Hello, darlings!

Skye invited me to do ‘Back to School’ blog posts and I really liked the idea, so I’m planning to do three posts on makeup, fashion and backpack+locker essentials. She will be doing one as well so go click on her post and suggest what you guys want to see on her page. And if you have any other requests, just comment below! :)

Oh, and FYI, I forgot to mention that school started in June for me since summer where I’m from happens from March-April. :P

Today I will be sharing with you guys the first of the series which is makeup!

Okay, so let’s be honest here, no one in this world ever has time to get up early in the morning just to do their makeup (unless you’re the type who actually gets up early, sings in the shower and has birds lay out your clothes…). But, this makeup is for days when you have time or you just want to look as presentable as you can or all you’ll be doing is sitting in class all day.

I would normally advise to wear minimal makeup or no makeup at all on an everyday basis, but let’s face it: who has the courage to walk out the door looking like a walker? (click like if you love The Walking Dead!) If you want a purely basic and practically nothing makeup, check out my In a Rush Makeup where I list all my ‘go to and slapdash’ makeup products. :)

So anyway, let’s get started!

We first start out by taking a shower, getting dressed (or lazing in a towel, that works too), then…

 Step 1: Moisturize

Your moisturizer can either mattify your complexion or double as your sun protection if it contains SPF. You should always moisturize just so you can prep your skin for makeup and to keep it supple and soft. I’m using the La Roche-Posay Effaclar M Moisturizer.

Step 2: Prime

This is essential in any daily makeup look since you want your makeup to stay in place all day, so use your most trusted primer. I’m using Smashbox Photo Finish Primer.

 Step 3: Foundation

Normally, I’d skip the foundation, but for those of you who don’t, go for a light foundation with enough coverage. You don’t want to sport a full face of foundation because it’ll just look heavy and cakey. Go for something like a BB Cream or a tinted moisturizer, or like I said, a light foundation. I went for Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Shade 54, which is a light foundation with a good amount of coverage and contains a bit of SPF.

 Step 4: Concealer

To me this is the most crucial step in any makeup look since you want to cover up all your imperfections as much as you can. The imperfections being any blemishes and dark circles; you don’t have to pound it on all over your face! For dark circles I used my trusty Lóreal Lumi Magique highlighting concealer to brighten under my eyes…

 …and my Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer over the top of the highlighting concealer and on any blemishes.

Step 5: Eyes

Again, normally, I’d skip this step, but for some of you who don’t want to, I did a very basic eye which involved contouring the eye area. So again, prime. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion all over my eyes and underneath.

Apply an eyeshadow base. I used the bone color from my Too Faced Natural/Neutral Eyeshadow Palette all over my eyelid and under the browbone as a highlight.

Next, I used a windshield wiper motion to blend out the bone color and to define ‘the crease’. I used the taupe eyeshadow next to the bone color.

I placed a bit of the taupe eyeshadow on my lower lashline as well.

Then, I put the darkest brown to emphasize ‘the crease’, then blended it out.

I didn’t want to use a harsh liquid liner so I decided to go for a softer look using eyeshadow as a liner. I took the dark brown eyeshadow again and lined my upper lashline as I normally would and winged it out.

I then took whatever was left on my brush and dragged it on my lower lashline, as close to it as possible.

Oh! And highlight the inner corner just to brighten your eyes even further.

I then lined my lower waterline with a flesh toned waterproof kohl pencil (NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte) to brighten my eyes and to make them look wider and more awake.

Curling your lashes is again another very important step. It opens up your eyes a lot and curly eyelashes is always a pretty look. I’m using the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers.

And last, I put on mascara on both my upper and lower lashline. I’d suggest using a water resistant/waterproof mascara to avoid any smudging throughout the day, but if you don’t want to waste your time rubbing at your eyes at night, go ahead and use any regular mascara. As always, I’m using my MaxFactor Clump Defy. :)

Step 6: Eyebrows

This is an essential in any makeup look because brows frame your face and you for some reason look so much more put together when your eyebrows are done well. I just used the dark brown eyeshadow again and used it to fill in my brows. I’d normally put on an eyebrow gel to set them in place, but I didn’t have any… :S

Step 7: Cheeks

If you want to put on a bronzer, go ahead and do that now and give yourself a nice healthy bronzed glow. I decided to skip the bronzer since I… well I couldn’t be bothered. I chose a stain for today’s cheek product since I trust that it will last all day on my face. I used Benefit’s Benetint which gives a natural flush to the cheeks.

Step 8: Lips

You could just use the stain on your lips as well, but…

…I decided to go for Revlon’s Lip Butter in Pink Truffle since it’s my favourite lip product for everyday use. It’s moisturizing and gives me the prettiest and seemingly natural pucker.

And you’re done! You could set all your makeup into place by using a finishing spray or a setting powder, but I didn’t want to use either today (since where am I going anyway? :P). Again, you don’t have to put on this much makeup on everyday, but do whatever floats your boat!

Now’s the time to fix up your hair and choose your outfit for school (or put on your uniform, whichever)! I will be doing an outfit and hair post next so stay tuned for that next.

Thank you again for reading and leave me a comment below what your daily makeup essentials are for school or for work! Or you know, any other requests. :D

With love,

Julia