Like everyone else these days, as we’ve entered month-I-don’t-even-know-what of working from home, I’ve been trying to look halfway decent on all these Zoom calls (mainly just so I don’t look like I just rolled out of bed…even if I’ve in fact just rolled out of bed), and I think we can all agree that on most days this is easier said than done. The camera and lighting can be pretty unforgiving.
I’ve been using some tried and true ‘old-faithful’ go-to’s each day to feel a little put-together, as to not scare anyone, mainly. These are the products that have been my staples while working from home last spring, they’ve gotten me through the summer, and will last well into the fall. Written all out, it seems like a lot, but I promise it takes about seven minutes to put this on!
Face
Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Face Primer. This is a great smoothing, luminizing primer that is a great base for foundation.
Beauty Pie Micro-Mineral Serum Foundation. Layered over the Tilbury primer, a few drops of this super-light foundation is really all you need.
Sephora Collection Bright Future Gel-Serum Concealer. For those areas that need a little extra, including the under eye. I use a wet Beautyblender (or just a regular wet makeup sponge).
Sephora Collection Bright Future Gel-Serum Color Corrector. This is great for evening skin tone, so I add a few dots anywhere needed.
Beauty Pie One Powder Wonder. I love this for setting foundation and concealer – it’s undetectable, yet super effective for mattifying anywhere you don’t want a little shine.
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow. I would dream of this product for so long before I finally pulled the trigger! It’s lasted a while and still going strong.
Charlotte Tilbury Pretty Youth Glow Filter. My favorite cream blush! I also got the ‘cheek hugging’ brush and I think it makes a big difference. The two colors blend really well together, and you can decide how much of each you want, depending on the day, how tan you are, etc.
Brows
Beauty Pie Superbrow Colour Pomade. I’ll use this (in ‘Baked Brown’) to add some darker color to my brow, and it’s also great at taming strays.
Beauty Pie Superbrow Precision Pencil. This in ‘Perfect Brown’ is great for shaping, outlining, and my everyday go-to that really pulls things together. I love the brush on the end – I use it after adding the pomade and then after using the pencil to blur the lines a bit.
Eyes
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eyeshadow in Moonlight. I’m getting really impatient with powder shadow as I can’t stand the fallout that just seems to be becoming more and more of an issue, and this is the gold standard for cream shadow sticks.
Lancôme Le Crayon Khôl Smoky Eyeliner. This has been my go-to since college (so, for longer than I’d care to admit), and it’s still just as good. Black liner looks a little too harsh on me, especially for everyday, but I still want definition on my top lash line, and the dark-but-not-too-dark ‘Black Coffee’ is the perfect option.
Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume. A great daily go-to. I love the standard orange tube – those tiny bristles grab all your lashes, and it’s buildable, so you can do a light highlight or a few coats to make lashes more defined (more my style!).
L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara. This is a favorite for when I want a bigger lash look. This gives a little something extra, which works well for a meeting where you have to be extra put together, or you’ve got to compensate for being out and about in a mask when a lipstick or gloss is no longer an option.
Lips
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk Original. This is another gold-standard product, a ‘natural but a little bit extra’ liner that gives great definition but doesn’t veer into the zone of ‘that’s too much.’ I line my lips and then smudge a little, and put a little lip balm or sheer/clear gloss on top. I like the original but they also have a ‘Pillow Talk Medium’ if you want a deeper color.
Image by Krista Brackin Photography