Mornings are cool (not)

 I always wake up with the best of intentions.

 

Every night before I crawl into my cozy bed, plans form. Lofty plans actually. Plans of waking up as soon as my alarm sounds at 6am giving me plenty of time to apply a creative makeup look using some of my new products. Dramatic eyes or perhaps a colourful lip? The sky is the limit. Who knows, maybe I would even get real crazy and curl my hair. I fall asleep excited at the possibilities that ensue… dreaming of glitter.

 

This is what actually happens.

 

I wake up at 6 when my alarm goes off. I promptly press snooze and whip my Blackberry across my queen sized bed. (Yes I still use my fossil of a BlackBerry as my alarm, simply because it’s the only alarm I know how to set. Had my Samsung for almost 3 years and I can barely turn it on.) This scene repeats itself approximately 4 more times until 6:30am. It is then that I start entertaining the thought of leaving my bed. I tell myself “If you wake up you can look semi-decent today”. I don’t budge. A few more minutes pass. “Come on Bri, maybe you could even do something with your hair today other than long and straight”. That isn’t enough to convince me that Cocoon World that I am currently happily inhabiting is worth leaving. A few more minutes pass. And then a little voice whispers to me from the back of my mind. “You know, if you wake up now, you could feasibly go to Starbucks on your way to work”. That’s it. I leap out of bed, ready to tackle my morning routine that does not just include getting myself ready for the day’s events but also my son. All thoughts of creative makeup looks for the day abandoned, I begin my tried-and-true every day makeup routine. And this I will share with you today.

 

I start by applying my Vichy moisturizer all over my face. I have been using Vichy for years and having skin prone to breaking out, I have found that it works for me. I use their Normaderm moisturizer, and although I like it, I haven’t found it to be as moisturizing as I would like. Currently, the thought of switching moisturizers is being entertained. We’ll see where that goes.

 

Allowing the moisturizer to “sink in”, it is then that I usually grab phones off chargers to put them in my bag and grab lunches from the fridge. I head back to my vanity and begin the next step in the routine. Using my fingers, I apply the MAC Prep and Prime foundation primer all over my face. I have used a few different foundation primers in my time, and this is THE best in my opinion. I used to use the Smashbox primer and the Lancome one, and they are both silicone based. This makes for a “greasy” feel and I wasn’t okay with that. The MAC one goes on beautifully and really holds my foundation in place all day long. Using primers make all the difference in the look of your foundation. They help to give you a uniform and flawless look, and makes your foundation last so much longer. Being so accustomed to using primers, I couldn’t imagine not having one involved in my every day makeup routine.

 

Using the revered Shiseido foundation brush I so highly recommend, I apply the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 Hour liquid foundation in 360 Bisque N. As Britney Spears so eloquently stated in her hit 2003 song…. I am a Slave 4 U. I LOVE THIS FOUNDATION. I tried it several years ago when a Lancome makeup artist used it on me and I have been an absolute slave to it ever since. It gives me the perfect coverage and lasts ALL day. This particular foundation is not for the faint-hearted though, as it is a heavy coverage liquid and when they say it’s “transfer-proof”? Well, they aren’t kidding. It literally does not come off unless you physically wash it off with makeup remover. Which is A-okay with me.

 

I then apply my undereye concealer (Urban Decay Naked concealer in Med Light) and my eyeshadow primer (MAC paintpot in Laying Low). The Naked concealer is ahhhhmazing. It’s the best undereye concealer I’ve ever used. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be used for any other concealer-type situations as I’ve only ever used it as an undereye concealer. And I am loving it. My eyeshadow primer varies. I’ve used the Nars eyeshadow primer before the MAC one I am currently using and I am unsure if I will go back to it. I might give the Smashbox one another try, who knows.

 

Then, I apply the Lancome Dual Finish powder makeup in Matte Wheat ll. The colour is slightly too pale for me, so I add a little of the MAC Studio Careblend pressed powder in Medium/Deep. I contour my face ever so slightly with the Nars bronzer in Laguna and the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick in Beach. I’ve used both for years, and although my favourite ever bronzer is the MAC one in Nude on Board (limited edition so RARELY EVER AVAILABLE L) I still enjoy the Nars one as well.

 

Blush varies for me. Currently I am using the MAC mineralize skinfinish in Scene To Be Seen. (Limited edition colour so no longer available). I do have quite a few open and on the go, such as the MAC blushes in Harmony and I'm The One.

 

Currently I am loving the Smashbox Double Exposure eyeshadow palette. I got it as soon as it came out at the beginning of January and have used it almost exclusively since it entered into my possession. I am planning on retiring it fairly soon from the everyday rotation as I have quite a few other I want to try. I use a liquid eyeliner from MAC in Bootblack to line my top lashline and the L’Oreal Infallible eye pencil in Carbon Black to line my waterline. My current mascara I am using is the MAC In Extreme Dimension mascara in Black. It is one I really like from MAC, but it isn’t my all-time favourite mascara. More on that later. I fill in my brows using the Lise Watier brow powder in Brunette and voila… my every day makeup routine is finished! It seems like a lengthy process but I have done it a million times and can fly through it. Most times it doesn’t take me any longer than 20 minutes.

 

My everyday makeup routine isn’t anything crazy, or fancy. But it is a process, and one I would never miss. Not even for Starbucks.