Disclaimer: It feels sort of ironic to be writing this post this morning when I was just about faced with one of my biggest fears. Being the last car in car line for preschool drop off (we’ve never been late once) but one minute later would have forced me to walk the girls into school to their classrooms with my scary no-makeup zombie face, wearing full two piece striped pajamas, husbands slippers & un-brushed hair. So clearly I am an expert in beauty, let’s hop right to it.
First things first, skincare. I have been using this Yes To Grapefruit face wash for years & I still love it. It is a gentle exfoliator, smells so good & always keeps my skin from breaking out. I remove my eye makeup with jojoba oil, wash my face, and then use a few more drops of jojoba oil in & with a drop of Frankincense oil as my moisturizer. I know it sounds crazy to use oil as a moisturizer, but I love it more than any face lotion I have ever used, it dries quickly so it doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy, and it also promotes healthy, glowing skin long after it is applied.
I use Laura Mercier Radiance Primer & Nars Tinted Moisturizer (in the color Alaska right now but usually go a shade darker in the summer) as my base. If I am in a hurry or just on a casual day, I wear the tinted moisturizer alone, it has great light coverage and goes on so soft and smooth. I use Mac Mineralize Concealer, which I absolutely love, I feel like it never creases and does a great job of hiding my dark circles, and I set my makeup with a super light layer of translucent powder. Nars Bronzer in Laguna has been my go-to for years, I will never use anything else, it has the perfect hint of ashy-bronze without looking orange, and stays on all day. I recently tried Pixi Glowy Powder as a highlighter and absolutely love it, there are a few different shades and I love using it on my cheekbones! I almost always use Stila Shadow in Kitten, it is super light & shimmery, but also very nude/sheer, this also works amazing as a highlighter! 😉
I have been wearing the same mascara for years, I swear I have tried them all but continue to come back to my favorite L’Oreal Voluminous mascara (the original!) and lately have been loving the Lash Primer as well. I don’t have my lash extensions anymore, and on a whim I will wear Ardell Wispies, they are really lightweight, look very natural & are easy to apply. My favorite Mac lip gloss was discontinued (tears!) and I am currently trying every shade of nude lipstick/lip gloss on the planet looking for a new fav (feel free to leave recommendations if you have a good one!). I love the Marvelous Moxie glosses, they’re minty & the perfect consistency! I also just found this Pixi Max Lip Lift nude gloss at Target last weekend, it is a little sheer but so far I love it as an everyday gloss.
I hope that is helpful in answering some of your questions, let me know if I’ve missed anything & I will be sure to answer in the comments! I also love hearing makeup recommendations & favorites, so if you have a good one, be sure to leave it below as well! XO
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I’m sure your no makeup face isn’t as zombie-like as you say! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Hahahah about your morning!! Too funny!! 🙂 And I’ve so been there!!
I have been using coconut oil as a moisturizer at night!! It’s a bit greasy, so I don’t use it in the morning. One of my mom’s friends has been using coconut oil for a few months and her skin is amazing!! She’s almost 60 and has no wrinkles or fine lines. Truly amazing!! And she credits it to coconut oil 🙂
-Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com
My fav concealer is kind of new… tarte shape tape. From someone who has hereditary dark circles….AMAZING.
Makeup Forever Artist Rouge Lipsticks in Creamy are my favorite. Awesome nude colors. My favorite moisturizing lip gloss is Bite Beauty Agave lip balm…recently came out with the stick version! The best!
Thank you for this recommendation! I have the same hereditary circles! Just got some!! 🙂
MAC Boy Bait (Gloss) is THE BEST for everyday wear – you can add Blankety (lipstick) for a casual night out!!!
Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Bare Baby is so good! Smells delish too
Thank you for posting this!!! I always wonder what you are wearing. I also love that Nars tinted moisturizer, it has been my favorite forever!
Have you tried Buxom gloss or Marc Jacobs lip gloss? They are both sooo great! A YouTuber I follow posted that she loves the BareMinerals lip gloss, so I am going to try that for Spring/Summer.
Yes! Bare Minerals is the Marvelous Moxie! It’s so good!! 🙂
Love your picks and will definitely be trying some! Any self tanner recommendations? VS was my go to and it’s been discontinued :(.
I LOVE Tanwise, I buy it from Sally’s! They have a face one that is a gel and is awesome, it dries super quick and is easy to apply very evenly (and smells good!!) and then a lotion for the body which is super subtle so you can layer it and gives great bronzy/not-orange color! I think you can also find it on Amazon if you don’t have a Sally’s nearby! XO
Hi! I was told that Mac’s “underage” was going to be renamed “signs of spring” have you tried that one? Might be similar if not the exact same:) I’m also obsessed with that mascara, always go back to it!
What about blush?
Have you ever tried Senegence?! We make a lipstick that lasts up to 18 hours and is amazing, as well as a ton of other face products that are incredible! I’d love to help you find the perfect lip color! My email is brittsbeautyboutique@gmail.com if you are interested!
I’ve been loving Tarte products lately. Mainly their maracuja concealer and Amazonian clay blush. I also really like Bare Minerals complexion rescue tinted moisturizer.
What brush is that in your pictures? So glad you posted this!! I started using Yes To! products the first time you talked about them years ago, which cleared up my acne FINALLY! I love them and will never go back!
Lemonaid by Benefit is the ABSOLUTE HANDS DOWN BEST for dark circles. A must try if u haven’t. It lightens the eye area vs adding concealer to a dark area. Trust me on this one!
What skin type do you have? I don’t wear much makeup but I love Dr. Jart BB Beauty Balm, or Bareminerals original foundation. Bareminerals or Buxon are my favorite lip gloss brands. Have you ever tried the Clarisonic? I’ve had mine for about a year now and don’t know how I ever lived without it!
I would love to send you some lipstick & eye shadow to try <3
Might be a little dark for going in to spring but I bought whirl lipstick from mac last fall for a great nude and I love it and get a lot of compliments on it!!
I know you said you got rid of your lash extensions….have you ever heard of Rodan+Fields Lash Boost?? I started using it in October and am just a tiny bit obsessed. It’s a serum that you put on your upper Lash line once a day….by 4 weeks I noticed longer looking lashes, and by 10 weeks?? Holy cow I love them. I’d love to hook you up to try it for yourself. Who doesn’t love lashes?!
Have you tried/ heard of Rodan + Fields Lash Boost? Clinically proven to give you longer, fuller and darker looking lashes. I’ve been using it since October and can get compliments on my lashes all the time now!! It’s amazing!
Florabundance come back to us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Omg stephanie! Love this comment, I knew it was you before I even looked at the email address!! I will never forget buying tubes and tubes of it for us to have on hand! 😉
I’m OBSESSED with Beautycounter’s Lip Glosses and Lip Sheers! The gloss isn’t sticky (like actually not sticky!) and has a slight hint of natural vanilla–so good! Opal is probably my favorite and reminds me of Vanilla Frosting Lip Smackers from back in the day! Twig or Terra are my every day lip shades and Plum and Scarlet are for when I’m feeling a little fancy! 🙂 Feel free to check them out here: http://www.beautycounter.com/krystenschwartz?goto=cosmetics.html
Have you tried Arbonne’s makeup line? I would love to send you some lip gloss/lipstick samples!
Arbonne is amazing! I wish I could afford one of the skin lines, I did a 7 day sampler kit and my skin had never looked more amazing.
My favorite nude gloss is Hard Candy in Swan Lake, I can usually find it at Target and Walmart 🙂 Love all your other suggestions to try!!
Have you tried Burt’s Bees lipsticks? They have some good nude options!
Love this post! Do you have a favorite perfume or lotion?
Dior Addict Gloss in angelique is a great nude and Anastasia of Beverly Hills has some great nude glosses, I am into Vintage right now. It has just the right amount of color and the glosses are only $16! I got them at Sephora.
This is such a great post! I got the Yes To Grapefruit face wash and I already love it!
Thank you for sharing!! I use a few of the products you mentioned but will definitely check out the others! XOXO
I saw a picture of you the other day and thought “dang her eyelashes look good, I wish I could afford extensions!” But then when I read your post and you said you didn’t have them anymore, I went to Ulta and got the mascara & primer you use! And holy moly!!!! I LOVE IT!! Thank you so much for the recommendation!!! L’Oréal is also buy 2 get one free at Ulta this week!
I will be trying all of these products! Thanks for sharing.
How did you get the scroll of the make up products? I love how when you hover over them it shows the price. Would you mind sharing how you did this?
What do you use for eyelash glue? I’ve never used false lashes and would love to give it a try!