How to Wear Makeup That Doesn’t Look Like Makeup.

February 8, 2011 | 31 Responses

As much as I love wearing my bright eyeshadows and bold lipsticks, my boyfriend doesn’t appreciate the look as much as my beauty blogger friends do. The terms “clownish” and “’80s” have been thrown around a few times. Hrmph. I’m not bitter. Anyways.

Source: Style.com

Lucky for us, the no makeup look is so on trend this Spring (and forever). It is a versatile look that can take you through your day in school or the office without scaring the boys. While I wish that I naturally look this good without makeup, there is work to be done before I get there. It really isn’t that difficult to do, and it only takes five steps from being scary to looking cute.

#1 — Tame the Brow Beast, or Fill In Your Non-Existent (air quotes) Brows.

If you have sparse or very light brows, fill them in with a pencil or brow powder. I still love my MAC Brun eyeshadow and MAC Spiked Eye Brows. If you have a lot of brow hairs (me), use a brow gel to keep the beast in place and fill in any bald spots. You are trying to get natural looking brows, so go in with a light hand.

#2 — Fake a Good Complexion the Right Way.

Unless you’re a model who doesn’t have a single imperfection or dark circles (and in that case, stay far far away from me!), then grab your favourite concealer now. I like theBalm Time Balm and MAC Pro Longwear concealer. Apply it under the eyes, all over the lids, and around the nose to conceal darkness and red areas.

If you want to, you can also apply a little bit of foundation mixed with a highlighter like NARS Orgasm Illuminator or MAC Gold Studio Finish Powder to get a glow all over. Again, minimal foundation is key to fake good skin. You might want to invest in a good brush like the Sigma F80 or F82 brushes to buff in that foundation.

#3 — Go Forth and Glow Like Edward Cullen.

Just kidding. You want to glow like JLo, and not like that vampire. Blush is another thing that’ll depend on your skin’s undertones. Pick pink if you have more pink in your skin, and choose peach if you are more yellow. On my skin (NC35 – NC40), I use either MAC Peaches or MAC Cantaloupe (PRO) blush, and top it with a sheer highlighter with a low amount of shimmer. A satin (translation: skin like) finish is what we’re after. If you have a cream blush, that’s even better. Apply to the apples of the cheeks to achieve the most natural look.

#4 — You Can Always Have More Lashes.

There’s nothing like a clumpy mascara to ruin a minimal makeup look. Apply a great non-clumping mascara to your top and bottom lashes. Rimmel Glam’Eyes and CoverGirl Volume Exact mascaras are my drugstore picks. Apply brown eyeliner to the upper waterline to make it look like you have more lashes at the root.

#5 — Wear a “Your Lips But Better” Colour.

Finish off the look with a very sheer lip product (lipstick, balm, gloss, or stain) that mimics your natural lip colour. I used Revlon Life’s A Peach lipgloss all over my lips.

Aaaand you’re done! Easy, right? Now step out of the house and tell everyone: “Why yes, I woke up this morning looking this fabulous, thank you!”

Wearing My “No Makeup” Look

I really like this fresh face and I might start doing it more often. Do you wear the no makeup look? Doesn’t it make you want Spring to arrive now, pleez can haz nao?

Bid Tired Eyes Goodbye with MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.

October 17, 2010 | 9 Responses

When it comes to beauty concerns, these are what I’d consider to be my top three:

My awful dark and puffy under eye circles.
Yucky, gigantic pores reside on my nose.
My fine, limp hair rarely holds a style.

Needless to say, a quality concealer is an essential part of my daily makeup routine. My old standby — theBalm Time Balm concealer — gives great coverage, but it lacks convenience. Time Balm needs to be set with powder; otherwise, it seeks out my fine lines like I search for shawarma at 10:30 in the evening (true story).

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC35

That’s where MAC Pro Longwear Concealer ($20) comes in. MAC’s newest concealer packs a wicked punch with its incredibly opaque coverage and matte finish without the need for setting powder. I have been using it for a few weeks now and the verdict is in: I am so. in. love. Seriously, I might marry my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. (Don’t tell BF!)

The lightweight liquid formula is very quick to spread out and blend using a brush or a finger. If I am really pressed for time, I find that using my fingers is the fastest way to work with this concealer. Once it dries (and it dries fast, roughly 20-30 seconds), it stays on until I take it off.

Here you can get a feel for its formulation (very lightweight). This was a half pump.

One caveat: this comes with a stupid pump that doles out way too much product for one use. If I’m careful, I can get 1/3 to 1/2 of a full pump, which is enough to conceal my under eyes and redness around my nose. That’s another thing: if you just have a few trouble spots, this’ll take all of your troubles away. I always felt that my Time Balm is best suited for my under eyes, but Pro Longwear works well as an all-purpose concealer. Oh, and for moderately oily eyelids, this works amazingly as an eye primer, too! Fab, right?!

Before, a.k.a. my dark circles in all its glory

Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC35

No concealer (left) / MAC Pro Longwear Concealer (right)

What can I say? I think the Pro Longwear Concealer is now my favourite MAC product, and I don’t think I can live without mine. Now if it can only style my limp hair too, we’d be eloping right at this moment. Totally belongs in my holy grail. Rating: A+.

FOTD: Subtle Smoky Eyes with Steely Blues.

August 29, 2010 | 12 Responses

Whew! I’m back with another FOTD. I attended a friend’s wedding yesterday and this is the look I wore. Thank goodness the hair was also cooperative. Those are flat iron waves created by yours truly, thankyouverymuch! I haven’t used my MAC Smoke & Diamonds (LE) eyeshadow in any FOTDs so I thought I’d pull it out of hiding for this look. I just kind of winged it, but I really like how it turned out.

Don’t let the finished face fool you; this look was actually quick and easy!

Swatches (from left): MAC Smoke & Diamonds (LE), Annabelle B-Ray (LE), MAC Carbon, MAC Soft Brown, MAC Arena

Get the Look

For the eyes, fill in any sparse areas on your brows (Benefit Medium Brow Zings). After priming your eyes (Too Faced Shadow Insurance), apply a light shimmery peach (MAC Arena) on the inner corners and under the brows. Then, take a shimmery grey taupe (MAC Smoke & Diamonds, LE) all over the lid. Take a matte navy (Annabelle B-Ray, LE) to the outer crease and outer V with a crease brush, and go over it slightly with a matte black (MAC Carbon). Lightly blend above the crease with a matte warm brown (MAC Soft Brown). Smudge the matte navy to the outer two-thirds of the lower lash line. Line the upper lash line (MAC Blacktrack Fluidline) with a slight wing. Line the upper and lower waterlines with a pencil dipped in gel liner (Urban Decay Zero dipped in MAC Blacktrack) for maximum staying power. Apply mascara (CoverGirl LashBlast waterproof) to both upper and lower lashes.

For the face and cheeks, start by priming with a mattifying primer (CoverFX ClearPrep FX). Apply foundation (FACE atelier Foundation #6 Honey), concealer (theBalm TimeBalm Medium), and powder (Marcelle Translucent Medium). Sculpt the cheeks, temples, and jawline with a dark matte brown powder (MAKE UP FOR EVER #17 Espresso). Then, add a pop of matte peachy pink to the apples of your cheeks (Pink Beauty Object of Affection).

For the lips, get your favourite neutral pink lipstick (MAC Viva Glam V) and top it off with a golden pink gloss (Smashbox Candid).

Read on to see more pictures!