Academy 8 - Dollification 9 - Practice, practice, practice!

Practice

How do you get better at applying makeup?

Practice

I hope you’re getting the message! Once you start, at first you’ll be amazed and pleased at how much of a change it has on your appearance.

Then you’ll start to realise how bad of a job you’re doing (especially if you start to compare yourself against pictures on the internet).

Then if you stick with it, you’ll start to get better and better, you’ll find the right amount of eyeshadow to apply and how to blend and things will start to fall into place.

I can’t promise you’ll look like a supermodel but you’ll be shocked at how femme you can appear when you put your face on and catch sight of yourself in the mirror.

Practice

I think you’ve got the message now, so I won’t use it as a heading again! Set aside some time each week to work on your makeup. If you can do it everyday, then wonderful but don’t do it more than once a day.

Applying and removing makeup on your face takes a toll, this is why you moisturise after you remove it, but the skin around your eyes is particularly sensitive and you don’t want to be applying and removing makeup around your eyes more than once a day and if you start to notice any other issues arising from it, then slow down and do it less frequently.

Don’t be tempted to leave your makeup on overnight either. When you wake up, your bedding will be a mess and your skin won’t thank you for it.

As you’re practicing, take pictures. Take them at the start and then after each product you apply. This will help you see what effect they are having and let you spot things where it doesn’t quite look right and detect areas you might need to work on.

The pictures also let you see your progress. Are you any better at applying makeup after a month of practice? If you’ve been taking pictures, you’ll be able to look back and see proof (and if you’re feeling down about a lack of progress, having proof to the contrary is always good).

Your technique will improve rapidly, using sponges and brushes may seem hard at first, especially around your eyes, but you’ll adapt to the mechanical side of things rapidly and from then on, it’s all about the art of making yourself up.

Once you have the basics down, you can start to delve into more advanced areas. In the lecture on eye makeup I mentioned a few areas to work on.

Remember the bimbo transformation video I shared in the first lecture? Go back and watch it and see if it feels more achievable now.

Transformation videos or pictures are wonderful sources of inspiration and now you have an idea of the techniques you can start to plan and work on your dreams.

Do you want to be a Disney Princess? A Bratz doll? A super slutty bimbo? An ultra-glam girlie girl? Keep working and the only limits are your imagination.

A huge part of the reason my job at the Academy is so incredibly rewarding is what I like to think of as “the moment”. When I’m working on a student for the first time and they are finally allowed to see the finished results in the mirror.

Gasps, tears and stunned silence are all common reactions, a lot of students just stare and wonder who is looking back at them from the mirror.

After a few minutes of letting them come to terms with it, I sit with them and explain that this is something they can do on their own. It’s not magic, it’s practice. The girl they see looking back at them isn’t my creation, she’s theirs and they can learn to bring her back and this helps to motivate them in the future.

I know we’re all gal pals here and that’s why I feel comfortable sharing this, I despise exercising. I’m not a small girl and I’m not very coordinated, I hate getting sweaty and waking up the next day and aching from my efforts and I’m so jealous of sporty girls, who it all seems to come so much easier too.

However, I still do it. Maybe not as often as I should, but I know the benefits of exercising and I know that it’s more than worth the effort I put into it and when I talk with the sportier girls, they feel the same way about my skills.

Some of them are good at makeup and some of them can barely hold a brush, but they know that it’s something they want to benefit from so it’s something they learn and practice and work at and they get better (and I am better at exercising then I was but *ugh* I still hate running).

Hopefully, you’re raring to go and eager to get to work. First up, you should think about your schedule and where and how you can fit your practice in. It’s easy when girls are on campus because this can be their sole focus, but for those of you in the “real” world, you have lives and responsibilities and other demands on your time.

You’ve made it this far in the course, so by now you should be adept at carving out some girl time for yourself so get to it!