True Life: I am 34 Years Old and Finally Learned How To Do My Own Makeup

A few months ago I was scrolling through Instagram stories and an influencer I follow mentioned she was getting a one-on-one makeup lesson. I was totally intrigued. You guys know I have hair on lock. I can do my own, I can do bridal, I can do cornrows, boho and everything in between. But makeup? I can barely apply my own mascara.

I’ve tried learning how to do makeup on my own. After all, you can’t browse YouTube or TikTok without getting promoted a tutorial. But I don’t even know where to start. And let me tell you, makeup is EXPENSIVE! I can’t afford to buy a million products and try them out to see if they work. That is the approach I took with hair products – don’t ask me how many texture hairsprays I have. I have 5 curling wands. Anyway, I didn’t want to do that with makeup, and I really needed personalized attention. Unfortunately, the influencer I followed who got the lesson was in Los Angeles, which meant I needed to find myself a NYC-based makeup artist.

Three weeks ago, the makeup-gods shined upon me when a friend of a friend of mine actually won an Instagram contest from a makeup artist right here in NYC, Lucas Dean a.k.a. @makeupbylucas. I checked out his Instagram and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for: natural but chic. His IG bio says, “Serving that ‘you but better’ vibe.” Ummm YES. Naturally I checked out his website, but it didn’t mention lessons, so I slid into his DM’s like a creep. I explained my predicament, namely that I cannot do normal girl things like apply foundation, and he wrote back almost immediately. Definitely my kind of guy.

We discussed pricing and also what I was looking for: step-by-step instructions, an understanding of products in general, and how to elevate a look for night but keep it super natural. He mentioned that rosé goes very well with makeup lessons (I knew this was my guy) and I sent him a deposit via Venmo.

With my 4 weddings I have coming up in the next 4 months, I knew I needed to schedule this ASAP so I had time to practice. Thankfully, Lucas had a spot open the very next week between his many destination weddings (he has 40 weddings this year!!).

He arrived on time and with his entire kit in tow. He also had a rainbow rhinestone mask, extra points. He asked if I wanted him to keep his mask on, more extra points, but with the Covid rates so low in NYC, I felt it was important for me to see his full face so he could demonstrate on himself where to put different products. I explained that not only am I a huge sweater, but I was extremely nervous about full face makeup because my own wedding is on the beach in Mexico in May – I was scared to sweat it all off. He showed me an amazing photo of makeup he did for himself and told me he took a video of himself literally stepping in the shower in it, and none of it dripping off. That certainly helped allay my fear. I poured us some rosé and we got started.

We decided that although it would take longer (he charges by the hour), I preferred him to do a demo step by step where he did one side of my face, and then I attempted to do the same thing on the other side of my face while he coached me. We went step by step, me watching him do one side in a hand mirror (and also feeling it) and then him walking me through. Skincare, primer, eyeshadow, face (foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, blush, highlighter), eyeliner and mascara, lipliner and gloss, set. That sounds like a lot of product, right?? I was scared, too. But I looked in the mirror and BAM. It looked AMAZING. He said he couldn’t even tell which side he did and I did! I think he was just being nice, but it really looked awesome.

As soon as he left (after we took a selfie), I took many selfies of myself. My makeup looked SO good!! It was perfect timing because I had a final meeting with my professor for a course I was taking, and I got to stare at myself on zoom for 40 minutes. Hopefully she couldn’t tell I was looking at myself, not her. I think the makeup looked incredibly natural. Chris hates me with any makeup on, but I did this for ME, right?

After my meeting, I opened a draft email to myself and tried to remember all of the steps and write them out in my own words. I understood what he said, and I think muscle memory will kick in eventually, but for now it’s good to have a cheat sheet. I went to Sephora and stocked up on all of the products he mentioned. I had been taking photos of them the entire time, and I had to go get the basics – I didn’t even own any brushes! Yikes. For someone with 20 different hair sprays, I was really lacking in the makeup department. While at Sephora, I DMed Lucas because the photos I took of two of the face products didn’t have the color on them. He wrote me back right away, and thankfully, somehow, he remembered which shades he had used on me, so I knew what to buy.

If you’ve read this far, I know you want to know the cost. He charges $200/hour for makeup lessons, and we went two hours. We probably could have finished in one hour if he had just done my makeup, but I really wanted a step-by-step tutorial and to try it myself. Was it worth $400? In my opinion, YES. But was it a splurge? Also YES. I never could have learned this without help. I see it as an investment! I’m hoping I now will know how to do my own makeup literally forever. I obviously need some practice, but I look forward to learning new tricks now that I have a base knowledge. Notice, I haven’t mentioned the price of the actual makeup. I spent about $250 on makeup after Lucas left, and that didn’t include eyeshadow, mascara, powder, bronzer or blush, which I already had. But brushes alone cost $50, and I needed to buy primers, concealer, foundation, eyeliner, setting spray, lip liner, and a natural lip gloss.

I’m super excited to practice this new skill, and between being able to do my own makeup AND hair, I am ready for my marathon of weddings coming up, starting with my brother’s, this weekend!!