I've spent 2,304 hours of my twenties trying to teach myself how to do my makeup.
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This is partly because I just suck at makeup, but also because I'm Korean-American, and I grew up surrounded by exclusively white examples of beauty. WOMP.
And because self-confidence equals success, I'd probably be, like, a gajillionaire by now if I had had better examples of how to do a smoky eye earlier in my life.
TNT
Examples like Lana Condor! Have you seen her?!
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Lana Condor, if you don't know, is an American actress best known for her role in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series.
Here is Lana with a "natural" look. So pretty!
Look at her!! Do Asian teens these days know how good they have it with her around?
Do you even know how heartbreaking it was for me as an Asian girl to try and fail at emulating an Amanda Bynes look circa 2006?!
"I'm going to fill in my eyebrows with a very light color that matches my natural shade," thought no Korean girl in the early 2000s ever.
View this photo on Instagram
Instagram: @undefined
But Lana knew.
Moving on to more dramatic looks. Look at this eyeshadow game.
No, wait, look at THIS eyeshadow game.
I remember it vividly: It was 2000, the year of our lord Lucy Liu, when I first saw an Asian woman who was not a geisha caricature wearing red lipstick. How far we've come.
View this photo on Instagram
Instagram: @undefined
Zero Asian caricatures here.
Literally it took me a decade to realize I have to apply eyeshadow beyond my eyelids for it to show up when I open my eyes, but kids these days can just fire up their Instagrams and peep THIS perfect example.
Can I just take these pictures and time-machine them back to high school me?
Yes, you, Lana!!! You* did that!
*Okay, actually though, she might also have gotten help from Anton Khachaturian, who does her makeup pretty frequently. Anton, you AND Lana are gifts to the Asian American world, and you deserve all the soft, expensive makeup brushes out there.
Now go off and love your bone structure, and your eyelids, and your hair, however it looks in its natural state!
Hulu
If you haven't found a role model yet, just know they're out there somewhere!
