Everyday Face Makeup

When done correctly, face makeup can make your skin look even and flawless while highlighting your best features.  The goal here is not to make you look like you have makeup on--it is to make your skin appear naturally beautiful.  You never want to look like you've caked on a bunch of foundation.  You do want to look like you just have really beautiful skin.  This is my go-to face makeup routine.  Yours may not be exactly the same as mine; you should make appropriate product substitutions to fit your skin's needs.  I have normal to dry skin, so I tend to go for products that make my skin appear glowy versus matte.  You may not even need foundation if you're lucky enough to have naturally flawless skin.  And if you're in a hurry, you can skip some of the steps and only do what your skin really needs.

*I applied moisturizer and eye cream as well as my eye makeup first.

1. Dot your foundation all over your face with your fingers, then use a Beauty Blender (if you're not familiar with the Beauty Blender, go buy one immediately! You use it damp, and it gives the perfect natural-looking finish) to pat the product into your skin (don't rub if you use the Beauty Blender).  You can also use a foundation brush like the Sigma F80 to buff the product into your skin with circular motions.  My favorite everyday foundation is the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup.

2.  Dot a pink-toned concealer under your eyes and blend it in with the tip of the Beauty Blender (again, patting instead of rubbing).  I like the Bobbi Brown Corrector.  You want to use a pinker concealer under your eyes instead of a yellow concealer to counteract dark circles.

3. Use a large brush like the Sigma F50 to apply bronzer for a sun-kissed glow.  Bronzer should go underneath your cheekbones, on your temples, and on your jawline.  You can also blend it down your neck if your face looks more tan than your neck.  The bronzer I used here is the Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder.

4.  Use a fluffy blush brush like the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply your blush.  Smile to find the apples of your cheeks, and use the brush to buff the blush into your skin.  The blush I used is the ELF Studio Blush in Passion Pink (looks super bright in the pan but sheers out and is beautiful on all skin tones).  Your bronzer and blush should blend into one another--there shouldn't be an obvious line of demarkation between the two.

5.  Optional:  Use a light, iridescent highlighting powder on the tops of your cheekbones and down your nose to give you a candle-lit glow.  Here, I used the Lorac Perfectly Lit Luminizing Powder in Spotlight with a Bare Minearls Tapered Blush Brush (any small, fluffy brush will work).

6.  Take a soft kabuki brush with no product on it (like the Real Techniques Kabuki Brush) and go over your face in circular motions.  This is an important step that will blend everything together (again, you don't want obvious lines).  If you have oily skin or are concerned about the staying power of your makeup, you can put some setting powder on the brush for this step.  I usually skip powder because I have dry skin.

The end result is even, natural-looking skin!  (Yes, this was the same day.  I just changed my outfit).  If you have any face makeup tips, leave them below!