My Makeup Application Regimen

First and foremost start off with a nice clean face. I apply St. Ives Collagen Elastin Facial Moisturizer then let that set and soak in for about 10 minutes. After the moisturizer has soaked in I apply either the homemade glycerin mix spray to my face, or if I am going out for a night on the town where my makeup must look FAB all night, I apply the Smashbox Photo Finish. Let that set before applying the foundation for about five minutes.

Then for the final prep step I use the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I have always had issues with eyeshadow fading, creasing, or my eyelashes leaving  black smudges on my lids. This stuff is AMAZING! It makes your eyeshadow more vibrant, it will last for days if you let it. I have done the big “no no” and slept with my makeup on. I have woken up with my eyeshadow looking the same as it did the day/night before! Never had a single crease or eyelash smudge. I will never go without this.

Now your face is prepped and ready for application. Just like painting you have to have an appropriate prepped surface.

For my foundation I use, Everyday Minerals Fairly Light which is in the Beige category on the website. I have used both the matte formula and am currently using the semi-matte. I like them equally. I apply this with my Flat Top Brush from Everyday Minerals.  Versus the regular Kabuki Brush this just seems to give you a little more coverage for foundation. After I apply my foundation I apply the blush of my choice. Then I began working on the eyes which always takes the longest. I normally apply a white shimmer eyeshadow to the entire eye all the way up into brow. I really like the pearly look for highlights. I purchased Floating Feathers from EDM. You can apply it lightly to have just a light semi-translucent sheen or apply it heavy to give you a stark white, pearly shade.

Once I am done with the last step, I then fill in my eyebrows. On this I have no huge preference and sometimes will use eyebrow pencils, and sometimes use powder eyeshadow in a medium brown color. I am a blonde so my eyebrows are really light. I do this step after applying the Floating Feathers to my eye because if I get some white in my eyebrow I can cover it up. I do not like to get the white in my brows after I have just worked to get them filled in nicely.

I apply my eyeshadow after this. I am not going to go into extreme detail on this in this post because I change colors and techniques frequently depending on the look I want.

Next step is eyeliner. For eyeliner I typically use either liquid eyeliner like Almay Liquid Eyeliner in Black. This isn’t as forgiving as using the mineral eyeshadows for liners. However, you get a very bold, crisp look that won’t smudge. But if your eyes water… watch out! This will run like ink! So use something like this according to where you will be and what you will be doing. Don’t suggest this for going to see a sad movie, but do suggest for going out to a night club.

When I want a smoky look and/or do not want to take the time and precision of liquid eyeliner, I used a darker shade of eyeshadow, preferably a mineral shadow. You can still make you eyeliner pretty bold and crisp by dampening your brush (I use an angled eyeliner brush – no brand in particular) before putting it in the shadow. You can dampen it easily with a baby wipe, or a mixing agent.

I only use pencil liners for my waterline. They just don’t seem to apply as easily; or stay as well as liquid liners and eyeshadow liners.

It is always wise to have a complimenting eyeshadow color to whatever eyeliner you use. This is because no matter if you use liquid or pencil, it is a good idea to go over it with a shadow to set it. Sometimes I apply a little of the Floating Feathers to the tear duct inner corners of my eyes and maybe sweeping a little toward my eyeliner on the bottom. This just brightens your eyes a bit.

Next is mascara, nothing special here. I use L’oreal Paris: Telescopic Mascara. I like this because the brush is kind of a cross between a comb and a brush. It seems to separate nicely and really bring my lashes up and out.

I next move on to the final steps. First I would apply a nice finishing powder to my mineral makeup. I used to use Silk Dust Tinted by EDM but that has been discontinued. So I will be ordering some of their Sunlight Finishing Dust to try out. I also will be ordering some Soft Bronzer  just for those days I want a little extra color or definition.

Then I use a little cheekbone highlight powder to give me a little sheen and lighten. I use Mosaic gleamer by Napoleon Perdis.

Finally! Last step I promise! I apply my lipstick. The lip gloss tubs that EDM used to have I had purchased a couple of colors. I got the Natural color and a Plum color (I don’t remember the name) but these tubs have been discontinued and I didn’t really care for either of the colors. I really am not a huge fan of lipsticks that you have to apply with a brush. Now EDM has new lip glosses in a stick type form. I am going to order the color Pink Lemonade. I will be sure to post what I think about it. So with lipstick or gloss I don’t really have a brand preference as of now. But I tend to go for natural, pink or neutral shades. Not all of us blondes can pull off a lot of color on the lips like Gwen Stefani! I believe that dark or color rich shades draw attention away from your eyes and I typically like most of the focus on my eyes (since I work so hard on them!) I also tend to believe that lighter shades as mentioned tend to make your lips look fuller in most cases.

Do one quick spray of homemade glycerin mix and call it a day. Now I know all of this seems like a LOT of steps. However, once you get in a routine it normally don’t take too long. When it is all written out in detail it seems a lot longer than if I was to do a tutorial video. Thank you and there will be a lot more blog entries to come more specific on certain products, shades, and more in depth reviews.