Pan stick and products of yore: Do you remember your first foundation?

When I was growing up and started to play with makeup, things were a whole lot different. Firstly, there was no such thing as You-Tube, Facebook or Instagram. Secondly, magazines were few and far between and we had no trend based television shows like Xposé or the likes.

When you were a young teenager in Ireland in the 90s, you could hardly afford an Alanis Morissette CD, let alone an expensive foundation so a trip to Brown Thomas was out of the question.

Makeup courses only became a thing in recent years so anyone wanting to train in Makeup Artistry had to travel abroad. Even the staff on makeup counters were trained in sales mainly and back then colour matching wasn't a necessity; the function of foundation appeared to be to bring "a bit of colour or warmth to your face".

Your local pharmacy was your only option and the colour was a "one size fits all" type of situation.

For me and my friends, it was Max Factor Pan Stick in no.12.

The thick and creamy consistency left each and every one of us looking like Swedish vlogger Josefin Lillakas when she put 100 layers of foundation on her face (you can catch up that joy here).

All I can say is that I'm glad there was no Facebook, Instagram or any form of social media back then.

For that, I am truly grateful.

Do you remember your first foundation?