FOTD | Quick & Easy Back to School Makeup

I'm writing this while waiting for my first class of the semester to start, so excuse the spelling mistakes, hehe. I'm sure many of you can empathize with me on first day jitters. I can never get a good night's sleep before an important event so I'm dealing with dark circles, watery eyes and lackluster skin. Waking up in the morning isn't a struggle for me but I can be sluggish. Doing my makeup gives my brain to wake up as well as giving me a confidence boost. Because I'm quite slow in the mornings, I decided to do a bare basics look and time myself. But I also wanted to see how long it would take me if I added a few things here and there for a complete look, which lately is turning into my fancy face, haha.

So I'll be walking y'all through my bare basics look and my fancy face to give you some ideas and tips. If you aren't going back to school, lucky you! This'll still work for work or any other occasion in which you just want the bare necessities and don't want to be faffing about with a billion brushes.

BARE BASICS

Everyone has a different definition of "everyday" makeup. These are mine for a long lasting, no touch ups kind of day. I don't expect to look flawless but I don't want to be a mess either. As you can see, I mainly focus on my base and screw the rest, haha. The following are products I like to use after my skincare items:

• A primer of some sort. Depending on the condition of my skin, I'll either go for a hydrating, acne-fighting or smoothing primer. I'm using Benefit's POREfessional* because it has a slightly mattifying effect while smoothing out the bumps and pores.

• A loose setting powder. After discovering Wayne Goss' tip on making foundation last all day, I was sold. Mattifying primers are no longer needed because this method will do that for me. The Tarte Amazonian Clay Smooth Operator sets my face, leaving behind a dewy and smooth finish.

• An easy base. I like it Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream because it matches my skin tone exactly, is very moisturizing, has great coverage and also contains SPF. I prefer to use a brush with it because I apply a lot of it to get adequate sun protection. I'll also double this up as under eye concealer on good days.

• A hydrating concealer. For every day, I don't care about covering pimples or my undereyes. But when I don't get enough sleep or if I want to look extra flawless, the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer* covers everything that I need it to: dark circles, redness and any pesky bumps.

• A pressed powder. I don't always use the L'Oreal True Match Powder*. If I'm doing the Wayne Goss method, I'll only use this to set my concealer. But if I forget to do the Wayne Goss trick, I'll use this as my setting powder, mainly because I want to get rid of it.

• A bright lip. Seriously, this is my best friend on low makeup days. It looks like I've put in a ton of effort and perks up my complexion. I have several favorites and the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain* is long lasting, pigmented and comfortable. I never got onto the liquid lipstick train due to the precision required and the dryness. I find that these pencils are more forgiving application-wise and can be reapplied throughout the day. I can eat and drink to my heart's content with these and they come in several colors. 

• An eyebrow pencil. Out of all the eyebrow products I've tried, I think pencil is the way to go. It's soft but precise, which is what I prefer for everyday. I like my brows to look like hair and the Etude House Drawing Eyebrow* is my all-time favorite. Being a dark-haired brunette, it's so difficult to find a brow pencil that doesn't pull red. The color is spot-on, ashy and dark. I've tried both the Grey Brown and the Black Brown and love both colors. The triangle tip fills in my brows quickly but can also give definition. The harder formula gives softness that looks more natural. 

All products on my face! Took me eight minutes because I'm slow at blending my foundation, haha.

FANCY FACE

If I have a few extra minutes or if I really need to look nice for presentations, I'll add a few products, mainly face. My extras would be:

• A pink-red blush. My skin tends to flush pinky-red so it's my favorite for a natural blush. The Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush in Mellow Wine fits the bill perfectly. It's matte because I like a controlled shimmer. No highlighting to the gods around these parts...

• A champagne highlighter. While I haven't strayed too far from my preferred satin matte finish, I do like a little shimmer on the cheekbones. Cream products are easier to apply and the NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick in Chardonnay Shimmer is perfect for me: no glitter particles but just the right amount of shine. I'll have a product smackdown on this very soon! 

• A bronzer. I'm sure you're sick of me mentioning this but I've been loving a bronzed look this summer. The Physicians Formula Murumuru Bronzer in Bronzer is my perfect bronzer/contour shade. Using a brush gives me a softly bronzed look without making me oompa loompa. I can foresee this product lasting an entire lifetime because I've been using it almost daily since I got it and have yet to make a dent!

• A cream eyeshadow. If I'm in a rush, I'll just swipe on an eyeshadow stick or a cream eyeshadow all over. The Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows* are pigmented and don't need a base, yet they last all day without creasing or losing intensity on my oily eyelids. 

• A brown eyeliner. Brown doesn't look as stark when I'm wearing less makeup. The Perfect Waterproof Soft Gel Eyeliner in #02 Moonstone** is soft and pigmented. It glides across my eyes and sets to a long-wearing finish. There's a slight shimmer that is enhanced by a shimmery eyeshadow. Definitely one of my favorites!

• A mascara. I forgot to include it in the photo but mascara is awesome when you can't be bothered to do your eye makeup. I've been using the Bobbi Brown Smoky Mascara and the Buxom Lash Mascara interchangeably. Both give great length and defined lashes, so they're great for low makeup days.

And here's my completed look! The lip color gets switched out daily but eye makeup remains relatively the same. I didn't rush myself so that's why such a simple look takes me 15 minutes. I like to take my time and make sure everything is well blended. If I didn't have a time constraint, I can take up to 30 minutes applying just my eye makeup! So 15 minutes for the whole thing is relatively quick for me, hehe.

Side view to show off the highlighter. I think seeing a blown-up photo of myself is nerve wracking. But the lighting washes me out slightly. Going to have to figure out a better place/time or learn how to edit photos properly...

And if this wasn't enough information for y'all, I'll be proposing alternatives to the products I showed above. Because I get bored doing the same thing every day, I'll switch between the products below to liven things up. Alternatively, if the products or styles I mentioned don't work for you, hopefully one of the recommendations below will.

ALTERNATIVES

I'm not good at blending my base with my fingers so I need something that works well with brushes. If I don't have time, I'll use a tinted moisturizer, like above or go with a powder foundation, like Bareminerals Original Foundation. It contains SPF 15, which adds SPF protection when I'm out and about. But if I have a few extra minutes or need a long lasting look, cream stick foundations work well on my skin. I can blend this with my fingers, so I can do this in a moving car. The Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick has high coverage, allowing me to double it up as concealer. As the oils come to the surface, this foundation doesn't cake up or slip and slide. I can use blotting papers or powder to remove the oils without losing coverage. 

You'll see a running theme of few brushes and powders when it comes to my everyday look. I like the look of liquid and cream highlighters best and they don't require a brush to apply. Benefit's Highbeam was a favorite for a very long time but now that I've switched to Watt's Up, I've been liking the golden tone and cream finish. High Beam is much more intense and longer lasting but Watt's Up looks more natural. 

For blush, I stick to powder. As I've mentioned previously, I'm liking the Wet n Wild Blush in Mellow Wine. But old favorites include Revlon Cream Blush in Pinched and Tarte Cheek Stain in Exposed. The peachy tones complement my skin and melds right in. I use clean fingers to rub the product and dab it lightly onto my skin. The Revlon sets to a powdery finish but the Tarte needs to be set with a matching powder blush or translucent powder. Some days I'll leave the Tarte alone for a dewy finish.

For lips, I like something that doesn't need touching up. I can deal with lip balm but actual lip color needs a mirror because I cannot for the life of me color inside my lip lines. The Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquers can be dabbed lightly over the lips for a stain. The Revlon Balm Stains in Lovesick and Sweetheart are my favorites. Rimmel Provocalips are liquid lipsticks on one end and a balm on the other. For my lips, I definitely need both sides to make it wear comfortably. There will be some days where I can put up with a lip butter or good ol' lipstick. For that, I like Revlon Lip Butter in Fig because once the color wears off, there's still moisture so I don't feel compelled to slather on the lip balm. Conveniently, I brought Fig with me today and after eating breakfast, the color is gone but lips are still hydrated and pretty!

And that's it for today! I still have an hour before my class starts so I'll probably go look for some more food, haha. I  hope my school has a gym nearby or else this could become a bad habit...

(*) denotes a brand that is not cruelty-free.

(**) denotes a brand whose cruelty-free status is unknown/unverified. 

What kind of products do you like to use when you're in a rush? 

XOXO,

Cindy ♥

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