WHAT'S IN YOUR MAKE UP BAG? / 001 :: EMILY FRAME

First of all, is this is a new series over here that I'm super super pumped about! So, the best part of slumber parties + group bathroom breaks between classes in high school was playing with makeup and watching how your friends did theirs, right? And first thing you do at somebody's house is snoop around in their medicine cabinet, yeah? (Just kidding, I'm not a snoop! Very often!) I just feel like there's something very wonderful and meaningful to a woman's makeup routine, how she approaches her face and why, like sort of a mini anthropological study of who we are and what we do and how we live as women. I want to know everybody's routine, it's one of the first things I want to ask when I meet somebody new but I almost never do. I wanna know your routine, and your favorite products, and your backstory, and who you got your eyes from. So I asked all my friends all the things I've always wanted to ask but never did, and told them it was for the the good of the blog world, and, so, that's how this happened. I'm starting with my friend Emily Frame, because I just got hers in my inbox today and it tickled me all pink inside. 

Emily is one of the best. She runs Bijou Market, she's one of the founders of Small Fry, she's a mother of two, + she's one of the most stylishly playful ladies I've ever known. I just love her with everything I've got. I've been lucky to know Emily for a number of years and she's the kind of girl where you meet her + instantly you're THERE. You know? She's genuine, loving, witty as hell, honest, and so so much fun to be around. She puts you at ease and makes you laugh till you cry. Good stock, this one. You're going to love this! I hope slash promise!

WHAT'S IN MY MAKEUP BAG, THE EMILY FRAME EDITION


"My hair is the dustiest lavender right now, it's been bleached to high heaven. I let it air dry after the shower but put in It's A 10 Miracle Leave-In with Keratin and then Bumble & Bumble Invisible Oil on the ends on the no-wash days. Suave's Dry Shampoo is my absolute favorite. (I just ran out!)

I've tried so many foundations but I'm obsessed with this recent find: FIT by Maybelline. I have always wanted to look "dewey," but I hate shimmer and glitter of all kinds. But I swear to you this foundation makes you look dewey. It's awesome! Yeah I'm 29 and still get breakouts, so Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion is a must. I spot treat and sleep with it on and it works wonders.

I love Mac's highlighter or the Bobbi Brown Brick for highlighting. I also love a hint of coral/orange in my blush.

I'm a paint pot type of gal, so I use Anastasia Brow Pomade in Blonde, Mac's Fluid Line in Black Track, and Mac Paint Pots for eye shadow when I'm in a hurry. It stays put but you can also manipulate and drag it around without that dust action that happens with powder shadow.

I love doing a bold lip and I have a box full of drugstore and designer brand lips, but honestly, I really just like how Mac's applies and wears the best. For everyday picks, Pure Zen is the bomb. Pink Plaid and Snob are in the rotation too. For reds, Mac RED, Relentlessly Red. For a dramatic burgundy I love Diva or Media, and Morange or Flamingo for that orange kick.

Since lipstick and coordinating lip liners adds up fast, I love Too Faced's Borderline, which is a clear wax liner that you do Kylie Jenner-style above your natural lip line so the lipstick doesn't travel or bleed out. One liner fits all!"

And now for the Q+A portion of this event:

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED WEARING MAKEUP?

I honestly have no recollection of putting makeup on in my early teens except for dance recitals. I think my sophomore year class picture was the first one I could even spot mascara!

WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO APPLY IT?

I have an older sister who I loved to watch get ready. I think I picked up a lot from her. 90s-style over-plucking for certain.

THE FIRST EVER COSMETIC I APPLIED TO MY FACE WAS:

Bonne Bell lipgloss in Vanilla Swirl. I think I had white eyeliner too, oof! It amuses me that both of my earliest memories of makeup are painful. The first was with my head in my mom's lap while she tried to tame the eyebrow situation, and she pinched me a couple times and acted like it was nothing. Then I sat up to look in the mirror and was totally bleeding. I also remember gouging myself with an eyelash curler. Still hate those things to this day. Beauty equals pain.

em + her two boys, hayes + callum

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEATURE AND WHY?

My eyes. They're the lightest gray in the middle, and have a light blue rim to contain it all. I suppose if we're being honest, it's because they're my most complimented feature. Vain much?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEATURE TO PLAY UP / DISGUISE / MANIPULATE WITH MAKEUP AND WHY? 

Totally the same, I love playing up my eyes: adding a thick cat eye, lining the lower wet lash for a full effect, playing with crazy color combos. So fun!

WHO DID YOUR MAKEUP FOR YOUR PROM? ON YOUR WEDDING DAY?

My friends and I loved to loiter at the Mac counter, so they did our makeup for prom. I did it myself on my wedding day. I have this image of me touching up my lipstick in my wedding dress and veil seared into my memory--for sure my most feminine moment.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY CONTOUR YOUR FACE IN A MANNER THAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU LOOK INSANE?

Not a chance, and no one else has, either.

WHO DO YOU LOOK TO FOR BEAUTY INSPIRATION?

I love the red carpet during awards season, everything is so dramatic and eye-catching.

FAVORITE BRAND?
I sort of grew up on Mac, so I feel really comfortable with it, but when I'm venturing out I stick to Nordstrom or Rite-Aid. Best return policies, which makes me feel better when I lay down all my monies. Not that I ever actually return anything, but you know, feels better knowing I could.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MAKEUP TRICK? 
Contouring is a nightmare, but I actually do like highlighting. I brush on a "C" shape on the bone surrounding my eyes, starting under the last 3/4ths of my brow and swiping down and around under my eye, stopping probably right where my pupil is. It instantly wakes up my face, brightens my eyes, and I look "ready" even if I didn't put too much effort in.

HOW MUCH TIME WOULD YOU SAY YOU SPEND ON YOUR MAKEUP IN THE MORNING?

I have found my rhythm in the 5-minute job. If I spend more time than that I start looking less like myself. If I want to spice it up I do a bright lip. No color is off limits!

DO YOU ALWAYS WASH IT OFF AT NIGHT? (BE HONEST)

I have been notoriously bad at that, but have seen my face age so much in my late twenties, so now I always keep makeup wipes by my bed. I can't even be bothered to sit up to wipe it all off, I just roll over and then toss it on my table to throw out in the morning. I know it's not ideal, and people in their right mind are cringing, but it's a friggin success 'round here! (Digging these.)

WHAT ONE MAKE UP / BEAUTY CONCEPT / PRODUCT INTIMIDATES YOU MOST?

I have been doing eyeliner for 15 years but I still hold my breath every time because I know how many things could potentially go wrong. This video sums it up. I feel even worse about putting on a strip of false lashes.

WHAT ONE MAKE UP / BEAUTY CONCEPT / PRODUCT HAVE YOU NAILED BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME?

See above! Never give up, never surrender!

DESERT ISLAND. WHAT HEAT YOU PACKING?

I know your question is metaphorical but all I can think of is freckles on top of wrinkles, so I'll say, very literally, this for my face and this for my bod. My family swears by it and I'll never use anything else! 

FILL IN THE BLANK: THIS REMINDS ME OF MY MOTHER, THAT REMINDS ME OF MY GRANDMOTHER

My mom reminds me of Voluminous mascara. That gray tube, her wide eyes and open jaw. Sitting in the back of our Suburban watching her reflection in her visor mirror, sitting on the countertop next to her wink. If I conjure a memory of her doing her makeup, it's almost always her mascara. My grandma, I'd say pearly pink nail polish. She always has a beautiful manicure and gives the best back scratches.

DOES YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER HAVE A PREFERENCE OR ANY OPINIONS? IF SO, DO YOU TAKE THOSE INTO ACCOUNT, OR ARE YOU JUST LIKE, BISH, PLEASE. ??

My poor husband. He makes his preference known about once every three years, but when he does it creates this magnetism that draws me to do the exact opposite. I can't help it! I'm sorry, babe!

LAST ONE. SEPHORA: EXCITING OR TERRIFYING?

Exciting! It reminds me of a movie, maybe you've seen it? "Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino." When I don't know what the hell I'm doing or who on Earth I am, I can find a defining sense of self at Sephora.