I watch more YouTube than television. No, seriously. With the exception of a few television shows I go all out for, I go home looking forward to Jackie Aina and Tati more than I do for Thursday night’s show.
While I love me a good primer, foundation, concealer, contour, bronzer, blush, highlight, lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner, eyeshadow palette, big lashes kind of look, nobody has time for that. I spend most days doing my 11 minute makeup routine in my Lyft (or Uber), whoever is cheaper that day on my way to work.
So while you might enjoy a snatched lewk like the rest of us, here are 5 trends to ditch from influences and their replacements for a more realistic makeup routine.
1) DITCH the idea that you need a 10 step skincare routine for a flawless base.
Influncers may have the glass skin we all want and adore, but I promise you, it’s not the new $20 Olay cream they are trying for the next three months of their paid promotion #sponsored.
It’s more than likely the dermatologists, aestheticians, facialists, and skincare experts who create customized routines who help to bring about that beautiful skin.
SWITCH to effective skincare. Focus on ingredients that work for you, not name brands, trends, and complications. Even experts agree, the simpler and gentler, the better!
2) DITCH falsies.
While falsh lashes pull any look together on television or photos, I’ve hardly seen a person in real life who wears their falsies and it actually improves their look.
When things are not proportional on the face, it takes away from other features. If you’re all about the eyes, then for sure, falsies can enhance things, but I find false eyelashes take away from the eye shape and actually age people.
SWITCH to eyelash extensions or find the mascara right for you. While I’m not the biggest fan of eyelash extensions since they are not the most practical or cost efficient, I’ve seen some great ones that really look natural.
Mascara gives you flexibility. You can have natural or dramatic, lengthen the top of the lashes, keep your length but add volume, and the list continues. There is so much you can do with a good mascara. Not a fan of runny mascara? Then try a waterproof formula. Just about any oil you have in your house will break down makeup (baby oil/ petroleum jelly included). What I like about mascara is you can add a little length to the lower lash line too.
3) DITCH highlighting
Sue me. I don’t care if Rihanna launched a new highlighter. For a day look, highlighter stands out in a way that is highly distracting. I find when I’m in meetings with people and they have a highlight their proud of, I don’t even care about the rest of their makeup. Maybe it’s my limited perspective that makeup should work synergistically, but unless you have shimmery eyes and lips, a highlight, or you take a ridiculous amount of photos, then a highlight is unnecessary.
SWITCH to finding a lighter blush with a slight shimmer and placing it higher on the cheekbones than you normally would.
ALSO CONSIDER using a gloss and tapping a small amount to the high points that you’re attempting to highlight. If you have oily skin, ignore highlighter altogether. Your skin will create a natural highlight for you.
4) DITCH CONTOURING
Get mad! I don’t care. The Kardashians did not invent contouring, nor did they make it famous. There were face sculpting kits on the market decades before the Kardashians. What do you think that exaggerated blush of the 70’s and 80’s was? A form of contouring.
Looking snatched is not the look. Contouring ages you and looks horrible in person. Sometimes people get told something looks beautiful enough times and they start to believe it.
Changing your natural face shape will only make you insecure and fake. I’ve seen celebrities in person who photograph like models but in person, look like a regular person with expensive makeup on their face.
When you’re over contouring and you think you look good, you think countouring looks good because someone said this style of countouring looks good, and so in your head, a certain look looks good, but it actually doesn’t. Get it? Contouring, especially with ashy tones or neutral muddy tones, just creates an unrealistic look to the face. As natural oils start to seep in and your makeup breaks down, your face also looks muddy and uneven.
SWITCH to a good bronzer or a deep blush and play around with your cheeks. Because I have a hard time finding an exact shade match, I typically take a deeper redder concealer around my face and hairline and blend, then I apply a bronzer right above my cheek bone. Not only do I avoid my face looking muddy as my makep breaks down, as most contouring does, it is much easier to refresh my makeup.
5) DITCH eyeshadow
No, you do not need eyeshadow with every look. In fact, it’s the opposite, eyeshadow can be the thing that messes up your makeup. Sometimes eyeshadow can be harsh or distracting to your face. Typically, this is not the issue with monochromatic looks, but it still happens. If your makeup looks off, trying removing eyeshadow. I can guarantee that might be the issue.
No SWITCH. Trust me, you will notice a huge difference in the youthfulness of your face by just removing eyeshadow.
I used to be just like the rest of the world when I first started watching makeup tutorials online in 2017. I tried to copy every technique I saw until I realized, certain natural things about my face and smile didn’t seem like me anymore. I realized makeup was a complement to my face to enhance it, not a tool to create it.
I get wanting to look your best on a daily basis. I’ve noticed with all girls across the world, less is definitely more when it comes to makeup.
On those days I’m obsessing over my makeup and trying to figure out my eyeshadow look and lip stick for the day, I remove the eyeshadow and switch the lipstick for lip gloss, and I for some reason, my youthful full face is 10x more beautiful than the snatch I’m trying to create, the highlight is not better than the glow from within, and I realize that I feel most confident when I look like me. Just like I feel like the celebs I love look their absolute best when they look natural and like themselves.
While makeup can definitely be a confidence boost and you should definitely do what makes you feel good, try doing your makeup in a way that is true to your features.
We don’t do things for other people, but I want people to say I’m beautiful, not my makeup is beautiful. You’re the star of the show, not what you put on. Try using less is more. I promise, you’ll begin to love the skin you’re in 100x more by the end of the day!
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