There are days when you're in the mood to spend an hour blending your eyeshadow, and then there are days when you want to throw on your makeup and be ready in five minutes. 90% of the time I wear makeup is the latter situation, so it's an understatement to say that I've pretty much mastered the art of a five minute makeup look using only five products.
The Base
I always reach for a lightweight base, best if I don't have to use a brush or my fingers. Cushion foundations have been all the rage in Asia for years now and it seems like more and more Western brands are catching up. I've been all about the Innisfree Cushion Foundation($12 + $10 for compact case) for years now. It's longwearing (even sans powder!) and has an even amount of coverage. The shade range is still quite limited but they're expanding, slowly but surely.
My dark circles are still quite bad these days and while the Innisfree Cushion Foundation is able to cover them quite a bit, I still like to go over the dark evidence of sleepless nights with the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer ($29). Again, rather than going in with a brush or fingers, I just use the puff included in the cushion foundation to blend things out.
The Brows
If all my years of wearing makeup and the couple of years I've spent writing about makeup has taught me one thing, it's the importance of brows. Get your brows right and you look immediately put together - which is always a better look than the sleep-deprived, caffeine-hungry walking dead I usually resemble.
I've been quite loyal to my brow product, to the point where I currently have four backups of the Innisfree Eco Brow Pencil($4). I shape my brows quite regularly - well, shape is used quite loosely, I pluck the stray hairs to maintain a clean-ish brow shape. Which means I just need to fill in my brows, soften it with a spoolie, and I'm good to go.
The Eyes
Okay, so I cheated a little here. I always, always, always go in with a lash curler before applying any mascara - so it's technically six products (the puff was included in the cushion foundation and the spoolie was on the other end of the brow pencil so they don't count...ish). I've used plenty of mascaras over the years and I rarely repurchase the same one. Never ever would have I ever imagined that I would fall in love with a $5 mascara - I'm pretty sure this is my fourth or fifth Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara ($4.99). It adds massive volume, doesn't smudge, separates the lashes nicely, and gets extra points for being crazy affordable. If you had to pick up one thing from the drugstore, let it be an Essence mascara.
The Lips
I have my fair share of lip colours and it would be a lie to say that I don't pick and choose depending on my mood that day. That said, I tend to gravitate towards lip products that are low maintenance and long-lasting. Extra points if I'm able to eat a whole meal and not have to worry about my lip colour at all. The one I've been reaching for these days is the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick($20) in Bow and Arrow. It's a nice pinky nude shade that looks perfect with just about every outfit and I've had a full-on burger, fries, and drink meal without having to worry about my lip colour at all. Now how's that for a win?
What are your favourite products for a five minute makeup look?
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