My Simple Makeup Routine (under 10 minutes!)

I’ve always been someone who likes to test and try lots of different makeup. I’m more committed to my skincare routine, but my makeup routine changes with the seasons.

Right now (and always), I’m favoring natural, light makeup that still looks polished. In the cooler months I go for a slightly heavier eye with more eyeshadow, and in the summer months, I tend to prefer cream formulas for blush and bronzer over powders since they look better and hold up more in the humidity.

While I love to test out lots of products, I know most people want to know the single best foundation, concealer, blush, etc. You don’t need 3-4 recommendations for each (although I do have about that many favorites!). Below I’ve listed the best of the best with what I wear most often these days. Later in this post, I address the 3-4 favorites I have for each category if you want more details and context.

My simple everyday makeup routine is listed below, but if you want an even simpler makeup routine, check out my pre-gym makeup routine, which I wear a lot even when not going to the gym.

Here are my winter makeup go-to’s:

1 – ILIA True Skin Serum Foundation (with Crunchi Smart Primer if I’m doing primer)

2 – Oliveda Olive Rose if I’m doing tinted moisturizer, or this fuller coverage tinted moisturizer by Crunchi.

3 – Crunchi My Alibi® Liquid Concealer

4 – Tarte Shape Tape™ Glow Blush Bar

5 – Crunchi Solarise® Bronzing Duo for bronzer

6 – ILIA Clean Line Gel Liner in Brown

7 – Tarte Amazonian Eyeshadow Palette

8 – Dime Lash Primer

9 – Tarte Tartelette XL Tubing Mascara

10 – Glo Skin Beauty Precise Micro Browliner for Brows

11. Glo Skin Beauty Brow Gel – to hold brows in place

12 – Beautycounter Lip Defining Pencil

13 – Charlotte Tilbury Setting Spray

Crunchi and Ilia are two of the safest makeup brands on the market so if you care about non-toxic makeup, you’ll love those!

My Simple Makeup Routine (under 10 minutes!)

FOUNDATION

After I’ve completed my skincare routine, I start with my foundation.

I have a few foundations that I really like, so it just depends on what look and type of coverage I want. I have a post with all my favorite foundations for dry skin but I listed the three I wear the most these days.

Light coverage: On days I’m not doing a full face of makeup, I use Oliveda Olive Rose as my base or this Crunchi Sunlight Tinted SPF. The Oliveda Olive Rose base is VERY light – a true “no makeup” makeup. The Crunchi Tinted SPF has more coverage and built-in SPF, which is ideal if I want a tad more coverage. Read my Oliveda review here and read my full review of Crunchi’s makeup here.

Medium Coverage: I love the ILIA Skin Rewind Foundation Stick – applies so quickly with medium coverage and looks very natural. I use the ILIA Complexion Brush to blend. (Yes, I’ve tried the Merit foundation stick and prefer the ILIA one since it’s more hydrating. I have a full review of Merit makeup here. And you can see a comparison of the two foundation sticks in this reel. 

I also love the ILIA True Skin Serum Foundation – if you prefer a traditional liquid foundation, this is a classic and my favorite of all I’ve tried. It’s very lightweight but has medium coverage that is hydrating and easy to blend. I have a detailed review of the True Skin Foundation here. I usually mix it with this Light Serum Highlighter; it’s so pretty and doesn’t look too shiny but just gives me a healthy glow, and then, I don’t find that I need a highlighter after my makeup is done. (But if I do want more highlighting, I use the one from this cheek palette.)

Full Coverage: For a very full-coverage makeup look, I like Crunchi’s Beautifully Flawless Foundation. It is easy to blend but has a bit of a heavy finish. But since it’s a super clean brand, I don’t mind!

CONCEALER

I’m currently using the Crunchi My Alibi® Liquid Concealer most days for my concealer. I’ve tried many, and I also really love the Tarte Radiant Shape Tape Concealer. Tarte has lots of concealers, but I prefer the Radiant formula over the regular Tarte Shape Tape since it brightens and conceals in one step. It’s also lighter weight, which I appreciate. I wear shade 22N in the Tarte concealer.

EYESHADOW

I typically don’t wear eyeshadow, and when I do, it’s not much – just one base color and one color for a little bit of definition above my crease (which looks best with my hooded eyes). I love the Tarte In Bloom Palette because I can wear almost any shade in this palette.

EYELINER

Next, I tightline my upper lash line — never my lower waterline — since it looks more natural than lining above the lash line and helps make my lashes look thicker. (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, L’Oreal has an easy tightlining tutorial!)

I use this ILIA Clean Gel liner in brown to tightline my upper lash line (just the outer 1/2 to 3/4… not all the way across) to help open my eyes and make my lash line look thicker. If I want a little more pop of color, I’ll use Chantecaille pencil liner instead of black; I have this in Amethyst. It pairs BEAUTIFULLY with the copper eye shadow.

EYELASH CURLER & PRIMER

I curl my lashes everyday and I’ve used this Shu Uemera eyelash curler for almost ten years. It never pinches and creates a long-lasting curl.

Most days I wear mascara without a primer. If I do want a thicker lash that day for some reason, I love this DIME Lash Primer. I coat my lashes in primer and then add mascara about 1 minute later, after the primer sets just a bit but doesn’t completely dry.

MASCARA

Most days I skip primer and just use Tarte Tartelette XL Mascara only since it gives me long, thick lashes and is one step vs. two, and quick and easy is the name of the game in the cooler months! I have a full review of the Tarte Tartelette Mascara if you want to know why it’s my favorite (and I am a very big mascara snob). But, the bottom line is that it never smudges. Ever.

BROW GEL AND PENCIL

I fill my brows in no matter what, even if I’m not doing a full face of makeup. Most days I go for the Glo Skin Beauty Brow Gel with the Glo Brow Pencil since I get a fuller brow that way. If I’m in a hurry, I use Merit Brow 1980 Gel. (I also love the Crunchi brow pencil if you want a super clean option.)

BRONZER

I’ve gotten on the bronzer train in recent years and always feel better when I use it, particularly around my hairline since I’ve had some hair loss since having my sons. I love the Crunchi Solarise® Bronzing Duo for every day. ILIA used to make a wonderful bronzer as well, but I believe it’s discontinued.

BLUSH

Depending on my mood, I’ll either use a powder, cream, or liquid blush.

Most days I go for the Tarte Shape Tape™ Glow Blush Bar since it has a few shades and I can blend. The two others I rotate among are:

ILIA Multi Stick – This is a great cream blush option, and you can use it as a lip color as well.

Crunchi Cheekmate – My favorite liquid blush. A little goes a very long way – just buff it out!

PRESSED POWDER

Tarte Shape Tape™ Glow Powder – If I finish my makeup and I look just a litttttle too glowy, I use this. It still keeps my makeup looking natural and dewy but tones it down just a bit. It also helps set my makeup. I use the shade Starlit.

SETTING SPRAY

I’ve been finding that my makeup doesn’t stay on as well as I like so I’ve started using a setting spray almost everyday. My favorite is the Charlotte Tilbury setting spray.

LIPS

I LOVE lipstick and lipgloss. I have tons of different colors and brands, but my current favorites are:

Beautycounter Lip Defining Pencil for a simple base. I color in my entire lip actually.

Crunchi Lip Oil – A nice sheer glossy look.

Ravie Beauty in Dahlia – this is the most forgiving color – I don’t even need a mirror to apply! It applies like a balm but looks like a lipstick and is very hydrating and it’s a very natural looking pink.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk – this is matte, but is very hydrating and the PERFECT nude color.

This may seem like it takes forever, but it’s really only 5-10 minutes! This reel shows how I apply it all. And here’s how I keep it organized in my bathroom.

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