Hello and hope you are keeping well!
So a couple of weeks ago I put up a poll asking which topic to blog on next, and to my surprise my make-up routine was voted for most! I must admit that I wasn’t expecting it, as I am not a make-up artist and not an expert in the field:) I do however go to a few seminars to learn how to best apply make-up. I will be talking you through what I believe works for me…so have a read 🙂
Enhance not cover
I strongly believe that make-up should be used to enhance our facial strengths, and not cake up our face and look like a completely different person. Some trends I find on-line which show case a made up look is not for me. When I talk about enhance, what I mean is, if you have big beautiful eyes you want to focus on those, or attractive cheekbones, then you need to use the bronzer wisely to make the most of them. I believe we are all beautiful and make-up should be used to enhance our individual beauty 🙂

The basics
In my view, it is essential to always start off with your skincare. Make-up will look much better on skin which is looked after. Likewise, it is soooo important to cleanse your face every night, and remove all traces of make-up…let’s not help the ageing process by sleeping with make-up on. If I know I’m going out, I prepare my night skin care routine in a row, to find them ready and I have no excuses. Skincare is part of my daily routine, and it is now part of the day to day, morning and night. (And wipes are not skincare…😜)

I believe that the base is key for a good look when it comes to applying make-up. So I start off with a priming serum…I asked my sister to bring me one from the US, and I love it. I am afraid you don’t find it here 😦 It is Keys illuminating priming serum. It gives a glow before you apply the make-up. I am sure there are alternatives if you ask your trusted make-up stores 🙂 Then, comes the foundation. I am very very fussy when I choose a foundation, as I don’t like a heavy one, or one which makes my face looks cakey. I also choose the colour carefully, to make sure it blends in with my skin tone. Foundation helps give an even colour and make-up stays longer. My goto foundation is Guerlain, I have been using the brand for years. It is not cheap, but the bottle lasts, and the finish is amazing. I am currently using a matte finish, which for our summer is perfect! I follow up with the Guerlain meteorites loose powder.

When it comes to eye shadow, I go very basic…simple nude colours for me. It’s either beige and browns or pink tones. I follow up with a bronzer (figure of 3 😉), to enhance side temple, cheekbone and jaw. A tad of blusher over the cheekbone. Finally, eyeliner and mascara. If you have big eyes, you can afford using eyeliner inside the eyelid, if you have small eyes, do it beneath. Finally, mascara for the eyelashes.
Next are the lips…I have a bag full of different coloured and finish lipsticks. I am not the biggest fan of matte lipsticks, as lips tend to crack after a few hours, however there are some semi-matte which have an amazing finish and feel soft on the lips. I have many variants of nude colour lipsticks, but I do love a bright red or mauve on occasions, it depends on the mood and the outfit I am wearing. My favourite are the Kiko nude, it doesn’t even cost five euros, and the red must be the Dior 999 red…i love it 😍


If I had to choose three make-up products what would they be?
Foundation, bronzer and mascara. If I want a simple look, it’s not the first time I do just that 🙂
Choosing the right colours
As I mentioned earlier, choosing the right colour for a foundation is key. When it comes to eyeshadows, take into account your skin tone, and the colour of your eyes, I love nudes when it comes to eye shadows, but I have to be careful, as I have dark circles, so the brown shadows may make these look even darker. What I do is use an eye primer slightly lighter than my skin tone as a base.

I hope you found this useful and interesting. There is sooo much more to write about on the application of make-up…but this was my very simple routine which I hope inspires you 😉
Wishing you all a good week ahead,
Yan
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