My TMIT Makeup Looks

Just like with everything else, I’ve been giving some consideration to the looks of things. Today I’m contemplating my TMIT (The Most Important Thing) regarding makeup.

I’ve noticed some trends and patterns in the way I’ve been applying my makeup lately…especially since I just started a new job, and my face is right out in the public by the hundreds every single day. So this will be a list of my personal must-haves for makeup to feel put together for my day.

• Concealer
• Lots of mascara
• Blush
• Lipstick/gloss/stain

Number one, of course, is concealer. I use it primarily on my bumps (to help cover up flaws, ugh), around my nose to even the complexion there, and on my eyelids, because they tend to get pretty red-looking. Eventually, I’m going to find a good concealer that can tackle my pale Mediterranean undereye circles, which are evil and extremely difficult to cover up. I’ve heard good things about this one particularly: Revlon Photo Ready Concealer. For the moment, though, with the tools I have available to me, I don’t bother with the undereye circles. They’re far more noticeable when I try to mess with them, and the results are just that: a mess!

My next step is always mascara. I have kind of lame lashes, even if they are on the dark side, and they need a LOT of help to get plump and pretty. I’m still on the search for the perfect mascara. Currently, I’m using Covergirl’s Professional in the blue tube, but it doesn’t quite give me the oomph I’d like out of my eyelashes. Two coats generally, with extra emphasis on the outer corners is my technique. My next mascara buy will be this one: Revlon’s Photoready 3D Volume Mascara. I’ve read good things about it, and since I’m on a drugstore budget, this may just do the trick and give me some amazing lashes.

Blush is something that I’m still figuring out, to be honest. In my recent post, I talked about how I had a real AHA! moment with face shapes and discovered that I’m not long or oblong or a long oval like I’d always thought (heavy emphasis on the looooong. lol), but rather, that I have a heart-shaped face. Before this, I have been doing my blush toward long face &c. recommendations, and could never figure out how it wasn’t quite right. But now that I know my face is heart-shaped, I’ve been looking into recs for how to apply blush specifically for my face shape, and I’m having a MUCH better time of things! There are some conflicting recommendations, but the one I’ve found to work the best for me is to apply blush just under the apple of my cheeks and sweep upward toward my ears/hairline. Previously, I had been applying directly onto the apples and outward. I can really see a difference in the way my face looks with just this small change! And let me add that I’m so pale that if I do not apply at least SOME color to my face, I will invariably look like I’ve had the flu lately. So blush, I think, out of all the makeup things I do, is my number one TMIT. My current go-to blush, is Maybelline’s Mineral Power loose blush in Soft Mauve. Just…please don’t spill it all over your bathroom counter!

Lastly, of course, is the lippie. Lately, I have fallen utterly in love with Milani’s Power Lip Lasting Gloss Stain. This formula is amazing on me! I love the way it feels on my lips, it’s incredibly easy to apply, and it lasts longer than any other lippie I own. It’s not sticky, flaky, drying, or goopy like Covergirl’s Outlast line, which I can’t stand but have worn quite a bit for the all-day-long lippie. Currently (and sadly) my one and only color is their Raspberry Tart (which is admittedly a tad too cool for me), and it looks like they may not be making it anymore. And I will cry if I find out that’s true. Otherwise, my next color will be Macaroon for sure, which honestly looks a lot more like Soft Summer than the Raspberry Tart does.

I left this last photo intentionally larger so that others can take a look at the color names and numbers should they find one they like and want to get one.

So anyway, that about rounds me out with makeup. Those are my real Most Important Things. I can skip all the other nonsense, like contouring (which looks like mud on Soft Summer skin anyways), eyeliner, eyeshadow, or full face foundation. Just these things are enough to make me very well put together, fresh, and cute.