My Everyday Makeup Look

As much as I love the ritual of putting on my makeup every morning, I tend to go on autopilot and do the same exact look every day. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it gets me out the door with minimal effort at 7am.

Glowy, Natural Skin

Skin is always my main focus of every look. I want my skin to look perfected and hydrated, but I don’t want it to look like I’m wearing any makeup. The way I’ve been achieving this with my dry skin is first making sure I mix a lightweight oil into my moisturizer during my morning skincare routine (I love the Indie Lee Daily Vitamin Infusion), picking a lightweight, dewy foundation/tinted moisturizer, and then spot concealing where I need more coverage. I have a few base products I rotate between depending on how I’m feeling. My latest favorite is the NUDESTIX Tinted Cover - it provides decent coverage, gives the skin a beautiful glow that doesn’t look too wet, and smooths over dryer areas without catching. If I need more coverage or want something less dewy, I’ve still been using the Milk Makeup Flex Foundation Stick. It’s still my most favorite foundation and works so well with my skin. My favorite concealer for every day is still the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer, too. I haven’t found anything I love more.

Shimmery Nude Eye

I don’t have time for a multiple-eyeshadow look most days, and I’ve been keeping my makeup really pared down as I settle into my new job, so my go-to has been a subtle shimmery nude eyeshadow. My favorite for a good portion of the year has been the Laura Mercier Caviar Chrome Veil Liquid Eyeshadow in Gilded Fresco (are you sick of me mentioning this yet?), but the NUDESTIX Magnetic Luminous Eye Color in Nudity is another one I reach for a lot. It’s a slightly deeper nude shade, as if there’s a bit of taupe mixed into your usual champagne shade. My sister also got me the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Palette of Pops for Christmas, so I’ve been loving picking one of those shades and applying a sheer wash with my fingers for some subtle glitter. Once eyeshadow is down, I always tightline with a gel pencil liner (the Ilia one in Dusk is my favorite), and then go in with lots and lots of mascara. Again, Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara is my favorite ever and I don’t think I’ll ever buy anything else - except Glossier Lash Slick, which I use on my bottom lashes.

Coordinating Cheeks + Lips

My favorite finishing touch to my everyday makeup look is making myself look flushed. A nice, dewy cream blush that livens up my complexion and a coordinating comfortable lip product are always necessary. I have many cream cheek products I love, but I’ve worn nothing but the Ilia Multi-sticks all month. I usually do a mix of At Last, a dusty rose shade, all over my cheeks, and then I concentrate A Fine Romance, a bright berry, on just the apples. Other favorite cream blushes are the Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Happy, NUDESTIX Nudies Bloom in Cherry Blossom Babe, and the Tower 28 Tinted Lip + Cheek Balm in Magic Hour. For lips, I usually go for some kind of gloss or tinted balm-like product. Right now I can’t shut up about how much I love the new Dior Lip Glow Oils - I have all the shades except the coral one and have just been wearing one of those every day. They’re like a thick gloss but aren’t sticky, they smooth and gently plump the lips, and they give a really subtle tint like the original Lip Glows do. I think my favorite at the moment is the Raspberry one, and it goes well with my usual blush choices. Some of my other commonly-used lip products are the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal, the Kosas Wet Lip Oil Gloss in Malibu, and the Kari Gran Lip Whip in Jolene.

What are your everyday makeup picks?

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Best of Beauty 2019 | Skincare

Next up in my 2019 Favorites series is skincare. I tried a lot more skincare products than makeup and switched around my products a lot throughout the year, making this list a little harder to whittle down than the makeup. For most of the year I tried to stick with simple, hydrating products and didn’t mess with many actives. I think simple is best when it comes to my skin.

Bioderma Hydrabio Serum - if I had to pick one skincare favorite, it would be this. I don’t know why I didn’t try Bioderma skincare earlier, but I’m so glad I’ve finally realized how great everything by them is. The Hydrabio line is my favorite, and the serum is the standout: it’s a gel texture that sinks into the skin quickly, doesn’t pill, and instantly drenches the skin with moisture and helps to plump and soothe. I’m already on my second bottle and will definitely be ordering more backups.

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid - I didn’t believe the hype until I tried it. This, patted on right after cleansing at night, has helped my skin so much. It’s smoother, brighter, and clearer, and my pores look smaller. Believe the hype!

Indie Lee Daily Vitamin Infusion - my go-to face oil for most of the year. It’s a very lightweight oil that sinks in easily, but it leaves the skin looking so “juicy” and nourished. It’s packed full of great ingredients like squalane, avocado oil, and ceramides. I’ve been mixing this into my moisturizer every morning for months!

Krave Beauty The Beet Shield - the SPF that got me into wearing SPF every day. It feels like a lightweight lotion, isn’t drying or chalky, and doesn’t leave a white cast. It wears really well over my other skincare and under makeup, so it slotted into my routine easily. I’ve noticed my acne doesn’t leave dark scars anymore, and I’m assuming it’s because my skin is protected from the sun.

Krave Beauty Great Barrier Relief - I’m always looking for products that aid in barrier repair. Although I haven’t damaged my skin in a long time with overexfoliation, etc (*knocks on wood*), I still love the way they nourish my skin. Great Barrier Relief has been my go-to this year. It has a creamy texture and feels quite rich on the skin, but never heavy or greasy. It really helps to calm irritation from the cold, and I noticed with consistent use it helped a lot of my redness.

Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream - I usually go back and forth between creams, but I haven’t been able to stop using this one. It has a nice juicy texture that’s almost like a gel-cream, but it really delivers on the hydration front. I use it every morning and even some nights, too.

Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Sleeping Mask - I had to include this one - not only is it my favorite sleeping mask of the year, but I went to New York with the Fresh Team to celebrate its launch! It has two sides - a jelly texture goes first to deliver intense hydration, and then a creamier mask goes on top to seal it in. It isn’t sticky and doesn’t get on the pillows as you sleep, and in the morning you get the plumpest, dewiest skin.

Caudalie Moisturizing Mask - I didn’t spend a lot of time masking this year, and I’ve been trying to pare down my mask collection lately, but this one was always a winner. It’s a thick cream that instantly feels soothing and so nourishing. I like to apply a thick layer before getting in the shower to protect my skin from the hot water, and I always end up with plump, juicy skin after I wash it off.

Glossier Bubblewrap - I did not think this would be my favorite Glossier product of the year when it first came out, but it’s really grown on me! This year I’ve really embraced more simple, basic skincare products, Bubblewrap included. It’s just a nice, hydrating eye cream. It’s not too thick and not too thin, it delivers a good amount of moisture, and it wears well under makeup.

Biossance Rose Vegan Lip Balm - I’m usually really picky about lip balms because I have reactions to a lot of them. But this Biossance one was too pretty to pass up when it launched, and it also didn’t seem to have any ingredients that normally bothered me. It has a jelly texture that kind of melts into an oil on the lips. It stays put on the lips without migrating and isn’t too slippy. It delivers moisture for hours and hours, and it even makes the lips look a little plumper and smooths out lip lines. I use this one every morning.

This post contains affiliate links, and some products mentioned were gifted.

Best of Beauty 2019 | Makeup

The triumphant return to blogging I mentioned back in October didn’t exactly go to plan, but I’m back for now to talk you through all of my beauty favorites of the year. First up is makeup - I tried a lot of things in 2019, but as the year went on I really stuck to the same core group of products. Hooray for finding everyday staples! I tried to keep this list to things I discovered this year, so while I’d love to include the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer for the third or fourth year in a row, you’ll just have to believe me that it’s still a favorite.

Milk Makeup Flex Foundation Stick - If I had to pick only one favorite product out of any category this year, this would be it. It glides onto the skin, never looks dry or cakey on me, and is the perfect satin-leaning-glowy finish.

Ilia Multi-Sticks in ‘At Last’ & ‘A Fine Romance’ - my go-to blushes for a very good chunk of the year. They’re creamy and sheer out well, leaving with a beautiful dewy flush that lasts quite a long time. ‘At Last’ is the perfect neutral pink, and ‘A Fine Romance’ is a unique pink-berry shade that I always reached for when I wanted a pop of color.

Flesh Fleshy Lips Lipstick in ‘Chew’ - probably my most-worn lipstick of the year. It’s the perfect “my lips but rosier” shade for me, the formula is comfortable and balmy, and it looks good with just about any makeup look. As a bonus I wore it to both job interviews I had for the job I’m working now, so it makes me like it even more.

Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara - I swear I never want to use another mascara again. It lengthens, separates, curls, and gently volumizes my lashes and is the perfect balance between a barely-there, everyday mascara and something more dramatic. It never smudges or flakes on me either (although it’s definitely not waterproof).

Laura Mercier Caviar Chrome Liquid Eyeshadow in ‘Gilded Fresco’ - I haven’t been as obsessed with eyeshadow this year as I have been in past years, but if I was wearing eyeshadow, it was most likely this. It leaves a glossy-looking sheen but totally sets down. It never creases on me at all throughout the day! ‘Gilded Fresco’ is a pink/beige shade that’s perfect for everyday.

Tower 28 BeachPlease Tinted Lip + Cheek Balm in ‘Magic Hour’ - All of the Tower28 products I’ve tried this year have been overwhelmingly great, but especially their BeachPlease Lip + Cheek Tints. They’re incredibly creamy and quite pigmented, and they leave a dewy finish on the cheeks. There are three shades, and my favorite was ‘Magic Hour,’ the neutral pink/brown one.

Kosas Weightless Lip Color Lipsticks in ‘Rosewater’ & ‘Royal’ - I really had a moment with Kosas this year, and their lipsticks were probably my favorite thing I tried from the line. They’re super creamy and comfortable, but they’re not messy or fussy to wear. They wear away evenly and don’t smudge or bleed outside the lip line. Rosewater has been my go-to nude/neutral, as the cool pink shade is super flattering on my skin, and when I’ve wanted something a little more bold, I always went with Royal. I don’t know what it is about it (maybe the rosiness?), but it’s probably one of the most easy-to-wear berry lipsticks for someone who doesn’t wear anything too bold on an everyday basis.

NUDESTIX Nudies Bloom in ‘Cherry Blossom Babe’ - I jumped on this launch so quickly. I’m a huge fan of the original Nudies sticks, so I was super excited for a version with a dewy finish. They’re creamy and blendable like the originals, but they do leave a beautiful glossy finish without feeling greasy or tacky. Cherry Blossom Babe is pretty much my perfect blush shade - a bright, neutral pink.

Glossier Futuredew - I use this as a makeup product rather than skincare, but it’s still one of my favorite launches of the year. It really does give you that glass skin look - a glossy sheen with no visible sparkle. I like to either use this as a glowy primer, or I tap it on the high points of my face after makeup as a highlighter.

Dior Lip Glow Oils - Hear me out, I know I literally only have been using these for a couple days, but I’m blown away by these already. I ordered two shades when they launched, Pink and Rosewood, and after trying them once I added the rest of the shades to my Sephora cart, ready to spend the inevitable gift card I’ll get for Christmas next week. They’re everything I love about the original Lip Glow - comfortable, leave a flattering/effortless color on the lips, easy to reapply - in a more glossy formula. They have a giant doe foot applicator (like the Clarins lip oils) that’s fun to use and they feel plush and balmy on the lips rather than sticky. I’m obsessed - expect me to talk about these a million more times in 2020.

This post contains affiliate links, and some products mentioned have been gifted.