:
As I've mentioned before, I love Becca and have accumulated quite a collection. But I want to share with you what I found recently, which was really interesting and eye-opening for me. I think as consumers, we should know these things so that we can make more informative decisions. I recently discovered and have been obsessed with this channel, Here for the Tea, which I would describe as Gossip Girl for the YouTube world. While watching her older videos, I came across these two on Becca:
 
I highly recommend checking these out, if you are into the brand like I am. I don't want to get into too much details here and let you make your own judgement on the brand. I will say that I will probably continue to purchase Becca until I find a better alternative, but I will be a lot more selective moving forward.

So that wraps all the beauty lessons I've learned in my late 20's this week! I hope you find it interesting and can learn from my experience!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! :)
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