She's Wright : Work Friendly Makeup

BB Your Self!

I really love makeup but like most of the women in the world I am not a magician with a makeup brush, nor do I have ample time to apply my makeup in the morning. On the weekends or before a night out it's nice to take my time applying foundation and dramatic eye liner but most of the time that I am wearing makeup I am on my way to work.

I try to use the bare minimum products to create a beautiful and natural makeup look so I only use a few products and usually it only takes 5-7 minutes to apply my makeup. I know that might sound crazy but after you see what exactly it is that I do to my face every morning you will understand.

Products

Makeup
e.l.f Eye brow kit $3
Maybelline Dream Fresh 8-in-1 BB cream in Medium-Deep sheer tine $7-8.99
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Cafe $3-4.99
e.l.f mineral blush in Peachy $5
Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara
Baby Lips SPF lip balm
NYX butter gloss in Tiramisu

Tools (all e.l.f)
Eyebrow Brush
Kabuki Brush
Stippling Brush

The real star of this blog post is the BB cream. It has quickly become my go to product this summer. Here is a little back ground on this product. Maybelline’s Dream Fresh BB Cream is a Beauty Balm and Skin perfector. This is not a full coverage foundation so don’t expect it to cover deep blemishes, acne and other scars that may be on the skin. It’s more like a tinted moisturizer than a foundation. This BB cream claims to be an 8 in 1 beauty wonder, blurring imperfections, enhancing, and brightening your skin while adjusting to your skin tone, smoothing hydrating and protecting you from the sun with its 30 SPF. It also has 0% added oils to give it a light feel. In my opinion it actually delivers on each claim.

My skin type is neither oily nor dry so this works really well for me. I have never had any problems with having an oily face while using this product however in the summer heat it will slide a little so I would be careful about doing activities that cause heavy sweating while wearing this. The label gives instructions to reapply at least every 2 hours but I never feel the need too. Even if / when it wears off you can hardly tell since it doesn’t really give your face a drastically different look in the first place. The great thing is that if you decide to touch up your face throughout the day, this product is light enough so that you won’t feel that your face is caked with makeup.

Application for this product is also very easy. I currently use a stippling brush to blend it into my skin but prior to this I was using my finger and this worked just as well, save for the dark marks it would leave on the tips of my fingers. I use other products in combination with this product to further perfect my skin but this too is optional, you could definitely use this with some mascara and a little lip balm and be on your way.

Although I don’t use it every day this BB cream is an essential part of my makeup routine on the days that I am going for a natural glow. This is usually on days that I am going to work or a family function. On days that I am a little more serious about beating my face I use my Bare Minerals foundation kit. But for every day this is very easy. Since the BB cream is so light you don’t even have to be perfect when applying it. It usually takes me about 5-7 minutes to do my makeup, which is usually all I have since I like to wake up just 1 hour before I need to leave the house.

I dab the BB cream on both cheeks, my chin and forehead then smooth it out with my E.L.F. stippling brush. I then apply my Maybelline True Fit Concealer in the color café under my eyes and around my mouth. I also use the stippling brush to blend this in with the BB cream. Next I usually brush my eyebrows then use my E.L.F eyebrow kit to fill in my eyebrows. I don’t use concealer or any heavy makeup on my eyebrows for fear of looking like I have the Nike swoosh above my eyes so I just lightly fill them in and then blend that makeup in as well. Next you can apply bronzer or blush to give your face a little color. Lately I have been really into using blush, so here I would apply my E.L.F mineral blush in the color Peachy with a Kabuki Brush. I also like to add some type of bronze or brown eye shadow to my eyes and of course a nice coat of mascara. In the pictures shown I used my Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush eye shadow in Copper Feel. Unfortunately this eye shadow has been discontinued but a nice substitute is NYX’s loose pearl eye shadow in Orange. I’ll be doing a review on a couple NYX products soon J

This completes my makeup look! This is literally all I ever really do to my face. I am not a makeup pro at all; anyone can do this and make it work. I generally do not wear much makeup, and when I do I rarely wear bold eye shadow or even a lot of liner. I like a smooth complexion, natural eyes, manicured brows and a bold lip. The complete look is very office friendly and natural. It looks like I have on a lot more makeup than I actually do.

I recommend this to those who don’t have many skin problems and those who also want to wear makeup but don’t have the time or the skill set to apply a full face of makeup concealer, contouring and drawing on new eyebrows. Ain’t nobody got time for that at 5am before work! All of the makeup tools and products I used are also very cheap drugstore brands. The most expensive thing, which was the BB cream, will only cost you $8.99 at the most and because I don’t use it very often it lasts a long time. Black radiance and Iman also make nice BB creams for African American women and will also offer a wider array of colors. Maybelline only offers Medium/Deep and Deep sheer tint tones for us darker skinned ladies. If you are looking for inexpensive brushes or makeup products also check out E.L.F which stands for Eyes Lips Face. They have a great website that often has deal on free shipping. Target and Walmart stores also carry some of their products, but for a wider selection definitely check out their website.