Sunday, December 01, 2013

Taking a Sick Day: Brush-Free Makeup to Make You Feel Better

Hello there! Whenever I'm feeling utterly ill, but I still have to run errands, I have a tendency to need to put on a "good face" in order to get through my day. I didn't have a whole lot of time because I'd spend too much of the day loafing about in my pajamas. SO I couldn't be bothered to grab all my brushes and went for a "brush-free" look. I think this look is great for when you can't bring a whole lot with you on a weekend, or don't have a lot of time. OR like me, you want to disguise your sick face from the world. Read past the photo for 11 steps to get this look. Be warned: I ramble :)


Glowy, brush-free makeup. Please excuse my awful university accommodation background. Hair is...3rd day hair with the help of dry shampoo and well-placed barrettes and some braiding/twirling for curl.
SO. To achieve this look, just follow my easy-peasy steps and you'll be on your way to an easy, fresh face to make your day a little brighter.I would recommend having some hand sanitizer on stand-by to make this a hygienic brush-free look as well ;)

Step 1: Moisturize! This will just make your sick face feel GOOD. I use Ponds Luminous Moisture Day Lotion with SPF 15, because I needed a cheap daytime moisturizer not too long before I left the states. It's just ok. But it does give your skin a nice glow. 

Step 2: Prime if you feel like it. I didn't have the time to, but this can add a little somethin'-somethin' if you need it. I generally use a Clinique redness reducer priming base or a Covergirl/Olay silicone based primer. Do yo' thang!

Step 3: This is where you'll put on your base. I used Rimmel Match Perfection in 120 Ivory. It's not my favorite foundation because it can get patchy on dry skin, and that's why I've used it today. My way of doing foundations is to use my good ones on good days, and the ones I'm trying to use up on "meh" days. So my thought process was, "I need to have a covered face, but I don't want to use up my good stuff because I'm just running errands, I'll use my Rimmel!"

To make this a brush-free look, spread in your foundation/bb cream/cc cream/tinted moisturizer/whatever with your hands. I pooled a little bit in the palm of my hand to warm it up, and then take a bit and splotch it across my face, and then rub it in. I start from my nose and go outward, because my nose always needs the most coverage. It's always red. 

Step 4: Concealer! Now, my skin is always red, and it gets especially dry when I'm sick. Also I was only going out for errands, so I just used a brightening concealer. I usually use a full-coverage concealer under my eyes, around my nose, and on my chin, but today I wanted hydration and as little product on my face as possible. For this simple look I used Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in a shade I'm not sure of but works brilliantly. I swish it under my eyes and down the sides of my nose to create a triangle. Optional: dab a little on the eyelids and brow-bone if you've got weird vein-y skin like me. Then I swish it down the bridge of my nose to do a bit of highlighting. I pat a little on my chin and around my eyebrows as well to counteract redness that usually crops up in those places. After my undereye area has dried I hit it again with a second layer of concealer for increased coverage. While the first time I rub in the concealer, this time I pat it lightly with my ring finger to increase coverage. No blending brushes, just your fingers! This will brighten up your face and make people forget that you are suffering from a terrible cold.

Step 5: NO CONTOURING! That's right. You heard me. This is a brush-free sick day, how on earth do you expect to contour? Unless you have one of those cream bronzers or dark liquid/cream foundation for contouring, you can go ahead and skip this step. I find that the gauntness of my sick and malnourished face adds enough contour to the look, and I don't want to overdo it.

Step 6: NO POWDERING! Yep. No powdering. This is brush-free! So be sure to pick a product you're happy with at face-value. When I'm sick my skin is dry (heck, my skin is always dry) so this is a non-essential step on sick-days. I find that the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation has a nice dewy finish. It may look "shiny" in photos, but it's nice and dewy in daily life and I like that on days when I need to look HEALTHY to avoid dire questioning. If you must, use some blotting pads to take away the shine. But, like I said, this look is based on a sick day, and for me that means a dry face and an aversion to thick layers of product (and no brushes because LAZY IS MY MIDDLE NAME).

Step 7: Eyebrows eyebrows eyebrows! This is a key step to bringing a look together and making your face look polished, even when you have a no-makeup makeup day. Whatever. Do your brows. Usually, I like to take an angled brush and some dark matte eyeshadow and get in there and create a strong brow. However, since this a a brush-less look, I used an old Revlon Brow Fantasy Dual Pencil in Dark Blonde that I'm not too crazy about. I sharpened it to a REALLY fine point and just made tiny brush strokes to mimic brow hairs along the natural shape of my brows. I finished it off with some clear mascara from Covergirl, though you can use any gel, clear or tinted, to hold them in place and tone down the harsh pencil. I always feel on cloud nine when my brows are done, they just make me feel really polished on good and bad days alike.

Step 8: Blusher is necessary to make a face look healthy, plus you've covered up your natural glow with foundation and this is where you add it back in! I would suggest a cream blusher here, but I don't own one, because I'm on a strict one-in-one-out policy after going on a splurge. So as much as I would love to try the stuff, ain't no need! A great way to achieve the same effect as a cream blusher is to just use a lipstick. This is what it's based on, anyway. I can't tell you how many times when I was a kiddo doing dance competitions that my mom used lipstick as a blush. It's the oldest trick in the book! 

I wanted a nice pink healthy flush so I went with the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 015 Cherish Devotion. I also used this color because it's not a good autumn/winter color and I'm trying to use up older products. I swished it around in the palm of my (clean) hand, and then dabbed a finger in it and patted it where I would normally put blush. This warms the product and keeps you from overdoing it. You can always add more color, but you can't take color away! I'm actually really pleased with the sheer, natural pink it produced. I don't have any blushes that mimic this color, so I'll probably keep using the balm stain as cream blush! It's also hydrating for dry cheeks (if you're sick or chapped from winter-winds) and the color stays on from the balm stain. It's a win in my book! Make sure you apply this in a patting motion with your finger, then make tiny baby circles. You don't want this to dry streaky, but in a healthy, circular and naturally flushed pattern.

Step 9: Throw on something that makes your eyes happy! You can always apply eyeshadow with your fingers, colored eyeliner, or work a cat-eye flick. I have natural shadows from tired sleep-deprived eyes, so I usually skip shadow on my lazy days. I also wanted to try something new and add some pep into my routine alternate to the typical jet-black winged-eyeliner, so I just smudged out Lord & Berry Smudgeproof waterproof eyeliner in #719 Smoke on my upper line, creating a thick line and then using my finger to blend it upwards. I lined along my lower lashes, outside of my water line and left that pretty sharp for definition. From the photo, you might think I lined the lid or tightlined with black liner, but that's literally the fantastic volume created from my mascara. More on that later. I'm really pleased with the look. It's shimmery and I think it looks like I tried, without actually trying and takes much less time than a simple cat-eye. This step literally takes 2 seconds, y'all. 

Step 10: Put mascara on your eyelashes. Curl them if you need to, and then pick your biggest bestest mascara in your arsenal to trick the world into thinking your eyes are fabulous and awake. I picked the Covergirl Flamed Out waterproof mascara. Post forthcoming on the amazingness of this sucker. I only put on one coat and didn't build it up, because who wants a bunch of mascara-junk on your eyelids when you're feeling crappy? But that one coat made me feel pretty special, so it's worth it. 

Step 11: Lips. For me, putting on a little color distracts from the lack of effort I've put into everything else on my face. It's the easiest way to make a look more dramatic than it actually is. I went with a sheer coat of Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in 16 Brun cosmopolitan. I know it LOOKS dark, and you can make it that dark, but I just sort of tap it and glide it gently across my lips, then take my finger and sheer it across for a more wearable look. This lipstick feels really moisturizing and is easy to move around the lips once you've put it on. Which I like. 

Then, to bring it to a more healthy color and to add in even more moisture, I layered over it with Almay's Color + Care Liquid Balm Gloss in 600 Blooming Balm. This took the tone more pinky and a bit cooler and again worked to smooth out the color, sheering it out, and to add back in moisture to my lips. Even when I'm sick and running out of time, I love to play with layering colors on my lips with multiple lipsticks, glosses, and balms. Have fun!

AND THAT'S IT! I know this seems like a lot, but it's mostly just me rambling :) Photo posted is straight, unedited, with flash. I hope this gives you some inspiration for an easy makeup look, or how to feel your best on a sick day. Let me know in the comments if you turn to beauty on your bad days, what do you do to make yourself feel better?


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