Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Good Base

A few of my readers have asked me what makeup products I use to make my skin look "flawless" and if I have a secret that I'd like to share. Although I don't think my skin ever looks "flawless" (but gosh thanks so much for the compliments!) I do my best to take care of it and don't skimp on quality skincare products, primers, concealers or foundations for my face which gives my skin the illusion of being flawless. And I guess my "secret" isn't really a secret: it all starts with a good base. And lots of products! (For me anyway. It takes work, ladies!) Here are the makeup products I'm currently using daily before I apply all the fun stuff like eye shadow, blush, lipstick, etc.

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1. In the morning before I put on my "face" (like my Mother used to say) I slather on Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer with SPF 45. I always use a moisturizer that has an SPF of at least 30 to protect my skin from the sun's harmful rays, even if the only time I'm outside is walking to and from my car to and from work ; ) Which is usually in the Winter. When it's minus 30 degrees celsius outside and I'm freezing my arse off. I wait a couple of minutes to let it sink in. (The moisturizer.)

2. I then apply Smashbox Photo Finish Targeted Pore & Line Primer around my eyes to erase "imperfections" (don't we all have these?) like the damn fine lines I am starting to develop around the eye area (Boo!) It helps prevent concealer from sinking into said lines and making them more pronounced. I just started using it a couple of months ago and I love it.

3. Right now I'm using MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage for my face before I apply my foundation. It goes on nice and smooth and minimizes my pores. I don't wear it all the time, only when I know I'm going to be photographed, like for this blog : }

4. Next I use Benefit Erase Paste to cover up my dark under-eye circles. (And I have VERY dark circles, seriously, people ask me if I'm sick when I don't wear concealer which is hardly ever!) It gives great coverage, I highly recommend it.

5. I use Revlon Colorstay Foundation with SPF 6 in 240 Medium Beige for my face. I find it's just as good as MAC's Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and lasts much longer. You can read more about that here.

6. I finish off with MAC Studio Fix Powder in C2 which sets my foundation quite nicely. Then I apply the rest of my makeup.

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Image and video hosting by TinyPic
I took these photos before I left for work; my makeup is quite minimal during the week. I used:
  • on my eyes - MAC Velvet Eye Shadow in Vanilla, Covergirl Eye Enhancer in Shimmering Onix (crease), The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner in Black and Lancome Hypnose Drama in Excessive Black
  • cheeks - Josie Maran Blush in Passion
  • lips - Lancome Le Lipstique Lip Coloring Stick in Charme, Blistex chapstick and Lancome Color Design Cream Lipstick in Love It
As you all know you can definitely make your skin look healthier and more beautiful with the right makeup (makeup = magic, am I right?) but I think more importantly the way you take care of your skin obviously plays a HUGE factor in achieving a nice complexion. That's a whole other post and I don't want to bombard you today so if you guys want me to share with you what kinds of skincare products I use please let me know in the comment section below. Also, I'd love to hear how you guys prepare your skin for make-up.

Oh, and speaking of MAKEUP, have you entered my Urban Decay/MAC/Sephora/OPI Giveaway?

I hope you're all having a great week! I get the day off tomorrow in honor of Remembrance Day so I'm only working 4 days this week. Woot, woot!

29 comments:

Ai said...

Wow your skin looks flawless to me!! I'm looking for a new primer so maybe I'll try out the MAC Prep&Prime :)

Thanks for sharing♥

xoxo
Ai

Closet Fashionista said...

Ooh great tips!!! I need to start practicing more with makeup...haha
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

Karena said...

Marie, you are flawlessly beautiful!!!

Come and enter my New Giveaway from Empress of the Eye. You will love it!

xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena

Jenni said...

thanks for sharing your favorites! :D

Sunscreen with spf over 30 is a must!

Luxx Mint said...

I love the lip colour you are wearing and you skin does look flawless! x

The doll on fashion

liquoredonlacquer said...

flawless skin!!

and I love your makeup very pretty

thanks for this post!

xoxo
liquoredonlacquer.blogspot.com

Courtney Erin said...

Avon makes a great primer that I love (I have like 4 tubes of it stockpiled in my bathroom so I will never be without it). And its an SPF 30 as well - brilliant.

xoxo ~ Courtney
http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com

Leticia said...

You are so stink' gorgeous!!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

That primer is totally going on my list. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I'd definitely like to know your skincare basics! I'll share mine too sometime :-) I'd like to try that concealer... I have a love-hate relationship with concealers. Sometimes I think I can't live without them and sometimes - more recently - I don't even bother and they don't feature in my essentials bag!

J. said...

You do have amazing skin-so thank you for sharing your secrets and tips. I do need to remember to wear an SPF EVERY day....
Thanks Marie!
:) J.

Unknown said...

You look gorgeous! I am SO trying the erase paste, I have terrible undereye circles, too, yuck! XX!

Kim Axani said...

YES you have gorg skin, Marie just admit it! LOL..
I love love love erase paste too! It's like a little pot of airbrush.

SiSi Sparkles said...

Thanks for sharing your face routine :] I've been on the lookout for a good base for oily skin... >.<

this free bird said...

You do have rad skin - it is basically perfect - no lines nothing. I'm in dire need of a moisturizer so I'll give the Neutrogena a whirl the next time I'm at Target...the Smashbox sounds like it's a must have, too. Thanks!

Carrie

White Bazaar said...

Great products and you do have great skin! I've always wanted to try one of smashbox's primers!

Ashley said...

Your skin does look really great all the time, so thank you very much for posting this! Come to think of it, I think I've had some dark circles recently, so I might have to give that Benefit Erase Paste a try. I used to use Smashbox Photo Finish, but I think it made me break out. It was great, beyond that, though.

FunnyFaceBeauty said...

I will definitely have to check out the Benefit erase paste. I have such dark circles and haven't found anything that really really works well.
Thanks for doing this post.
xx
Alicia

Snappy-Q said...

Hey thanks for sharing this! I rarely wear makeup, but keep thinking that I should start one of these days. I may have to try that erase paste as my dark circles are ridiculous.

Kastles said...

I use a lot of the same stuff! I hate that the Mac primer is such a small bottle, I am almost out! Also how are you picking a winner for the giveaway??
And I also always thought your skin looks so flawless, like a porcelain doll :)
<3 Kastles

Sarah Whitney said...

Loved this post!! It was cool to learn a little more about your makeup routine :)

Marie a la Mode said...

Kastles: I am going to use the Random Generator thingy online. It randomly picks a number between zero and the total amount of entries I get.

Unknown said...

brilliant post thanks for sharing xxxxx

Jessica said...

Yayyy so glad you did this post! I am going to have to try pretty much all of these products. You've got me sold!

I also just wanted to tell you thank you for your sweet comment on my post the other day. It really meant so much to me and was exactly what I needed to hear/read. I believe everything happens for a reason as well, even when we don't understand what that reason may be. Things are looking up, thank goodness, and I have faith it will work out. And YES my grandmother is a pro texter! haha

MY REPUBLIC OF FASHION said...

Great tips! I love that erase paste by benefit. It's a good one! :)SArahD

All Made Up said...

Awesome post! I absolutely love the Smashbox photo finish, Revlon colorstay and MAC studio Fix Powder but havent tried the rest of the products!

Your skin really does look totally perfect in the pics - I'm more than a little jealous of your cheek bones.

Oh and if you get a chance to do a post on what sort of cleanser, toner moisturiser etc that you use I think that would be brill! It's always nice to see what works for someone else :)

myedit said...

Good to know! I agree that your skin looks super smooth and healthy. I get really frustrated with my skin because it looks tired really quickly. I think I need to bite the bullet and invest...

Anonymous said...

you are glowing there! i agree on having a good base... I think i'd rather have a nice complexion going on instead of slapping on eye makeup!

yeast infection home remedies said...

A nice base is necessary to flaunt your healthy skin and it can also show a damaged skin as a healthy one.

 
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