Your 12 year-old niece can do a perfect cut-crease, you have 346 saved TikToks on makeup application, and the sheer amount of products launching is DIZZYING.
So what’s actually worth our time, money, and sanity? No idea. If you ever find out, please tell me. Here’s some advice in the meantime.
1. Exceptional Makeup Starts With Exceptional Skincare
It actually starts before your regular skincare, with a double cleanse (cleansing oil is so plumping) and then a sheet mask. I use our Transformazing mask before every shoot or event. It’s remarkable the instant visible difference—even if my skin has been hammered lately, or I haven’t slept. It gives instant bright, glowy, bouncy skin, and means I can wear less makeup. (I always look and feel younger with less makeup.)
I then go on with Face Hero and Very Luxe Face Cream, which is made for dry, thirsty skin, or just anyone who loves the velvety feel of a deeply replenishing moisturiser. It’s excellent under makeup, too.
2. Pat (Don’t Rub)
Application counts. For makeup, but especially the skincare underneath—how you apply affects the final look. For best results try to pat, not rub. Rubbing can disrupt the layers of skincare and increase the chance of pilling, patchiness, or uneven texture.
3. Primers Change The Game
If you wear makeup and you like that makeup to stay in place and last: Primer. It’s so simple and the payoff is HUGE. It acts as a wall between your skincare and your makeup, it grips your makeup, it means the application of makeup is smooth and even, and if you’re using OUR primers, (of course you are) you get the skin texture and finish you desire—something makeup and skincare cannot achieve alone. Also: I hate powder and primer means I don’t need to use it. I use our Very Glowy Primer every single day, then basically just wait for the compliments to rain down.
4. Light Layers
Hi, I’m 45 and I live in the school of Less is More when it comes to makeup. Less eye shadow, less liner, less bronzer, less brow laminating… just less. I want to look fresh, glowy, modern and relatively trend-agnostic. I want to look like me, but better. For this I use light layers of sheer products and build: Foundation, concealer, cream blush, all of it. Can always add more. Can’t easily subtract.
5. Finally: Tools
Applying with fingers is fine, but it’s less fine when you hit your forties and things start to drop a bit, or you can’t pull off Sabrina Carpenter everywhere blush. I want the correct placement, and I want subtle flushes and washes—not too much product, all in the wrong spot. I love my concealer brush (Mecca) and my foundation brush (Rae Morris) and my blush brush (Hourglass) and they make such a difference.
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