Everyday Makeup
Healthfully Beautiful
An Everyday Makeup Look from Start to Finish: School and Office Approved
I have put together a complete guide from start to finish on how to do a full, cruelty free, easy, everyday makeup look that is great for school, work, or pretty much any occasion where you want to look good and you want your makeup to last. I have some great product recommendations for long time makeup lovers, but this is also for anyone just getting into makeup that may feel lost as to what to purchase and in what order to apply it. You can customize this look based on your personal preferences and what you feel looks good on you, so feel free to skip any step that you prefer not to do. There are no set rules with makeup, this is just a guideline to help you with order of product application and to recommend some products that truly work. I have done the work for you my searching for and trying out different products until I found ones that work and look great and they are all cruelty free and parabin free. Trust me I have tried soso many products and have finally found something I love in each category, and now I am going to share them with you!
Cleanse
Begin by fully cleansing your face with a face wash suited for your skin type. I like the Yes to Cucumbers Gentile Milk Cleanser for my morning face wash. I find it is very gentile and non stripping, it is formulated especially for sensitive skin. It is also free of harmful irritating ingredients. It smells refreshing like cucumbers, and is made up of natural ingredients like cucumber, soy proteins, and green tea.
Prime
Next make sure to prime your skin to prep it for makeup application. You can apply a serum, moisturizer, and primer (in that order) all suited for your skin type. I prime my skin with the Becca Skin Love Glow Elixir, I use it as my serum , moisturizer, and primer. I love applying it because it feels so refreshing and soothing and smells amazing and fresh like cucumber. This is one of the most amazing skin care products ever! It wears so beautifully under makeup but also holds your makeup in place better than any primer I have used. On the days I’ve forgotten it my makeup last for about half the time. It has a natural luminosity that just makes your skin look so healthy. This is also perfect for all skin types. I also feel good about using this product because it is actually really good for your skin. Its made up of Becca’s Glow Nectar Brightening Hydra Complex containing natural skin loving ingredients such as honey, algae, blueberry extract, and peony extract. This naturally wonderful product will sooth, brighten, boost your skin’s natural glow and prime your skin for makeup. Many other primers can actually break your skin out because they have silicone in them which acts as a film over this skin and holds all of your oils in your pores causing them to become clogged. This product is definitely a healthier skin alternative, and it works much better at prolonging my makeup wear time. If you do have dry skin and need added moisture you can also apply a moisturizer first and then apply the Glow Nectar. For an under makeup moisturizer I would recommend Tarte’s drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer. This is water based and has a gel like consistency so it will hydrate your skin and wear beautifully underneath your makeup.
I prefer more of a bronzed look, so I always add in the Drunk Elephant D- Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops to my Becca Skin Serum. You mix this product into your serum or moisturizer and just apply it all over the face to wear under your makeup or even alone on no makeup days. It gives the most beautiful natural looking bronze. It is also a clean beauty product, free of any harmful ingredients & contains ingredients that will benefit your skin along with protecting it against environmental stressors and pollution (great if you live in a city). You will have a natural looking tan glow like you just spent the day in the sun & you will get all of the benefits of vitamin D without any of the sun damage.
Conceal
Next apply concealer and blend with a concealer brush. The Tarte Shape Tape Concealer and the Too Faced Born This Way Concealer are both amazing and last all day. Both have really really great pigmentation, so even if you didn’t get enough sleep your under eye circles will be fully concealed all day long. I prefer to apply concealer before my foundation because I get a more even complexion that way. If you are using concealer to highlight it would be applied after foundation, but on a day to day basis I prefer to just use it to conceal and if I apply it after foundation I notice that the spots I am looking to conceal can end up being highlighted. This products are thick (especially the shape tape) and a little bit goes a really long way so apply sparingly and you can build it up if you feel you need more coverage. However, they don’t feel thick on the skin & are both actually very light weight & dry completely so so they wont move around on the skin throughout the day at all. If you will be taking any photographs I would recommend the Born This Way Concealer because this is the first concealer I have used that does not have flash back!
Foundation
Next, apply your foundation and blend thoroughly. I prefer to first apply with clean hands (Always wash your hands before touching your face) and then blend out with a foundation brush. I use the foundation brush by IT cosmetics. Two really perfect foundation for all day wear and a beautiful full coverage complexion are Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation and Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Hydrating Foundation (best for photos). For more of a light weight feel and look I would also definitely recommend the Becca Skin Love Foundation Skin Love Weightless Blur Foundation which still has good coverage and is very lightweight like the name suggests. This product also has natural skin brightening ingredients in it such as Vitamin C so it actually improves and brightens your complexion while you wear it. I like to choose the Becca Foundation on a normal everyday basis and then the full coverage foundations for the weekends and special occasions. If you are oily and looking for a matte finish you will like the Laura Mercier Foundation. If you are looking for something more luminous but still lasting that will also photograph beautifully you will like the Smashbox Foundation. Make sure to blend your foundation of choice down your jaw line towards the neck to avoid a line there. Another tip I have for foundation is to buy two different colors, one color that is too dark for you and one color that is too light for you (but make sure both colors have the correct undertones). This way you can mix them together to create the perfect custom shade for your skin tone and you can adjust the color to match your body as needed. This is especially helpful if you like to self tan.
Set
Now you should apply a powder to set. If you want your makeup to last all day you need to set it. Also if you are applying powders such as bronzer or highlight they will apply a thousand times more evenly if your foundation has been properly set first. If you don’t sent your foundation and then try to go in with a powder product it will stick to the foundation and end up looking blotchy. Setting powder will create a smooth canvas for your powder products to glide onto completely evenly. The Lawless Seal the Deal setting powder is beyond amazing. What originally attracted me to the product was the fact that it is a completely clean product, free of any harmful ingredients including Talcum powder which is in almost all other setting powders and can be harmful. But what really made me fall in love with this product was how beautifully it applies and looks and how well it wears. This product uses Mica as a base instead of Talc, and is is sooo much more lightweight and smoothing for your skin. You’re left with a completely flawless airbrushed look and has such a lightweight velvety finish. This product seriously keeps your makeup on an in place all day which is a must for me. It also has no flash back in photos which most other setting powders do. It is also important to note that once you have set your makeup with a powder you should not apply any more liquids, apply all liquids first and then all powders. I set my under eyes, first with the small Setting Brush by Real Techniques, and then all over with a super large fluffy brush by Elf.
Bronze
Apply your bronzer to the outer perimeter of your forehead, your temples, under your cheek bones and on your jaw line. It should be in the shape of a three. Stay away from the center of your face. I would recommend finding a shade that works well with your skin type. For example, If you go too dark with your bronzer shade no matter how much you blend it will look blotchy if the color is too dark for you. I tend to prefer warmer undertones instead of cooler undertones to achieve a natural looking bronze glow without harsh lines. What I have been doing lately is actually using the Lawless Golden Setting Powder instead of a bronzer because I LOVE the shade and feel confident in the fact that it contains no harmful ingredients. I achieve a more natural blended look with this as opposed to a darker bronzer, because it is more lightweight and bendable.
I also really love the Ambient Lighting Bronzers by Hourglass. They contain Hourglass’s Photoluminescent Technology which reflects light to give your skin a beautiful natural radiance to emphasize your best features. The formulation is not shimmery or sparkly it is truly just radiant due to the way it manipulates and reflects light to create a luminosity. I add this to my cheekbones up to my temples. They are a bit on the pricier side, but you get so much product and they are so pigmented that they last forever which makes them totally worth the splurge. The Ambient Lighting Bronzers are definitely one of my favorite makeup products and will beautifully enhance any look.
When you are applying bronzer, the brush you apply it with is super important. You want to use a fluffy brush that has bristles that are not thickly packed so that you can really blend and are not applying the bronzer thickly or with any harsh lines. Its also best if it is a tapered brush, meaning the bristles are longest in the middle and then get shorter around the edges. The Real Techniques brushes are high quality, super affordable, and Vegan of course. I would recommend their Blush Brush for this (with the pink handle).
Highlight
Next, Apply a bit of highlight to the high points such as your cheek bones. I always go for subtle luminosity and radiance not a super intense glow. I achieve this with the Becca Be A Light Palate which I have been obsessed with since the day I purchased it. They also offer different shades of this palate depending on what works best for you (I actually use both). You can use a smaller fluffy brush for this. This palate will truly just enhance your skin.
Shadow
Apply a neutral colored eyeshadow to your eye from above your crease down to your lash line, and then apply a lighter color on your eyelid just above your lash line. A really good palate for this is The Tartelette in Bloom Palate or you can even use the Becca Be a light Pallate for this aswell.
Eyeliner
Next, you can apply a felt tip liner to your top lashline in either black or dark brown. I use Tarte’s Sex Kitten Liquid Liner, but any liquid felt tip liner will work. A thin felt tip makes precise application of symmetrical winged lines simple.
Mascara
Next, curl your lashes and apply a mascara. Nothing too heavy, you just want to make your eyelashes black and add length and volume but don’t apply so much that you get clumps. I use Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes 4 in 1 Mascara. This gives you to get lots of added length and volume with minimized clumping. This mascara will have people asking if your eyelashes are real. It also contains ingredients that condition your lashes to help maintain their health & doesn’t contain the harmful ingredients that are in many other mascaras which is really important to me since it is right next to the eyes, and I want to keep my eyelashes long and healthy.
Brows
To finish your look fill in your brows if you have any sparse areas. For a day to day look I prefer to use a tinted fiber gel. I use Hourglasses Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel. I find that just applying a fiber gel gives me the color and definition I need but in a really natural way. However, brows are a very personal thing and everyone’s shape & color are so different that when it comes to brows do what you feel looks best and what you feel most comfortable wearing. Hourglass also offers range of different brow products that work really well, so you will still be able to find something that works well for you if you don’t like a fiber gel.
Lips
My favorite gloss to finish my look is by Fresh and it is their Sugar Cream Tinted Lip Treatment in the color Pearl. This is a sheer shimmery baby pink. It is very natural but makes your lips super glossy and moisturized because it is a gloss and a lip treatment. If you do prefer a darker lip color this product also comes in darker shades so you can choose the one that best suites your style.