Makeup on the move has to be simple — big impact in a few deft gestures. It isn’t date-night makeup, or rocker-chic hot. It’s about looking fresh, awake and healthy in a flash. I have it down to an easy, speedy routine, one I shared at a two-day Mark’s Work Wearhouse event attended by lots of lovely busy women earlier this week. (If you’re on Twitter, check out #Marksover to see who was there.)
Here’s the what and how-to:
1) Green Beaver Après Ski Winter Lip Balm, $3.99 Load lips up with this all-natural balm before you do anything else.
2) Dermalogica Total Eye Care SPF 15, $56.50 (dermalogica.ca) A light-diffusing eye cream takes the edge off dark circles so you won’t need as much concealer. Olay Regenerist Eye Serum also has light reflective qualities, as does Olay Definity Illuminating Eye Treatment.
3) MAC Select Moisturecover, $20 Use a shade that matches your overall skintone. With the tip of your ring finger, tap-blend concealer into dark shadows that lurk in the inner corners of your upper lids and beside the bridge of your nose as well as underneath your eyes. Also press concealer into the skin around the base of your nose to hide any redness there, and into the crease under your lower lip.
4) MAC Mineralize Skinfinish/Natural, $31 Mineralize Skinfinish quickly gives skin a velvety look rather than a shiny glare. Use a powder brush to apply one that matches your skin to even out tone, and one that is two shades darker as your bronzer — you’ll get a natural, athletic sunkissed look rather than a Kim Kardashian bronze-aholic effect. (Should I have referenced that Snookie character there as the “don’t”?)
5) Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, $22 (Holt Renfrew, Sephora) If you aren’t already in the habit of curling your lashes, get into it now. It takes only seconds and makes eyes look bigger, brighter and more alert. Start at the base of your lashes, hold for a few seconds, then repeat halfway up.
6) Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eye Pencils, $19 (Shoppers Drug Mart, Sephora) You want matte black (0L), black sheen (1L) or dark brown (2L) and a shimmery white (14L). The first move with dark pencil will take practice, but the payoff is amazing if you have sparse lashes: squint and work the pencil tip along the upper inner rim of your lid, at the underside of where your lashes grow.
To add further definition, line along the base of your upper lashline, this time from the topside (where you would ordinarily line), and extend the liner with a little upward tick at the outer corner. Line only the upper lashlines — dark liner underneath makes eyes look smaller and, if you’re tired, more tired.
Use the shimmery white (14L) Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes pencil to line the lower inner rim of your eyes. I line from the inner corner and trail off about halfway along the rim for a subtle glimmer effect. If you have medium/dark or dark skin, a better colour choice for you is GOSH Velvet Touch waterproof liner in Bananas, $11 (Shoppers Drug Mart).
7) CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Blasting Mascara, $8.99 Big impact, little effort. Right here. Use black — the contrast helps make eyes look brighter. This mascara is my go-to because, unlike fat wire-bristle brushes, this wand doesn’t bully my fragile little lashes into a cowering clump. I get great volume and definition fast. Plus, it doesn’t smear into my oily lids or under my eyes the way many others do because of the Asian-esque way my face is built. (My other fave mascara is Clinique Lash Power — its staying power can’t be beat, but it takes a bit more time to get the lushness I like.)
8) Mary Kay Cheek Glaze in Pomegranate, $20 I geeked out over Cheek Glaze earlier this week — it gives lips and cheeks a beautifully natural glow that makes you look like maybe you were just making out with a hottie. Application: dab it over the balm on your lips and tap-blend it on the outer curve of the apples of your cheeks. Yes, you can apply it over powder; it gives cheeks a subtle dewy sheen. And Pomegranate looks wonderful on all skintones, from fair to dark. No exaggeration. One thing: it’s limited-edition, so get it now and start hollering for more until Mary Kay makes it permanent.
This may look like a long list of things and a lot of steps, but it really isn’t. You can skip the tinted eye cream if your shadows are slight, and the liner if your lashes are naturally thick. Some lucky women whose lashes are naturally curved can skip the Shu, too. All you need is a little practice, and suddenly you’ll find you look refreshed in five minutes, ready for that fast lane.
Green Beaver and CoverGirl are both available at Well.ca — note their price for LashBlast is less than certain other retailers, and shipping is free in Canada (no minimum order).
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Great tips! I love MAC MSF — love the idea of getting a darker shade for a bronzer. I also need to try that liner idea…and if I can’t do it, meet me for coffee and show me? ;-)
Michelle
Hah — you can’t fool me, Michelle. I know you’ll master that liner trick the first time you try!
I’ll let you know! I’m gonna try it first thing tomorrow…after a coffee that is. LOL.
Hah ha ha ha! Just the one coffee though — you don’t want the shakes.
You totally sold me on the Green Beaver lip balm. I have it and love it.
It’s my favourite, I can’t lie. I’m so glad you love it, too, Valerie!
Oh yay I have the GOSH Liner in Banana and I had no idea how I could use it. I’ll definitely try that trick! Thanks :)
I love a happy coincidence. Banana should work quite nicely with your skintone, too — it’s serendipity, Arianne!
Have ordered the mascara and lip balm from well.ca and the cheek glaze from Mary Kay…! Thanks for the tips ; )
Awesome, Monica! You are going to love the cheek glaze — you already have the DuWop Bronzerush, but the version with the cream blush, yes? Now you’ll see why I keep going on about the original Bronzerush blush; the glaze is just like it! Love!
Yes, I do have the cream blush version, exactly, which is why I thought I’d order the Mary Kay since you are such a fan of it
; )
These tips are great! Can any balm/glaze type of blush be applied over powder? I always use mineral powder because of my often oily skin, but am never sure what type of blush I should be using…
Thanks, Kristin! Depends on the consistency of the blush. Powder over powder is always safe. Mineral powder foundation is a little more emollient than standard, I find — at least the versions I like, such as the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (which isn’t a mineral foundation in the strictest sense; it has talc and other stuff) and Smashbox’s Halo (which is packed with skin-conditioning ingredients) — so I find they’re more forgiving when you put a creamy blush over them.
That said, I also put cream or the glaze over MAC Blot Powder/Pressed, which isn’t emollient in the least and controls oil like a superstar without building up.
The secret is to use a cream blush that you can easily blend into cheeks with small tapping motions — you don’t want to rub. You can also use a blush brush, actually. That’s a trick I picked up from CoverGirl’s pro artist Greg Wencel, and it’s how I applied the Mary Kay Cheek Glaze on others this week.
CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush is lovely, very sheer and super easy to blend (I’m wearing it in my Chris Noth snuggle photo!). Maybelline’s mousse blushes should also work nicely over mineral foundation; they’re a little drier than the CoverGirl, and easy to tap-blend because of their airy texture. The cheek glaze has a balm feel, so you’ll want use a lighter touch when applying, but you shouldn’t have a problem. Enjoy!
Wonderful, thanks so much!
My pleasure, Kristin! Would love to know how everything works out!
Thanks for the tips – I’m going to try the cheek glaze for sure. Love dermalogica products too!
Thanks for the thanks, Lara :-) Makeup pros like Andrea Claire have been raving to me about that Total Eye Care for years, but I didn’t really take note because it’s $$. I got a wee sample from Dermalogica, and now I’m hooked! Sheesh.
Well I never thought I’d be so mad about a Mary Kay blush, hideous snob that I am, but you convinced even moi. See? I even insert random French words into blog comments. Hopelessly pretentious.
But the healthy formula, your brilliant application technique (a brush? really?), the great great naturally glowy colour and the minimalist packaging (sort of a MAC/Armani hybrid, right?) have convinced me.
I’m so pleased you’re chuffed about it too, Liza! Agreed re: the packaging. Sleek.
Must confess, the brush tip came from the lovely and talented CoverGirl Pro Greg Wencel. I’d never considered using a brush for cream blush like he does — I recoiled when he first mentioned it! And now I’m all over that move (thanks, Greg!).
Et merci, Liza, for your lovely comment :-)
OK I poked my eye a few times but I did it! thanks for the great tip. And after reading again, I realize I have the Banana colour too. *runs to room to get liner*
How much coffee did you have before trying the trick?? *grin*
Yay, you! Funny that you and Arianne both have Banana but weren’t using it. Why is that?? Well, no matter — now you can :-)
I’m swooning over that Mary Kay cheek glaze….hmm. Never thought I would type that in a million years. The packaging looks so modern and clean and the colour! Be still my heart. Gotta get my gruby little hands on that pomegranate glaze.
I have an extra one — I’ll bring it for you! There’s a Tangerine, too, but this Pomegranate is beautiful on everyone. You should see how it looks on Afiya! Gorgeous! Also, she has killer cheekbones. Whatev.