Make-ups and Downs

For many, makeup is an absolute must when going out. Whether it be a natural or a full-glam look, it could make or break your day. Now this is by no means a message to wear makeup if you don’t want to, but if you are looking for tips, recommendations, or simply a guide on where to begin, you have come to the right place.
Base: The base of your makeup is the most crucial part of your makeup look. Finding the right shade and formula for your skin shade and type is highly important. It can’t be too drying, too glowy, too orange, too white. It’s definitely an ULTA-mate (Laugh please or I’ll be fired) problem if you don’t know what you’re doing. Foundations are the most common product you are going to come across for base makeup, but there’s so much more than foundation. Some people prefer tinted moisturizer, for a more natural, easy application. Also be sure to look for products with the proper coverage you are looking for. Trying to cover up blemishes or dark spots? High coverage products will be your best bet. While light to medium coverage is for more natural, light weight makeup looks. What you wear under your base makeup is also important. Wearing a primer or moisturizer that doesn’t pair well with your foundation could lead to it breaking down and separating on your face. Not wearing a primer/moisturizer can also lead to dry patches, excessive oils, and difficulty blending in products. It will take some trial and error to see what works together and what doesn’t. The E.L.F Power Grip Primer is my go-to primer for a long lasting look. It works great with my personal favorite foundation, the Nars light reflecting foundation (my current shade is Fiji). It is so lightweight and has a medium coverage, it evens out my skin tone and any redness without being too heavy on my skin. It also has a satin finish, not too glowy or too matte, and has skin care ingredients. Such as Biomimetic Oat, which is supposed to clear up and reduce redness, while helping soothe and calm the appearance of your skin. Japanese Lilyturf strengthens the skin barrier and helps maintain moisture. And Cacao Peptide and milk thistle, reducing the negative effects of blue light and other environmental stressors… I’m going to be honest I’m not too sure about the last one but I can confirm my skin feels nice after using it. I don’t feel any more oily or dry than I do without foundation.
I also really enjoyed the E.L.F Halo Glow Liquid Filter, which has been said to be a dupe for the charlotte tilbury flawless filter, I used the shade 3. The Cerave Ultra-Lightweight SPF 30 Moisturizer pairs well with this product. It’s a great formula, very light weight and glowy. I wouldn’t call it a foundation since it’s so thin and glowy, but I found it perfect for summer. But I also thought it was a bit too warm-toned for the winter. The lack of sun tends to make my skin paler than the summers so my wintershade matches better with my Nars foundation. A little addition of the E.L.F Blue Camo Color Corrector (giftd to me by Evanie thank you very much) helps in balancing the orange undertones. But E.L.F recently expanded their shade range, so I’ll be looking for a new bottle in a few months for a better shade. Since it is a glowy product, I also find myself applying powder many times throughout the day too keep my face from reflecting too much light and potentially blinding my teachers and classmates. I loved it until just recently it started to break me out? Apparently this happened to a lot of people online around the same time, it didn’t come to my attention until one of my friends who ALSO uses this product brought it up to me. So I’m not too sure if it was true or just a case of hypochondria. But I’ve switched over to the Nars foundation anyway, and I guess I’ve broken out less? I’ll use it again in the summer and come back to that conclusion.
The E.L.F Dewy Coconut Setting Mist is my favorite setting spray, recommended to me by a friend, (thank you Katya) it smells nice and works great for blending products together for a seamless look. Now Iusually spray this before blending out my concealer or any other cream/liquid products. I blend my concealer out with a DRY beauty blender. (Gasp dramatically) Yes, I use a dry beauty blender. Honestly it’s from the pure laziness of not wanting to go to my sink and soak it, but it’s also more sanitary (in my mind at least) since the water can lead to mold and bacterial growth over time.
Next comes blush. Does anyone else know what happened to your blush throughout the day? Because to me it feels like no matter what I do it disappears after a few hours. I’ve used a few Super Shock Blushes from Colourpop, but they’re not very pigmented. The NYX Wonder Stick Blush is pretty good, it comes with two shades in a dual sided retractable stick packaging and it is easy to use. It blends out nicely with the E.L.F Angled Blush Brush. The E.L.F Camo Liquid Blush, shade: Dusty Rose, also works very beautifully.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun when doing your makeup. My personal favorite places to do my makeup are in the car, my bedroom floor, or while sitting in AP Psychology. School desks are perfect for holding makeup bags, you should try it. All of the products mentioned work great together, I hope my experience and feedback gives you some guidance when standing in the abyss of endless products at Target or Ulta. Look out for the next issue for a part 2 if you’d like another look into my mind’s makeup isle.