On the day of shooting this post I felt remarkably well-rested. The night before had followed a particularly wretched one where I tossed & turned for six hours before finally giving up at 5am. Ack do you ever have those unexplained sleepless nights? Why oh whyyyy?
Anyway, I dragged myself through the ensuing day until 9pm when I announced to the entire family “Everyone go to bed, we’re having an early night tonight & that’s that!”
Basically if I’m going to Bedfordshire early so is everyone else. Hence the following day I awoke feeling refreshed & fabulous! Geez I love sleeping now, don’t you? Remember as a kid, never wanting to stay in bed for fear of missing something? Now I worship sleep heehee
On glorious, albeit rare, days like these I take the opportunity to do the no make up make up look. I tell myself I look thirty & to be honest, with my vision being so blurry these days, I wouldn’t actually know if this were a lie! It’s all soft edges from my point of view…
CLEAN MAKE UP IS ALMOST NO MAKE UP
So what’s the difference between my “natural make up“ & “no make up” looks? Three key omissions.
- No base
- No powder
- No lipstick
Even a natural make up requires a base although incredibly light, such as BB cream mixed with moisturizer. Whereas the “no make up” look has no base at all. Your base is only moisturizer & sunscreen then you skip straight to concealer. However the caveat here is crucial, it MUST be an excellent concealer or this just won’t work. There are three specific brands that I rate – Just a Touch by Trinny London that I’m wearing today, Kevyn Aucoin & Dermablend both of which I’ll link below. These are all highly pigmented concealers that blend beautifully & have incredible staying power however you must match the colour perfectly to your complexion to avoid a patchy look.
Remember to always test them on your cheek, after all you’re not buying it for your hand are you? Don’t worry, these three brands come in a huge range of colours so there will be a shade that’s right for you. In any case do take your time finding your exact match. Although the tone may change slightly during the year if your skin colour alters in colder months as mine does. My face skin is slightly more yellow toned in Summer than Winter so I change my concealer to suit it. Meaning I have two different colours that I switch between throughout the year.
After I apply the concealer to my pigmentation, under eyes, corners of my nose & any spots I happen to have, that’s it. NO POWDER. I repeat NO POWDER people. Let your skin glow girls, allow it to breathe & show off those freckles if you have them!
Then I smudge a smidge of highlighter on my cheekbones & lips. For this look I take the natural shape stencil from my awesome Beautiful Brows stencil kit – I’m not keen on the no-eyebrow eyebrow look although I do tone it down a little for this make up style.
Next I curl my lashes & apply mascara. Then finally, I line only my top lip in a nude pencil & add lush lip smackin’ lip balm. Ooosh it’s that simple, I am DONE!
I will publish the video version of my no make up make up tutorial next week. If you’re interested in seeing this in action simply subscribe here so you never miss a post!
BLACK & TAN FAN
My outfit of the day is a minimal black & tan ensemble. I adore this JCrew ruffle wrap skirt & have worn it many ways since I bought it for a snip in the Net a Porter sale last January.
Incidentally, JCrew are having a sale on all their fabulous skirts right now if you’re looking to add one to your collection.
Let’s talk about tan – I love how this colour contrasts my pastel pink jumper & coat, although paired simply here with black is probably my favourite combination to date. Minimal chic is always easy to wear & is the ideal Summer holiday outfit even with flats. It’s funny, I don’t have anything else in this peanut butter colour yet it works incredibly well with almost everything I own! I’m picturing it with peppermint next or perhaps a red pinstriped cotton shirt & espadrilles? To my surprise, there are literally endless styling combinations going through my head. I’m so glad I bought the skirt even though I wasn’t familiar with the colour, it was a calculated risk that paid off.
Dior darling…
STYLE NOTES
- Dior bumbag – Vintage & extremely rare I found it on Vestiaire Collective after years of searching. Paid £120. If you love this saddle bag create an alert on VC.
- Asymetric top – Bought in Topshop twenty years ago. This basic style will never date & being lycra will never fade. Try substituting the top for a swimsuit to get the look.
- Miu Miu sandals – Mark bought for me on the Isle of Capri. It was our first holiday together in Positano fifteen years ago so he was trying hard to impress me, clearly it worked. The straps are patent leather with little silver buckles. The black wooden heels are low in a slightly unusual shape. I replaced the heels with the spare set they come with so they still look great after all these years.
- Cocktail ring – This was a lucky find in Marks and Spencer about five years ago. Adds a nice punch to an otherwise jewellery free outfit.
By for now my lovelies xx
Comments ( 6 )
lisa the sequinist
OH Michelle, you make it look so effortless and easy. Unfortunately I look like a pale troll living under a bridge with no makeup on. I don’t ever wear powder, but I think I’d die without foundation of some sort on my skin. You’ve inspired me to TRY though 🙂 xx
MT
Ack, you’re way too critical Lisa. You have better skin than most 30 year olds woman & as for being pale, well that’s porceline to everyone else xx
Emerald
You look gorgeous! And yes, you could tell them you’re thirty (I did till I was 40 😉).
The one thing I’ve never worn is base or foundation. For some reason it’s always made me feel claustrophobic. However, when a couple of friends took some photos of me with my art one of them bunged some on my face with a “you’re wearing some!” And the photos turned out beautifully!
I hope you’re settling into your US life. I need to catch up on my blogs so am off to read more of yours x.
MT
I’m the same Emerald, never wore base until I was 40. I know what you mean about feeling claustrophobic, although the make up base has improved a million percent since I was twenty. It’s much lighter now, if you want it to be, of course.
Life here is bouncing along nicely thanks gorgeous. Kind of youu to ask xxx
Catherine, Not Dressed As Lamb
MT I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: you’re an absolute KNOCKOUT. You do the no makeup makeup PROPERLY, and to perfection (no layers of contouring and foundation)!! It’s lovely to see a fresh, natural face for a change on the interwebs 😀
Catherine x
P.S. You look hot as in your OTS top and skirt #twothumbsup
MT
Aw shucks mate, that’s so kind of you 😉 xxx