Like most women I know I have two makeup routines: one for everyday (which is pretty minimal) and one for special occasions/when I know I’m going to be photographed a lot. Both routines use the same basic products and then the ~extra~ makeup look adds in products, as you could have guessed. Honestly, I’ve been using the same products for a while now so I know and love them well but I originally found most of them through the recommendations of friends and, yes, bloggers. So I thought I’d share my go-to makeup products that I use for each look just in case you’re looking to mix up your picks or in case you’re more adventurous than me and want to try a new product.
I shop for my makeup in three places: Sephora (love that rewards program), Nordstrom (they carry similar brands to Sephora that I use but have amazing women at their makeup counters), and Glossier (because yes, I’m a millennial woman, fight me). I swear by getting samples at Sephora and trying them out if you can–mostly for foundations–and by getting color matched at either Sephora or Nordstrom. The girls at the Bobbi Brown counter at Nordstrom have never once steered me wrong.
Whether I’m going light or heavier on the makeup, I will always start and end with my skincare routine to make sure my skin stays healthy and to minimize breakouts after wearing more makeup than usual.
Everyday Makeup
After moisturizing I’ll use the Glossier stretch concealer on anything I want to cover up or even out (usually this is just under my eyes). This is a pretty light concealer but it works perfectly for me and doesn’t clog my skin up. Then I’ll dab some Glossier cloud paint on my cheeks (I use the color Dawn). Don’t go overboard on the cloud paint–a little really goes a long way with this and you don’t want to look like a clown or a Renaissance painting. I finish my skin with the Glossier wowder (sensing a theme?) to keep it all on my face.
For eyes/brows I start by continuing the Glossier theme with boybrow. Holy forking shirt (oh hello, The Good Place), this stuff is my favorite. I use the brown color and it fills in my brows and sets them in place at the same time since it’s a tinted gel that goes on with a mini mascara brush. 10/10 my favorite makeup product ever. There’s also a clear version if you don’t want color and just want to hold your eyebrows in place. On my eyelashes I use Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. It’s amazing. I’m going to refrain from making any jokes about it now.
I’ll either just wear some kind of chapstick that’s in whatever purse I’m using or I’ll grab my Glossier Generation G lipstick in Zip. I love this lipstick because it’s a bright color but gives you a kind of faded look that’s more casual for everyday. Plus it’s easy to apply–you can do it really without a mirror–and doesn’t smear.
That’s it. Now that I wrote it out it sounds like a lot but it takes me less than 5 minutes to do my face and that’s only because I get distracted singing along to my music in the morning.
~Extra~ Makeup
When I’m feeling fancy, professional, or just EXTRA. I add a little extra. Some of the products overlap but mostly I just upgrade a few key elements.
I start with Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15. Please please please go get shade matched by a professional. Finding the perfect shade is a skill and to be quite honest it’s not a skill that most of us have so just trust the women at Nordstrom or Sephora please. I love this foundation because it’s full coverage but still feels light. You don’t need a ton of it to look 100. For blush (if it’s an evening situation) I use this NARS stick in orgasm. Again, I’m not going to make any jokes. But this color is perfect and it also has glitter and is in an easy-to-apply blush stick. There’s a reason why it’s so popular and it’s not just because of the name. I use the wowder from above to set everything.
I still do my eyebrows the same way because boybrow can’t be beat. But I’ll upgrade my mascara to Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara. This one makes my lashes bigger and fuller which is more appropriate for an evening or fancy event look than the Too Faced mascara in my opinion. (If I’m feeling really wild I’ll layer them–Too Faced first then the Bobbi Brown one).
Finally, I have a reasonably large collection of lipsticks so I’m not going to list them all here. Lipsticks are also a great thing to use your Sephora reward points on since they give you a deluxe sample size of the lipstick and you can try out some new colors that you wouldn’t spend money on. I love my Bobbi Brown lipstick in pale pink for daytime events and my Bobbi Brown art stick (like a lip crayon and comes with a sharpener because she thinks of everything) in Harlow Red for evening things. Note that for some reason the Harlow Red color seems to be at Nordstrom and not Sephora. Not sure why but it’s worth the second stop in my opinion.
That’s it! Obviously I have two favorite brands with a few guest stars but it works pretty well for me. I know that Bobbi Brown makeup is a splurge but I fully believe it’s better so it’s worth it to me. Plus most of my everyday makeup is Glossier which is super affordable and they send it to you in the cutest pink puffy makeup bags with stickers. So millennial it hurts and I absolutely love it.
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