This past weekend I was talking to my friend, Sue, who said to me, “You’re not the kind of girl who wears much makeup, are you?”

In my head I’m thinking, “Are you kidding me? Do you know how much effort it takes to look this good?”

Haha. Just kidding. Sort of.

Another friend of mine once described me as the kind of girl who is high maintenance in order to look low maintenance. Meaning, I’m the kind of girl who wants people to believe that I just threw myself together last minute when in fact, I spent the previous night thinking and plotting to achieve that effortless yet becoming look.

And yes, I admit that is the kind of girl I am. But tell me some of you aren’t like that, too?

So to get that no-makeup makeup look (which I am pictured sporting here), here is what I use, and my step-by-step guide:

1. Bobbi Brown Blemish Cover Stick - You can read my previous review here, but I always start with clean, as-flawless-as-possible skin. I use this product to conceal and heal blemishes at the same time, thanks to ingredients like oil-absorbing kaolin clay and special plant derivatives that reduce redness.

Depending on your skin type, you might also want to use a tinted moisturizer, but the key is to keep the look natural and not to hide your skin under layers of foundation and makeup.

2. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (Radiant Touch) - I purchased this for my wedding and it’s become a beloved staple in my collection. I use it to conceal undereye circles. As another trick for brightening my face, I dab a bit on the corners of my nose by the nostrils and also around the corners of my mouth.

Also, did anyone see this product in this month’s Allure magazine in the article about iconic products? It joins rank with Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair and Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (one of my favorites as well).

3. Stila Eyeshadow in Kitten - I sweep this shimmery, champagne-colored eyeshadow on my lids to warm up my skin and wake up my eyes with the light-reflecting pigments. Subtle, yet effective. One of their top sellers, and I can see why.

4. Sonia Kashuk Deluxe Travel Brush Set from Target - I use the largest size eyeshadow brush available in the kit to sweep on the Stila eyeshadow. In general, this brush set is a great value at $19.99, and I highly recommend you get yourself a set.

5. Tarte Rest Assured Brightening Wand - I use the pencil end of this to draw a line along my lower lash line. The nude-pink color adds a bit of brightness to the eyes, opens them up and makes you look more awake and fresh.

6. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - I remember buying this six years ago as a poor college student, one summer while working in Chicago as an advertising intern. It was a lot of money for me at the time ($18), but boy was it worth it. It’s one of Shu Uemura’s best sellers, and gives my lashes the most perfect curl.

7. Dior DiorShow Mascara - This was a freebie from Sephora that I picked up a month or so ago. I finally started using it after I ran out of my beloved Lancome Definicils, and I must say that I am starting to love it more and more.

The wand is oversized, and I found this difficult to navigate at first, but now I love how it gives me full, long lashes without clumping. It’s a great overall mascara for both length and volume.

8. Tarte Cheekstain in Flush - By now, you all know how much I love this stuff, so I will spare you the soliloquies. Anyway, a dab of this stuff on both cheeks and you have instantly achieved a natural, healthy looking glow.

9. Lancome Juicy Tubes in Berry Bold - My friend, Hannah, introduced this product to me, and it’s fabulous. You think that with a sheer lip gloss it doesn’t matter which shade you buy, but it really does. This shade provides a hint of reddish-pink for a subtle touch of color.

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Voila! With that, you have achieved a fresh, beautiful, breezed-right-out-the-door look. And for you busy women out there (myself included), this is an easy look that takes five minutes to put together, if that.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 23rd, 2006 at 4:08 am and is filed under Advice, Makeup, Face, Eye, Cheek, Lip, Beauty Tools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.