As you likely already know, since I talk about it more or less nonstop, I strive to keep my daytime makeup look as clean, simple, and natural-looking as possible. On an average Monday, I’ll add some life back into my skin with my Em Cosmetics blush, spot-conceal with my Ilia, and fake some luminosity with Glossier’s haloscope. Done.
However, my obsession with keeping my makeup undetectable to the human eye disappears the second the sun goes down. In the evenings, I transform like a beauty werewolf: I use contour to chisel out my cheeks, full-coverage foundation to perfect my complexion, and crazy colors on my lids. Below, a list of my all-time favorite products for glamming up my routine.
This is a fairly light concealer, as far as concealers go (for comparison: lighter than Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk, heavier than Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer) but it’s still more full-coverage than I’d use on my daytime skin. At night, however, on Katie Jane Hughes’s recommendation, I use it as an allover tint: It’s so glowy and creamy that it makes my skin look practically glasslike in photos. I dip my It Cosmetics Heavenly Perfecting Complexion Brush #7 into the product, then buff out as if it were a regular old foundation — it creates the most luminous, dewy base for the rest of my makeup.
These little blush sticks from Bite are a very special hybrid product: They go on like a cream, (they’re very blend-able and easy to apply), but they dry like a powder (which means they last all night long). I especially love the deep red shade, Mochi.
During the day I stick a big, fluffy brush in this product then lightly swipe it all over my face to give my skin a nice, soft bronze. But at night, I swipe the stick directly along my cheekbones for a perfectly chiseled-looking contour, then buff it out with my Motd Buffing Base Boss brush. It blends into my skin so easily, and gives me the best faux cheekbones in the world.
I’ve gushed before about how this nude-y pink from Charlotte Tilbury is the best your-lips-but-better shade. For evenings, it’s especially dreamy — it’s matte, but not overly drying, and makes your lips look plump and pillowy.
I’ve been using Glossier’s Colorslide eyeliners constantly lately; they have the most beautiful shades and the formula makes it incredibly easy to use. It’s waxy but not insanely pigmented, so if you decide you want a touch of color on the lids but aren’t quite ready for a liquid bright blue cat-eye, this is the perfect thing. I like to run it quickly along my upper lashes for a super easy, practically impossible-to-mess-up cat-eye or accent. My favorite colors at the moment are Nectar, a mustard yellow; Jumbo, a gingery orange; and Adult Swim, a deep navy.
When I’m going out at night, I practically dip my face in this product. It’s perfect! After I’ve done my foundation and concealer, I apply this to the high points on my face — cheekbones, upper lip, brow bone, and chin — and it gives off the most gorgeous sheen. It’s an incredible product that I truly never let myself run out of, and if you haven’t tried it yet, I must insist that you do.
To make sure my makeup stays in place all night, I finish by sweeping this setting powder (which I keep in my purse at all times) from Fenty all over my face. It’s very fine, so it never makes the skin look strange and cakey, and gives zero flashback in photos.
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