The Makeup Regimen 2.0: For perfectly faked clear skin & “natural” makeup

I have gone through a lot of makeup.

I have gone from Wet & Wild eyeliners in high school (remember those?), to that icky sticky sweet glossy stuff that came out of a tube that I thought was THE BOMB, to wearing silver eyeliner and eyeshadow because I did not know any better, to realizing that looking like me and natural, but a little more enhanced, is my thing.

I like the natural-but-better look any day – for life and for work. No fake bright colours like this for me, thankyouverymuch.

Only if I go to an event or a night-thing ,will I try to attempt a smokey eye of some sort (I suck at these), and wear bright red lipstick (that is, if I am Little Bun-free for the night), and that is as “wild” as it gets.

For the most part, my makeup is pretty subdued, but with hints of pretty if that makes any sense.

Fixing the beauty foundation is more important

I am trying my best to focus on skincare (hence the recent laser experiment for better skin that cost about $1000, and other such gems), because I want a good base to work on — great skin is the best thing you can hope for before slathering on all that makeup.

I have a few acne scars on my cheeks (not much) but I can tell when I angle my face that they are a bit deep / pockmarked, but aside from my toddler-induced dark under eye circles from serious sleep deprivation, my skin is on the whole, in very good shape to begin with.

I have very few wrinkles (only laugh-induced which I am cool with), and no deep ones on my forehead that are noticeable.

A couple of sun spots, but I am working on eliminating those…

• Read: My beauty regimen for the daytime and my skincare regimen for the nighttime.

Oh the irony of beauty…

I am also not immune to the complete RIDICULOUSNESS that is linked to having “flawless”, “perfect”, yet “makeup-free-like” “natural skin” being complete horse#(%*#)%.

I work about 15 minutes a day to achieve this “flawless yet makeup-free look”, and trust me, it takes a lot of makeup and work behind the scenes. No one wakes up like this.

NO ONE.

But I am okay with all of this hypocrisy surrounding women & beauty because I am also confident enough to head out without doing a damn thing to my skin but put on some sunscreen, and CHOOSE to wear makeup on a regular basis.

I just like having my skin breathe once in a while, that’s all.

I am not that type of girl who can’t leave the house without a done face. I would prefer it because I would always look incredible in any photos being taken (if any), but I am not hung up on it. If anyone says that it is horrifying to leave without being perfectly made up.. welll… Whatchu gon’ do!?!? 😛

..and people have been fooled, believe it or not

I am not talking about men. Almost all men are fooled with makeup because they have NO IDEA what to look for as telltale signs of makeup-wear. They almost always think that most women are “naturally pretty” and “naturally beautiful” which is more horse #(%*#….

I am talking about WOMEN.

Nothin’ gets past us. WE KNOW when someone has been ladling on makeup and can spot it a mile away.

But for real, actual real-life women have been fooled by my skin and eyes and have asked me point blank in confusion: But.. do you wear foundation? Do you wear mascara? Are you wearing fake eyelashes?

When I hear that, I tell them the truth: “Yes I load makeup on my face every morning like spackle for construction and no these are my REAL lashes“, and I very gladly share tips and give them the names of the actual products I use so they too, can have beautifully faked natural beauty.

Others like my mother just stare at me dumbfounded:…. but .. you look like a movie star. How.. how!? You looked like some sleep-deprived, train wreck on Skype the other day when I talked to you….!

Snaps to good makeup and proper technique 😉

So. What do I put on as makeup?

CREATING THAT ELVEN SKIN

Liquid all-over Foundation

Dermablend Smooth Liquid Camo Medium Coverage Foundation SPF 25 – $38

This is PERFECT. It is my holy grail and it covers my imperfections amazingly. It looks like I have airbrushed skin after I put about a small pea-sized amount on there and my skin looks ridiculously Elven.

Yellow Dark under-eye primer

Nyx HD Photogenic Concealer Wand – $5

I use this after my foundation so that I add a BIT more primer underneath my eyes to counteract the dark purple in my under eyes to even out the skin tone and colour.

Concealer

Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Stick Foundation – $25

I actually use this foundation as a concealer instead because it is so stick that I can’t imagine putting it ALL over my face.

I just use it to touch up areas that look like they need a BIT more coverage (redness, spots), and then I blend it out with a brush.

Powder-setting foundation

Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder – $35

After ALL of that goes on there to remove under eye circles and imperfections, I do a light dusting of this powder on my forehead, across my eyes and my cheeks.

It works well until about noon, but my skin is so oily that I need to remove the oil and blot my skin halfway through the day (which I think has been helping my acne as well).

(My oily skin seems terrible now but it is great for when I get older because it helps me continue to keep my skin look younger, longer…)

STUNNINGLY “NATURAL” EYES

Eyeliner

Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner – $14

This is the best liquid eyeliner I have ever used. Hands down.

It is not too liquid-y, it is light, water-y ish and it goes on well, stays like iron and doesn’t rub off but isn’t waterproof. I love it.

It doesn’t flake off either like those shellacked eyeliners I have tried in the past that end up as little brown flakes on my cheeks.

Mascara

Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara – $5

This is ALSO the best mascara I’ve ever used — it beats all my other mascaras hands down, and when I have tried this with other more expensive mascaras, it doesn’t give me the thickness or length of this one.

Also.. can’t beat the price. AMAZING.

Brightening Eyeliner

Urban Decay 24/7 House of Harlow 1960 Eyeliner (Goldmine) – $20

I have done something recently called “tightlining” where you line the INSIDE of your eyes. Some people do this on the top right in between the lashes to make your eyes look even bigger but that is a lot of work and I don’t want eyeliner on my eyeballs.

I just do it on the bottom part of my eyes, just on the inside, and this light gold makes my eyes pop and look MASSIVE. It is like they’re being lit from within.

Eyelash Curler

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler – $22

If I feel like it but I really don’t need to, my naturally-faked lashes are so super long from the eyelash growing serum (see below) I don’t need to.

I just do a few little curls and it’s done.

Eyebrow pencil

Anastasia Perfect Brow Pencil – $23

I need this to frame my face, and I have considered the $500 treatment of semi-permanent microblading (tattooing on eyebrows) but haven’t reached that yet.

I shade in my eyebrows and they look great.

Behind the scenes: EyEnvy Eyelash lengthening serum

EyEnvy Eyelash Lengthening / Growing Serum – $100

My own lashes. But super long. They look… AWESOME. I don’t even really need to curl them, and they naturally curl up and look great.

FOR A ROSY GLOW

Blush/Bronzer

Hourglass Ambient Dim Lighting Powder – $22

I know this is a lighting contouring powder, but I use it as a blush. I just dab a bit on the apples of my cheeks and it glows a little, but adds a bit of pinkness without being too PINK and out there.

Lipstick / Lip stuff of some sort

At this moment I rotate through a bunch:

• Coola SPF 30 Mineral Liplux Balm – $18
• Nars Satin Lip Pencil – $27
• Revlon Colorbust Lip Butter – $8

I am trying not to buy any more so that I can just work through them and FINISH them before treating myself to any new colours. Who needs more than 3-5 lip colours anyway?

KEEPING THE SHINE AWAY

Mid-Day blotting

I love these J&J sheets…

..but you can also try this cheapie Nyx Shine Killer primer that thus far (knock on wood) has not made me break out and has really worked on keeping shine away.

What do you wear as makeup?