The 5 min makeup I do every day

So easy it can be done while making an Instababble.

Welcome Friend! I’m Mia Freedman and this is my newsletter where I write things. Babble is a reader-supported publication so if someone forwarded it to you, subscribe via this handy button…

I love makeup and I lack patience. These are the two defining features of my daily pre-work makeup routine. On weekends I don’t have a makeup routine because unless I’m going out, I wear none.

But Monday to Friday, usually while having a chat with you, I pretty much put the same few things on my face in the same way.

I do this for about a month at a time and then I change it up, swapping out something new I’ve bought or swapping in another product from my stash because I’m bored. Slaying boredom is another defining feature of my makeup routine.

There are often comments on my Instababbles asking what foundation I’m using or what exact product I just smudged across my eyelids but I don’t have time to answer each comment and so here we are instead. Good idea? Let’s give it a whirl.

1. SUNSCREEN: First thing after my skincare is to put on sunscreen and lately I’ve been using this one called Golden Glow by an Australian ladystartup called Airy Day which I think is a great vibe of a name. For my neck and chest though - I use their Clear As Day formulation I don’t get marks on my clothes other than the food and drink I spill on myself which is standard. Golden Glow was reccomended to me by Paula Joye and I always buy what she tells me to because she knows her shit.

   FIND IT HERE: AIRY DAY GOLDEN GLOW

2. FOUNDATION: This is the one I’m using at the moment because it’s light and because heavy foundation is not a vibe during summer or as you ‘go down the path of life’ as Trinny Woodall describes it.
   I’m also a sucker for a product that says it combines skincare with makeup because who doesn’t like to multitask on their own face. Me, I do.

   I put my foundation on with a sponge which you’re apparently meant to dampen with some water but who has water nearby - not me! - so it’s a dry sponge and it still works so that’s a relief.
   I find that sponges blend better than fingers or foundation brushes, both of which I’m a fan of but I like the feel of the sponge on my face and I even bought a tiny one for under my eyes.
   FIND IT HERE: It Cosmetics, Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare

3. CONCEALER: Oh the number of concealers I have tried! I’m very particular. I don’t like anything that pulls or is dry. Nothing cakey that gathers in creases. Has to be liquidy and easy to blend. I have massive dark circles under my eyes, always have. And so I really need a good concealer.
   I read about this dupe for the cult product Tarte Face Tape which I tried but found way too heavy. It’s like paint. Maybe it works for younger skin but not for me. For makeup, I’m a bit partial at the moment to the Sephora home-brand ever since I read about how the big beauty stores basically look at the best-selling products and make their own, cheaper versions of them. Huzzah!
   So I went in store and bought the two versions of this Sephora concealer and I have to say, I’ve been using and loving both. Would recommend.
   The “glow” version is just lighter. I use them pretty interchangeably because I’m usually babbling into my phone at the time and I just reach for whichever is closer.
   FIND IT HERE: Sephora Best Skin Ever Concealer

4. CHEEKS: Never power blush, always cream. It’s so much harder to screw up and that’s a win for us all, surely. I’m very promiscuous with cheek colour. I can’t remember why I bought this or maybe it was sent to me which sounds more likely because I don’t buy that much Charlotte Tilbury. I like a cream or stick blush that I can literally just draw on in one second each side, usually in a bit of a browny pink.

5. EYE SHADOW: I get so many questions about this and frankly that’s understandable because this would be my go-to eye product if I could only choose one. The thing is, I’m not an eyeliner girl because it feels like it requires too much precision. Shadow-sticks are the perfect hybrid for me because they give fast surface-area coverage and also lashline definition without any skill required.
   My trick with shadows and liners if I’m ever using one is to use a khaki or soft grey. I’m not sure if it’s because my eyes are very dark brown or whether these colours suit everyone but they are just good neutrals that work with any lip colour and aren’t as harsh as black (which I never use) or even dark brown which is equally hard to blend. Mecca do a bunch of these in different colours but I have them from all kinds of brands. I’m still looking for a good grey that isn’t too dark but isn’t silver. I’m a bit anti-shimmer at the moment for reasons I can’t quite articulate.
   FIND IT HERE: MECCA MAX Zoom Shadow Stick

6. MASCARA: I will honestly use whatever is around. I don’t like anything that gives me too much ‘volume’ because on my lashes that tends to translate into “clumpy”. Chemist mascaras are great.

   Benefit They’re Real Mascara

6. BROWS: I bought this on the bi-annual occasion of going to a brow salon to get a shape and tint. It’s a brand I didn’t know but the big difference is that it’s much much finer at the tip than the brow pencils I usually use. Not ideal if you’re in a mad rush but I do like that I can be a bit more precise with how I colour in my brows. All the chemist beauty brands do versions of this.

   LE SOURCIL Le Crayon Eyebrow Pencil

7. POWDER: This photo is why I am not a beauty influencer. But I bloody love this product. The reason it’s so manky is that I use the top of it to squirt my foundation onto before I apply it with my sponge. And then I open it and stick my fingers in and quicky rub them on any shiny areas. It’s made by Rae Morris, who is an outstanding makeup artists and makes a range of brushes and this product which is like a silicon-based anti-shine alternative to power.
   Rae Morris Invisible Mattifier

8. LIPS: Always the last step and it could be anything really but I have become obsessed with these lip blushes in the past few weeks so naturally, Sephora are discontinuing them. I’m not really into ‘lipstick’ at the moment and I just eat off lip gloss and don’t like feeling sticky. These are like a smudgy stain but not drying.
   Currently looking for good dupes.

   Sephora Collection Lip Blush Lipstick

This is basically the final look - I don’t look like I’m wearing no make-up but you don’t really notice my makeup which is the vibe I’m going for.

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