Top Tips for a Natural Makeup Look

When it comes to makeup, most people want to look like themselves with a bit of “pop” - not as if they have on gobs of makeup. Sometimes you may want drama, but on most days, if you’re like most people, you probably want to look like natural. Here are some of my top tips for your bringing out the natural you.

Face

If your skin is normal-to-dry or dry: 

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Use a sheer moisturizing tint such as Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 to smooth without looking like you put anything on. I recently did makeup for someone who doesn’t like makeup. Because I didn’t want to scare her I used this product, assuring her that she would not look like a “painted lady".  And because she actually liked it, I gave her a tube so she can use it every day for moisturizing benefits, and, more importantly, sun protection. As I keep saying, never leave the house without sunscreen. If you don’t want to use a tint, still use something that has a sunscreen. I am currently moisturizing with LaPrairie Crème Biologie Marine Avancee Jour SPF 20 under my foundation - I always make sure my moisturizer and foundation have sunscreen in case I missed applying somewhere.

Clean and Clear

If your skin is oily:

For especially oily skin, try an oil-absorbing powder in place of a foundation. And carry oil-blotting papers with you so you don’t have to keep reapplying – if you continually reapply, the powder might start to cake up and not look natural at all. On shoots I’ve been using Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets – they are affordable and great for every day too. Just press them right where you need to blot excess oil. I use these on set to keep people from looking shiny on camera.

Bare Minerals Warm Radiance

Cheeks

For the natural look (as seen here on Melinda), I used a soft reddish bronzer. If you’ve read my other articles, I don’t mean to bore you by recommending the same things over again – but I do love the tried and true and will only share the things I really like. This is bareMinerals Warm Radiance – the shade is so versatile I use it on almost all skin tones. It’s a loose powder so you have to be careful or it can make a mess - dip the brush in lightly and then tap off excess before application. bareMinerals recommends dipping the brush into the top cap to avoid getting too much product on the brush. It’s a definitely good tip. If you really prefer a pressed powder, I like Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder. (People also love Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact if you want some bronze sparkle.)

Eyes

For natural softness, use shades that blend into skin and hair tone. This is usually earthy shades, such as soft beiges, creams and browns (depending on your skin tone). Blend well.

Eye Shadow

• A soft beige eye shadow from lash to brow

• A soft rust shade in the outer corners (a rust accent complements Melinda’s hair color and pulls the makeup together.)

Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara

Eye Liner

I lightly applied brown eyeliner on top lash line. To keep it subtle, always apply right on lash line, not outside or inside of it. Staying on the lash line just makes lashes look a bit fuller.

Lashes

Try brown or black/brown mascara on top lashes only. I am still a big fan of Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara. It never clumps and always looks natural. I am also allergic to most mascaras but I can wear this one!

Brows

Clinique Brow Shaper is super-easy to use. The shades are subtle and it comes with a stiff brush that helps you shape without looking drawn on. Apply lightly and then step away from the mirror to make sure you’re using just enough product to lightly define brows.

Lips

For this shoot I used a sheer gloss with a tint. I like the non-sticky lightness of Clinique Almost Lipstick (one of their classic best-sellers and my favorite is a shade called Black Honey). I recommended it here as a Clinique Beauty Icon product.

The shades listed here work for most skin tones. If you have a deeper skin tone you can use the same shades, just with deeper pigment. For example, instead of brown use a black eye liner and mascara. In addition, use brands that have more pigment-rich colors in general, such as MAC, Stila or NARS. Viva au naturale!

MODEL IMAGE BY:

Photography, Chris Eckert

Model, Melinda Lennox

Hair, Kristan Serafino

Makeup, Robyn Tamura

On the Red Carpet: Laura Benanti

Who gets to be gorgeous, talented and have a great personality? An old friend of mine used to say you get one or maybe two but not all three – she said the gods just don’t allow it. Which seems fair enough. But I recently had the opportunity to work with Tony Award winning Laura Benanti and I can tell you right now she is as kind as she is beautiful. And winning Tonys doesn’t happen unless you’re exceptionally talented, and guess what - she has all three.

This fall, Laura stars in the new NBC show Go On with Friends' Matthew Perry. 

When she first arrived to NYC, Laura was cast as an understudy for the Broadway role of Maria in The Sound of Music - a show she would go on to star in. From there she went on to many roles and became one of Broadway's brightest stars, picking up awards and accolades all along the way. After learning I was in the presence of Maria I couldn’t help but hum My Favorite Things (really corny I know, but I actually wasn't thinking about it) as I did her makeup - and Laura and hairstylist Kristan Serafino joined right along with me. Then off she went to the red carpet looking glowing and beautiful.

Makeup Tips for Laura's Red Carpet Look Laura wanted natural makeup so I stuck with warm nude and earth tones and added small touches of brightness to keep it fresh and glowing.

Laura Up Close

Moisturize before applying makeup. I used a light moisturizer and Origins GenZing eye cream. Moisturizing helps smooth on foundation so it looks soft and natural. Because her skin is already so smooth and even, I used foundation sparingly and only to create a "palette" for color. To make sure it lasted throughout the night, I set the makeup with a sheer face powder and the under eye concealer powder from Laura Mercier's Undercover Pot.

Highlight eyes with a touch of light shimmer. I used Matisse Elite Star Dust Powder on just the inner corners to draw attention to her eyes. If we were creating a dramatic look I would use shimmer more liberally, but using it just as an accent is perfect to keep it soft and natural.

Warm the face with a bronzer. I used a bronzer in place of a blush on cheeks, around the sides of face and on the forehead area. Again, to keep it natural, it's important to blend any bronzer well.

Add soft color to lips. Laura is wearing coral shoes - I didn't mean to match her lips to them, but now that I'm looking at the images I kind of did! Matching lips and shoes is, of course, in no way important or necessary, but keeping lip color in the warmer tones helps blend the warmer eye and cheek color together.

Look for Laura this Fall,  Tuesdays at 9pm (EST)!

Go On NBC

Hair by Kristan Serafino, Makeup by Robyn Tamura

The Dos and Don’ts of Concealing Under Eye Dark Circles

Did you watch this season’s Project Runway All-Stars? As they neared the finale, the designers were taken to the Hearst Tower to meet with the editor of Marie-Claire. I wasn’t there to meet an editor, but recently did some men’s grooming for a video shoot there. I’m only mentioning it from Project Runway because I love that beautiful building and hope you have seen it too (even if only on TV).Anyway, most men don’t want makeup, so my job is usually to make sure their hair and skin look good and they are camera-ready. But like women, even non-makeup wearing men ask about what to do with under eye dark circles. It’s tricky because if you need coverage but don’t want to look like you’re wearing makeup, application has to be just right. So if dark circles and puffiness are a concern for you, here are some makeup application Dos and Don’ts: DO

Start by applying a de-puffing eye cream and let it absorb into skin. A lot eye creams contain cucumber and caffeine and both are said to reduce dark circles/puffiness. Apparently, drinking a lot of caffeine is bad for dark circles, but putting it on your skin is good for reducing them! Try Origins No Puffery. Honestly, I completely forgot about this product until just now. When I was with Origins, I remember how people would panic when they could not find their No Puffery. Panic! I've never had a problem with dark circles or puffy eyes so cannot personally attest to its wonders - but I have seen other people worship this product.

Use a good under eye concealer brush. A good brush helps you “paint” dark circles away. Using fingers is much more difficult because it’s harder to be precise and get concealer exactly how you need it so it looks smooth and natural. I have several concealer brushes, but bareMinerals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush is one of my favorites. Sometimes the bristles on concealer and foundation brushes separate and make application difficult. This one doesn't.

Apply a peachy-pink/salmon shade of concealer. Why this shade works so well I don’t know, but it does. Since you don’t want concealer to show on skin, make sure it’s the right shade. Sometimes if the peachy/salmon shade doesn’t completely “disappear” on skin I use a slightly lighter concealer to blend it in. But, if you're not a makeup artist with all different shades at your disposal, you can also just use a small bit of your foundation over the concealer to blend it in. I like Eve Pearl's Salmon Concealer. 

Finish with a tiny bit of sheer powder on top of the concealer to set it. I always use the powder from Laura Mercier Undercover Pot. It has two shades of concealer and a little bit of powder you can use on top.

DON’T

Don't use too much concealer. You don’t want to trade one concern for another – if you put too much concealer in an effort to lighten dark circles it can get cake-y and creasy. A little concealer will still lighten dark circles – even if they are not completely covered, it's still better than looking cake-y and creasey. If you are 18 or 20 or whatever age under eye skin is always perfectly smooth, you can probably use more than most people. Otherwise, too much is worse than too little.

Don’t use too much powder. Too much powder can also make the concealer look cake-y and unnatural. A very light dusting is just enough.

Don’t rub or be too rough with the eye area skin. Skin around the eyes is more fragile and more easily damaged. Be gentle to yourself, especially in the eye area.

Don’t forget about prevention. Like everything with health and beauty, taking care of yourself is essential. Most people are aware – from first hand experience – that dark circles and puffiness often are the result of stress and lack of sleep. So cut back on the partying!