Everyday Minimal Makeup

Each new day is a race to slap on as many products on my face as I can (with some precision). Makeup for some reason is always relegated to end, to be done after tea, breakfast and a few minutes of ‘doing nothing’. In general, I like my makeup to look skin like, minimal, just enhancing what’s already there. The products might change but the overall vibe is always the same when it comes to my everyday makeup. I’m more adventurous if I’m going out in the evening or on weekends but for work, this is my favourite face. Of course, achieving a “minimal” includes a grand total of 11 products!

So first let me show you what I have to work with. We’ll come to the products later, but let’s start with my face. As you can see, I have an uneven skintone, some blemishes on my chin and an all natural brown smokey eye that makes me look tired all the time. Waking up early on a Sunday morning to take blog photos gives this distinct no sleep look (no tutorial for that!). I also have very deepset eyes which creates this hollow under my eye and there’s always a shadow that forms there. It really depends on the lighting how prominent it looks. These photos are taken facing the light and hence it doesn’t appear as obvious as it can be in person.

Voila! Here’s the finished look. I like to keep it minimal but polished. Don’t I look more alive? Glowy even skin, a touch of blush, light shimmery eyeshadow and a sheer nude lipstick. That’s my jam. Now depending on how much time I have, some of the steps are skipped but I’ll walk you through the process if I had enough time in painstaking detail.

It all starts with a good base and all year round my choice is the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 20 in Sand. This shade is an inbetween match for me, darker than the lightest part of my face (cheeks) but slightly lighter than my chin area which is the darkest. It pretty much evens things out but still looks like skin. I have noticeable pores on my cheeks and nose which aren’t highlighted but do need to be “blurred”. That’s what powder is for.

I require different concealers for different parts of my face but here I’ve just used two. The Bobbi Brown Corrector in Dark Peach has the right amount of orange pigment for my skintone. It covers up the veins and darkness on the sides of my nose and inner corner really well. I know a lot of people complain that this corrector isn’t creamy enough but I think it depends on the climate. I find it to be the right consistency here, creamy but not so slippy that it’ll move around and crease. But I definitely had problems applying this without warming it up when I was in New York last fall. If I’m in a real hurry, I just use the corrector and head out. It cancels out the darkness correctly (ha!) and doesn’t look like an orange patch at all.

Next up is a concealer that I’m head over heels in love with! I’ve been using the Mac Select Moisture Cover Concealer for ages and I’ve finally found one that tops that! The Urban Decay Skin Concealer in Medium-Dark Warm is a good match for the lighter parts my skintone. I don’t like using concealers that are too light compared to my skintone under the eye, I feel like it looks too obvious in person. The UD concealer is perfect for covering up blemishes and for use under the eye. This concealer is thicker than the Mac one I mentioned but more liquidy than the Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer. It’s light and easy to blend but very pigmented at the same time! It doesn’t crease on me and with a powder over it, it stays put all day!

I usually go for more neutral or mauve toned blushes. One of my discoveries for 2016 is this cream blush, Aerin Multi-colour for Lips and Cheeks in Natural. I saw this being used by Lisa Eldridge in her Alexa Chung tutorial and I just knew I had to have it! It’s sheer and the kind of rusty bronzey nude colour that adds a soft natural tint to your cheeks. It’s a cream blush that stays glowy and has a sheen which is very different from most of the cream blushes I own (which turn matte). It’s quite sheer and easy to blend which makes this perfect to use in a rush. On deeper skintones it can be build up as well. I highly recommend it if you’re on the lookout for something similar. It’s not as long lasting as a Tarte powder blush but it’s still noticeable at the end of the day though it might have faded a bit. Also, the gold packaging is just too pretty!

Next, I quickly powder my undereye area and T-zone with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light. I was so worried it would look ashy on me when I first bought it but thankfully there’s none of that! You actually don’t need a large amount. I apply this with small tapered brush in just the areas that need it. It also blurs the pores on my nose and cheeks that I mentioned before. It also refuses to dent and is going to last me for ages!

My brows are kinda average. I don’t do much to shape them but they are a bit uneven, one is placed slightly higher than the other. If I fill them in too much, I feel like it draws more attention to that unevenness. Hence, I like to focus the brow product more on the mid to ends of my brows. Towards the inner part, I use a few light strokes to gradient it out. I still feel like I’m not a pro at this but I get better at it each time. Currently, I’m using the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Natural Black which is gray toned and doesn’t look too dark. It gets the job done faster compared to the Anastasia Brow Wiz though. I would still recommend ABW if you’re a newbie, the pencil on the Arch Brow is angled (which helps) but thicker.

Time to focus on eyes! In a hurry, I usually prefer a neutral single eyeshadow like the Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Eyeshadow in Mirage which is a warm brown shimmery cream eyeshadow. I apply this with my finger and blend it gently close to my crease. Two layers give it a good amount of opacity and this stays on the entire day without fading or creasing. If you have oily lids, this might shift around as the day progresses so it would be well worth it to use a primer. I’m so impressed this formula though, it’s so squishy and thin. The finish is more of a pearly satin one that is gorgeous! Compared to the well loved By Terry Ombre Blackstars, I feel this is just as good!

Next, I tightline my upper lash line with the Stila Smudge Stick Liner in Stingray or something similar. This is very creamy and pigmented but it’s still not the perfect tightlining liner I’m looking for. Purely as a liner on the lid this doesn’t smudge at all once it sets but my eyes are very watery so there is some smudging on the lashline.  I then curl my lashes with my very old Shu Uemura Eyelash curlers. Slightly off topic, but does anyone know when you’re supposed to replace the rubber padding?

On most days I forget to wear mascara, I’m steadily improving though! I wore it 4 times last week! The YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils is good at volume and a bit of lengthening. I can see why so many people like it but it can get a bit clumpy when you go over two coats. I also usually prefer a more lightweight formula, this one makes my lashes more droopy towards the end of the day. It’s not bad, it just might not be my holy grail mascara. I know most people find it weird to not apply mascara to the bottom lashes but on me, I feel like it just darkens that area because of the hollow eye shape. I don’t have a resolution for this. Sometimes I use the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara to do so, but mostly no.

And finally, it’s time to pick out a lipstick from a sea of nude/pink/brown, similar but different lipsticks. One of my current favourites is the Burberry Lip Mist in Copper. It’s a sheer warm brown that doesn’t wash me out and gives a good glossy pout that looks almost peachy. I do need to reapply it several times a day but I don’t really mind. The Burberry Lip Mist line is discontinued now, I suppose the Kisses Sheer line would be most similar in terms of formula.

Sometimes if I have more time, I’ll do a liner or a more defined eye. I might also do a quick swish with my Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow. What’s your go to look everyday?

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturiser in Sand – SpaceNK, Sephora, Nordstrom

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Dark Peach – Bobbi Brown, Sephora, Nordstrom, Nykaa

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Medium-Dark Warm – Sephora, Nordstrom

Aerin Multi-colour for Lips and Cheeks in Natural – Nordstrom

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light – SpaceNK, Sephora, Nordstrom

Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Natural Black – SpaceNK, Sephora, Nordstrom

Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Eyeshadow in Mirage – Nordstrom

Stila Smudge Stick Liner in Stingray – Sephora, Nordstrom

Shu Uemura Eyelash curlers – Shu Uemura

YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils – Sephora, Nordstrom

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Also, I know I don’t post as often now but I do update my Instagram a lot more regularly with current favourites and other random beauty/fashion things. So follow me there if you’d like to!