Put Your Makeup to Work

Is your makeup working for you? Mine is, but it’s taken a while to get here. And I’m sure as the years go by, my routine will continue to evolve and improve. In any case, here are some quick fixes for the frazzled summer beauty. Whether you’re headed to the office, barbecue, or beach, an easy face is a pretty face this season. Here are the tricks:

Today’s five-minute face was applied in the parking lot at Starbucks.

A strong brow shapes your face and lessens the need for a ton of makeup elsewhere. My brows are pretty sparse, so I start every morning with a quick fill-in using this pencil, or this one. I don’t get my brows waxed because everyone is always tempted to make them too skinny; instead I pluck for maintenance once every ten days or so. To keep them looking full and defined, I apply pencil in a quick, sweeping motion to imitate the direction and length of brow hairs. Filling in too solidly can leave you looking drag queen-ish. Once your brows are done, the summer face is ready to show through. Let your bronzer do double-duty by applying it all over your eyelids in lieu of shadow. Then brush it across each cheek once, in an upward motion. If you use bb cream or foundation, put it on after your bronzer, letting skin appear to glow from within. I like to just blot an extra dab of my foundation on undereye circles and blemishes to cut the extra time of concealer.

Almost done!

A great eye for day that takes you right to happy hour is easy. You have your bronzer-shadow situation down, making your eyes really pop but so naturally. Now take a narrow black pencil and trace along the lash line top and bottom. Two sweeps of Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara and a pop of lip color later, you’re ready to face the day.

Stepping it up for evening is so easy. Just add a dab of shimmery white eye shadow at the outer edge of your tear ducts, line the inside of your under lids, and put a sweep of gloss on top of your lipstick. Done!

Day-Old Mascara: The newest lazy girl YES?

Wow! I found this post in my old draft this morning and had to share it with y’all. A lot has changed since I wrote it… except for my appreciation for Pop Beauty’s mascara and my tendency to leave it on for two days running. Since I wrote this, I have: moved back to Brooklyn, gone on vacation, gotten engaged (!), started a second blog, moved to Dallas, reconfigured my freelance lifestyle and gone through two rounds of false lashes. And no matter what, I go back to this mascara and this method, so I thought I would share it with you even though the post is outdated. A sort of time capsule from just shy of a year ago — so much has changed, but my favorite beauty tips remain the same. Here it is:

Even sexier the next day. Trust me.

Okay, okay. Before you judge, HEAR ME OUT. It’s been a crazed month, reaching its pinnacle last Monday. Quit day job to pursue dreams. Book enough freelance work to convince family that this is a sound decision. Receive amazing opportunity from former employer and mentor to work on exceptionally cool project (more details on that later!) Learn that big brother needs help running his new wine store. Relocate to Connecticut with cat for one month. Move one third of belongings to mother’s home, one third to brother’s home, and one third to boyfriend’s home. Take a deep breath. Go to sleep. Wake up. Get to work (at liquor store, where you can do your other work downstairs in the basement). Remember that you forgot to put mascara on.

Yikes.

I recently stumbled upon an incredible mascara by Pop Beauty that I highly, highly recommend. I am absolutely meticulous about my lashes and even dabbled in faux’s for a while. I’ve always had an obsession with mascara and am literally unable to leave the home without it. In my former life as a Diorshow user, I had several tricks for creating the appearance of longer lashes. Pulling upward with the wand, casting eyes downward, building layer upon layer, adding extra coats, and so on. In my new life as a Pop Beauty user, I pay $10 less per tube for a mascara that naturally builds and expands on my lashes, creating a longer and fuller look with brilliant little fibers that blend flawlessly with the lashes I naturally have.

In the latest chapter of life, where I find myself working from home or from the basement at the Wise Old Dog, my inner lazy girl has discovered that, if not removed at night, this kick-ass mascara can last a full forty-eight hours. Should you go to bed every night without washing your face? Of course not. But if you didn’t wear anything on your skin one day and you do a quick once-over with a cleansing cloth followed by moisturizer, I am hereby giving you permission to lazily rock day-old mascara one day each week. Bonus: day-old liner is smudgy, sexy and tres 70’s glam. Your boy will love it… I know mine did!

Dreaming of beautiful second-day lashes…