an insider look at my makeup routine
Confession (why do I feel like most my blog posts start with this?): I love reading Into the Gloss’s blog posts.
There’s just something so satisfying about reading everyone’s beauty routines, yeah?
Another great one is Follain’s Clean Beauty 101 — not to read about beauty routines per se, but to window shop natural beauty products after getting inspired by their posts.
I’ve always been more of a skincare girl, even though I watched hours and hours of YouTube makeup tutorials as a pre-teen/teenager (fun fact: I even had a brief cameo in Michelle Phan’s YouTube ad my freshman year of college!).
I think I was mildly traumatized by:
having acne and not being able to cover it up without making it look/feel worse
being a competitive swimmer all throughout middle and high school and not wanting to remove makeup before practice
my random obsession with my mom’s Lancôme charcoal grey eyeshadow as a middle schooler
having oily AF skin and being paranoid of my makeup embarrassingly running everywhere (happened a lot)
As I grew older, I thankfully grew out of my terrible teenage makeup choices, but I still wasn’t making makeup choices that were great for my skin. I was focused on clean skincare products, but failed to realize that clean makeup is just as important (duh, Nancy).
I still don’t love the feel of foundation on my skin for an everyday feel, so this is what I’ve begun to do:
Everyday Look
I teach yoga and/or boxing most days (and workout), so I don’t use foundation. I’ve been bad about SPF (my mother would kill me if she read this), but I finally bought one that I like from Erin’s Faces (I used to be a die hard Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch fan, which is a good price point — JVN still uses it). It’s all natural so it takes a lil bit of rubbing to get it to soak in.
If my dark shadows are prominent, I’ll go in there with my Beautycounter concealer. That also works for major spots of redness around my nose and mouth.
I love the Glossier Haloscope in Topaz – it gives you this wonderful bronze glow. I use it on my eyelids and my cheekbones for a double glow. In the winter and spring I like do a light brush of Ecco Bella Blush in Wild Rose over my cheeks. I’ve never been a fan of blush before this (my complexion is naturally kind of red), but this color is gorgeous.
Then I brush my brows with Glossier Boy Brow — it’s a very natural look.
I’ll curl my lashes with my Tarte lash curler from high school and a coat of Ecco Bella FlowerPower Mascara in Black — one coat does wonders. It doesn’t run too bad on my oily, sweaty face, but if it does, it’s relatively easy to just wipe off.
Finally, I top it off with a coat of Beautycounter Lip Gloss in Peony. I hadn’t worn lip gloss since high school before trying the Beautycounter ones, and I’m in love. It’s a gorgeous pink that applies naturally to your lips without any crazy stickiness. It’s decently moisturizing too, so that’s a win.
Shop:
Full Face Look
I call my “full-face look” my normal look + a full face of foundation. For photos, I want my skin to be completely even and matte yet dewy.
My lips and eyes are the only things I’ll really play with, depending on my mood / the season. For fall, I like a darker, almost wine color and matte eyeshadow; for summer, I prefer a more natural coral or pink lip and bronzy eyeshadow.
And in winter? Let’s be honest — it’s snowy and I ain’t wearing no makeup in the winter. Period.
I start always with the same skincare base — a clean face — and then build up from there. I squirt either Beautycounter foundation or Ecco Bella foundation (the Ecco Bella is a little more full-coverage) on the back of my hand, then use my Sephora makeup brush to blend onto my face.
I’ll follow up with Ecco Bella Cover Up, which is a creamy concealer stick, under my eyes and around my nose and mouth (primary spots of redness).
Then I’ll go on with the Beautycounter Necessary Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette, a gorgeous mix of matte and shimmery neutrals. It’s similar to the Naked Palette, but it’s clean beauty.
My eyelashes are sad and short, so I use the Tarte Lash Curler and Ecco Bella FlowerPower Mascara in Black — sometimes I even layer another mascara to build the length or for special occasions like my prom (lol) will use fake lashes. I hate clumpy lashes though, so I’ll do anything to avoid that.
Finally, lips. I used to think of lipstick as old lady makeup, but the Beautycounter Sheer Lipstick in Twig is beautiful, creamy, and definitely not caky (another pet peeve).
To clean everything off, I use multiple steps (I’m a freak about that). I’ll take the Ursa Major Natural Face Wipes and wipe my face completely. Then it’s either a facial cleansing oil or literal argan/jojoba oil on a facial pad all over my face. I’ll use my face wash to wash it off, then finally finish with my Clarisonic and more face wash.
Yep. No wonder I don’t do that every day.
Shop:
To read more about my skincare routine (this is from 2017 but not much has changed; will be posting an update soon!), click here.
Disclaimer: These links are not affiliate links, but I did receive Ecco Bella products for free from Vitacost in exchange for a review.