The Everyday Face

Hello lovely readers! It's Amanda. I've been planning to do a post like this for a while, but I kept forgetting. Or putting it off. Because I'm an expert procrastinator. Expert, I tell you.

Anyways. A lot of us don't have a lot of time to spend on makeup every day, or just don't feel like putting half an hour into our faces. So I'm going to show you a quick, basic, everyday look that's super easy but polished. It's what I wear a lot of the time, and it can be used as a base for almost any other look. Ready? :)

Make sure you start with a clean face. This is really important, or else your makeup won't go on as smoothly and dirt will get trapped underneath the makeup and sit there all day. So after you cleanse and moisturize, apply your foundation (or tinted moisturizer, whichever you use). You can use a makeup sponge to apply it, but sponges tend to soak up and waste a lot of the makeup. I prefer to use a foundation brush. MAC's 130 brush is amaaaazing; I would highly recommend it. So, I squeeze some foundation (I use MAC Studio Sculpt NC20) onto the back of my hand, swirl the brush in it, and brush it on my face. The important thing to remember is that less is more: you don't want to cake on foundation until it's super obvious. A little goes a long way.

Next, apply concealer. Under your eyes, on redness and blemishes....wherever you need a little more coverage. I recommend MAC Moisturecover NC20. To apply under-eye concealer, use a concealer brush (like these) to sweep concealer next to the inner corners of your eyes, and use your ring finger to blend it downward. Then use the concealer brush to apply concealer onto any other blemishes and use your finger to blend it in. You just don't want it to be cakey. Again, less is more.

Now I apply a highlighter. I just started using e.l.f Shimmering Facial Whip in Toasted. So far, I love it. Plus it's only a dollar and they carry it at most Targets. Blend a little highlighter under your eyebrows, on the inside corner of your eyes, and on top of your cheekbones using your ring finger. I also sometimes sweep some across my eyelid, instead of wearing eyeshadow. This step really brightens the eyes and face and gives it a fresh,

dewy look.

Next is eyeliner. First I smudge a brown eyeliner (MAC Technakohl Liner in Photogravure) into my lower lashes. I usually only apply eyeliner to the lashes, not to the water line (right above the lower lashes).

I don't always apply eyeliner to my upper lash line, but when I do, I usually use a brown cream eyeliner (try e.lf.'s) and then smudge it with a Q-tip so it's not such a heavy dark line.

Almost done! Now I apply mascara. I LOVE Covergirl's LashBlast Length Mascara. The easiest way to apply mascara is to tilt your head back slightly and look down so that you can see your roots easily against the whites of your eyes. Start at the roots and wiggle the wand back and forth a little bit (you want the most color there) and then sweep the brush out to the tips. Only apply one or two coats, or else it will start to clump. You can also put a little on your bottom lashes, just be aware of smudges.

The next step is blush. For powder blush, I would actually recommend using a face powder blush, not a blush brush, because it's bigger and will apply the blush more evenly. Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks (the round areas that stand out when you smile) and sweep it up towards your temples. But don't use too much.....you don't want to look like you got slapped. :P

And last but certainly not least, apply lip color. You can use a tinted lip balm, gloss, or lipstick. I've been using e.l.f.'s Super Glossy Lip Shine, because despite it's name, it's actually not over-the-top glossy or goopy, but provides nice color and shine.

And we're done! It's that simple. Once you figure out how to work this for your face, it's really fast. It usually doesn't take me more than ten minutes, tops. And if I want to do something a little extra, I can mix it up with some eyeshadow or a plum eyeliner. So have fun!! :)