My 5 Minute Beauty Routine

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I always find myself swinging between being confident in my fuss-free-but-effective makeup routine and desperately wishing I was more adventurous in the beauty department (or at the very least, that my face “took” makeup well so that I could try more intense looks out). If I’m honest with myself though, I have and always will be someone that needs to look relatively natural, both for what I think suits me best and for my comfort level. I’m also pretty lazy when it comes to beauty/hair prep so the goal is always the faster, the better. Needless to say, as far as a 5 minute beauty tutorial goes, I’ve pretty much got mine down pat! So excited to share it with you after the jump – click through to read the full story!

Skin

I get a glowing base with Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonder Glow (which is truly a favourite and staple product), applied right after my moisturizer sinks in. Speaking of skin prep, please see my facialist Amanda at Glow Dermal Therapy to take care of your skin as it really and truly is the base for everything else. She is a miracle worker.

I then quickly conceal any blemishes or redness with L’Oréal’s True Match Concealer in W1. Use this really sparingly and blend well! Under my eyes, I dot some of Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Brush-On Glow BB Highlighter and blend in well with my ring finger, patting it from my nose right past the outer corner of my eye. A trick here is to focus more on the bottom “ring” of your under eye bag rather than directly below your lash line, since it’s natural to have some darkness there and what we’re really trying to conceal are those dark rings.

After concealing, I apply a quick dusting of Charlotte Tilbury’s Air Brush Flawless Finish Powder in Medium 2 to set everything. This amazing powder is so fine and really gives that natural look I always go for (i.e. you can still see my freckles) and it somehow manages to impart both shine-control and a glow.

Finally, I add a quick pop of colour to my cheeks with Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek to Chic Blush in Love is the Drug. I use the outer ring of colour along my cheekbones (applying in an outwards circular motion) and then popping the inner circle of colour directly on the apples of my cheeks.

Eyes

My biggest effortless beauty tip is to always, always, always do your eyebrows. It makes a world of difference for me, and then even if I skip on any colour on the lips, cheek or even mascara, I still look somewhat pulled together. I’ve really been loving L’Oréal’s Brow Stylist Designer Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brunette lately but also love Anastasia’s Brow and Eyes Express in Brunette—I’m a fan of both pencil and powder and can’t usually pick a favourite, but whatever your choice is, make sure you blend it in really well and brush out with your eyebrow brush.

I then smudge some of Charlotte Tilbury’s Rock ‘n’ Kohl Eyeliner in Barabella Brown along my upper lash line and do some “tight lining” too right in the water line. I either grab a Q-tip if I’m putting in the extra mile that day or just blend it out with my finger, really diffusing the line so that it just leaves some slight definition to my eye.

I quickly curl my lashes (Shu Uemura, i.e. the holy grail of eyelash curlers) and add a couple lashings of whatever my mascara of the day happens to be. I literally cycle through about 10 but Too Faced’s Better Than Sex is definitely an all-time favourite.

Lips

Photos by Alicia

Finally, I add a bit of hemp lip balm and then either blend in a lip tint if it’s a more casual day or if I’m headed into meetings/just feel like looking a bit more “done,” I’ll swipe on a more saturated tone like this beautiful dusky rose from L’Oréal. I also love Coachella Coral by my girl Charlotte Tilbury.

And that’s it! What I love about this routine (other than the fact that it takes no time and I feel confident with it) is that it’s so easy to layer on top of. If I want to warm up my skin, I can brush on some bronzer, or if I want to do a more intense eye, I can easily intensify my eyeliner or add some shadow. For me, it’s just a really great base that doubles as a pulled-together but naturally pretty look.

You can shop the whole look below and if you have any other beauty tutorials you’d like me to do, just tell me in the comments!

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