Everyday Makeup Break Down

It doesn’t have to be hard or take hours to get ready in the morning. Trust me, I love sleep more then anything, I am not taking hours in the morning to get ready.

I have done my own makeup since 5th grade. I remember, very clearly, stealing my mother’s mascara every morning and wearing it to school. My makeup fascination just grew from there. All self taught, mostly by watching YouTube videos or finding step-by-step breakdowns on Pinterest. I am no professional by any means.

For everyday I do the same makeup routine. I very rarely deviate simply because my brain does not function well in the morning. I work in corporate healthcare so general work day vibe is somewhere between business and business casual.

Prep

First thing I do is wash my face. I use Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleaner. I saw a dermatologist about 4 years ago that helped me develop a good skin care routine for my skin. I HIGHLY recommend either consulting a dermatologist or a med spa esthetician to help develop a skin care routine for you. It was LIFE CHANGING. Next, Mario Badescu Rose Spray. I am not sure it does anything for my skin but it smells so good!! Final layer is lotion, being in the flyover states, this is so important. It is either dry because it’s winter time or dry because it’s summer time, no in between. NEVER skimp on lotion. I use Bare Minerals Butter Drench but I also have drier skin. If you have oily skin I wouldn’t recommend Butter Drench.

Makeup

After the lotion has “set” I start applying my makeup. Eyes first.

I read somewhere, years ago, the key to long lasting eye shadow is a good primer and whoever said that was 100% correct. You can really use any eye shadow primer. I have used quite a few in my makeup evolution, from super pricey to drug store brand, and no one is better then the other. I do always use nude, not sure if there are other colors out there, but I would recommend a matte skin tone color. All of my eyeshadow is from Morphe. My everyday eyeshadow colors can be found in their Truth or Bare palettes but I have many MANY of their other palettes as well.

I get asked a lot of the Naked palettes. In my opinion, for everyday makeup, not worth the hype. Or the amount of money you pay for them. You get some weird colors and you can never really do a full look using what they give you. That is why I like Morphe palettes so much. They are just curated perfectly for any look you are going for.

Step 1- Set primer with matte eyeshadow color that matches your skin tone.

Step 2 - Windshield wiper the next matte darkest shade in the crease of your eyelid.

Step 3 - Next darkest matte shade on the outer corner, blending in towards the center.

Step 4 - Next darkest matte shade on the furthest outer corner, blending with the step 3 shade in towards the nose

Step 5 - Then just a bit of shimmer shadow on the inner lids, fading it in towards the center. I found this helps me look less tired everyday.

Step 6 - I line my eyes with matte black eyeshadow and a really thin eyeshadow brush not eyeliner. I was never great with eyeliner and for my daily look this works just fine.

Next is foundation. All of my face make up products are from Clinque. Clinque is a pretty good middle of the road brand. They aren’t drugstore but also aren’t Dior. I use a densely packed foundation brush with liquid foundation. Always brush upwards. I read somewhere that it helps reduce pulling on your skin and wrinkles and I am not taking any chances with wrinkles. I also HIGHLY recommend foundation with SPF. I cannot stress enough the importance of sunscreen, summer or winter time, USE IT! The Clinque foundation, both liquid and powder, that I use both have SPF in it.

Concealer next. I use a concealer that is a shade or shade and a half lighter then my skin tone. It sort of combines contouring and just plain covering up your dark circles. I have habitual dark circle under my eyes so definitely always apply there, creating a sort of V downwards towards your checks, then under my nose and on my chin using a makeup sponge.

I then set my foundation and concealer with a minimum coverage powder foundation again with a brush but a more loosely packed brush. This just sets all of it in place and helps to blend the liquid foundation and concealer together.

Next, eyebrows. I am not an expert eyebrow master by any means. Certainly not putting on Instagram eyebrows everyday. I really just fill them in and shape them using Anastasia Beverly Hills eyebrow pencil.

Final step, mascara. Better Then Sex. The BEST Mascara. I will ALWAYS use it. I will occasionally deviate if something else is on sale and always regret it!

I get all of my products from Ulta, honestly because it is easy and convenient. Just order everything online and it either ships or you can pick it up in store, depending on the store’s stock. Plus they have a perks program that earns you money off purchases and I love a good deal.

Overall, it takes me about 15 minutes to do my makeup every morning.

I can’t say this enough, it takes practice to get good at something, and makeup is no different. Practice makes perfect! I have been doing it daily for 10+ years and I am certainly still not perfect nor will I probably ever be.