It’s been awhile since we talked cosmetics ’round here — and that’s for a good reason: I have been v. pleased with my skincare and makeup routine, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Still, I scattered reviews of products and so forth over the last few Magpie Polish posts, so I thought I’d do a full rundown of my current daily routine:
I start the morning by washing my face with Tata Harper’s regenerating face wash. I did a full review of this wunderproduct here, but the short story is that I prefer a face wash with a mild exfoliant in it, and this stuff is magical. A dermatologist once told me that daily exfoliation is too hard on your skin and advocated for Cetaphil, a bit of advice I promptly discarded; my skin is too oily! I need the exfoliation! I then apply Ole Henriksen’s Truth Serum, which instantly brightens and illuminates my skin — it’s like turning on the lights. I wait a minute for that to settle in and then apply L’Occitane’s peony perfecting cream, which smells like heaven and leaves skin dewily moisturized, and Sunday Riley’s autocorrect eye cream. I usually shift gears and make the bed or chase after mini while I let the moisturizers absorb. Then I apply Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer — it balances out the skin but looks super natural, and it has SPF. If I need more coverage, I apply Shiseido’s wetforce sunscreen and then Too Faced’s Born This Way foundation. One non-negotiable for me nowadays is wearing sunscreen on my face every single minute of every single day. I’ve already noticed the permanent damage sun has had on my skin from youthful summers — shame on me! — and am determined to protect my skin and prevent additional sun spots and wrinkles from developing. (#ThisIs34.)
I should interject here and add that I almost always change into my thin cotton robe (on super sale!) or Eberjey rompers (also on super sale!) when getting ready in the morning. I know it’s an extra step to switch out of pajamas into some other intermediary outfit but I hate being hot or cold or sweaty while getting ready, and these are so comfortable and breathable.
Next — I always apply concealer under my undereyes and on any blemishes — my mom gave me a tube of YSL’s All Hours concealer and it’s very thin — almost liquid-like — but surprisingly opaque; I like that it blends easily but covers the deep black circles a year and a half of motherhood have left under my eyes. My other go-to is Cle de Peau’s concealer. I have tried legitimately every concealer out there and I believe that this is the absolute best. It’s sickeningly expensive but it lasts; I re-upped my supply a month ago and feel relieved to have it back in rotation. If I am taking my time, I’ll set the concealer with Laura Mercier’s secret brightening powder, but most of the time, I’m in a rush to extricate mini from a tangle of cords or prevent Tilly from eating my breakfast, which is sitting, cold, on the dining room table. If I’m in a real hurry, I’ll use concealer on my eyelids to even out the tone and call it a day, but if not, I’ll dot a little of Laura Mercier’s eye basics in linen on my lids, and that’s as far as I go in terms of the eye shadow situation. Next I’ll apply a brush of Guerlain’s bronzer onto my cheeks. A makeup artist recently told me not to layer blush over bronzer (it looks too overdone, in her opinion) but I still do it, and frequently — except for in the mornings, when I’m short on time. In the summer, I’ll just wear bronzer; in the winter, I’ll swipe on Bobbi Brown’s blush in Pale Pink. Both the Guerlain bronzer and Bobbi Brown blushes are value buys — they last forever. I swear to God I’ve had the same bronzer and same blush for over three years, and I wear one or the other — or both — daily. You do the math! They’re like self-renewing infinity magical unicorn powders.
Last, I layer on Chanel’s nourishing mascara base (this stuff has been selling out all over the place!) followed by Diorshow mascara. Mascara is my ultimate desert island beauty product — I feel naked without it and I love a heavy hand with it. One of my older cousins is absolutely stunning — like, the prettiest version of me imaginable — and was a model and beauty pageant queen in her teens. I always hung onto her every word when it came to beauty and self-care, and I remember her telling me, when I was twelve or thirteen: “And then I put on a ton of mascara. I like it extra-goopy.” I’ve followed suit ever since. I didn’t know I needed a mascara base until I tried Chanel’s formula, and I’m hooked forever. It sort of plumps and separates and thickens the lashes, and then you go in there with the Diorshow and it’s LIGHTS OUT. (That’s not the right superlative, but you get my point: DRAMA!) I’ve had three people ask me whether I wear false lashes in the last month, since starting this two-fold routine. The other trick? A makeup artist told me not to just swipe the mascara up through my lashes, but to wiggle it on back and forth from the root up. It really works in terms of separating all of the lashes so that you don’t wind up with clumpy stumpy lashes.
OK, that’s more than enough on lashes.
What else? Nowadays, I skip on the eyeliner because someone told me (sob!) that, on most people, wearing eyeliner after 30 years is aging! Gah! We can’t have that. But when I do wear it, this stuff is the absolute best; it dries matte! I also love RMS’ living luminizer when I’m looking a little dull and tired, but I often skip it in favor of time saving. But the final non-negotiables for daily wear? Glossier boy brow (it’s so easy to apply and it totally frames and finishes your face) and a swipe of Sugar lip balm in petal, which adds just enough color but moisturizes, too. (And I can apply it without a mirror.)
For hair: I wash it every other day and have been using Bumble and Bumble’s Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner. Both Mr. Magpie and I are obsessed with it. It smells clean (gender-neutral!), a little goes a long way, and it leaves hair full and soft. I then blow-dry it with the products I mentioned in detail here. (Brushes are a key ingredient!) I’m also a devotee of plain old Dove bar body soap. We buy it in bulk. It smells like my childhood and I like the way it makes my skin feel — squeaky clean. Afterward, I apply Fresh’s Hesperides body lotion (it smells like heaven) and Tata Harper’s body balm to my feet.
Every couple days, I apply either Tata Harper’s resurfacing face mask or Origins’ rose clay mask. But when I’m in a bind, I still swear by m61 powerglow peel pads. They are ridiculous. I like to use them before I’m heading out for a night — I’ll swipe one of these all over and it’s like, “new face who dis” when I look in the mirror.
Before bed, I take everything off using micellar water and then clean it with Tata’s cleanser. I apply Origins’ Night-A-Mins refining oil and cream. It could be a placebo effect, but I’m pretty sure my skin’s never looked brighter or younger than when I’ve followed this ritual religiously.
Man oh man, what it takes to care for this 34-year-old body! I wish I were one of those women who only wore aquaphor and mascara and cleansed her skin with cetaphil, but alas, I am not…
The only other additions I’m contemplating right now are this sulfur mask, as I occasionally break out along my jawline and that is not so cute at all, this illuminating moisture balm (love the nude/clear color), this instant confidence stick (a “magic eraser” for skin?! — so intriguing!), and this volumizing lip and cheek tint. I love anything that can do double duty.
What’s on your radar? Any other wunderproducts to share?
P.S. Most of these products are covered in more detail in this roundup, along with a couple of other additions/must-haves.
P.P.S. Also beautiful? THIS!!!!
P.P.P.S. I’ve had this question a couple of times: how do you keep your cosmetics organized? I use these cubes under my sink. (This is similar.) I keep my lipsticks in this. But if you don’t have the space for that kind of stuff, I was thinking that these — which I use to organize our paper/office supplies — could also be a good idea. Use one for skincare, one for face, one for lipsticks? Etc.