How Using Less Makeup Makes You More Beautiful!

Hi, Sweet Friend,

Today I want to share some of my beauty routine with you… And, as per the title of this post, let me also share my thoughts on beautifying myself without using tons and tons of makeup…But let me first begin with a confession: I am super-LAZY!

…But(hopefully), I’m super-lazy in a good way because not only I dread thinking about spending more than 5 minutes in the morning before running out of the house on applying the makeup that  may get smudged, wiped off or just not look that great if it’s done in a hurry… Most of all I, as a girl who thinks that a healthy skin and a natural glow is something worth maintaining, I DREAD spending all that time taking that makeup off at night when I’m already super-tired! (And it may take the whole 10 minutes, no less, because I’ll want to do it properly, providing a decent amount of TLC to my skin. I don’t want to just use a few wipes and head to bed).

And here is also why I think that I am lazy in a good way: it’s because I believe that using less makeup is BETTER for my skin. Why? Because even when I’m being careful taking all that makeup off using the right products, it’s the WEARING of the makeup that may negatively affect my skin’s overall condition. Because…

• The makeup blocks the skin from breathing which isn’t natural for it. And so the skin as any other part of out body when something unnatural is being done to it may and will rebel by eventually breaking out.
• The makeup dries my skin out since no matter how good and hypoallergenic it may be, to stay put all these products have some kind of a powder as one of its ingredients. A powder is a powder. It absorbs the oils and the moisture from the skin drying it out. The consequence to that are the dreaded wrinkles. And I don’t want to develop the wrinkles. Not one little bit!
• If you already have any lines or wrinkles on your face (and all of us actually have them in some degree, since we all smile, talk, laugh, etc), wearing the heavy makeup will make them worse by filling those lines and “helping” them stay there and become even more prominent. And I don’t want that to be happening either!
• Another thing that a mascara (any mascara) does to our lashes is it puts extra weight on them and makes them sticky and stiff. And it isn’t natural for them either. And so… those lashes may and will begin to rebel by thinning out, falling off and losing their natural strength and color. Which may make us want to use more mascara. Which will make things worse….

OK, so now that I’ve told you all those bad things about the makeup…

I have to make another confession here: I wouldn’t ever tell anyone to avoid using makeup completely! NO WAY! Why? Because it’s what makes us feel beautiful and that feeling is a GOOD feeling. And feeling good positively affects our overall well-being which, in turn, positively affects our natural beauty! Does it make any sense? 🙂

So, what’s there for a girl to do? Well, let me tell you one more thing that I strongly believe in:

BALANCE! I believe in using the makeup! But SPARINGLY. RARELY.

And when it comes to running errands and doing my daily chores… using SOME makeup, but only A LITTLE BIT and only the kinds of makeup that don’t very much affect my skin’s healthy condition.

…So let me just show you what I do makeup-wise on the every day basis vs. what I do makeup-wise for when I go to a special, very important, super-significant event …I thought it’d be fun to just display it all side by side… 🙂

My every-day makeup:

…And here is what I’ve used for this look:

• My favorite moisturizer, Avene Rich Compensating Cream, topped with…
• My Avene SPF 50+ Sunscreen or, if I my skin looks uneven (as the PMS side-effect 🙂 ), I use Bobbi Brown’s Tinted Balm SPF25, to make sure I am always protected from the sun!
• Some Blush on my cheeks (and if there is just ONE product that I’m going to use to enhance my features, it’ll probably be the blush because since I don’t like baking my skin in the sun, I am kind of pale and I need to add that color to look a little brighter)
• I line my brows with some Brow Pencil. (Another thing that I usually try to do since my brows aren’t super-bushy and I like to enhance them a little to let them frame my face… But only A LITTLE! I want them to look natural!)
• Some Light-Weight Lipstick – again, to brighten up my complexion a bit:)

…And THAT’S IT! I haven’t used ANYTHING else for this look. And you also know what? On most days I don’t actually have any time to do even this at home… I usually run out of the house while making sure that everyone is fed and no one left their backpack behind… OK, I always make sure to keep my skin moisturized and to never forget that sunscreen. …But I can always quickly put some blush, brow pencil and the lip-stain in the car, in the ladies room, – anywhere!

And here is what I do when I go to that super-special and super-important-to-look-good event:

A little Note here: there are some events that happen VERY RARE, such as a photo-shoot for a family portrait when I use more products. But that happens… well very rare.

• I always start with my Moisturizer.
• I apply some moisturizing foundation. I like CHANEL LES BEIGES #12  because it looks very natural, it doesn’t irritate my skin at all, and, most importantly, because it’s very creamy it doesn’t dry my skin out like the other foundation usually do.
• I line my brows with the same Brow Pencil.
• I also put some Blush on my cheeks to add some color to my face 🙂
• I line my lips with a Lip Pencil that matches my Lipstick.
• I put on some Lipstick.
• Some Eye-Shadow on my eyelids.
• I line my upper eyelid with a Black Eye Pencil.
• And finally I put two coats of Volumizing Mascara on my lashes.

THAT’S IT!

…And although all that may NOT seem like a lot of products to most beauty pros, since…

• I did NOT use any concealers, powders, correctors, brighteners, etc. I don’t even have them at home! …Because I just don’t have it in the budget to spend on something that I may never use!
• I also DID NOT use a countering product, because since I don’t use much makeup on the every day basis, I STILL haven’t been able to learn how to contour my face properly without looking like a tiger 🙂
• I also didn’t use a curling eyelash tool. NO WAY I’m doing that to my lashes! I don’t want them to fall out…
• And I also do NOT use any fake lashes and such… For the same reason as above…

…But even all that sounds like A LOT to me! Because putting all that product on is…

• super-time consuming
• super-time consuming to take off
• even though I try to keep things low-key and natural… I still start to soon feel how the mascara is making my eyelashes kind of stiff, and how that eye-pencil starts getting in my eyes and irritating them…

And so whenever that event is over I RUSH to the bathroom to take all that stuff off my face!

…So, here is the side-by-side comparison:

My every-day “makeup” (if you can call it that)

My special-day makeup

…My dear friend! Please, make sure to stay HEALTHY! To FEEL GOOD! And the makeup… Apply it! SOMETIMES…