MY ROAD TO MAKEUP, CLOTHING, AND COSTUMES
Hi, I'm Alexandra, and this is my blog.
My interest in makeup started at age four when my mother became a consultant for the famous Mary Kay cosmetics line. Most of the time I got to tag along as she went to different client's houses, which frequently was quite boring, especially when I could be at home playing dress up or watching cartoons. However, it wasn't always boring, in fact, I still vividly remember that one morning, where for the first time, I was handed a bottle of sweet smelling scrub and asked if I would like to squeeze a blob into the woman's hand. My eyes went round and wide as the smooth, soft, pinky-purple tube of scrub was placed in my little four-year-old hand. I stood on my knees upon the dining room chair and stretched my little girl arm out as far as I could to accomplish my given task.
Occasionally my mother would give me the old little testers of lipsticks and eyeshadow to play with, which provided me with hours of endless fun, only adding to my games of dress up. I also remember on very rare occasions she would give me a product out of her monstrous MK roller bag that held seemingly endless boxes of cosmetics and sample swatches. I still remember her giving me a tube of clear lip gloss, nothing fancy, but at seven years old it felt like I was finally being seen for the adult that I was! (To my seven-year-old brain, of course.) Later, I was given a pink gloss which had a sweet perfume on the opposite end of the pot, along with a hot pink, round box filled with shimmery glitter powder and a massive, puffy pink powder puff! I adored that thing.
Eventually, my mom left MK and told herself she had no interest in working as a consultant for cosmetics companies, what so ever. She decided it wasn't for her. Of course my interests drifted away from makeup, but part of me was still fascinated by it. Not long after, Mother joined Sansaria (Murphy's law?), a skin care company which is sadly, no longer in existence. Anyway, that ignited a spark in me that pushed me into spa and skin care, along with bringing back my interest in makeup. I often times would pretend I had a spa company named Pamper and Relax. From my imaginary business, I would "sell" nail varnishes, lotions, what few play cosmetics I had, and I also would give massages. I was told I was quite good at it, and my intention was to one day own a real Pamper and Relax. I had it all planned out, I'd go to beauty school and then start my phantom spa and beauty company! Perfect, right?
I eventually got into sewing, something my aunt and my mom both did off and on, and from there, became passionate about designing clothes. I made a few of my own clothes, but the world of costuming fascinated me. I was obsessed with The Chronicles of Narnia and wanted that lovely emerald green dress Susan wears in the first movie. I saved up and bought a few meters of emerald green cotton and dedicated myself to that dress. Half of it was made by hand, the zipper stuck out at the bottom, but I loved it so much. I still have that dress that barely fits to this day. Later I made a dress inspired by the one Lucy wears in Prince Caspian. I also have that dress, though it doesn't really fit and it's been worn to shreds. That was the door to the world of costuming for me, and I've been costuming ever since. I've made armor out of foam and latex, I've made medieval dresses like you wouldn't believe, I've made superhero costumes, I've made supervillain costumes, and I'm that girl my friends talk to if they need a costume because they know if I don't have it, I know where they can get it or I can make it in a jiffy. However, my sewing skills aren't primarily based in costume sewing. Not only do I sew my own costumes, but being into retro bombshell clothing I make the majority of my retro 50's clothing.
Anyone who's in love with 50's fashion will tell you finding real vintage isn't always easy, and vintage replica can be pretty pricey. Besides that, trying to find the perfect vintage dress that is affordable and fits without shape-wear is about as likely as flying pigs unless you happen to be a barbie doll. News flash: most women aren't barbie dolls. Sewing has opened up so many doors for me and being a bombshell is 100% easier because of it. I was inspired by Gretchen Hirsch and I've pretty much never looked back since I saw her first Sew Retro class.
Up until more recently, my plan was to work towards fashion design. I even knew which college I wanted to attend, until one day, coming towards Halloween (that fun day where you get to dress up and demand candy from complete strangers with the classic phrase "trick or treat!") I decided to go as the Batman villain, Poison Ivy. (Yes, I still dress up for Halloween). I wanted ideas for how to do her makeup, since I'm a perfectionist, and if I'm going to have a costume, I want everything from the hair to the makeup, to the clothes, done to a T. With that revolutionary site for people like me who just can't read instructions, Youtube, I found tutorials on how to do Poison Ivy, her wacky friend Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Batgirl, and several other characters from various things. The more tutorials I watched, the more my old fascination with makeup came back to life. I found a few channels that I now follow and learn a lot from, and that's when I started playing, only now I had real makeup to mess around with. I slowly got better and better and more creative. Before I knew it, I was doing professional level makeup. This totally blew my previous plans of designing out of the water, and I started kicking around the idea of venturing into professional makeup artistry.
Now, here I am a few years later ready for beauty school and on a new journey to becoming an esthetician. I can't wait to see where life goes, and I'm excited to share my passions with all of you, my (I hope) soon to be dedicated readers.
I'm Alexandra Missretro and I'm glad to meet you!
My interest in makeup started at age four when my mother became a consultant for the famous Mary Kay cosmetics line. Most of the time I got to tag along as she went to different client's houses, which frequently was quite boring, especially when I could be at home playing dress up or watching cartoons. However, it wasn't always boring, in fact, I still vividly remember that one morning, where for the first time, I was handed a bottle of sweet smelling scrub and asked if I would like to squeeze a blob into the woman's hand. My eyes went round and wide as the smooth, soft, pinky-purple tube of scrub was placed in my little four-year-old hand. I stood on my knees upon the dining room chair and stretched my little girl arm out as far as I could to accomplish my given task.
Occasionally my mother would give me the old little testers of lipsticks and eyeshadow to play with, which provided me with hours of endless fun, only adding to my games of dress up. I also remember on very rare occasions she would give me a product out of her monstrous MK roller bag that held seemingly endless boxes of cosmetics and sample swatches. I still remember her giving me a tube of clear lip gloss, nothing fancy, but at seven years old it felt like I was finally being seen for the adult that I was! (To my seven-year-old brain, of course.) Later, I was given a pink gloss which had a sweet perfume on the opposite end of the pot, along with a hot pink, round box filled with shimmery glitter powder and a massive, puffy pink powder puff! I adored that thing.
Eventually, my mom left MK and told herself she had no interest in working as a consultant for cosmetics companies, what so ever. She decided it wasn't for her. Of course my interests drifted away from makeup, but part of me was still fascinated by it. Not long after, Mother joined Sansaria (Murphy's law?), a skin care company which is sadly, no longer in existence. Anyway, that ignited a spark in me that pushed me into spa and skin care, along with bringing back my interest in makeup. I often times would pretend I had a spa company named Pamper and Relax. From my imaginary business, I would "sell" nail varnishes, lotions, what few play cosmetics I had, and I also would give massages. I was told I was quite good at it, and my intention was to one day own a real Pamper and Relax. I had it all planned out, I'd go to beauty school and then start my phantom spa and beauty company! Perfect, right?
I eventually got into sewing, something my aunt and my mom both did off and on, and from there, became passionate about designing clothes. I made a few of my own clothes, but the world of costuming fascinated me. I was obsessed with The Chronicles of Narnia and wanted that lovely emerald green dress Susan wears in the first movie. I saved up and bought a few meters of emerald green cotton and dedicated myself to that dress. Half of it was made by hand, the zipper stuck out at the bottom, but I loved it so much. I still have that dress that barely fits to this day. Later I made a dress inspired by the one Lucy wears in Prince Caspian. I also have that dress, though it doesn't really fit and it's been worn to shreds. That was the door to the world of costuming for me, and I've been costuming ever since. I've made armor out of foam and latex, I've made medieval dresses like you wouldn't believe, I've made superhero costumes, I've made supervillain costumes, and I'm that girl my friends talk to if they need a costume because they know if I don't have it, I know where they can get it or I can make it in a jiffy. However, my sewing skills aren't primarily based in costume sewing. Not only do I sew my own costumes, but being into retro bombshell clothing I make the majority of my retro 50's clothing.
Anyone who's in love with 50's fashion will tell you finding real vintage isn't always easy, and vintage replica can be pretty pricey. Besides that, trying to find the perfect vintage dress that is affordable and fits without shape-wear is about as likely as flying pigs unless you happen to be a barbie doll. News flash: most women aren't barbie dolls. Sewing has opened up so many doors for me and being a bombshell is 100% easier because of it. I was inspired by Gretchen Hirsch and I've pretty much never looked back since I saw her first Sew Retro class.
Up until more recently, my plan was to work towards fashion design. I even knew which college I wanted to attend, until one day, coming towards Halloween (that fun day where you get to dress up and demand candy from complete strangers with the classic phrase "trick or treat!") I decided to go as the Batman villain, Poison Ivy. (Yes, I still dress up for Halloween). I wanted ideas for how to do her makeup, since I'm a perfectionist, and if I'm going to have a costume, I want everything from the hair to the makeup, to the clothes, done to a T. With that revolutionary site for people like me who just can't read instructions, Youtube, I found tutorials on how to do Poison Ivy, her wacky friend Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Batgirl, and several other characters from various things. The more tutorials I watched, the more my old fascination with makeup came back to life. I found a few channels that I now follow and learn a lot from, and that's when I started playing, only now I had real makeup to mess around with. I slowly got better and better and more creative. Before I knew it, I was doing professional level makeup. This totally blew my previous plans of designing out of the water, and I started kicking around the idea of venturing into professional makeup artistry.
Now, here I am a few years later ready for beauty school and on a new journey to becoming an esthetician. I can't wait to see where life goes, and I'm excited to share my passions with all of you, my (I hope) soon to be dedicated readers.
I'm Alexandra Missretro and I'm glad to meet you!