Pictorial Play: My Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello Again!

It's Friday, and I'm so ready for the weekend. I have a little going on this week so I can't sleep in. But I don't have to punch anybody's clock so that's a plus!.

This morning, I thought that I would take photos of my morning makeup routine. I wanted to walk you through my steps.

So Let's GO!

Step 1:

I always start with a mattyfying primer. My primer of choice has been No7 Beautifully Matte Primer.

Then I even out my skin tone with my foundation (shown in photo 1). I used MAC ProLongWear Foundation in NC44.

Step 2:

I then do my brows. Today I think I went a little too heavy but I used my usual mix. Maybelline Define A Brow in Medium Brown and MAC Girl Boy Brow Set.

Step 3:

Next, I apply my concealer in all the places that I want to stand out. I don't use a color corrector for my darkness, I find that using a concealer with a peach undertone works just fine. I apply it under my eyes, middle of the forehead, chin, cupids bow, and down the center of my nose. Today, I used LA Girl Pro Concealer in Medium Beige

Step 4:

Next, I blend out the concealer with a Beauty Blender sponge. I blur the edges of the concealer with my foundation brush (Bdellium Studio 957 Precision Kabuki), and I set it all the areas with a loose powder. The powder I used was Ben Nye Visage Powder in Cameo.

Step 5:

I then do my eye-makeup. I usually add a eyeshadow base but today I used my concealer as a base. I set that concealer with my all over face powder and then went in with shadows. Today I used MAC Saddle eyeshadow in the crease and MAC Woodwinked eyeshadow on the lid. I defined my top lash line with MAC Smolder eyekohl and applied MAC In Extreme Dimension Mascara to my lashes.

Step 6:

Next, my favorite part, I contour with foundation. I usually use a shade 2-3 times darker and one that has more of a red undertone due to my natural skin tone being so yellow. In this photo I used a powder foundation. MAC Studio Fix Powder in NW45.

Step 7:

The next step is to set the entire face.  This step is crucial for me because I'm so oily. It locks the foundation in place and allows for longer wear. I brush away the excess powder from my highlight. I add mascara to my bottom lashes (Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara) and I set me entire face with a mineral pressed powder. It blends all the lines between the highlight, contour and foundation. I ALWAYS use MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium Deep. I then spray my face with a makeup spray to allow the products to melt into the skin. Lately I've been using Loreal Infallible Pro Makeup Extender Spray.

Step 8:

Now that everything is meshing together, I add my highlight and blush. The highlight is applied to the highest points on my cheek bones, above my top lip and on the tip of my nose. Here, I used The Balm Cindy Lou-Manizer. The blush is appled to the cheek bones and faded into the contour. Here, I used MAC SuperNova Mineralized Blush (this is a limited edition color).

THE FINISH:

My last step is to add a lip color. Today I chose MAC More to Love Prolongwear lip pencil and MAC Patent Polish Lip Crayon in Hopelessly Devoted (another limited edition product).

My morning routine can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on if I use eyeshadow and lashes. But normally the whole face process takes about 20.

One day, I'll have the energy and the equipment to record my process. Until then, I'll keep posting my step by steps. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I appreciate all comments and feedback.

XOXO