Photo: Courtesy Kaitlyn Frey
What It Is:Embracing a full-face of glam makeup after a year of barefaced looks during quarantine.
Anyone who knows me knows I love having fun with beauty products; I’m always first to jump at trying the latest launches, whether it’s cool cream blushes or inky long-lasting eyeliners.
But when the country locked down last spring and I began working from home, my usual glamorous makeup routine came to a halt. Why would I waste time blending out my eyeshadow when I could spend that extra 20 minutes snuggling with my puppy before logging on to work?
Now, over a year after the pandemic first began, my makeup routine is still relatively minimal. While I could never imagine leaving the house without loads of concealer before, I started loving my bare skin. But now that I’m fully vaccinated and feeling more comfortable getting back to life pre-pandemic, I’msoready to bring back my makeup.
It’s been a while since I devoted the time to doing a full-faced look, so I first turned to celebrity makeup artistGenevieve Herr(who works with Lancôme Ambassadresses Amanda Seyfried and Julia Roberts) to get up to speed on the latest tricks and trends.
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“While eye makeup was the focus when we were living in masks, now we’re seeing a resurgence of makeup highlighting the lower half of the face,” Herr says. “Flushed cheeks and lips are back. Part of this is also psychological because bright cheeks and lips subconsciously give the impression of youth and good health. So it’s not surprising that this look is coming back as we wind down from the pandemic!”
Herr also suggested I purge some of my older makeup that hadn’t been used in a while; that’s because liquids, like lipstick and foundation, tend to “have a one-year shelf life.” I cleaned out my collection and updated it with some new summer-appropriate finds, then felt ready to dive into my glam makeup look.
How I Did It:I’m the type of gal that likes to start my makeup with complexion, so I grabbed a formula I never tried but been dying to start using:Lancôme’s Teint Idole 24H Long Wear Foundation. Since I was heading to a girlfriend’s bridesmaid brunch, I knew I needed a foundation that wouldn’t budge all day. This one melted into my skin as I blended it in with a flat-top kabuki brush. I followed with someMaybelline New York Fit Me Concealer(a longtime fave).
Courtesy Kaitlyn Frey
It drives me crazy when my skin starts to look heavy with product, but I still wanted to lock everything in with the TikTok-viralL’Oréal Paris Infallible 24H Fresh Wear Foundation Powder. Herr suggested a “less is more” approach. “Only use it on the t-zone because in the summer, the powder can build up and look cakey,” she told me.
After about 10 minutes of blending (something I didn’t miss about going barefaced during quarantine) I tapped a sparkly shade on my lid and swept on a thin line of the inky blackMaybelline New York Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner. For mascara, I tried Herr’s trick using theL’Oréal Paris Voluminous Mascara: “Use a regular formula for the first coat, then lock it in with a coat of waterproof.”
Instead of doing full-fledged contouring (Herr said it really only looks best in staged photographs), I gave my skin some warmth with a matte bronzer. I finished with a golden powder highlighter along the tops of my cheekbones and made sure to avoid any area I normally notice shine. “Any sort of shimmering product on your forehead will make you look greasy,” Herr cautioned.
Even though bright lips are back, a nude gloss is my kind of vibe. Plus, whenever I put on a lip gloss with a face mask, it ended up being a sticky disaster. So I was more than ready to embrace high-shine lips again. I’ve had my eye on theNYX This Is Milky Gloss Lip Glossfor weeks and knew now was the perfect time to swipe on the luscious, sheer honey shade.
source: people.com
