Happy Thursday Friends! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been favouring a much more pared-back makeup routine these days, opting for a more lightweight and natural look. I may have a million and one makeup products that I’ve loved playing around with and using, but time and time again, I stick with my trusty favourites and keep things as simple and as easy as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I still love going all out with a full-face of glam makeup when the occasion arises, but for the most part, I just stick with the basics. I don’t know if it’s the post-pandemic world we’re living in, the current makeup trend, or just that I can see 30 somewhere on the horizon, but simple and lightweight is where it’s at for me these days. So I thought it was time to give my trusty favourites a moment to shine and share my current makeup routine, where the focus is on keeping it simple. This post contains some affiliate links* and products have previously been sent for review+. I shouldn’t need to tell you how important wearing an SPF daily is, especially in here in Australia. I’ve tried a few different ones in recent years, and the formula I keep coming back to is water-based SPFs - they soak into the skin beautifully without leaving your skin feeling greasy, and they don’t leave a white cast. Plus, I’ve found they work really well under makeup, so much so that I’ve kind of moved away from using a regular makeup primer. All I need is the SPF and my skin is prepped and ready to go! I’ve currently got a few SPFs on the go, but the two I’m enjoying the most are the All-day Airy Sunscreen*+ from Dear Klairs and the Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum*+ from SKIN1004, which are both are SPF50+ and PA++++. One of the things I’ve been on the hunt for in recent years has been a really nice lightweight foundation that still has good coverage. I’ve been able to narrow it done to a few favourites so far, but the one that I’ve been loving over the summer has been the Fresh & Flawless Skin Tint from Australis. It’s super lightweight but with a lovely coverage that can be built up in the areas were you need a little extra product. With Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin E, it’s also super hydrating while also targeting breakouts. Plus, it’s SPF15+, which gives an extra layer of protection. And for my dry to combination skin friends out there, this skin tint dries down matte, so you probably don’t need to set it down with powder. If you’re on the combination to oily skin side of the spectrum, like myself, you’re more than likely going to need to set this beauty down, especially in your t-zone. Although the skin tint has a really nice coverage, my makeup never looks right if I don’t use a bit of concealer under my eyes to brighten and cover up the lack of sleep. The concealer I’ve found myself reaching for the most recently has been the Full Coverage Concealer+ from It’s All About Me Cosmetics, which is such a nice full-coverage product that easily covers those pesky dark under-eyes. While I don’t often cover my breakouts since I don’t usually have that many and they’re never that bad that I need the extra coverage, I’ve found that this concealer works like a charm for annoying breakouts as well. Now as I said, I’m someone who needs a bit of setting powder to help combat the joys of having combination skin, even though the skin tint dries down matte. But even if I was blessed with drier skin, I’d still have to use a bit of setting powder on the concealer anyway. My absolute holy grail when it comes to setting powder is the Peach Cotton Multi-Finish Powder* from SKINFOOD. I swear this powder gives your skin an IRL airbrush while also setting everything down for the day. I’m genuinely obsessed with this powder and need a lifetime supply! Plus, it has a super subtle peach scent that has been a welcome addition to my makeup application time. But don’t worry, you won’t be going around smelling peaches all day. I tend to focus the powder on my t-zone and anywhere I’ve applied concealer, and then just brush the excess over the rest of my face. Rounding out the face products is to add a little colour and health to my face, namely in the form of bronzer! I love contouring, but sometimes I just cannot be bothered with doing a full contour, and sometimes I just don’t need to be that defined, so instead I just stick with bronzer. My holy grail bronzer is the Bronzer Reloaded from Makeup Revolution, specifically ‘Holiday Romance’. It’s a gorgeous bronzer that can be used for a nice natural touch of sun, or glammed right up for those times you need to look a little more done-up and dramatic. When applying bronzer, I mainly stick to my cheekbones and around my forehead, in the areas where the sun is going to hit you the most - just enough to give my face a little dimension and a bit of a healthy glow. Now its time to tackle the eyes. One of two products that are a MUST, even if I’m not wearing any other makeup products, is for the eyebrows. While I’m not so much about taming my brows and keeping them in place, as someone who dyes their hair a few shades darker than my natural colour, I need to do my brows in order to inject a little colour and actually make it look like I have brows. Every time I need a new brow product, I like to try a new brand to give them a whirl, and my current product of choice that I have been loving is the Brow Power Tinted Brow Gel from DB Cosmetics. The pigment packs a punch (mainly because my hair is also currently in desperate need of a re-dye), and it keeps my brows under control all day. Even though I like trying new products, this one is definitely going to be a re-purchase down the track! If you’ve seen my eyeshadow collection, you’ll notice a trend - I have a LOT of a brown, neutral, and earth-tone palettes to the point where I know I’ve got repeat shades. But I can’t help it! Brown palettes call to me and I love the looks I can create with them, from a super natural and subtle look to an all-out vampy and glam look. And while I like to dip in and out of several palettes, the one I’ve continually been going back to since I purchased it is the Coca-Cola x Morphe Unity Collection Artistry Palette from Morphe. It’s an absolutely stunning palette with Morphe’s gorgeous eyeshadow formula, and I can’t get enough of the brown shades. Although don’t get me wrong, the pops of colour in the stunning shimmers can’t be easily ignored. My current go-to eye look is SUPER simple. Like, compared to how I used to do a “simple” eye look back in the day, this is like almost doing nothing. All I do, regardless of palette, is use a dark brown, sometimes black if I’m feeling a little something different, as an eyeliner on my top lashes. And if I’m feeling really adventurous, I’ll lightly line the bottom lashes with the same shade too. Then all I do is blend/smudge it out a little and pop a bright shimmer in the inner corners for a bit of highlight. That’s it. It’s that simple. But I LOVE it! And if I need to vamp things up just a little bit more, I might use a creme gel liner instead, or go straight for the liquid liner and rock a wing. The second of the two products that are a MUST without any other makeup is mascara - I genuinely feel naked if I leave the house without it! I’ve always got a few mascaras on the go at any one time, choosing whichever feels right for the day ahead. But the one I’ve been reaching for the most recently is the Glamour Waterproof Mascara+ from It’s All About Me Cosmetics. It’s a nice and simple mascara that I’ve found wears really well throughout the day and because it’s waterproof it doesn’t smudge easily. It’s also really easy to remove at the end of the day, which I appreciate in a good mascara - there is nothing worse than still having mascara on even after using a good makeup remover! And last, but certainly not least, the lips! I’ve always been a sucker for a matte liquid lipstick, but like a lot of people, the mask-wearing era of the pandemic really affected my lipstick wearing, and I’m kind of still going sans-lipstick a lot of the time these days. But one lip product that I’ve been enjoying since the pandemic is lip tints - I love that they’re just as pigmented and bright as a matte liquid lipstick, but are way more lightweight and hydrating. I was super fortunate to be sent the entire 8-shade range of the Fixing Tint*+ from ETUDE, and I’ve been obsessed ever since! The entire range has a shade for every occasion, but as someone who loves either a subtle nude lip or a bright orange or red lip, the three shades I tend to reach for the most are ‘02 Vintage Red’, ‘04 Ginger Milk Tea’ and ‘03 Mellow Peach’. The ETUDE tints have a beautiful pigment, feel really hydrating, and wear super well throughout the day. And that’s pretty much it! While this routine can be crammed into a short space of time, I still like to leave myself around half an hour to do my makeup like this, just to make sure everything is applied how I want it and blended to perfection. And because the routine is so simple, it’s really easy to elevate it and add in a few other products like highlighter, blush, liquid liner, or more eyeshadow to change things up a little. As someone who used to sometimes go a little too bold with makeup or spend way too long applying my makeup, perfecting this much more simple routine has been really fun and helped me refine my general makeup application. I finally feel like I’ve got a good everyday routine that can be adapted when I need to, while also still feeling confident in my abilities to go bold when the occasion calls for it.
What are some of your favourite everyday makeup staples? And a Happy Galentine’s and Happy Valentine’s Day for next week - whether you’re celebrating with your friends, spending time with your other half, or just enjoying your own company, I hope you have a fabulous time. Chat soon! Victoria :) |
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