So it's been too long since my last post - I honestly didn't know how long it's been since I was able to really sit down and write something. Day job is absolutely manic - so much that I no longer have energy nor time to mask everyday and you know how much I love my masking! I have still been posting weekly on instagram on products I like/mini reviews if you follow me.
This has been on my mind for a while and it's something that really resonates with the ethos/name of my blog - I Just Want Good Skin. I want to talk about the truth behind those "effortless" looks, specifically the products behind them.
I will start off by saying that no products guarantee success and the basis of good skin lies with good routines and good habits. Why I call this the "truth" is because I felt that this whole effortless thing is really effort-less, i.e. you don't need to put in effort in it. Wow, was I so wrong and you probably already know this but "effortless" isn't truly effort-less, but rather is the appearance of not needing to put an effort in it - that you are naturally beautiful.
The older I get, the more I see that the truth to looking effortless, facially, is good skin.
Good skin allowed me to look effortless because no only did I have to exert less effort in concealing, it's also made my products look like they work more efficiently than they really are (e.g. foundation).
So what am I trying to say?
It takes a lot of effort to look effortless.
Everyone's routine looks different - let's look at how many products it takes for me to look effortless in the mornings
But first, let's define "effortless" - everyone perceives this differently so for me, it's just an everyday look that takes me less than 15 minutes to put on (doesn't mean it doesn't require effort though).
Daylight only, no filter. As you can see, I'm actually not amazing at applying makeup and often skip the lips because it'll just end up coming off anyway within 2 hours!
Evenings
I start off with evenings because I believe in a solid evening routine. One that you can spend most your time on, the one where you not only wash away the day, but also get ready for the next
So let's count - going with the most basic evening (without masking)
- First step cleansing: Mamonde Petal Spa Cleansing balm
- Second step cleansing: Heimish All Clean White Foam Face wash
- Exfoliant: Skinfood Pineapple Peeling Gel
- Toner: Benton BHA Toner
- Serum #1: Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum
- Serum #2: Tosowoong Sparkle Ampoule
- Eye cream: Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream
- Face cream: Huxley More than Fresh cream
Number of products (typically): 8 (add a few more when masking/fuller routine)
The next day
My morning routines are really simple because I like to maximise sleep and minimise the time it takes to get ready before I step out the door
- Micellar water: Orlane
- Toner: Whamisa Original Organic Flower Toner
- Eye cream: Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream
- Sunscreen: La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Comfort sunscreen
Number of products: 4
Make-up
- Eyeliner: MUA black pencil liner
- Eyeshadow: The Body Shop shimmer cubes
- Eyeliner: Rimmel Scandaleyes micro eyeliner
- Foundation: The Ordinary Serum Foundation
- Highlighter: Manna Kadar Glo Illuminator
- Eyebrow pencil: NYX precision brow pencil
- Eyebrow gel: GOSH brow sculpting brow gel
- Mascara: Maybelline push drama mascara
- Light blush/highlighter: Essence Light Up Your Face Luminizer Palette
- Light contour: Essence Light Up Your Face Luminizer Palette
- Fixing spray: Saat Insight Eleganz Fixer
Number of products: 11
Total number of products: 22 (2 repeated)
22 products in total it takes me to achieve this. Without the evening and morning routine my skin wouldn't be in a good condition, which means nothing, and I repeat, nothing, will stick as well on my face as it does currently, especially the base. I'm also not actually particularly good at makeup either - I understand the theory but in practice is a different thing, so I minimise my routine to something highly manageable in the mornings (and occasionally I still get it wrong!)
Obviously it's not just products, it's time spent on figuring out what works for the skin, maintaining it and having to keep listening to it and feeding it what it needs, and time spent working out what look works best for your face. Everyone is different and I am definitely intrigued to learn and experiment with even more minimal looks.
(The wing liner took me months to master though and even now I get what I call "bad liner days" so I'm not so sure I'm ready to give it up yet.)
Ultimately, my point is, that on one wakes up looking fully polished even if they look like it, and you shouldn't expect yourself to. I say this time and time over again - the skin you work on today is the skin you'll get tomorrow (I should come up with a better catch phrase!).
What do you do to achieve effortless? What products do you use? What does effortless mean to you?