So, I got a tripod for Christmas from my friend Jen, and I’m finally putting it to good use — by bringing you more “makeup of the day” posts!
My first “makeup of the day” post showcased my natural Sunday beauty look.
Today, I’m sharing my “sexy naturals” look. I wore this look out for weekend drinks with the teacher man and friends.
It was a low-key night, but after being snowed-in for a few days (literally, guys — maintenance didn’t plow the foot of snow we got for three days!), I wanted to glam it up just a bit without overwhelming the teacher man.
{This is how I amp up my natural look: Lots of mascara and liquid eyeliner.}
{I used to never wear eyeliner, but since mastering the art of liquid, I rarely go without it — I love the way it makes my eyes pop and my lashes look longer and thicker!}
{Yeap, here I am in neutral eyeshadow — if it ain’t broke, right?}
*Eye Shadow: bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 palette in “The Truth”
You know I can’t get enough of my sexy natural eye shadows — “The Truth” palette from bareMinerals is no exception.
These shadows have some pretty shimmer to them; here, I wore “Serendipitous” from lash line to brow bone, followed by “Magnetism” on the lid. I applied a mix of “Fate” and “Apropos” to the crease for a light smoke effect, and used that same combo to give a little color to my bottom lash line.
I am loving these bareMinerals shadows, but heads up: they do contain bismuth oxychloride, which can irritate sensitive skin. I’m lucky that I don’t have this reaction to the natural mineral!
*Blush: bareMinerals Ready Blush in “The One”
This soft pink blush is impossible to mess up. It’s so sheer and pretty — you really have to build it if you want China doll cheeks. I prefer to use it for a flush of healthy color. I think this blush would work really well on pale complexions, too.
*Foundation: Purely You Minerals Foundation in Warm Fairly Medium
I’ve never been into mineral foundations much. It’s not that I don’t believe in them — they’re light yet offer coverage and oh-so-healthy with minimal ingredients — I’m just really weird about getting minerals all over my sink.
However, I’ve learned to just get over that (and be a little tidier in my application), and now I can say I’m loving the second-skin feeling of mineral makeup — especially this gorgeous, natural foundation from Purely You minerals.
I’ll have a more in-depth review soon, but an important thing to note: Purely You Minerals’ Warm Fairly Medium Foundation contains just six natural ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxide, boron nitride and ultramarine blue.
*Finishing Powder: Purely You Minerals Silk Veil Finishing Powder in Medium
As an oily-skinned girl, finishing powder is something I need to use more often. It’s designed to set your makeup so nothing slips out of place. This Purely You Minerals Silk Veil offers a nice, flawless finish to my makeup and only takes a small bit on a fluffy brush to cover my face.
Brow Powder: Anastasia Brow Ex-press Kit
I’ll refer you to my previous makeup of the day post to get the deets on this not-so-natural brow powder (sorry).
Mascara: Perfekt Lash Perfection Gel
I’ve yet to do any follow-up mascara reviews since this one, but I’ll spare you the wait and let you know that I do love this “lash perfection gel” from Perfekt.
I picked it up on a recent trip to Beauty Brands, but it’s also available at Sephora. The brush is a medium size, not too full and mascara tube is super efficient at removing excess product before you pull out the brush. The ingredients are free of parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates and other nasties, and the price point aligns with other better-quality mascaras on the market. I’d buy it again.
*Lip Gloss: bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss in “Trail Blazer”
Not gonna lie, I feel a little bit like Kim Kardashian when I slick on this nude-gold gloss. I tend to favor a pinker pout, but there’s something about playing up your eyes and then having a sandy-colored lip that screams sexy … or, well, Kim Kardashian.
Eye Liner: Eyeko London Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in “Black”
This marker-like eye liner makes using liquid eye liner oh-so-easy. I bought this after sampling through Birchbox, and even though it’s not super natural (contains PEGs and phenoxyethanol), it’s just one of those products that I love and won’t let go. Unless someone can find me a substitute that is this nice marker style and with an inky black finish.
Large Powder Brush: Sigma F30 Large Powder Brush
My Sigma F30 Large Powder Brush is so fun to use! It’s an oversized brush made for sweeping on finishing powder and buffing out thicker powder makeup application. This brush doesn’t shed and is a great match for my final application of silk veil.
Mineral Powder Brush: EcoTools Mineral Powder Brush
I got this mineral powder brush in my 5-piece mineral brush set and love, love, love it. I’ve sung the praises of EcoTools before, but I truly believe that the value and quality of these eco-friendly brushes is incredible. The brush fibers are soft and flexible and deliver an even application of mineral makeup. Highly recommend this set!
Eye Shading Brush: EcoTools Eye Shading Brush
Along with the fabulous mineral powder brush, the 5-piece mineral brush set also contains this great shading brush. When I’m building up several eye shadows for a dimensional eye or smoky eye, I like to use this brush to blend the colors, especially in the crease and corners, to avoid the paint-by-numbers look.
All-Over Shadow Brush: Sephora Professional All-Over Shadow Brush #21
This is my go-to wide eyeshadow brush for packing on lots of color to my lids for smoky eyes. Unfortunately, the #21 brush I’ve owned for years doesn’t seem to be in production anymore, but this #22 Sephora Professional Brush looks very similar.
Brow and Lash Comb: Sonia Kashuk Eyebrow/Eyelash Comb
I got this brow and lash comb in one of those nifty Sonia Kashuk brush kits at Target. This is another great budget-friendly collection that stands the test of time — I’ve had this comb for years! I use this to separate my lashes after heavy mascara application.
Eyelash Curler: Shu Uemura Gold Eyelash Curler
See my first makeup of the day post to learn more about my holy grail lash curler.
How do you amp up your look for a casual night out? What natural alternatives do you recommend for my dirty little secrets exposed above? Tell me in the comments section!
