Tutorial overload.

I want to update my makeup routine. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t suit my face. I’ve been using the same techniques and basically the same products for years. I don’t enjoy putting on makeup most days.

I wear it to look somewhat put together and presentable and tend to skin imperfections I’m still waiting on time to heal.

My tried and true routine is what has gotten me by for a while, but I know I’m working from the knowledge I gleaned from a handful of tutorials I probably watched in between geometry and US history class in 2012.

She’s outdated.

I have no interest in diving deep. I just want a doable, everyday routine that’ll help me look and feel clean and fresh.

When I know I have a lot to learn, I turn to YouTube. What’s lovely about this platform is that there’s no shortage of content. What’s overwhelming about this platform is that there’s no shortage of content.

I just watched a creator’s video entitled something along the lines of: “The Wrong and Right Way to Apply Makeup” with a thumbnail showing how she applied makeup the “correct way” on the right side of her face and the “wrong way” on the left. I clicked on the video figuring I’d pick up a few tricks, but expecting a general review of things I’ve heard before.

Almost all the “wrong ways” she outlined were pretty much the techniques I employ every morning in the bathroom. Cool.

Thankfully my first reaction was to laugh instead of spiral out in embarrassment.

When I learn a better way to go about things, however, I am one to dive deep, consume all I can about the subject, research the best products, and go out to buy them that day. I want to implement it right away. While I can appreciate my own enthusiasm, I want a more sustainable way to make adjustments.

I’m learning to detect my tendencies before they take over. Previously, I’d watch these videos and take immediate note of all the things that I need to change right that second.

This has cost me a lot of money in experimenting recklessly and I’ve wasted a lot of products in haste.

I’m going to try something else this time around. I’ll start step-by-step. I’ll begin by correcting the small techniques I can before I run out and purchase anything new. I’ll start by deciding what looks I’m personally going for; what investment in time and money I’m willing to make to create it—perhaps I’ll even dig into my relationship with makeup in the first place.

I don’t think I’ve ever even thought about that.

In the light of tutorial overload, I’ll let it rest a minute, let it marinate, and see what sticks. No pun intended.