I'm on a mission to simplify and streamline my beauty routine. Winter is a great place to start. Never mind the snow – can tell it's here by seeing my pale, dry, flaky skin in the mirror. While I love that my accidental summer tan is fading (I prefer having pale skin with my auburn hair), I'm not so stoked about the dry skin.
It's not that my cosmetic routine is overly complicated. I use the same foundation and mineral powder each day. I do, however, switch up eye shadows and blushes and eye liners. And while switching it up is fun from time to time – like a bold cat-eye or red lip for a night out on the town – I'm trying to create a simple, go-to look that I can wear to work and then amplify a little after office hours.
My latest guilty pleasure is the CW's Reign. I don't mind the historical inaccuracies or out-of-time-period costumes. I go ga-ga over the beautiful dresses, gorgeous hair styling, and lovely makeup. I'm particularly smitten with the natural berry hues that the actresses flaunt on their lips. Like this:
So I've been on the lookout for the perfect lipstick to get that wine-stained look. A color that's a few shades darker than my natural lip hue, but with a berry or wine tinge to it. I'm a big fan of Revlon's Just Bitten Balm Stains. They're nice and thick like Clinique's Chubby Sticks, but I like that the color is more sheer than saturated. A quick swipe gives a nice subtle color. If you want to amp up the color, simply slick on a few more layers. I'm a devoted user of the Just Bitten Balm Stain in Amore – a lovely shade of red. So I decided to look to Revlon for this berry, wine-stained color. I settled on the Crush color. And... well, it's perfect. Just what I was looking for. A light application is ideal for work, a little color on my lips without being too bold in my relaxed, casual office. After work, I can layer on more color and get a beautiful, rich hue that reminds me of Shiraz.
So there. I've got my winter lip color. My eye makeup routine is what really needs simplified. I tend to do a lot of shading with various browns, nudes, and grays, but I've been wanting something that makes my green eyes pop. I love E.L.F. eye shadows because 1) they're readily available at my nearby Target store, 2) they're cheap, and 3) they have the loveliest shade of purple called Burnt Plum. I like this eye shadow on my lid with a swipe of copper in the crease. Rimmel kohl mascara and Scandaleyes mascara are my all-time favorites and I don't need to swap out those for replacements. (Every time I change mascaras, I just end up disappointed and go back to Scandaleyes to get lush, long lashes that don't flake or clump.)
Lastly, and possibly the most important part of my winter beauty routine, is the Burt's Bees Radiance Day Lotion. I'm a huge fan of Burt's Bees since their products don't irritate my sensitive skin. I'm obsessed with the Soap Bark & Chamomile facial cleanser, but I think I love the face lotion even more. It smells amazing and is the perfect moisturizing base to apply before my foundation.
So that's it. Throw my foundation in there and I'm going to attempt to just use these products for a while. An added bonus is that when I go to my boyfriend's or parents' place for a weekend, I can throw this handful of essentials into my purse and be set. I like that simplicity and convenience. :)
Do you have a go-to makeup look or do you switch it up every day? What are your winter must-haves?
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