Minimalist makeup and skin care

I enjoy makeup. I like to watch tutorials on Youtube and gasp at the magic that can be done with a brush and pencil. Unfortunately those skills do not transfer to my face and they especially do not transfer to my face on a daily basis.

But in an effort to try to look human I have developed a short and simple routine that takes me around 15 minutes a day and immediately makes me look fresher and more put together.

One thing I have learned is this: you need a good base and that starts with skin care. I have oily skin so finding a skin care routine that works for me can be very tricky and I found that the biggest influence is definitely diet and how much water I drink.

So these are my essentials:

• Micellar water to cleanse my skin
• Moisturiser (with sun protection factor)
• Night cream
• Eye cream

I use an exfoliating cream 2-3 times a week and do a mask once a month. This skin care routine takes about 3 minutes in the morning and 3 minutes in the evening, so it’s definitely doable and something I can stick to.

And now comes the makeup:

After moisturising I prepare my face with some primer (I usually skip this step if I’m crunched for time), then some BB cream and concealer on my dark circles. This primer can also be used as a highlighter so that is handy. After that I just finish it off with some matte pressed powder (oily skin!) and bronzer/blusher pearls on my cheekbones. And that is my face done!

And onto to finishing touches: eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, mascara and lip stain. Some days I skip the eyeliner all together and some days (when I’m feeling fancy) I’ll do a little smokey eye.

For extra simplicity I mainly use my fingers for everything (sorry makeup experts!) apart from the powders.

Like everything in a minimalist lifestyle it’s all about finding balance and finding what works for you. This may seem like a lot for some people and like it’s not enough for others, but it’s just perfect for me.