Quick + simple summer makeup

If you ask anyone who knows me, they would say that it’s rare to see me without a full face of makeup. I have always worn makeup because I love it, but also because it prevents me from touching my face throughout the day- a bad habit that only ever served to make my acne worse.

But to be very honest, since I started working from home, I have barely worn any makeup. At the start, I did nothing. As we got further along, I wanted to feel more like my old self, and so I started with just a touch of mascara, lip balm and my number one must-do – my eyebrows.

As summer is getting into full swing, it’s been nice to wear more than sweats and to enjoy myself with style, again. So I’ve put together a little makeup routine that takes less than five minutes, is light and fresh on your face, and gives you a natural summer look.

The key to any great makeup look is your skincare. So make sure you take the time to start with a great base. Personally, I have pretty dry skin, but I do get oily around the high points of my face (cheeks, t-zone, chin) throughout the day if it’s hot out. I like a glow-y, dewy makeup look, so that doesn’t bother me. But use your skincare to create the right base for your makeup- don’t rely on your makeup products to do that for you.

I always start with my eyebrows, because I use a brow pen to fill in my brows to give them a fuller look. I do this before my skincare, because the pen can get clogged if you use it over products. So first up is my Glossier Brow Flick pen (I use the darkest shade). I then lock my eyebrows in place after skincare with the Blink Brow Bar clear brow gel. This is a superior eyebrow gel, trust me.

From there, I put on this new clean beauty foundation I am obsessed with for summer- the Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint foundation (I went with the shade Ora, which is one shade darker than my match, still with warm undertones, and it works perfectly for me- if you don’t know your undertones, use the skin on your wrist to determine). This is a clean beauty brand, and I love that it has SPF 40 built into it. I read a lot of mixed reviews on this product, from consistency to smell, before purchasing, and was pleasantly surprised.

It wears much less like a foundation and more like a skincare product. It seeps into the skin as it wears, so it might feel thick at first, but really does mellow. I think there is a faint soil-like odor to it, but it doesn’t smell bad and I certainly don’t smell it on myself. It also leaves you with a radiant glow. Truthfully, I don’t need a lot of coverage, so I can’t speak to that, but I do think it brings balance and consistency to my skin, which is what I look for in a foundation. I use the dropper to place product on my forehead, cheeks and chin, and then rubbed it in with my hands.

To give myself a little bit of natural flush, I use a liquid blush. Personally, I only use liquid blushes, as I find that using a powder mattifies or moves product I don’t want it to when I apply with a brush. I will write a post on liquid blushes, but my favorite is another clean beauty brand, Tower 28’s BeachPlease cheek and lip stain in Magic Hour. I cannot say enough great things about this blush- I highly recommend for color and consistency. A little bit goes a long way.

From there I go with mascara. I have tried a lot of mascaras, and I have a few favorites, but right now I am very into Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir mascara. This really separates the lashes, and is great for building volume without a cakey consistency. I apply to both my top and bottom lashes, holding the wand vertically when I do my bottom lashes. I do about 2-3 coats on my top lashes, wiggling the brush from the base of the lashes to the tips, and then blinking.

I finish off the look with a little lip action- I want something that gives me life but doesn’t look makeup-like, as I don’t normally wear lipstick during the day. I love the Glossier Generation G in Zip for a pop of color, topped off with my absolute favorite lip balm from Glossier in Mango. I constantly have chapped lips, and this is a lasting lip balm that doesn’t dry out your lips later on.

You can finish this look off with a setting spray to lock it into place, but I wouldn’t use any powders. You are going to naturally sweat during the summer, so don’t fight the glow. It will cause powders to become inconsistent or break apart, which kind of defeats its original purpose. Just let your skin shine with the benefits of sun protection.

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