I’ve been on a few job interviews recently, and through getting ready for them I’ve realized there really is an art to putting together the perfect makeup look. You want to make a good first impression, so looking put-together, polished, and ultimately yourself is a must. For me this means perfected (but not airbrushed) skin, a strong brow, some subtle matte eyeshadow, and a neutral lip.
I don’t know about you, but my normal/dry skin turns into a bit of a grease pit when I’m nervously sweating. I decided to ditch the super glowy bases I’ve been loving lately for spring and went for a satin finish (matte still always looks chalky and awful on me), the Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup. I used just a light layer of this, concentrating it on the redness in the center of my face and blending it outward with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. It gives a beautiful skin-like finish, and using the sponge to really meld it into the skin ensured it would stay put all day. I made sure I had those dark circles covered up (you don’t want them to know you stayed up late practicing answers to the sample questions) with the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser, and I covered up any blemishes and remaining redness with the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer because I knew it would last all day.
I skipped my usual contouring and highlighting because you never know when it’s going to go wrong and you’ll emerge looking like you just stuck your face in a mud puddle. I instead reached for my Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed and placed it a little farther back on my cheeks than the apples for a slightly sculpted effect, and the neutral color simply emphasized my cheeks without making a statement.
Moving on to brows, I feel most confident when I’m wearing a strong brow. I used my Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown to fill in my brows as normal, and I made sure I didn’t go overboard by constantly brushing through them with a spoolie brush. For eyes, I didn’t want to risk my eyeshadow creasing on me so I made sure to start with a base layer of the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer. I’ve been working my way through this sample size and think it works wonderfully, so I’ll definitely be picking up the full size when this runs out. For eyeshadows, I had to go matte - matte shadows just seem more mature and sophisticated to me, and it’s very hard to go over the top with them. I used the Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette on my most recent interview and the Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette on one before that. I always just take one of the lightest colors in the palettes over my lid, and then a very subtly darker shade through the crease for a little something-something.
For liner, I think a thin liquid line would look very put-together, but as I’m terrible with liquid liner I thought it best to stick with what I know. I used a brown liner, the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Corrupt, to tightline my upper lash line and draw the thinnest of lines right above my lashes to just make them appear slightly thicker. For mascara, I didn’t want anything too dramatically voluminous, so I went with some subtle fluttery definition with the Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara.
Going back to lips, I kept it very neutral and polished with a thin smudged-in layer of the MAC Lip Pencil in Whirl topped with a bit of the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Rosewood. The result was a subtly enhanced lip that would stay put through all that talking and question-answering.
The most important thing is to wear what you’re most comfortable wearing. If you feel uncomfortable with yourself it will definitely show and work against you in making a good impression.
What products do you reach for for a job interview?
