Daily Makeup

I was saying today that I should write a blog post with a daily makeup update and then immediately filed it back in my “to-do someday” folder. I found myself with a few minutes to spare today while Nell napped and thought why not do it now?! So here we are!

If you are new around here, I like to stay as minimalist as possible in all categories, including makeup. My goal would be to get my skin to a place where I could actually wear NO makeup but we aren’t quite there yet ;) I’ve been wearing the below for probably a year-ish now and am really happy with this routine. I am the kind of person that has to “get ready” each day to feel productive so even at the height of working from home this is what I’d wear. I prefer a glow-y, soft look and I like that this routine is easy to dial up with a bit more foundation or dial down by eliminating most everything aside from sunscreen and mascara. I will outline my steps and colors for each product below:

Step 1: Cleanse, tone, prescription acne medication, moisturize (I use Haldi Skin recs for all of these aside from the prescription and can’t recommend them enough. Feel free to use MEGHALL for access. They are also doing 20% everything in your personal store this weekend if you are a member!)

Step 2: Supergoop Glow Screen SPF 40

Step 3: Lune + Aster Realglow Skin Tint in shade 15 Vanilla (winter + spring) or shade 20 Light Bisque (summer and fall). This is the best foundation if you like to feel like you aren’t wearing any. It’s light like a BB cream but has a great buildable coverage and I love how it blends nicely over the Glow Screen for a dewy finish. I apply the Skin Tint with this cheap Eco Tools Wonder Cover Complexion Brush, it’s my FAVE, nice and dense and easy to clean!

Step 4: Dab this Hourglass Vanish Concealer (shade Apricot in the summer/fall and Cedar in the winter/spring) in the inner corners of my eyes and over any blemishes the Skin Tint didn’t cover. I tap it into my skin with my ring finger. I set it with Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder in shade No. 30. I used to use a setting spray but this helps maintain the dewy finish while providing a little oil control and is SUPER finely milled and transparent. I use the brush it comes with!

Step 5: Dab Merit Flush Balm on the apples of my cheeks, on my lips, and for normal days, use my finger to apply a bit to my eyelids. I love the packaging of this, so easy to apply and mess-free even for travel. I used shade Cheeky all spring and summer and just ordered Raspberry for the winter. Merit.com is 20% off site wide right now (discount applied at checkout) but Sephora also carries them if you are a Beauty Insider and like to collect points.

Step 6: This is my #1 favorite makeup product of all time: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or. My old colleague from vineyard vines is a stylist and makeup artist and recommended this a few years ago… every single time I wear it someone asks me what I use on my skin! It’s a dry oil and you need only the tiniest drop, I tap it on my cheekbones and lightly on my brown bone. You can also use it on hair and body - I love to smooth a little on my collarbone before going to the pool, or mixing a bit in with my lotion when I’m wearing shorts! It’s failproof and I’ve only used about 1/4 of a bottle in over two years. Not bad for $35.

Step 7: Gently comb my brows with a clean spooly and then brush through with Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade in shade Black-Brown. My hairdresser urged me to just leave my brows alone about six months ago and honestly after an unruly few weeks they are the best they’ve looked in years. I clean up the middle and brow bone a tiny bit with tweezers every few months when they get really wild but I love their grown-in thickness and shape! The Brow Pomade is also part of the 20% off sale and/or available at Sephora.

Step 8: If it’s a fancy occasion I use this Chantecaille Le Chrome Luxe Eye Duo in Monte Carlo (shades Grace + Riviera). I use the copper tone over my full lid and then the darker purple tone in the crease. This one palette has also lasted me years! It looks like the set is sold out right now but it’s easy enough to find similar shades.

Step 9: Top it all off with a nice coat of Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara in shade Brynn (rich black). This mascara is THE BEST, especially if you have hooded eyelids like me and always struggle with mascara smudging above and below your lashes. This is tubing mascara so once it dries it turns into a “strip” of sorts and comes off almost in one piece when you wash your face at night. Meanwhile it doesn’t budge all day. I. LOVE. IT. It’s also clean! You can only buy it on their site (here is $10 an order of $50 or more, I buy 2-3 tubes at a time since it does dry out faster than regular mascara and I replace it every few months). I haven’t tried this one by Blinc but it has similar reviews if you want something you can easily order. This L’Oreal Double Extend Tubing Mascara is my absolute favorite budget option, the only reason I swapped to Thrive is the Thrive is a bit “wetter” and gives you even longer lashes even without the primer. Size wise the cost ended up being about the same anyway as the double format means half the product.

My last note is that I use Grande Lash MD every night along my lash line as the last step of my skincare routine. I keep my eye closed until it dries but haven’t had any issues with stinging etc. I find this formula to work the best so far and it’s a lot cheaper than the Rodan + Fields one I used to use. The ingredients are pretty clean, too!

And that’s it! It looks like a lot of steps because I broke out every single detail but really this takes me about 5 minutes total. Feel free to leave any tips or questions in the comments! I am the absolute opposite of a makeup artist so all feedback is welcome ;)