Ria Gamboa’s Two-Minute Makeover for Dummies

 What you need:                                                              Recommendation:

1.       Cheektint                                                                    1. Herbench Paint Box Pretty When Pinched

2.       Face powder                                                             2. Maybelline shine-free powder foundation

3.       Petroleum jelly                                                        3. Any. I use Vaseline

4.       Eyelash curler                                                          4. Shu Uemura eyelash curler

5.       Lip gloss (optional)                                                5. Maybelline gloss in Passion Fruit

6.       Concealer (optional)                                             6. Mac Studio Sculpt concealer

*Makeup tip #1: Hydrate. I should probably follow this myself, but I’m too lazy. (It’ll take a toll on me when I’m forty.) Moisturize at least at night, to make sure your skin is supple the next day. If you have an oil-free moisturizer and tend to get dry skin, it would be better to also apply it during the day, under your makeup.

*Makeup tip #2: Start with a clean face.

*Makeup tip #3: Groom your eyebrows. I know that we’re all busy, but there’s NEVER any excuse for unkempt eyebrows. Thick is in, but you must always tweeze out the stray hairs that aren’t part of the shape you want to achieve.

Application:

1.       Dab a bead of tint on your cheeks, and slowly spread out to the apples of your cheeks in a circular motion. This can be tricky, because you need to even it out before the product dries on your skin. Make sure there’s no clear indication where the tint ends—blend well so it fades towards the edges. If needed, apply a small amount on your lips as well.

2.       If necessary, apply concealer under your eyes using the tip of your ring finger. Take your time in doing this. The skin in this area is very sensitive, so make sure you PAT the concealer till it evens out, instead of spreading it out hurriedly and risk stretching the skin. 

3.       To set, gently dab powder on the spot under your eyes, then on the T-zone. Make sure that you pick a shade matching your own skin tone. And I truly mean this: if you wish to be fair-skinned, using a shade too light for your skin tone is NOT the answer.

4.       Curl your eyelashes. And instead of pressing on your lashes really hard, try making short, light crimps while moving the curler up towards the ends of your eyelashes.

5.       Apply petroleum jelly on your lashes using the tips of your fingers. This gathers the strands to make them look thicker, giving them a fresh, dewy, wet look.  This also gives the same effect if you apply it on the tip of your cheekbones, and spread them out towards your temples.

6.       Put a liberal amount of petroleum jelly on your lips. If you had previously applied tint on your lips however, it would be better to use a non oil-based gloss, to keep the tint from being erased.

Personally, I do this makeup on myself in only one minute, because I skip the concealer. This works when I need to make a quick run to the grocery, pick up my laundry, take out the trash, or go to the gym. Yes it IS okay to wear makeup at the gym—but only if it takes you one minute to put it on :p

Keep posted for my next entry on the “Five-Minute Makeup”, which is pretty much my default look on an everyday basis. In the mean time, enjoy laughing at my before photo! If you notice, the “after” still looks like I have no makeup on, (unless you compare it with my “before” face…not nice :s) which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. All I needed was a hint of it to keep myself lookin—well, like a human being :) enjoy trying it out, and give me feedback if works for you!

no makeup

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