MAC Makeup

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; you gotta try harder as you get older.

This motto occurred to me after I first got engaged. I was in the bathroom at work one day putting on makeup when I told one of my coworkers – let’s call her Jane. I liked Jane, she was nice and smiled more often than other dour-faced people I encountered on a daily basis. After I told her I just got engaged, she pointed at my makeup stash and said, “Why bother putting on all that stuff? You don’t have to try anymore because you already got a man.”

Whoa, now that I was out of the dating game, it was time to ditch the smoky eye look and pursue a life lycra-infused leisure wear? What she said freaked me out. I know, I know — I don’t have to equate getting hitched with totally giving up on trying to look put-together, but as I get older truth be told I find myself getting lazy. I keep reminding myself to not give up on keeping up the beauty routine because my godmother, who has plenty o’ children and grandchildren to spare, is pushing 70, and she still gets her hair done, puts on makeup and coordinates her accessories with her outfits. And she looks *good*! She is one of my style heroes and I hope to be as rocking as she is when I’m her age.

While my godmother is the antithesis of lazy style, we all know that you can’t always go out wearing a full face of makeup. There’s laundry to wash, drafts to edit and sleep to be had. But when you leave the house to run that quick errand or hit the gym you want to make the effort to still look good, right? So in the spirit of “trying harder,” I’ve developed a minimal makeup/lazy day makeup/workout makeup routine.

(And yes, I can admit that I have to put on a little makeup before I work out. If that makes me vain, I don’t care. At least I don’t have to stare at my under eye circles when I’m lifting weights or dancing, ugh.)

My routine takes five minutes, less if I decide to skip a step or two at the end. I’ve done this routine in the car, out in the middle of the forest (yes, I wear makeup when I attempt to camp) and at the beach. It’s the bare minimum I need to look put together. Try it on your lazy days, or if you’ve just got to run out to the grocery store and don’t want to go full-on foundation, powder, etc.

Step 1: First I apply concealer (I’m currently using Make Up Forever’s Lift Concealer) underneath and in the inner corner of my eyes with MAC’s 252 Large Shader Brush to cover up any dark circles. If I’m in a hurry skip the brush and just use my fingers. I just make sure to wash my hands first or use Purell.

Step 2: I then curl my lashes with MAC’s eyelash curler to open up my eyes. I skip the mascara because it’s something that I just can’t do in a hurry. Plus, I don’t want to have to take the time to clean up any mistakes.

Step 3: Next I apply color to my eyebrows to fill them out and give them definition. In the cheat sheet above, I put a picture of MAC’s Brow Shader, but I use MAC Eyeshadow in the color Concrete (a dark brown) with the 266 Brush. I don’t like to fill in my brows with anything darker than brown; otherwise, I think it looks to harsh.

Step 4: I then apply cream blush to the apples of my cheeks and blend upwards into the hairline with my fingers. I use Paula Dorf’s Cheek Cream in Cha Cha, a very pretty hot pink that at first looks a little scary in the pan. Once I put it on the color tones down gives the perfect pink flush.

Step 5: Last I blot my forehead, nose and any other oily areas with a piece of Shiseido Blotting Papers.

Voila, I’m done! If I have a little extra time I’ll throw some gloss on, and if I’m feeling ambitious, I might replace the Blotting Papers for powder. It all depends on how late I am, ha ha ha!