"I took this photo of myself one day in eighth grade after having gotten a haircut and some highlights. As you can probably tell, I had gone a bit overboard with those highlights and my hair had turned this shiny blond color that, coupled with its constant greasiness, I completely regret to this day. I was really low on self esteem at that time (weren't we all?) and wore really unflattering clothes, little to no makeup, and was generally very unhappy. Let's just say that college has treated me well. I am now a freshman in college, 60 pounds lighter, and a million times happier. I've also chopped off those awful blond locks and let my hair grow back in its natural color." -Catherine
"Obviously, I was a teenager in the 90s, the greatest time ever in the history of the world to be a teenager. This picture was taken at a suburban basement party that where A Clockwork Orange and Silence of the Lambs were screened. Not the best party I ever went to. Anyhow! Some style elements of note in this picture: mini-braids dyed orange with Manic Panic, Courtney Love-style baby barrettes, assorted hair-sprayed curling iron banana curls, white eyeshadow, false eyelashes, red lipstick with liner, over-the-elbow black gloves, a lavender crystal 1950s choker that I also wore last week, and a black semi-sheer Betsey Johnson dress that I bought for $80 in Georgetown in D.C. This was characteristic of my signature look in 11th grade." --Julia
"My best friend Lauren (left) and I had just turned 13. We were at a luncheon in Beverly Hills for some type of fundraising charity (we were junior members). I lived down the street from her and I remember her coming over about three hours in advance so we could 'get ready' together. Her Dad worked for Jafra at thetime so we had way too much make-up at our disposal.
"A bottle of foundation and a can of hairspray later I don't think we looked better than when we started. I had not yet realized that my fluorescent blonde hair was actually curly so I had spent a painful amount of additional time trying to blow-dry it straight. You can tell that we both have braces from the discomfort in our facial expressions. My glasses are the ubiquitous Marchon frame that were available in a variety of speckled colors as well as a pearly lavender which I also had." --Molly
"My awkward stage picture was taken when I was 18. As you can see I was doing my own hair color and obviously spending no more than $5 per application. I was also OBSESSED with Revlon's TOAST OF NEW YORK lipshade -- you can notice I applied it liberally, just as the tube instructed. As you can also deduct from the pic, I hadn't met my best friend yet -- my tweezers. Yes, my eyebrows are tweezer virgins in the pic." --Ivory
"This was my 8th grade graduation in the Bronx at age 13 -- complete with big glasses, horrible mullet and hugging Sr. Stanislaus. Oh and its a good thing you can't see the eyeliner circles under my eyes. And I just noticed my glasses match Sr. Stanislaus's!" --Jennifer
