Just last week, I received a make up challenge! And who doesn't love a good recreation challenge? Without much ado, it was none other than Chiara Ferragni's signature no-make up make up look! (Shoutout to @aispi.co for making me do this!)
Here is my 5 min/5 step glam series to create the same look with little/no effort! It literally is so quick and yet rewarding that it is absolutely perfect for any occasion - work, a hot summer's day, or just a friday night zoom call!
Step 1 - Correct & Conceal
Prep your skin as you normally would. Once you've cleansed, toned and moisturised, you're ready to go! Since we're keeping the look light and natural, we're going to skip foundation, and go straight into concealing our under eye bags! I love using two fool proof products to do this, the first is Becca Cosmetics Under Eye Brightening Corrector, for medium to dark skin, which I've mentioned in my previous posts! What I like to do is dab a few spots of this product under both my eyes, and blend it out with my fingers before going in with my concealer! I LOVE LOVE the Tarte Cosmetics Shape Tape Concealer (Medium 35N), it's extremely pigmented and gives you full coverage all day long! If you're close to my skin tone (I'm a medium fair- wheatish indian skin tone), use this shade above, it should match your skin perfectly! If this doesn't work for you, then check out temptalia.com, findation.com,etc to find your ideal concealer match! Use a few spots of this under your eyes, on the bridge of your nose and to conceal any bumps/marks you'd like too!Once you've done this, use a damp sponge or a slightly full brush (make sure it's clean!) and place some baking powder (I currently use Laura Mercier's Translucent Setting Powder) on all the areas where you had dabbed on concealer. STEP 1 & your flawless base is now complete! Wasn't that easy?
Step 2 - Brows & Eyes
This look is meant to be natural and forgiving so we're not going to go OTT trying to draw the perfect brow, use a spoolie or a setting gel to give your natural brows some shape. I like to use Benefit Cosmetics 24 Hour Brow Setter Gel (mini), which is a clear brow gel to get my eyebrow hair to adhere! A few strokes and you're golden! If you're normally one that colours your brows or tints them, then I'd suggest using a dark brown eyeshadow (or your bronzer) instead of an eyebrow pencil to fill in the gaps. This gives you a much more subtle and natural look, which a defined pencil point just can't! For the eyes, we're again going to keep it super simple. I like to use my Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer (mini) as an eyeshadow and sweep it across my entire lid. It's a beautiful golden brown colour and it looks like I've been slaving away blending a few neutral shades for days but in reality, I've spent less than a minute haphazardly dabbing it on with any eyeshadow brush I can find in my kit!
Step 3 - LASHES, LASHES, LASHES!
The only thing statement-y about this look are your lashes! And depending on the occasion at hand or your personality, you can make them as bold or as dramatic as you want! Because this look veers more towards natural glam, I like to focus on lengthening mascaras as opposed to volumising ones! Volumising ones tend to clump and if you use too many layers of this, it can stick to your bottom lashes or flake off as it dries. I like to layer my mascaras and so the first one I used was L'oreal's Telescopic Mascara, I recently discovered this product and I was super excited to try it because I saw one of my fav Hijabi bloggers wearing it, and I can tell you, I was NOT DISAPPOINTED! A few strokes of this and your lashes could be mistaken for extensions! The second mascara I love using on top of this one is Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara, which is also a great great buy for a quick glam look! It's important to remember with mascara, application is everything! Make sure you take off the excess product before each layer, give it time to dry, and also use a spoolie to separate your lashes in between applications. Another good tip is to apply product to the top of your lashes and then gently lift them from below (all the way from the bottom to the tip) for the best results!
Step 4 - Bronzer & Blush
I like keeping my bronzer subtle (I don't use harsh cream contours) but I also like putting on enough so that it gives me a jawline, and a perfect summer tan! I used the same benefit bronzer that I did for my eyes and apply it to the top of my forehead, bridge of my nose (on either side), my jawline and under my cheekbones! I like using a dense bronzer brush to blend it out - the one that comes with the mini Hoola, is really tiny and it's great for precise application but if you're looking for a more natural/subtle look, I'd suggest using a thicker powder brush to just blend out the harsh lines! Since this look is more sun-kissed, I like to go easy on the usual pink/berry blusher shades and instead use a slightly browny-pink colour for my cheeks! I think MAC Cosmetics (shade: Gingerly) is a great option! It's very pigmented so be careful with how much you apply! it's perfect for a summer sun kissed look when you only use a a few brush strokes and don't want anything overly artificial and pink!
Step 5 - LUMOS!
(excuse the harry potter reference, I'm a lowkey potter nerd :P)
If you don't know what I'm talking about, after this step, you definitely will! With natural looks like these, I like to use both powder and liquid highlighter to really pull the look together & make you stand out (but in a subtle way). What I did for this one in particular, was I used a few drops of the Iconic London Liquid Highlighter (mini), dabbing it on my upper cheek bones, under my eyebrows, the bridge of my nose and my cupids bow (just above my lip). Before it sets, I go in with another round of highlighter, this time using my trusty Becca Cosmetics highlighter in Champagne pop. I use the Sephora highlighting fan brush (no.65) to place the powder on the same areas, and this way it sticks better and for much longer! If you don't have a liquid highlighter but want the same effect, use a setting spray/mist after you finish the rest of the steps, and apply the highlighter powder while your face is still slightly damp, and it'll work just as well! (I promise!!!)
Thats it! That's my 5 min glam no make up, make up look complete! If you're wondering why I haven't suggested any lip products, it's because I tend to use a natural or tinted lip balm like carmex, vaseline or La neige's lip mask that is hydrating and makes your lips look luscious, instead of a lipstick/gloss which dries out your lips and needs constant touch ups!
FYI - This is also my GO-TO Travel look especially because I've created it using miniature versions of all these products, which fit perfectly into hand luggage or your purse, and it takes only 5 minutes and 5 steps which means you could even recreate this look before/after you get off the plane, and look absolutely bomb!
Hope you enjoyed this edition of the five step five min glam series! As always have a lovely week & happy reading xx lots of love, Far
Also as a side note, I know how superficial and disheartening things can seem in lockdown sometimes, it's okay to feel like that, but know that if you're reading this you have a support system, a house, accessible internet and a whole lot to be grateful for while the world heals itself from within. No one put it better than Tom Foolery, watch his whole beautiful poem here, I promise you, you won't regret it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bea4jCAkXsI