My Favorite Products for a 5-Minute Makeup Job
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Hello lovelies!
I grew up watching my mom doing her makeup everyday, whether we were staying home or going out, she always made sure to have her makeup and hair done. Growing up watching that, I fell in love with makeup and I loved watching all kinds of makeup artists on YouTube, showing all the different looks they could make with makeup. One of the first makeup artists I followed religiously was Michelle Phan and I was obsessed with all of her makeup looks. I remember trying to recreate her aurora eyes, using my cheap starter makeup kits I had gotten for Christmas that year. When I got older and was able to start using foundations, mascara, etc. the real joy began.
Now, as a mother to three little ones, I still always make sure to have my makeup and hair done just like my mother did. However, those big extravagant makeup looks have taken a back burner to the quick 5 minute makeup jobs. Every once in a while, when my husband is home and I can escape for a moment, I will still play around with my makeup like I did in my teenage/early twenty years. I will have to do a post with one of my favorite makeup looks, my sunset eyes, one day. However, for this post, we are taking it back to the basics and showing you my favorite products to do an effortless 5 minute makeup job to look refreshed and ready for the day.
So for this, I'm just going to focus on my makeup products. I will do a separate blog post for my skincare products and what I use for those items.
Starting with foundations, I have three foundations that I use and flip between, depending on how my skin is feeling that day and the weather. Those are Rimmel Stay Matte Mouse, Lys Hydrating Foundation Stick and Methodic Skin Shield Foundation.
This is my daily foundation. I have actually used this since I was in my late teens and early twenties. I have pretty oily skin and this foundation usually lasts me all day without separating. I love the smooth feel of it and how easily it blends into my skin.
When I'm not in the mood for a full foundation, I love to use this to like spot blend the redness in my face. For reference, I have never used it as a full foundation, only as a spot blend instead of a heavy concealer. It worked amazing to keep my face hydrated and feeling great even during the hot and humid summers here in Florida
This is the foundation I use when I'm looking to do a full coverage foundation. My skin is very sensitive and most full coverage options I've found break me out. This is the only full coverage option I've been able to do that does not break me out and my skin still feels great after using it all day
For my foundations, I always use a setting powder of some sort to keep it going all day. I know some people are able to go without, but for my oily skin, if I do not set it with a powder, it'll separate halfway through the day. My go to powder is Revlon Colorstay Face Powder.
I love this face powder. I've tried quite a few different brands but this is the only one I've been able to use that keeps my makeup on all day. It doesn't make my foundation feel heavy, it's very lightweight and mattifying.
Now for concealer, I have super dark under eye circles that I’m constantly fighting with. I've tried so many different concealers throughout my life, from name brand high end ones like Tarte and Bare Minerals, to your standard drugstore concealers. I'll list my top two favorites for lightweight coverage versus heavy coverage. I'm back and forth, sometimes I want to go more natural and other days, when I've had zero sleep, I need that thick concealer so I don't look like a zombie. For high end concealers, Tarte’s Shape Tape concealer and IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer are my favorites. For drugstore brands, I prefer Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Concealer and Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer.
This concealer is one of the thickest concealers I've ever worked with, and although it's thick, it's also incredibly blendable. I survived on this concealer during the newborn stage.
I got this as a sample product once in my Ipsy bag and I fell in love with it. For me, this concealer feels more hydrating to the under eye area than the Tarte one does.
This is my daily concealer when I'm looking for just a little bit more brightness under my eyes. I do think it helps make my dark circles less pronounced when I'm using it regularly. It's a very lightweight concealer and for me, I only like to use it under my eyes because it doesn't wear well elsewhere.
This is the best dupe for the Tarte Shape Tape I've found. It's a little less blendable, but it has the same thick consistency that conceals all of the blemishes I have, while not settling in my pores. I do love this concealer and if your looking for a more budget friendly option than high end, this is definitely a must.
For blush, I honestly bounce back and forth over so many different brands. I'm not sure I have a favorite brand of blushes, I generally use whatever when it comes to blushes. At the moment, I'm using the Revolution Powder Blush. It's very pigmented and I love the color Pink Lady they have.
Pink Lady is a beautiful pink that has complemented my skin no matter what hair color I have had.
I do have pretty full eyebrows, but there's some areas where I have scarring from teenage acne, so I like to go in and darken those areas. For a pencil option, I use e.l.f. Ultra Precise Eyebrow Pencil. For a powder option, I actually use Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo.
I use the shade Brunette and it glides on very smooth and precise. It wears fantastic, it no smearing
I use the shade Granite and it lasts all day for me. I love how pigmented they are and one duo lasts me forever
For my eyes, my go to is to do a winged eyeliner. Before I used to use the Essence Eyeliner Pen, but this last time, I decided to try the e.l.f. Expert Liquid Liner. I'm not sure which one I like better. I think they both lasts just as long, it all depends on whether you prefer a pen or a brush style.
I just started using this eye liner and I’m loving it. It’s a very affordable price and lasts me all day.
Now for mascara…. Man, have I gone through a lot of mascara. Mascara is my favorite type of makeup out there. Because I'm such a mascara connoisseur, I typically buy the drugstore brands because I like to test out a lot of different ones. For lashes, I always start with curling my lashes, then prime them, and then two coats of mascara. I'm not super picky on my eyelash curler, I typically replace it with whichever one I find at Ross or TJ Maxx for a decent price. For primer, I love the Essence False Lash Princess Primer. I've tried a few different ones but I always end up going back to that one. It keeps my eyelashes healthy and definitely helps lengthen them. For mascara, my favorites at the moment are Loreal Panorama Mascara, and Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara. If I had to choose a high end brand, I do love Thrives Tubing Mascara. It does incredibly at lengthening my lashes.
This primer is super hydrating and my lashes stay long and healthy when using this primer
This mascara keeps my eye lashes long and separated. I have no had any issues with this mascara transferring or flaking like other Loreal mascaras I’ve used in the past.
This is a tubing mascara and it does an incredible job lengthening my lashes.
For a higher end brand, I would buy this any day. I love this mascara and it’s one of the best I’ve ever tested.
My lips are always last and most days I usually do a lip liner and lip gloss of some sort. Unless I'm going out, that's my standard. For going out, I prefer to use the Revlon Super Lustrous colors, or for a matte option I like the Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick.
These lipsticks are super hydrating. A few of my favorite colors are Pink Velvet, Daylight Delight, Rumberry, Vampire Kiss and Candid Rose.
These lipsticks are the perfect matte lipstick that don’t leave my lips feeling like the desert. Some of my favorite colors are Composer, Mover, Savant, Vixen, Renegade, and Seductress.
And there we have it, the 5 minute makeup job.
Thanks so much for reading!
Signing Out,
Lexi Comtois