Ok…I’ve gotten a few requests asking me to do a tutorial applying makeup. I thought about doing a video and the thought is still lingering.
You can see how I went from plain, no brows, discolored skin to a more even and polished look.
But in all honesty, because of the unforgiving lighting in the little room where I get ready in the morning, I thought it would be so much better to do a blog post. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of women over 50 and 60 and in general using filters when it comes to beauty. Our faces are not filtered in real life and you know that I’m very transparent. I also jumped at the opportunity to do this while my face was affected by morning allergies.
No filter. No great lighting. This is me before I apply my makeup.
So—without further ado, brace yourselves because this is no five-minute makeup routine. I take my time. I’ll drink a cup of coffee while I’m getting ready and this is my “me” time before heading out to work—or on the weekends to run errands. I like to look human.
First of all, I apply serums and creams in the evening and in the morning, I only use warm water to wash my face. Then I apply a thin layer of moisturizer. Any moisturizer will do and I follow up with a Primer.
Let’s do this ladies!
Today I used Hard Candy’s Primer. It’s around $8.00 at Walmart and this is one of the primers that I repurchase regularly. I apply it over my face and it sets in while I do my eyes.
With the primer applied to my face, I head for my holy grail of eye brightener. Well-Rested by bareMinerals. If you are a regular reader of the blog, then you know I’m never without this. The funny thing is that I don’t have dark circles under my eyes, but I use this to get rid of the shadow above my lid and in the corner of my eyes.
bareMinerals Well-Rested. I’m starting to run low–I’ll have to run to the mall next weekend and pick up some more. I apply with a medium sized flat bristled brush that I’ve had for years.
I apply the Well-Rested in the corners of my eyes where my skin is a bit blueish.
And also all over my lid to get rid of any shadowing. This also makes a great base for the shadows that will follow.
Now it’s time for shadow. Today (actually it was yesterday when I did this), I’m using that cute palette that I made last week. The shadows from Essence.
When I’ve built up enough shadow to my liking, I’ll go in with the Morphe blending brush and blend, blend, blend to get a softer look.
See? All the shadow has been blended so softly and evenly!
For a little more definition, and because I wear glasses, I’ll go into the outter corners with a darker color. I’m using Steel The Show which is a perfect dupe for Urban Decay’s Pistol and eighteen dollars less expensive. But I still blend!
Steel the Show–slightly metallic, which is great because matte gray colors look dreadful on me! This is a nice shadow.
Layering the shadows also creates depth and when you wear glasses, that helps!
Next up–Brownielicious. I use a foam tipped applicator to apply this to line my bottom lids and add a touch to the outter corners as well. These Essence shadows are really amazing and at such a budget price!!
Many pooh-pooh the foam-tipped applicator but boy, it is good for lining lids!
Lids almost done…
I’ll also spritz some of this facial spray both before applying foundation and after!
Brows are next. Trust me, it’ll all come together. I use Anastasia’s Dip Brow because, quite frankly, it’s the best brow gel product on earth and it lasts forever. I’ve had this little jar for over two years now!
The Dipbrow has seen better days but I have a brand new one that I’ll use when every bit of this is gone.
I love a dark brow but I don’t like a too-thick brow. For me, doing the brows is the most challenging part of my routine!
Brows are done and things are starting to look better!
Time for mascara and liner. She how blotchy my skin looks close up?
My mascara of choice these days is Get Big Lashes by Essence. This stuff–it’s so fantastic. It really thickens the lashes!
At $3.99 a tube, this is better than any high-end mascara I’ve ever purchased!
Let’s face it. As we age our lashes aren’t what they used to be. As long as the mascara thickens and darkens properly. I’m happy. I don’t have time to putz around with false lashes during the week.
Time for liner. I’ve stopped lining my lids because I’ve found it makes my eyes look smaller and on those “allergy” days when my eyes are puffy and more hooded, they just don’t look good. Instead, I tightline. That is going very close to the lash line UNDER the top lid’s waterline.
I use an e.l.f. eyeliner and shadow stick in Black Smoke. This is an excellent product. I linked it on my Amazon.com page which I’ll link at the end of the post!
Eyes done. Now it’s time for the face!
To make it MORE hydrating, I add a drop of Argan Oil (The Josie Maran is a sample. I’m not spending $48 bucks on any oil. I just ordered The Ordinary Argan Oil from Amazon and paid twelve bucks!)
A drop of oil right onto the cushion..
I press a foundation brush into the cushion (the brush I use is from iT Cometics and I’m annoyed because the brush is separating from the handle)
And I apply!
Now–here’t the secret to getting the foundation to look like a second skin. After applying the foundation, I literally “buff” my face with a big buffind brush. It’s like buffing fingernails.
Buffing the foundation…
I’m not done yet….
After buffing I take that cleansing/diaper wipe..
And I press the wipe into my face to blot any excess. Do you have any idea how hard this is to take a photo when the glasses aren’t on? I’m friggin’ blind as a bat–LOL!!
Look at the excess that came off!
Now it’s time for concealer. I happen to like concealer because it gives my uneven skin more of an even finish and it brightens. My hand to God–I swear this MAC concealer is the best I’ve ever used for coverage. I have basically stopped using anything else during the workweek!
A half pump gives you..
All this coverage and trust me when blended it doesn’t look caked on. I blend the bejesus out of this with a very damp blending sponge (sorry I forgot to take a photo). I use my Real Techniques blending sponge.
Now–take a good look-see. My wrinkles are still there. They aren’t covered, yet the foundation still looks fine and my skin looks more even and brighter. It’s about even and brighter looking skin. You cannot stop the aging process so ’tis better to embrace it!
During the warmer months I don’t do a contour but with this new cream contour palette and with me showing you how I do my face, it seemed like a good thing to do.
This palette. I can’t even because it’s just so damned great! The creamy texture is a pro-aging woman’s best friend!
Because it’s so creamy, I applied this taupe contour with my finger..
And used this inexpensive three-dollar contour brush to blend.
The contour is applied right under my cheekbone and blended in very, very, very, very, very well. You want a “shade” of color to create a slimming shadow!
Let’s get cheeky now!
Next a coral cream blush by Stila..
And ever-so-lightly I apply and brush in little circular motions on the top of my cheeks.
Almost done. I swear!
Next for fun, I’ll take a little highlighter and
Apply under my eye!
Almost done! The only thing left is bronzer, which I passed on and lipcolor. Lipcolor is applied after I put a wig on and after I get dressed because I’m a natural born slob and I get lipstick all over. I’m not kidding.
Why wear one lipcolor when you can wear four? Seriously, I always mix colors. Today I’m going for a caramel/pink so we’ll see what comes out of this!
Hair on, dress on. I always line my lips in a neutral lip pencil. It’s stops the lipcolor from bleeding.
And that’s it. Overall, it takes me about twenty five minutes to do my face because I dawdle. I drink my coffee and check my phone and I play Candy Crush Saga. But the difference that makeup does for pro-aging skin is really a beautiful thing. I look like me but a better version of me. Isn’t that what we all want?
Look closely to the left of the bottom of my mouth. See what a slob I am? Smeared lipstick. I have no idea how that happened either! But it did!
See? We don’t need fiters. To the left is a popular filter that so many women use to rid themselves of any imperfections but you can’t see the face. I’ll take my bumps, spots and wrinkles and work with them!
I wore the maxi dress from Marshalls and everyone at work loved it…
But—But….it was this dress that got a gazillion compliments today. I am so glad I went back and got this striped bodycon midi!
This dress is definitely a crowd pleaser. My Frenchman even pinched me! Oh lala!!
Here’s the link to many of the products I used in this blog post: Products On My Amazon Page
I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you do want a video because I’ll definitely make an effort to film one this weekend!
Here’s today’s look which is basically the same as yesterday’s except I have on a lighter wig. I’m wearing Violet by Estetica Designs. You know- I like the lighter color better for the warmer weather.
PS. I want to thank everyone who suggested I do this post because it’s important to me to show off our aging skin. It’s important to show that you do not need filters. It’s important to come to terms with the aging process so thanks for pushing me to to this. I appreciate it and always love when I get suggestions from you!!!
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