Tuesday 30 December 2014

Minimal Makeup







Don't get me wrong, there are times where I won't hesitate to slather on loads of makeup and invest a lot of time into looking in control of my life, but there are certainly days when putting on a full face of makeup is just not in the cards.
On these days, this tends to be the look I go for. It's very minimal: in winter I love the look of flushed cheeks and more natural skin, so what I've used are what I consider to be the bare necessities of looking presentable or fireside-ready.

On lighter makeup days, I tend to skip on the foundation and instead opt only for a concealer and a powder. My skin isn't particularly spot ridden, and I find that leaving it foundation free makes taking off my makeup in the evening a lot quicker (got to get the laziness factor in there).
I use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 2- Cool Medium. It's quite a creamy, heavy concealer and is ideal for under the eyes. I blended this  in with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to soften the coverage.
I then used Chanel's Natural Finish Pressed powder in Clair just dusted on the T-zone with Sephora's mineral powder brush (#45). This just counteracts any shine that I tend to be prone to during the day and helps keep an even skin tone.
Soap and Glory's Archery Eyebrow Pencil has a small pencil and a mighty spoolie and is perfect for quickly and naturally filling in the brows.
As far as eyes went, I couldn't really be bothered with the whole eyeliner, eyeshadow shebang, so just opted for one layer of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. The formula of this admittedly isn't ideal as it comes out quite liquid and takes an age to dry, but it is thickening and gives a lot of volume quickly in just one coat.
My favourite part of this look is definitely the lips. I used a Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in the shade Rose Aurora from Elizabeth Arden. It comes out as quite a sheeny dusty pink, but can easily be built up to a darker, fuller rosy colour- a 'your lips but better' kind of shade. I finished off with a bit of Sweet Gloss Intense Color Gloss from Victoria's secret that is a rose shade with brown undertones.

I am a big fan of this makeup look as it can all be done in about 5 minutes and involves minimal stress, needs little touching up during the day and just looks quite naturally lovely during the winter.

xo, Anna

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