Emily's Guide For No-Makeup Makeup

 

We all know that I love my full face of makeup, smoky eyeshadow and all. Makeup is my art, it makes me happy, and it is fun putting colors all over my face! There are days and situations though that I just want to look presentable, that means no time or need for the whole face. These are the days where I implement my no-makeup makeup routine! 

I have some chronic illnesses that can cause some dark circles and redness on my face that I would like to cover. I also go through phases where I don’t always feel up to washing my face regularly so I have texture, acne, and scarring that I would like to cover. Using this guide I will go though what I have found is the perfect way to appear that you have great skin, even if it isn't looking too great. Even if you don't have any issues with your skin, you still might want to get ready through this guide and see if there is something that could help you through your makeup routine!

Step 1. Prepping the Skin

For a no-makeup makeup look, all of the focus is on the skin. The first step is to make sure that you have a clean base to start out with. Now that can be from just washing your face from getting up in the morning, which is the most preferable; or using a cleansing wipe, micellar water, or something of the like. You want a clean face so that all of your products will go on as cleanly and evenly as possible. You don’t want any oils or dirt from your face mixing with your product giving an uneven consistency (i.e. loss of pigment in the area, patchiness, seeing extra texture). It will also greatly decrease the lifespan of your makeup. This step is important for a minimal makeup look, or a full glam makeup look. 

The next step is to moisturize. It does not matter what skin type you have, you need to moisturize. Even if you have combination to oily skin, this step will help you. By giving your skin some moisture, it will tell your pores that they do not need to produce so much oil. Moisturizing will also help give a nice back to give your product something to stick to and increase the longevity of the makeup. There are moisturizers for all different skin types. Find one you like and use it - your skin will thank you.

moisturizer search page on Ulta

I have found that everyone feels different about this next step. I think it just depends on what your skin needs. Primer can be so important to some in making their no-makeup makeup look good, but if you already have pretty good skin, you probably don’t need it. There is a primer for just about everything to suit your skin's needs from a wide range of prices.

There are primers for color correcting, so if you have any redness in your face - you could get a green colored primer. If you have areas of dark purple/blue discoloration, you could get a peach colored primer.

For those of you who have larger pores, you can get a pore filling primer. Usually pores are only big around the T-zone (center of forehead, nose chin), so you could apply the pore filling priming there, and another on the rest of the face. Or you could just have the pore filling primer on the T-zone and that be the only primer.

If your skin is on the oily side you might want to consider a mattifying primer. This can help keep your makeup lasting longer and from sliding all over the place. If you have more combination skin, again it's typically just your T-zone that is oily, so I would recommend keeping it to that area. You can just leave the rest of the face with the moisturizer, or use another primer to help suit the rest of your skin's needs.

Then, if you want to feel extra hydrated, or like the extra dewy look, you could use a hydrating primer. If your skin is extra dry, it can help enhance your moisturizer and help your makeup from looking dry and cakey.

There are too many primers for me to link all of them, but seriously, you can just do a quick search of what you are looking for in one and so many will come up, then you can filter down from rating and price range. You can also ask me and I will do my best to recommend a great one - because believe me - I’ve used several!

Face primer search screen on Ulta

Step 2. Covering Imperfections

Now that we have got our skin prepped, it’s time to start covering any imperfections we might have. The best way that I have found is to go in with a concealer that is about the same color as your skin tone. My favorite one to use, which I have found works best to look as natural as possible is Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer. You could use a foundation if you prefer, I’ve just found that I can’t get everything covered as naturally as I would like that way. If you like using foundation better, that is just fine! Different products and techniques work for different people. 

Use a light hand with the product to cover discoloration around your eyes, redness around your face, and any blemishes. Use a damp beauty sponge (I like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge) or a brush (Morphe brushes are the best!) for this step. A dry sponge will not blend it to look natural. If you have neither, use your finger and make sure that you are tapering out the product so there are not any lines showing where the product is ending.  If anything is not covered to your satisfaction after the first coat of concealer, lightly build until you are satisfied. 

*Remember, you can always put a little more product on. It’s a whole lot harder to take it off. Spoiler for the next step, but if the coverage is just about there, you can get it there with powder foundation. 

* I also want to say that if you are having an active breakout, you may want to leave that area of your face alone. Let those pores breath, keep them clean, and let those pesky pimples clear up without putting irritating makeup on top of them!

We are officially done with wet products. When it comes to face makeup, you always start with wet products - then finish the  look off with your dry products. Adding wet products over dry can make your makeup look patchy. The only exception is setting spray when you are finished with your makeup. *More on setting spray later. 

Now that we have got that concealer on, we need to set it. Like I said above - if you don’t have quite enough coverage over any point, take a powder foundation to help with that. That is essentially killing two birds with one stone. You’ve set the area with powder, and added that little bit of extra coverage.

I have a few different powders that I like: Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder, MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation, bareMinerals Performance Wear Powder Foundation.

If we don’t need to have any extra coverage, or if it looks like we need to meld the rest of your face with the concealed parts - this is where setting powder comes in. You start with setting your under eyes so they don’t crease, then go on to the rest of the face.

Here are my favorite setting powders: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Loose Powder SPF 16, L’Oreal Hydra Perfecte Perfecting Loose Powder. 

Step 3. Creating Dimension

This next step is completely unnecessary, but if you feel like you have lost all depth from your face, you can add just a little bit of contour. Take a powder foundation that is only a couple of shades darker than your skin tone, and use a fluffy brush to brush it into the hollows of your cheeks and the perimeters of your forehead. You could also add a little bit of blush if you are feeling a little bit washed out. Just remember when you are applying that less is more. You don’t want anything too harsh that really sticks out. 

Eyebrows frame the face, so you want to make sure that they are shaped and in place. Now when I say shaped, I am by no means saying you need to get out your pencil or pomade and carve out your brows, but use a brow gel. This part can be by preference using a clear brow gel or a tinted brow gel. It really depends on how full or sparse your brows are. I personally love using a tinted brow gel because the front of my brows are thick and full, but my arches are very sparse and using a tinted gel makes them all look the same. 

Tight-lining your upper-eye with a brown liner makes your lashes look thicker. You could use black, and I often do, but brown does look more natural. Then curling your lashes makes your eyes look bigger and more awake. You could put mascara on to help hold the curl and lengthen the lashes, but that does really take away from the no-makeup guise that we’re going for. I personally like to add the mascara because of how it makes my eyes look bigger. You could also use a cream color on your water line to further make your eyes look big and awake. I would not go for white because it would be too harsh and would not look natural. White is usually reserved for more glam looks.  

My favorite eyeliners: Covergirl Perfect Point Plus, ColourPop eyeliner, 

Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, Tarte Lights Camera Lashes 4 in 1 mascara, 

Lips can’t be neglected either! Whereas I wouldn’t be using lipstick on a day like this, I do have things that I would wear to give my lips a little enhancement. I love using Maybelline Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm that comes with a few tinted shades. I also have a variety of glosses that I like to wear, or if I’m feeling it I’ll put just a little bit of a creamy lipstick on and mix it with a lip balm so I can get a little bit of its color. 

Now we are pretty much done with our makeup! All that’s left is setting spray. Setting spray does a few things for us: it melds the wet and dry products together, it helps lock in color, keep the makeup from moving, and help it last all day. Now like primers, different setting sprays can do different things, some are mattifying, some are hydrating, some have a glowing mist. The one that you choose is based on your skin needs. 

Here are my personal favorites: Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray (my most used), Morphe Continuous Setting Mist, MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ Primer and Setting Spray, Milani Make it Last Matte Charcoal Setting Spray, Milani Make it Last Sunscreen Setting Spray SPF 30 (the only one I have found with SPF!)

This probably seems like a lot of steps to make it look like you aren’t even wearing any makeup at all, but I promise it really isn’t very hard. Once you figure out the products that work for your skin and get the hang of what you are doing this is something that you could do in your sleep. Now finding the right products for your skin can be a process of trial and error. Your skin also changes with the seasons, and as you age so bear that in mind if something you’ve found doesn't vibe with your skin like it used to. 

I just want to put out there that I am in no way getting paid or making any money off of this post. I am linking all of these products because I really do like them and I want to share my knowledge!

Comment below if you have any other no-makeup makeup tips!