As a stay at home mom, some things do not get done every day. When I first had my babies, those things would usually be showers, dressing, makeup, general cleanliness etc…Now as my kiddies get older, I still need to do things quickly but as a fashionista I definitely still want to look good!
Of course I love my fashion and my shoes especially but another of my favorite things in the world is makeup. Some of you right now are groaning I know. I am a firm believer, however, that if you look good you feel good. So after years and years of looking at magazines, reading makeup books, checking out makeup blogs and trying it all out on myself. I thought I would share some easy tips on making yourself look presentable in the makeup department.
1) ALWAYS curl your lashes! Even if you don’t want to wear mascara (although I always wear mascara) please curl your lashes. Invest in a good eyelash curler (we are talking $20-25 at most). My favorite used to be the Shu Uemera but I switched to the Tarte one and have been happy with that as well. This is something you will use every day and it makes your eyes look about a million times bigger.
2) Groom, fill in and brush your eyebrows. Everybody looks better with groomed eyebrows. If you don’t know how to pluck your own eyebrows, I suggest finding somebody to wax or better yet to thread your eyebrows (which is what I do). Threading is this method where they use a piece of thread to pluck the hairs from your brow into shape. It allows you a little more flexibility than waxing. If you live in Indianapolis, I go to this amazing cheap place called Eyes by India (brows are $8!!). If you want to attempt to get your own eyebrows into shape, here is a great tutorial from one of my favorite makeup blogs, Maskcara.
3) When you are putting on makeup, put your blush on first. Most people do their eyes first and then move to blush, and can end up with heavily made up eyes and lots of blush to compensate. If you put your blush on first, you look prettier already and notice that you don’t need as much makeup. I love cream blush and my newest method for putting it on is to stipple it on the apple of my cheek and then up the cheek bone followed by a dusting of matching powder blush to lock it in place.
4) Put a light highlighting shadow in a v shape on your tear duct. I love gold shadow for this. It makes your eyes look wider and more awake. It just makes you look fresher and prettier.
5) Put on gloss or lip balm. I don’t always feel like wearing lipstick (in fact most of the time I don’t) but you still need to put something on your lips. I like gloss for the high shine factor in either a peachy or pink tone. Tinted lip balm is fantastic for those who don’t like a lot of color on their lips.
PLUS one not so easy tip:
6) HAC’ing! This is what my new favorite online makeup guru (Maskcara) calls highlighting and contouring (HAC). It’s takes some getting used to but I think it looks AH-Mazing. Ever since I started HACing, several people have asked me if I’ve lost weight (which I can assure you I have not….the holidays were not kind). Here is her video tutorial which explains it much better than I can…try it I assure you it is worth it.
Some Blogs and Books about makeup:
1) www.maskcara.com : I love her video tutorials on makeup. I like it because they are both simple and pretty.
2) www.makeupgeek.com : Not for the novice! These makeup looks
tend to be on the intricate side but they are very beautiful. She does a lot of basic tutorials as well.
3) Making Faces & Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin – The first makeup books I ever bought. These are step by step tutorials on makeup looks from every era and every look. This is probably more makeup than I want to wear on a daily basis but so much to look at and more fun to try for a night out.
4) Makeup Makovers in 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes by Robert Jones – I just recently got this from the library. I especially love the 5 and 10 minute looks he has, they have become some of my go to every day looks. These are step by step tutorials. Pretty and simple.
5) Makeup Master Class by Jemma Kidd – Another one I picked up on a whim at the library. Again, she has beautiful and simple step by step tutorials. Many of them for daytime easy looks.
6) The 5-Minute Face: The Quick & Easy Makeup Guide for Every Woman by Carmindy – You probably know Carmindy from What Not To Wear (I’m sorry TLC’s WNTW) and she always manages to make every woman on there look incredible. She is not kidding – this is a tutorial on the 5 minute face. Very pretty and wearable.
These are just a few of the books and blogs that I use! I’m planning on posting some more of my looks based on these sources but that I’ve made my own. Let me know if you have any questions!
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