Roundup: Bold Drugstore Makeup

Bold Drugstore Makeup | A Practical Wedding

The wedding industry places a ton of emphasis on the visual details of your wedding. And in the past few years, the industry has even made some space for bolder choices there. Neon became a thing last year, gold centerpieces were all over the place, and I left no fewer than five weddings covered in glitter (which is obviously the best way to leave any party). This is great if you are the kind of person who likes to express themselves with decor. But if you’re not? If you’re, say, the kind of person who likes to use your body as a canvas and experiment with clothing and weird hair and makeup, the wedding industry has squat for you. I blame it on AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com and the Eighties (which most people who aren’t me regard as a decade full of fashion tragedy) for making “timeless” the primary objective for wedding style these days (and you know our feelings about that).

Plus there’s the pervasive messaging that you should look “pretty” on your wedding day, which usually means “safe” (and pink). But as I root deeper into my marriage, and subsequently into the core of who I am, the more I embrace a fuck it attitude and the more I think pretty can kiss my ass. When it came time for my wedding, I listened to all of the messaging about timelessness and vanilla-ed the hell out of myself. I grew my awesome faux hawk out, and wore natural makeup, and delicate earrings and looked very nice and very tasteful. But if I had it to do all over again? I’d lean hard into color, wear bright lipstick, big ass earrings and whatever crazy hair I had at the time (which is bleach blonde at the moment, and was lavender five seconds ago).

During Feminism month last year, Meg wrote about choosing your feminist battles. If I had to pick one, it would be to give women the space to stop having to answer to “pretty” and replace it with some other word that comes from inside, like: Badass. Or brave. Or exciting. Or expressive. That doesn’t mean you can’t wear any makeup or heels or dresses (though it’s fine if that’s the direction your feminism takes you in). Or that you can’t embrace timelessness if that feels authentic to who you are. But rather, that the impetus for how we express ourselves should come from a primal space within, without fear of how the general public might receive it. In short, it’s about embracing a little ugly… even on your wedding day.

With that in mind, today I’ve rounded up some of my favorite (affordable) bold makeup choices. Lipstick is obviously not exactly an obvious feminist statement, but for me, experimenting within the parameters of a safe space like makeup, and playing around with things that aren’t conventionally pretty, gives me the courage to make bolder feminist choices in other arenas. Plus, in the conversation about weddings, I’m consistently amazed at the response from people when you start challenging the constructs of bridal beauty. So here’s my middle finger to timelessness, tastefulness and prettiness—in shades of orange and purple and hot pink.

*Note: for many of you, challenging the constructs of bridal beauty might mean no makeup at all. Cheers to that. For me? It means shiny orange lip lacquer.

Bold Drugstore Makeup | A Practical Wedding

ONE I am very picky about what goes on my lips (they’re really dry and always chapped, so for the longest time I swore off lipstick altogether). But these super bright lipsticks changed my tune this month. The colors are really pigmented, the texture of the lipstick is awesome and it wears really nicely for a long time before fading to a pretty stain. My favorite color is Hot Plum (if you’re looking to fulfill any ’90s fuchsia lipstick fantasies, this is the one for you too). Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids lipsticks ($5–$10)

Two Remember our favorite retro cat eye tutorial from last year? Well how about doing it for ten bucks? (Bonus: You can also buy this eyeliner in purple.) Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner ($10–$12)

Three It’s really hard to find sheer lipstick that doesn’t wear off in thirty seconds. But these sheer lipsticks are an awesome combination of saturated color (in really cool shades), with lip gloss shininess, but without any of the stickiness that comes with it (because, gross). For bold colors, I recommend Fiery Veil, Blushing Sequin, and Cardinal Plume. All of which currently reside in my purse. L’Oreal Colour Caresse by Colour Riche lipsticks ($5–$10)

FOUR Okay, so maybe you’re not ready to experiment with your face. But you still want… something a little out there. APW writing intern and resident beauty expert Rachel swears that these press-on nails last forever (well, about a week, which is forever if you ever tried to wear Lee press-on nails as a teenager). Also, they make a leopard print French manicure. Is all I’m saying. Broadway Nails Impress Press-On Manicure ($5–$10)

FIVE This is a bit of a cheat, because it’s from Amazon and not the drugstore (but really, isn’t Amazon basically the drugstore of the internet?). Before I dyed my hair purple, I loved playing around with these hair chalks. You just rub them over dry hair and ta-da! Instant color. They come out with water, so you can mess around with a bunch of different looks without having to make any kind of commitment. And while a little on the expensive side, one package will last forever. Kevin Murphy Color Bug ($22) (Side note: there is now a gold color bug, which sounds super super awesome, right? Word on the street—from Meg’s awesome stylist—is: they suck. Just an FYI.)

A Wedding For Ourselves

Nina, Homemaker & Vic, mechanic

After my husband and I met, he knew immediately I was the woman he was going to marry; over the course of some months I came to realize he was the man for me.

Vic was nineteen and I was twenty-two when we met; by the time of our wedding he was twenty-two and I was twenty-five. In the nearly two years of our relationship, my overbearing family threatened the health of our relationship, saying we were too young, wouldn’t be able to support ourselves, and would be ruining our lives. (His family on the other hand was completely supportive, encouraging us every chance they got.)

We had talked about marriage and at the beginning of the year agreed we would be married eventually. In early July he proposed (for a second time) and we started making our engagement known to our family and friends, informing them we would be wed in the autumn. Needless to say, there were mixed reactions. Some wondered what took us so long to get to that point; others wondered what was making us rush into such a big decision. Repeatedly I had to reassure people, sometimes jokingly, sometimes with utmost seriousness, that I was not pregnant (both of us being virgins by choice), that we were just ready to take this step, huge though it was.

I had come to the realization I loved him, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved me, and imagined we would marry one day. Even though I had never before thought about marriage or weddings, now I daydreamed about what our wedding would be like: what everyone would wear, what my dress would look like, what my handsome man would look like when he first saw me that day, and how we might feel. What kind of wedding would it be? Big and formal with a dinner reception and dancing to follow? Small and intimate with a dessert reception? An elopement?

Then family got involved; things got complicated, messy, and stressful fast. Suddenly the idea of an elopement seemed so perfect to both of us that we abandoned our plans and jumped on the opportunity to have a simple and easygoing wedding day. But nothing is ever that simple or easy. His family, who had originally been so supportive, was now our biggest source of heartache, whereas my family suddenly became very understanding. Cue insomnia, nightmares, hair loss, and weight gain for the bride who already suffered from depression and anxiety and unimaginable stress. And cue anguish for the groom as he tried not to alienate his wife-to-be or his family. We even lost friends through our choices.

It hurts and it’s hard when people can’t see the bigger picture and there are emotional and relationship casualties as a result. Weddings really can bring out the worst, ugliest sides of people. Yet there are some who really give you love and support to an extent that surprises you and endears them to you even more.

So Vic and I had a long difficult talk, and a couple more later on, through more than a few tears. We concluded that we’d have a small, intimate wedding. We would choose where and when, who would be there, and how things would take place. Yes, weddings are supposed to be about the people getting married, while at the same time being for the loved ones of the couple, but we learned a painful lesson and were acting on our hard-earned knowledge. We had tried so hard to make plans that would please everyone, but they still resulted in dissatisfaction. Our wedding had to be just that—ours.

In the end, we decided we wanted our families involved in the day, but we knew should any sort of planning or opinions be involved on their parts, chaos would ensue. So instead we kept everything as simple as possible and only asked that they arrive on time.

The morning of September 7th arrived, chilly and overcast. The previous week had been filled with rain and gusting winds. With my officiating brother (who had flown from New York to Alaska just a few days before), I got ready in my apartment, wondering if Vic had remembered to set his alarm and trying to decide whether or not I wanted it to rain. I was strangely calm, ready to start the life I’d dreamed of and strived for with the man who was my other half.

After preparing and attending to a few finishing touches, we all met on time. With our family gathered at the designated trail, Vic and I wound our way to them, hand in hand, and proceeded to promise our lives to each other before family, friends, and God. Afterwards, smiles, hugs, and photographs were plentiful. Then we parted ways from our families, now a new family of our own, and headed off to our honeymoon with our hearts and minds full of love and hope for our new life.

As we drove off, the images and emotions of that morning flooded my mind—when he first saw me, our last kiss before we were joined in holy matrimony, when he offered me his hand to walk down that woodland aisle, when he looked into my soul as we promised ourselves one to the other, when we kissed for the first time as husband and wife… The world around us ceased to be and all that existed was just the two of us, all that mattered was this moment. It was wonderful.

Life hasn’t been a cakewalk since our wedding day. We’ve still had family issues, complications resulting from health problems, some financial worries, and just the daily wear and tear of life, but I can tell you this: all of the stress and trouble, heartache and sleepless nights become just a shadow of a memory in the light of love and the things it enables us to endure and conquer.