An Introduction

     Hi!  My name is Jessica, and I'm a 23 year old beauty enthusiast.  Everything I've learned about beauty and make-up I've learned from personal experience, experimentation, and Youtube.  I haven't always been as into make-up as I am now, but it all started about two years ago.
     Before college, the only make-up I usually wore was mascara and eyeliner, but never together (I thought it looked like "too much" when I wore them both at the same time).  I was terrified of make-up and was always afraid that I was doing it wrong, or it didn't look right, or too much would make me look like a drag queen, I just wasn't sure what to use and how to use it.  At about my sophmore year in college I started experimenting with colored eyeliner (by itself, or course).  I slowly started wearing mascara and eyeliner together, even colored eyeliner (gasp!), and eventually even bought some mineral foundation, which also took me awhile to get used to.  When I did branch out into eyeshadow, I would only buy the palest, most neutral colors because I had no idea how to apply it and was always afraid that it looked crazy on me.  
     The second half of my junior and my entire senior year in college, I just completely stopped caring about what looked good and what didn't, and I just did my make-up how I wanted to do it, regardless of whether or not I was doing it "right".  I was fearless when it came to eyeshadow colors and application; I wore purple, green, teal, dark blue, dark blue with gold flecks, cranberry, pink, white, whatever I felt like slapping on my face that day, that's what I wore.  I didn't care what other people thought, and I'll admit, sometimes it didn't even look good, but I wore it because I liked it.  This was also when I started trying different lipsticks; dark, light, sheer, pink, red, mauve, didn't matter, I would wear it because I wanted to.  I look back now and miss my audacious attitude towards make-up.  
     After viewing countless Youtube make-up tutorials and flipping through beauty books and magazines, I have more of an idea of what looks good on me and I feel like I've tamed my look a lot, for the better.  My job as a flight attendant is restrictive in terms of acceptable colors (mostly neutrals), but in my downtime I still like to go off and wear colorful eyeshadows and bold eyeliner, now applied in a more tasteful manner.  I think of my make-up as a form of self-expression, and trying new products and new techniques and sharing them with others is something I really enjoy.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do. 
     I named my blog Shine Bright because make-up is a great beauty enhancer, but it's useless if you don't shine by yourself.  
     "As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others."--Marianne Williamson.  

Shine bright.