https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXXEaRptPA/

Georgi Reed is an 18-year-old senior who began her Instagram account, @georgiseyelids, to showcase her makeup looks in July 2017. She was inspired by other makeup youtubers and her mother to begin her own artistry at the age of 13. 

“I wanted to share my progress of getting better at makeup, and my love of makeup,” Reed said.

When it comes to creating her looks, it can take Reed up to two hours to complete one eyelid depending on how critical she is of her work. 

“I only do one eye for one post,” Reed said. “I put concealer on a quarter of my face, and I only apply one eyelash. I take a lot of pictures from different angles and then immediately take it off.” 

She takes inspiration from other accounts she follows, but more often than not she wings it and creates her looks based off of what she is feeling.

“I tend to go towards the sunset theme of purples and oranges when doing a look,” Reed said.

Makeup, she explains, is a way for her to cope. 

“When I do makeup I’m listening to music and I’m in my own little bubble for a little bit and I’m really not thinking about anything other than blending my eyeshadow. It’s a nice escape from everything else going on,” Reed said.

For Reed, makeup is an art and way for her to not only cope, but to express herself. 

“I love the artistic aspect of makeup. I like being able to wear bright colors and have fun with it,” Reed said.

When Reed first started her account, she expected people to think it was dumb, but she actually experienced quite the opposite.

“It’s been more positive than it has been negative,” Reed said.

When it comes to her own self-doubt, she definitely had a hard time getting past it when she first started posting her makeup on Instagram.

“At first I would always have to send my posts to my sister and mom and ask ‘is this good?’ and I would have to make sure. But now I’ve gotten to the point where I know what quality I want in a post and what makes a good post for me,” Reed said.

 Reed has received clients from her Instagram to do their makeup for special events. 

“When she did my prom makeup, everyone complimented it and thought it was done by a professional, so I’d say Georgi is extremely good at what she does,” client Lilly Haave said .

Reed’s sister, Gabi, explains the positive experiences she has had in following Reed’s account. 

“I struggle a lot with eyeshadow, and I know how difficult it is to learn a skill like this,”sister, Gabi Reed said. “It makes me appreciate the beauty community and Reed’s own love for makeup that much more.”

Reed hopes that her account allows others to realize that what she does is achievable through progress. 

“I hope it has an influence on someone,” Reed said. “Some of my older posts that I have kept on my page are not the best, but I keep them to show progress. Hopefully someone can scroll back and see that I went from that to that and I just did it through practice and time.”