Lauren’s Summer #MOTD

I think by now, you know I like makeup. (When I wrote that, I thought of Pheobe from Friends saying “THAT IS BRAND NEW INFORMATION.”

When I put on makeup every day, I really do love it. On rougher days, it can be my favorite part of my whole day. I look at it like putting on armor of sorts, and I really enjoy the whole process. I like experimenting with different makeup looks and color, but lately, I’ve been into more of a natural look. It’s probably because it’s 112 degrees every day and it just feels like too much. But let’s face it- my natural look involves a lot of products because it’s still me, and I love makeup. So I thought I would share my more natural-ish, Summer Makeup of the Day. (That is what #MOTD stands for, Mom.)

See? Natural-ish. But let’s be real, it still takes over 10 products, so read more to get all the deets.

Here is everything I used with the exception of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette ($62), which I love but somehow forgot to photograph.

As I mentioned last week, I’m really into my Wet n Wild MegaCushion Foundation SPF 15 in shade Light Ivory ($8.99). I really don’t need a ton of coverage, but it just evens things out a bit. But if I am in rush, I skip it completely and just use concealer. Because I am extra, I use two concealers, but my face has Special Needs. (Remember that 1800 CONTACTS commercial where the guy said he had Special Eyes? That is how I am with concealer.) I recently purchased the Bare Minerals BARESKIN Complete Coverage Serum Concealer ($21). I have been looking for a replacement for my Tarte Aquacealer Concealer since I’m not supporting Tarte right now, and I think this concealer from Bare Minerals is a really nice option. I don’t really need a heavy, super full-coverage concealer. And I’m about to be 36, I definitely don’t need a drying concealer drawing more attention to that area making it look worse than if I was wearing nothing. So these lightweight, serum-y texture concealers are really nice. I do think this does have a nice bit of coverage as well. If you are dealing with major darkness, it might not be enough, but I definitely think it’s a great natural looking concealer.

However, because of my Special Needs, I need a different concealer on my nose. My nose tends to get really oily and red throughout the day, so even if I’m doing light makeup everywhere else, I really have to focus on my nose to make sure it stays a normal, human color. This NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer ($30) is my best friend. I just dot it on my nose with my finger where it tends to get red, in addition to spot concealing blemishes. After I am done with my two concealers (I know, ridiculous), I use the TINIEST BIT of Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder Mini ($23). I know people that use this all over their face, and they bake under their eyes and they go all out. I am not that kind of girl. If I use too much powder under my eyes, I look like the crypt keeper. So I use a small tapered brush, around the size of a highlighter brush, and I dab in the tiniest bit of powder and tap off the excess to the point where you can barely see powder on the brush anymore. And THAT tiny amount is what I use under my eyes to set my concealer. I do the same thing over my nose. This keeps me looking like a normal human for the entire day.

At this point, I usually use a big brush with the aforementioned Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette ($62), rub it around all three colors, and graze it lightly around the perimeter of my face.

Then, I’ll use a bit of my Physician’s Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer ($14.99) in the color Bronzer to warm up my face, just to bring a bit of color back. I’ll dab a bit of Glossier Cloud Paint cream blush in Beam ($18) on my cheeks and blend it out a bit with a beauty sponge. Then, I’ll top it off with a bit of Colourpop Super Shock Highlighter in Lunch Money ($8). Sometimes I leave it there, and sometimes, I’ll brush on a bit more highlighter from the Colourpop In-Nude-End-Do highlighting palette ($18) for a bit more glow.

The eyes look so simple, but it actually involved like 7 shadows. OF COURSE. However, it really takes like 3 minutes to do, so it’s really not complicated at all. So, the lightest shade on the far left is Makeup Geek Vanilla Bean ($6). I use that to set my eye primer so it’s not sticky and the colors blend a bit more seamlessly. (You can also use regular powder to set the lid, but I have this handy.) I follow that with the shade directly to the right, Makeup Geek Peach Smoothie ($6). I use that as my transition shade, so the darker colors that follow have a nice blend. Next, I use the color on the bottom right, Makeup Geek Frappe ($6) to deepen the crease, and I blend it out pretty far on my bottom lash line. If you look at that picture above, you’ll see I have crazy long lower lashes, so I bring my shadow down pretty far. After that, I used the brown shade at the very top of the palette, Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear ($6). I use that to deepen my lower lashline a bit more, closer to the lashes than Frappe. Now is the fun part: the SHINY part.

I use my finger on the shade Grandstand from Makeup Geek ($10), (bottom row, middle shade) and tap it alllll over my lid. I’m not being really careful here, just covering the lid. I use a brush to sort of blend that Frappe color into Grandstand so there aren’t any harsh lines, but this isn’t a precise look. I make that shade pop a bit more by using my finger to add just the shade on the bottom right, Makeup Geek In The Spotlight ($10), right in the center of the lid. Both Grandstand and In The Spotlight are from Makeup Geek’s “Foiled” line, so they are a little more than their regular shadows, but this formula is BEAUTIFUL. They are so soft – they feel like butter, and they are crazy metallic. Just really, really gorgeous. To finish everything up, I add Colourpop Pep Talk to my inner corner to bring a bit of light there. (Pep Talk is no longer sold on the Colourpop site, so Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma ($6) would work also!)

And finally, I add a bit of Glossier Boy Brow ($16) in my brows and add a bit of Lancome Monsieur Big mascara (The mini was $12!) I like this mascara, but it almost makes my lower lashes TOO long, so sometimes I need to tone it down a bit down there. I still haven’t totally decided how I feel about this mascara but something tells me I won’t be re-purchasing. I like it OK, and I’ll use it up, but I def like other mascaras more.

The best thing about this super easy look is that you can really pair almost any lip look with it. In the pic above, I’m wearing Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème Lipstick in Slow Burn ($30 for full-size, but I’m still using a deluxe sample!) topped with a bit of Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer in Sugar Sugar ($28 – I have a deluxe sample of this, too!). (Sephora is actually selling a little set of the exact mini lipstick and gloss I mentioned with a little coordinating lip liner for $25! I think the set I have was from a Sephora 500-point perk, but it’s almost the same.) The next day, I did a bright berry lip with Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lip in Split ($4.80). It’s so easy!

I know this sounds like a billion products to get a look that doesn’t really look like you used that many products, but I can do all of this in less than 10 minutes, so it actually goes pretty fast. Are you wearing less makeup this summer? What are some of your fave summer products? Let me know what I should buy next!

xo,
Lauren

laurenelectro

A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.