Monday, June 17, 2013

Makeup Monday: Looking Less Dead

I know some people wonder why some moms even bother with makeup since it takes time and is an extra cost to the myriad of things which need to be purchased.  The way I see it, I would spend money on other things for leisure, such as a magazine or a book, a coffee out, movies, what-have-you.  Makeup does the double-duty of being my hobby and making me, as the title states, look less dead.  I know I won't look fabulous but I don't want to scare people with my I-got-5-hours-of-sleep-taken-in-2-different-night-shifts face!

I was really into makeup before I had my kids though so the learning curve isn't so great for me.  If anything, my learning curve has been to scale down my routine.  I've built it back up a bit over the last 2 months as I've been figuring out some tricks on how to look a bit more awake without taking up too much time.  As a comparison, I used to spend about 10 minutes along in creating a look for my eyes (I'm all about the colour and making a statement with eyeshadows!) so this is a big change for me.

So over the next few weeks, I'd like to make some recommendations of products which I've found to be helpful in lifting up my face a bit as I get out the door.  For today, I'll just go over my most basic routine and get into products starting next week.  If you can't process much reading right now, skip to the bottom for a straight-forward listed routine.

I usually apply any makeup after breakfast, having given time for my moisturizer to absorb.  Since my skin gets oily and darkens most foundations in any form, I apply a primer to create a barrier between my skin and the foundation.  I then dot on a bit of concealer under my eyes and apply a powder foundation with a stippling/skunk brush lightly over all my face.  I fill in my eyebrows with a brow pencil, then smudge a multi-tasking cream product over my eyes and blend it over my cheeks.  I swipe one some lipstick or lip gloss and I'm done!

I actually usually apply any lip product in the elevator or the car as I don't need a mirror so much for it, and if I forget it, it's not too big a deal.  There are modifications to the routine - to me, makeup is my way of artistic expression so things are flexible - and what I add or do depends on my time or number of active brain cells that day.  So for example, I'll curl my lashes and add mascara, or I'll buff in a highlighter, or I'll use a more colourful powder blush.  I actually do those more often now as I'm getting faster at my routine (or perhaps getting less picky at how things look? =P).

Okay, so here's a summary of what I do:

1. Apply primer.
2. Dot and blend concealer under eyes.
3. Apply light layer of powder foundation.
4. Fill in brows.
5. Smudge multi-tasking cream product over eyes.
6. Blend same cream product over cheeks.
7. Swipe on lipstick or gloss.

And that's it!  If you haven't before, give it a try one time when the baby's sleeping and see how just a little bit can pick you up.  I'm not saying we can't look beautiful without makeup but let's be honest, over-tired mommies don't always look that great!  These can help you on those no-so-great days.  =)  Or just when you want to play around with some makeup.

How about you?  What do you do to look a bit more polished and together before stepping out the door?

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