Beauty Able | Makeup Tips for People With a Movement Disorder

The world is changing and I firmly believe that the future will be less ableist. I know, I know. This could just be blind optimism. With the development of cosmetics brand Guide Beauty, however, my faith in people has been restored. Guide Beauty was founded by celebrity makeup artist and beauty educator Terri Bryant who later in her career developed Parkinson’s. She was joined by Selma Blair who heads the brand with her as its Chief Creative Officer. It’s their easy to grip wands that first grabbed my attention. If someone can make applying eyeliner easy for me, I’ll nominate them for sainthood.

 

Right now I’m saving up for some brushes made by these geniuses, but let me tell you what I’ve been doing in the meantime. If these tips and tricks help you, be sure and give me a shout!

 

Eyeshadow

I have so much trouble with holding onto a proper brush that I’ve decided to eschew brushes altogether. How does the eyeshadow get from the pan to my lid, then, you ask? I do what everyone does when they’re without a brush – I use my fingertips. I use my right hand, which is my steadiest hand, to apply the shadows to the lid, crease, inner corner and wherever else I want it to go, and on bad days I also use my left hand to steady my right hand.

 

Blush

In general, I opt for gel, cream, or liquid blush so I can put a small amount on the apple of my cheek and blend softly upward towards my temple. I like statement blush so sometimes I use more than one layer. For powder blush I use a chubby kabuki brush to apply it to the same areas. They’re fairly easy to hold and operate.

 

Brows

Oof. These are the bane of my existence. I’m going to disappoint everyone here and say that I can’t seem to do them the way makeup artists do and fluffy brows never look right on me. It’s a good thing thinner, defined brows are coming in right? This won’t get you the scary, drawn-on lines of the 90’s but instead a natural, darkened brow look. Take your pencil in your steadiest hand. Draw two or three lines side-by-side in the shape you want your brows to follow through the center of your brow. Use a brow brush to fluff your brows and blend out the line until it becomes fuzzy and looks like an actual eyebrow! Tada!

 

Lips

Part A – Lipstick

Line my lips??? Are you *&^%ing crazy? Do you know the kind of precision that takes? My tremors really are just bad enough so if I try to line my lips I wind up with a misshapen mouth, so when I wear lipstick I just stick to the lipstick. This is a really weird method, I think, but it’s important. Because my head shakes less than my hands, what I do is hold the lippie in question in both hands pointed towards me and prop my elbows up on a surface near a mirror. Instead of applying the lipstick to my lips, I apply my lips to the lipstick, moving my head around as needed to get the color on evenly. This is because so many of my lipsticks can stain the skin around the mouth.

 

Part B – Lipgloss 

Glosses are a different story. When they are sheer and not highly pigmented, I will apply them to my lips holding the wand or tube in both hands. When it’s highly pigmented and looks like it could give me a red mustache? I use the same method I use as with the lipstick.

 

Mascara

Talk about playing with fire. First, make sure you have a wipe or a pad and some micellar water handy. Next, take your mascara wand in both hands and very slowly coat your upper lashes. I only do my upper lashes, but I suspect you could repeat the process with your lower lashes. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you mess up. Just clean it up and start over. Mascara is a dangerous game, kids. There’s no good advice for telling you when to put your contacts in because if you put them in before, you could get makeup in your eye. If you put them in after, you could screw up the mascara. No matter what, though, this is how I put on my mascara.

Remember, makeup isn't permanent. No matter what kind of fix you find yourself in, you can always wash it off or cover it up. There's no pressure. This is just a fun way to express yourself, put your best face forward and feel good about the image you're projecting to the world.