a lovely living

Every once in a while I re-evaluate my make-up routine, but for the most part it is pretty consistent. When I discover a wonderful new product, such as Benefit’s They’re Real mascara, or Urban Decay’s Naked2 eyeshadow pallet, I adjust it as needed and keep the rest as is. Bare Minerals has been my go-to makeup for the past 3 or so years and it’s worked wonderfully. I typically use it year round, with the exception of my casual, summer days where I may only throw on some of Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer as a base.

My typical routine goes something like this:

• Apply well-rested under each eye to cover up any lack of sleep and my genetically acquired under eye circles
• Apply foundation
• Apply warmth in the shape of the number 3 from forehead to cheek to chin on both sides of face to add a touch of color to my wintry white skin
• Apply blush on my upper cheek bones
• Apply mineral veil to hold everything in place
• Apply eyeshadow
• Apply eyeliner (I like to use gray on an average day which is less harsh than black)
• Apply They’re Real mascara to upper and lower lashes
• Apply lipstick (MAC’s syrup is one I turn to often)

 (click image to enlarge)

Of course on days when concealer is necessary to cover any blemishes, I would throw that on as well. And if I know I’ll be having an extra long day I may start this process using Benefit’s POREfessional primer. Other than that, this is the routine that I could basically do in my sleep! Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and leaves me feeling put together.

Here are links to all of the products listed above:

• Bare Minerals well-rested eye brightener
• Bare Minerals READY foundation
• Bare Minerals warmth
• Bare Minerals blush
• Bare Minerals mineral veil
• Urban Decay Naked2 eyeshadow
• Urban Decay eye liner
• Benefit They’re Real mascara
• MAC lipstick in syrup