MY CURRENT MAKEUP ROUTINE STEP BY STEP

I’ve had more questions than ever about my makeup the last couple of weeks! I snapped these^ photos the week before I gave birth to Sophia. I wanted to show you all how bad my melasma got — and boy! It got bad. It didn’t get quite this with Luke – but my upper lip definitely was bad after Luke. Luckily I got rid of my melasma in about 4 weeks [read post about that HERE]. I am currently not using any of the products that help get rid of melasma because they are not safe while nursing. Anyway, if you are new here – here’s the scoop on my skin… it’s not the best. I did Accutane about 3.5 years ago and it cleared up all of my acne and got rid of insane oil production. It did however leave me with bad cystic acne scars [some dark and many crater-like]? and dryer skin. If you read the post about how I got rid of melasma – that same routine is what helped fade scars and get the overall texture of my skin more smooth. I’m a skincare junkie and I’d rather spend my money on good, effective skincare than makeup/clothing/jewelry. I’ve been a product junkie for years but until the last few years I switched into medical grade / higher end products and I saw a huge difference in my skin. I say all of this because it’s important to know that I think skincare > makeup and I want you all to know this! [Two posts to read to see what make-up I swear by is HERE & skincare HERE]. 

So, the first photo is just with my skincare on & the second photo is when I was fully done with my makeup. I’m going to just jump right in and go step by step on what I apply and in the exact order.

#1 PRIMER || I pat this into the more porous regions of my face with my fingers. This product is amazing but you have to use it correctly to see the results. Pat the product into the places where you need it – don’t rub – just press.

#2 FOUNDATION || I’ve been using THIS foundation for the last year and a half and I love it! I have re-stocked twice because it is SO good and it works on so many! I wear the shade ‘Barcelona’ all year round. This is good for oily or dry – and it is very long wearing and smoothing!

#3 EYE SHADOW || I use the Sigma Eye Shadow Primer & then I have been using THIS PALETTE for shadow. I use mostly the eye shadow brushes from Jaclyn Hill’s collab with Morphe for application.

#4 CONCEALER || I keep coming back to THIS CONCEALER [in ‘Porcelain’] because it wears amazingly for me. I also love Flower Beauty’s Light Illusion Concealer as well – sometimes I apply a dot or two to the darkest area to brighten it up! I use the small end of that same dampened Beauty Blender to blend this in.

#5 SETTING POWDER[S] || I use THIS setting powder in ‘Lavender’ to set my under eye area. I’ve written about this in my previous SephoraHaul here on my blog so I won’t go into detail but DANG! I love this stuff – mainly for under eyes to set and brighten. I use THIS setting powder to set/bake lightly on my jaw area. I use a big, fluffy brush to spread it around! I apply both powders w/the Beauty Blender.

#6 BRONZER || I have a couple of bronzers I really like THIS one [shade 04] & also THIS one in ‘Waka Waka’. I also really love Fenty Beauty’s new bronzers – my favorite shade is ‘I$land Ting’. I use THIS brush for bronzer – it is pricy but it is THE BEST. I have had it for years and washed it a zillion times and it has help up beautifully! I have been using the Fenty bronzing brushes for contour though [see those HERE.] Bronzers are tricky and I try new ones weekly and rarely find are true game changers but I really love these! [PS. I use THIS brush to contour my nose – its AMAZING since it is so thin and easy to use! Read my contour post HERE… PS. I went through a period of time where I was asked if I had a nose job quite often and I absolutely DO NOT have a nose job! I swear by contouring and I just think you’d face changes as you age! My mom and sis love when I contour their noses because it really makes a difference whether or not you need it.]

[I recommend using a setting spray at this point – it will help melt the powders we just use together and look less powdery – we do this at the end too but I like to do it at this point as well.]

#7 BROWS || Next up I do my brows. My brows ARE microbladed [read about that HERE] but I still have to fill them in since I use foundation around them. So I use THIS powder in ‘Soft Brown’ & THIS in ‘Soft Brown’ to set them and lock it all in place. Also I just got Sigma’s brow products in PR and I adore them – I’ve only been trying a couple of weeks tho and so far I love the wax the most!

#8 BLUSH || I had many people inquiring about the blush I had on in yesterday’s IG stories and I don’t remember which one I used! I had been using TWO separate ones and there’s one I prefer… okay so I was trying out THIS blush in ‘Dolly’ back when I filmed that IG story [the week I had Sophia] and I like it okay – not in love. In fact, maybe my skin was just dry after giving birth?!? But I felt like it looked dark?!? IDK. But the blush palette I always go back to and use is HERE! I like the shades ‘Pinkin’ & ‘Cora-de-Rosa’ best.

#9 EYE LINER[S] || I use two – same two as always. I try new ones regularly and always come back to these two: THE BALM ‘SCHWING’ & MAC KOHL LINER.  I use the liquid for the upper lid and the Kohl for the water line on the bottom!

#10 MASCARA[s] || See this post for my favorite mascaras! Those 3 are still my favorites to date. I do get eyelash extensions often – sometimes I have them half full though lol but these mascaras help make them all look like extensions so it doesn’t look super bad! [You know what I mean if you’ve had them!]

CHARLOTTE TILBURY | This category was the easiest because I knew exactly the top 3! I am ranking these in order so this one is definitely my favorite but the other 2 are right up there with them! I’ve tried TONS of mascaras this year and these 3 are easily the best and the ones I’ve re-purcahsed! I do put them on my lash extensions with no issues also.

IT COSMETICS SUPERHERO | I love the brush on this one – it doesn’t take like to ‘wear in’ unlike some mascaras which take a few applications before they are really ‘good’ and apply easily. All three of these are amazing and make your lashes look longer and thicker!

HOURGLASS | If you read the descriptions^ above you can see that these were the 3 best by a long shot! I really don’t have a lot to say because they were game changers.

11. HIGHLIGHT || I am obsessed w/ the shade ‘cookie’ in this palette – its amazing!! This palette is great if you are wanting to simplify it all. The blush and bronzer are both great but the highlighter is INSANELY good! TIP: Spray a little Fix+ on your brush and then apply for an even bolder highlight. I brush it on my cupids bow to make my upper lip look plumper, the tip of my nose – which gives the effect of a slimmer nose, and of course the tops of my cheek bones.

12. SETTING SPRAY || Okay, most important part of ALL…seriously… setting spray. Most people don’t realize how vital this is but it is crucial to beautiful makeup. The right setting spray will change the total look – I promise. I SWEAR by THIS ONE and after I did a post ab it a couple of weeks ago I got TONS of DMs from you all telling me how it changed your makeup and how hooked you are! I had to buy backup bottles during the Sephora VIB event!

#13 LIPSTICK || I always use a lip liner, lip stick, and then a gloss. [SEE MY GO-TOS HERE.] The liner is vital if you want your lips to look fuller – I don’t overline much but I use a brown-ish mauve liner because it gives a shadow effect which just enhances the lips. Then I use a lipstick and a gloss – the gloss is what really makes your lips look even fuller – esp if you opt for a plumping gloss.In all of my outfit posts I always include my lipstick details or ‘combo’ haha. You will notice that since January I always have the SAME combo:  ‘Spice‘ + ‘KIM KW‘ + ‘No Color’ Gloss