Blind Girl Beauty Tag!

Let’s do this thing! Created by Emily Davison and Molly Burke!! genius, love it, and thought it would be fun to do!

1.What is the hardest makeup product to apply as a person who is blind or visually impaired?

A- I think for me the hardest thing is eyeliner, I can do pencil I can do gel but liquid liner, can I just say eeeek! I’d love to be one of those people who can do a sexy feline flick but for me the ten times previously I’ve tried this its ended up looking like a 5 year old has come and drawn on my eyes :p I’m not sure how I would be with full sight because my hands are super shaky which doesn’t help. Another thing I find hard even if I’m lining with a gel pen or pencil is when I go to apply on my right eye, my left eye is really lazy so it’s extremely hard to see what the hell im doing.

2. What is your #1 tip for shopping with vision loss?

A. My tip would be to just take your time and just have fun ladies! There’s no point going into a store feeling like you have to rush, feeling overwhelmed with everything and putting yourself off. Just go with a friend you trust and who also likes make up, just take one thing at a time; maybe even go on multiple trips if you don’t want to find a whole outfit in one day and in one shopping place.
Makeup wise. I really wouldn’t recommend asking ladies at the counters because we all know they’re just there to sell and you want to buy things you NEED and feel comfortable with, sometimes you’ll be unlucky enough to find a girl there who really doesn’t care what she recommends you or puts on your face, and if you can’t see the finished look you won’t be able to tell whether the products work for you or not I’m really not saying all makeup counters are like that because there are some really talented people out there who know their thing!
I also would recommend researching, if you know roughly what you want or maybe you don’t, just look at products online, research the brands and their history, they’re reputation, that way before your there you won’t be too overwhelmed with everything.

3. What is one beauty item you stay away from due to vision loss?

A. Hmmm I wouldnt say I stay away from a product due to vision-I mean if a product doesn’t work or If the ingredients are no good for your skin then there’s a few I could name and shame but on the subject of vision I don’t really have any answer. I guess I could say liquid eyeliner-the answer to my first question. But just because I haven’t mastered it yet it doesn’t mean I would stay away from it!……practice practice practice 🙂

4. What tips would you give to a young girl struggling with vision loss who wants to get into makeup?

A. Skincare all the way prople! Before even getting on the make up wagon I would say to take a look at your skin, are you happy with it? If not, or even if you are, starting with a good skincare regime helps create the perfect canvas for the make up.nA good cleanser exfoliatir and moisturizer- I wouldn’t worry about buying a boat load of different products but just the simple stuff that will still help to make a big difference and in the long run make you feel happier in yourself, before turning to cosmetics for the wrong reasons. A second tip; less is definitely more! If your a teen or younger your skin is still developing, it’s glowing with youth and I would say if you really want to try make up before you even need it to cover up anything, Don’t go all in with a heavy high coverage foundation that’s not going to let your skin breathe- this might dry your skin out or sometimes even be the reason your skin erupts in break outs! So my suggestions- something light like a BB cream or powder (a good one)

5. How did you learn how to apply makeup as someone who is blind or visually impaired?

A. Little secret….ok not really but up until around 17 I HATED makeup it didn’t phase me one bit! My mother always used to put makeup on me if we were going out and I just hated the way it felt, until one day she took me into the body shop and a lady there did me a make over, long story short, it was horrific! Try orange face and shocking pink lips l! Anyways after visiting my grandmother she saw my face and was like “take it off now” haha she fixed me up with some quality make up she had and took me down town showing me a good skincare selection and the RIGHT way to wear makeup-and I just started loving learning my makeup style and I think the key to it was I was ready to learn rather than just have my mum nag me and tell me I should start wearing makeup (well she definitely regrets that now!) but -suddenly there was this whole new world of colour and imagination-I’ve got to say it wasn’t easy to start with I didn’t have much confidence and so kept refusing to try putting on things like mascara because I didn’t think in a million years id be able to apply it. But here I am!!!

6. What is one thing you think every girl should be able to do without looking?

A. Everything!!!’ Ok I won’t cheat Bit of lipstick! I was going to say foundation but it’s just nice to add a pop of colour to your face and it’s just fun to chop and change the colours from day to night-adding a gloss and to coordinate with whatever your wearing ior what looks good in that particular season.

7.Do you think not being able to see yourself affects your self confidence?

A. I wish I could say no but I’m afraid I can get quite insecure when I leave the house because there may be that one tiny mistake I didn’t spot that can throw my whole look off and thinking about that just freaks me out whatever magnification levels a mirror might have!
Also,just not knowing how much detail people with normal eyeballs can see and whether my look is any good at all; this bothers me. But I’m slowly becoming more confident I haven’t had anyone scream and runaway so far :p

8. Name one thing you need help with when it comes to makeup or fashion.

A. I can happily say nothing, but if it’s anything I always ask what my overall look is like and if my face looks ok-but I think that’s something every girl does! Fashion wise; I’m quite boring I tend to play it safe, if I’m allowed to say; I think my fashion is fairly timeless and generally all of my clothes will just go with everything.

9. What is a blind girl beauty or fashion essential?

A. For me it’s a compact mirror with at least 5x magnification! I just like to slip in my bag incaseI have a disaster during the day that I might not other wise detect etc bleeding lipstick or smudged eyeliner. But that’s not great if your blind so my other option would be make up wipes! There’s something about carrying wipes in my handbag that make me feel secure aha! Weird but yet very practical! You just never know what you might need them for!

10. What is the best part about applying makeup as person with vision loss?

A. Just knowing I can do it! Throughout my life there have been challenges like everyone else, but when I found makeup I was learning more every time and picking up my own personal quirks and techniques in order to help me do everything a sighted person would do.

11. Have you ever experienced any major fashion or makeup disasters in the past that are due to having vision loss?

A. Fashion disaster-probably the one and only disaster would be wearing a top a second time and then realizing when I got home after closely looking that there wash grease spots or stains from the other nights takeaway! Sooooo embarrassing! Makeup for me was, again, my first time at the body shop being sold an orange foundation, and I’m not joking it was ORANGE, if you’ve ever seen Charlie and the chocolate factory I’m sure you’ll know what I mean!

12. Do you ever have people commenting that you ‘don’t look blind/visually impaired.’?

A. I have had that yup! Especially in car parks people just give dirty looks to me and whoever is driving-trying to process in their small brains why we’re in the disabled bay.

13. Do you use any pieces of assistive technology or apps to help you when putting outfits together or doing your makeup?

A. No I haven’t, I’ve never found I’ve needed help…….so far!
I’ve really enjoyed this tag it’s been so much fun to look back and answer these questions I really hope if your reading that you’ve enjoyed-I’ll be exited to see others!