Tuesday, April 8, 2014

My everyday makeup routine


I have been wearing makeup for years now, ever since seventh grade. Unlike most girls though, I almost underwent a reversal in my makeup routine; I started out wearing just globs and globs of heavy, dark makeup and have somehow made my way down to a quick, natural, and inexpensive routine that uses minimal products.

A few things to start off: I have been blessed with (or rather grew into) relatively nice, not oily skin and because of that, I do not wear any skin products on a daily basis aside from my normal moisturizer and sunscreen. That means, no BB cream, powder, tinted moisturizer, or concealer. Yes, I do get bad days and the occasional pimple, but the feeling of product on my skin just makes me extremely uncomfortable, so I would much rather just deal with less than perfect skin than to have to survive a whole day squirming around. Of course, because my skin is not oily, I don't feel the need to wear waterproof eye make either. Yes, waterproof mascara does hold a curl better, but it's harder to get off and I am lazy.


Products I use:

  • Lip balm (the one I used today is EOS, but I just grab whichever one is closest to me)
  • Koji Eye Talk Double Eyelid Maker
  • L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Black/Brown
  • e.l.f. Essential Liquid Eyeliner in Coffee
  • Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude
  • Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown
  • Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Peach


 The routine:

Prep: Moisturize, SPF, and lip balm. Even if I don't wear anything else, which usually is the case on weekends, I will still put these things on.

  1.  Eyebrows - I lightly fill in my brows with small, hairlike strokes and then use the brush end of the pencil to blend. I tend to focus on the ends of my eyebrows and do very little to the center. I go for a thicker, straighter eyebrow because that's what fits my face better. It's an added bonus that I don't have to deal with matching my arches. 
  2. Eyelid glue - Yes, I have mono lids, and yes, I do use glue. It makes me look more awake and makes eyeliner easier to put on.
  3. Eyeliner - I tend to just follow the shape of my lash line and extend out a little bit. There are some days that I will do a wing up, but generally I just extend. I prefer using liquid eyeliner because it gives the cleanest line. The fact that the e.l.f only costs a dollar also helps. Oh, and I only wear eyeliner on my top lash line. Anything on the bottom, unless I am doing a heavy smokey eye with tons of false eyelashes, will be strange.
  4. Mascara and waterline - To be honest, I actually don't care that much about my eyelashes. I know that no matter what I do, unless I wear falsies, they will not look too impressive. However, if I don't put on at least a coat of mascara, the look just doesn't look finished, so for me, eyelashes go: quick curl and one coat of mascara on each side. Two if I'm feeling fancy. I also wear the nude eyeliner on my bottom waterline to help make my eyes look wider and more awake and I also make sure to put it on before putting on mascara to my bottom lashes
If I am not lazy, I will dab on a bit of lipstick. The Revlon one is my go-to. It's just bright enough to liven my face, but natural enough for everyday wear.

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And that's it! It takes me about five to ten minutes to do, but I generally like to linger, sip coffee, reply to emails, and watch YouTube as I do my makeup. Nonetheless, I am proud to say that finally now, after about seven years of makeup-wearing I am confident in my own skin to see makeup as an enhancement and not a mask. I guess the makeup-glopping dependent phase really is something that all girls eventually grow out of. Or maybe I've just gotten a whole lot lazier. Hehe, you decide