Hello hello, it's time for one of my favorite posts to do, and that is my updated makeup routine! I have been trying out a lot of new products for y' all and I couldn't wait for any more to sit down and tell you all about them and why I love them. I even have a dupe for Tarte Shape Tape in here! So keep reading to find out all about the makeup products I've been loving lately!
I created a collage with all of the products that I have talked about in this post in case you want to go ahead and shop them! You can also shop them by clicking any word that is gold in the post! The gold words will take you to whatever the product or person I am talking about it is! This is also true for every blog you see in the future!
I am explaining how I use everything and why I love it in this blog post, but if you guys want to see these products in action and want to see exactly how I use them to leave me a comment below and let me know that you want a tutorial! I want this to be beneficial to you and be easiest to view, so let me know what you guys want!
Step 1 - Getting Your Face Ready for Makeup:
Moisturizer
First things first, moisturizer, you can't start your makeup off and expect it to look great without a hydrated pallet to work on! I have been using THIS moisturizer for the last few weeks and you know if you watch my stories that I am obsessed with this stuff! Like for real, obsessed. I don't think I have ever really felt like a moisturizer worked as well as this one does. I have bumps and things all over and some random dry patches but this stuff knocks all that out.
It goes on like a gel, so its super lightweight, and then it completely dries down into your skin. I use this morning and night after I wash my face whether I am wearing makeup or not. I love to wear it under makeup because it's lightweight so you don't feel like you have pounds of makeup on your skin. I also find that my makeup goes on smoother and has an overall smoother look to it whenever I use this before applying. If you need the link to it (you can also hit the picture of it to shop it) you can click HERE.
Primer
Next up is my primer, I have tried expensive primers before and honestly I just don't think they're worth the money with so many good drug store options out there! You can shop the exact one I am referring to right HERE. I randomly found this one on clearance at Target one day and happened to be out of primer so I thought I would give it a shot. Well, I am sure glad I did. It goes on like silicon and leaves your skin feeling like velvet, which is going to allow your foundation to go on beautifully. It's also ridiculously affordable and lasts a pretty long time. I think I have had the same bottle for over two months now, so I call that a win.
If you're sitting here wondering why you need a primer I'll help you out. A primer is going to give your face the base it needs to apply your foundation. It is going to lock your foundation in and also prevent it all from getting gunked up in your pores and creasing throughout the day. If you're thinking "But isn't that what a setting spray does?" you're partially correct. Your setting spray is used to lock in your makeup, similar to a primer. But your setting spray is not going to stop your makeup from creasing throughout the day. Primers are very beneficial for the summertime because it's hot out and you're sweating and your makeup is basically fighting to stay on your face. Your primer lets your face calm down a little bit.
Step 2 - Foundation and Concealer
Foundation
You guys have already heard me ramble many times about the foundation I've been obsessed with for the last few months so I won't ramble on about it again. If you want to know all of the in's and out's of THIS foundation you can head HERE to see my blog post dedicated to it! Long story short, it's the best and cheapest high-end foundation I have found for oily skin! It's buildable and lasts on the skin all day!
To apply the foundation I use THIS beauty sponge that I am also obsessed with. I have tried a ton of beauty sponges to try to find something comparable to the Beauty Blender with no such luck. Then I found this little bad boy and I am so grateful. I dampen the sponge and then put a few pumps of the foundation on the back of my hand and blend it into my face using the damp beauty sponge.
Concealer
You guys aren't going to believe me when I tell you that I have found the best dupe for Tarte Shape Tape on the market, and it's under $7. You can get it right HERE. I have been searching for months to find something as good as Shape Tape because it was the only concealer that I have found that would cover my dark circles, and actually cover them! The only problem with Shape Tape is the price tag, I am a broke college student who cannot afford that stuff all the time. Then one day I walked into Ulta and my dreams came true.
Okay but really, I put on a generous amount in a triangle shape underneath both eyes and then I blend it out with my damp beauty sponge. Sometimes I will blend up into my nose and between my brows f I have any left over product to use up.
Step 3 - Setting Your Face with Powder
This step is the one I have been the most excited to tell you guys about because I learned about it from Courtney Shields over at Bring Your Own Beauty, and I tried it out myself and was amazed. Before I can tell you how to do the trick I have to tell ya what I use, duh! I have tried a lot of high-end powders which I do love, and will be honest with you and tell you that they are better than this one haha! But, THIS one is a close second to my favorites. It's under $5 and it'll keep your makeup locked in all day long and if you follow my tip you will look like you're wearing much more expensive powder!
Now, we set our face, but put down the big ole fluffy powder brush because you aren't going to need it. Instead, grab your damp beauty sponge, and make sure its damp but not soaking wet (dry it off with a towel to get off the excess water). Take your damp sponge (the pointy smaller end) and dip it into your powder, it can be a pressed or loose powder it doesn't matter. Then you're going to press the powder into your face. I normally like to start with my under eyes and then move around to areas that need powder like my cheeks and forehead. To make sure that everything looks smooth and not powdery I take the bigger end of my sponge and go and press the powder into my skin. I'll do this until the look of the powder is gone and everything looks smooth. This will leave your makeup looking absolutely amazing. Don't thank me for this one though, thank Courtney Shields. If you click her name it will bring you to her Instagram so you can watch all of her amazing beauty tips too!
Step 4 - Eyes and Brows
Eyeshadow
This step is a little bit of a shorter one because I can't really type out exactly what I do to my eyes, but I can link all of the products that I use instead! Firstly before I put on eyeshadow I make sure to prime my eyelids in some way. I usually like to go in with my concealer to do this to cover all of the veins on my eyelids. If you also have veiny eyelids put some concealer on your lids and you'll be good to go! I have been using THIS pallet every day since I got it a few weeks ago. You can seriously create so many looks with it which makes it perfect for traveling! It's also small and compact which makes it very easy to fit into your makeup bag. There's a great number of neutrals in here that make creating different looks effortless!
Eyeliner
If you know me then you know that I don't wear makeup with eyeliner, usually with a wing. It's just my thing and it always has been, my eyes look weird without eyeliner so I always make sure to line them. THIS is the eyeliner I have been using and it works pretty well. If you need an eyeliner that is going to stay on through a war THIS is the one you want. I've tried it and swear by it, it's seriously amazing. I get bad allergies where my eyes water all over the place and THIS eyeliner is the only one that will stay on through the floods.
Brows
I am not the kind of girl that spends forever on her brows, I mainly just fill them in so that they look darker and more full. I have super light blonde eyebrows so I like to go for a pencil that is about a shade or two darker than them and also my hair color. By doing this my eyes pop more, which is my ultimate goal. I have been using THIS one for the last few months now and I love it! It's super easy to blend out!
I actually found that brow pencil from the one and only Tanner Mann from The Life of a Womann (you can find her Instagram and blog by clicking her name and blog name!) and I also found my beauty sponge from her. I pretty much trust her judgment on any product she raves about because I always love them too! She's another one to follow if you love makeup!
Whenever I use this pencil I go through and brush my brows out before with a regular eyebrow brush and brush them upward so that I can see the natural arch. From there I go in and fill in the sparse spots and then go through and backcomb with the other end of the pencil to blend it all in and make it look more natural. Sometimes the last part of that step gets a little messy so I'll take my beauty sponge and clean it up with some of the leftover concealer that's on there from before and then you're good to go.
Mascara
I use a couple of different mascaras, that's because I have very light short lashes, so I try to make them darker and fuller! The first one I use is THIS lengthening one. I have used it for years and it has never failed me. To give my lashes volume and fullness I go in with THIS mascara which I've been using for about a year now!
Step 5 - Contouring and Blush and Highlight
Contouring
Next is my favorite part of my makeup routine and that is contouring, a lot of people tend to skip this step because they think it's hard, but it's not I promise! THIS is the contour palette I use, I have had it for over a year and I love it! I kind of just mix all three of the bottom colors together to get a more personalized color that works with my skin tone. If you need help deciding what color would be best to go with your skin tone I would recommend asking one of the Sephora or Ulta workers! They're super helpful and can make sure that you get a color that works for you! Or you can message me on Instagram and I can try to help you as well! Grab a dense and thin brush like THIS one, and then you're simply going to make the shape of a "3" on your face. I start at my cheeks by hollowing them out (making a fish face) and then going in and putting the powder there and then I take it up to my forehead and sometimes under my jaw bone and then repeat on the other side. It's that simple, and if you mess up to take your beauty sponge and blend out the spots that you messed up.
Blush
Blush is the most important part of your makeup routine and should not be skipped, so if you're skipping this step, stop! I promise blush makes all of the difference in the world to the overall appearance of your makeup. Lately I've been using THIS pallet to do my blush. It's super inexpensive and works great! I use the top left coral color and take a big fluffy brush and put it on the high points of my cheeks. This is going to give you an awake and glowing type of look!
Highlight
One of my favorite highlighters in the world is Champagne Pop by Becca Cosmetics, which you can shop HERE, but I haven't bought it in a while because I found one just as good but for WAY less. The highlighter I use every day is only $4 and it's amazing if you haven't tried THIS one yet you need too!
I take a big fan brush like THIS, and I apply this highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones, my forehead, the bridge of my nose and my cupids bow. This $5 highlight is seriously the secret to looking glowy and it's amazing. If you have a little more money to spend I recommend trying out the Becca one because it's gorgeous and amazing and it will last you a long time!
Step 6 - Setting Your Face
This is the last step and probably the most important one, without this step all of your hard work was basically for nothing. The last thing you're going to do is set your face with a setting spray my favorite is THIS one, but I also love THIS one, it's just more expensive. I like to generously spray this all over my face so that I know that my makeup is locked in. Don't do this step until your mascara is dry otherwise, you will have mascara all over your face, trust me been there done that. Once you spray your face down leave it to dry for a second and you're good to go and your makeup won't be going anywhere.
I hope that you guys found this post helpful, I tried to go in depth as I could so that it would be easy to follow along with! I mentioned before if you guys want to see me do my everyday makeup in a tutorial style video on Instagram, and I can post it here, leave me a comment below telling me you want one! Until then, I'll see you guys next week!
xoxo,