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PYT Beauty

3 Steps to a Sheer, Fresh Base (That Looks Effortless)

February 9th, 2021 by Karen 12 Comments

laura mercier beige ultimae pyt no bs palette
Waiting on spring!

It’s always kinda amusing to me when I watch a tutorial for “skin that looks like skin,” or “effortless foundation,” and it involves, like, 12 steps to get there!

I know, I know! It comes with the territory of doing makeup. But still. 🙄

Admittedly, I’m guilty of over-complicating makeup on occasion (*cough* sorry! *cough*), but sometimes I really do just want easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, and this three-step process to a sheer, fresh base is exactly that.

The goal here? A low-effort base that looks natural and polished, with a few areas of strategically placed slightly dewy (but not shiny) finish peeking through. Please bear in mind that this type of base will not completely cover everything. Yes, we’re purposefully letting lots of actual skin show.

You’ll need…

Three is the magic number here, starting with how much time you’ll need.

About three minutes.

Also, you’ll need the following…

  1. An opalescent, low-shimmer highlighting lotion, ideally one without any bits of glitter in it
  2. A sheer-to-medium-coverage stick or cream foundation that works for your skin type and tone
  3. A synthetic blending brush

The step-by-step

  1. First, dab a few dots of the pearly lotion all over your face, and blend. I like to include a few dots beneath my eyes to lift and brighten that area. After blending all of your dots, wait about a minute for your pearly lotion set.
  2. Apply the foundation you selected wherever you want the highest coverage. Gently press and blend it in with clean fingers (ideally, your fingers should be warm for this, and not freezing cold like my fingers get sometimes). I typically do my cheeks, underneath my nose, around my mouth, and in the center of my forehead. This should take just about another minute.
  3. Gently diffuse the edges of your foundation with the blending brush, seamlessly blending the foundation into your natural skin. The trick is to not lift off and remove too much product here. That is, you do want some coverage, after all, so use a light touch.
  • Optional: dab some concealer under your eyes, and I’d suggest something sheer because a full-coverage concealer will look disjointed alongside such a sheer base.
  • Additional optional step: set your foundation with a sheer powder (I usually skip this step).

Here’s a closeup of the base! As you can see, there are a few freckles on my nose and a few places where a little pigmentation is peeking through above my upper lip and on my cheeks, which I’m totally cool with. Like I said, this is the type of makeup that isn’t meant to fully conceal everything.

laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette closeup
Well, hi there!
Fresh skin, olive lids and rosy beige cheeks and lips
See the freckles on my nose?

What to pair this base with

If you want to keep it casual and underdress this base, you could pair it with a combination of brow gel, mascara and eyeliner, but for a little extra polish, you could dress it up like I did here by pairing it with something like a cool-toned olive and taupe on the lids, a matte rosy blush on the cheeks and a light pinkish brown lipstick.

laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette swatches
Swatches of the key eye, cheek and lip products
laura mercier beige intime pyt no bs palette products
Featured products I’m wearing on my eyes, cheeks and lips

Product links

What I’m wearing

  • MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklight
  • MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation in NC42
  • PYT No BS Palette in Cool
  • Chanel Espresso eyeliner
  • Laura Mercier Rose blush
  • Laura Mercier Beige Intime lipstick
  • Lancome Lash Idole mascara
  • Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes
  • MAC Clear brow gel

Additional pearly/low-shimmer highlighting lotion options

  • Similar | BECCA Backlight Primer
  • Similar for less | L’Oréal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

Additional stick or cream foundation options:

  • Similar cream, in a pan | Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation
  • Similar cream, in a stick | Hourglass Vanish
  • Similar cream stick foundation for less | Maybelline Super Stay Multi-Use Foundation Sticks (you might have better luck with it than I do)
  • Similar cream in a pan for less | Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation

Synthetic blending brush options:

  • I used | Real Techniques Expert Face Brush
  • Similar | The Hourglass Foundation/Blush Brush No. 2
  • Similar for less | e.l.f Selfie Foundation Brush

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Tuesday! 😄

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Laura Mercier, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, PYT Beauty

Smokey Eyes, Smudged Sparkly Eyeliner, and Why Clean Tapered Blending Brushes Are Your BFF

January 23rd, 2020 by Karen 18 Comments

smokey eyes sparkly lashlines
Back in my happy place!

Can I get a whoop-whoop from all my kindred spirits out there? — the makeup lovers who love rubbing freshly washed air-dried brushes ever-so-gently across their face, and love the fresh scent of those baby soft bristles? (Side note: If this describes you, I bet you also like sticking your face in clean laundry when it comes out of the dryer, too!)

clean brushes
So fresh, so clean

The reason you’re staring at this bevy of brushes is because I built a big-@ss pile of dirty brushes I’d been needing to wash since — gulp! — before Thanksgiving. Weeks ago, I tucked them away in a corner of my office and kinda forgot.

WHOOPS!

Well, I washed them yesterday because the bakery has been closed this week. Apparently, no one comes in this time of year because many people are still on their New Year’s diets, but folks start to fall off the wagon toward the end of January.

So…I finally had time to wash this big-@ss pile of brushes, and I also had time to do the makeup love of my life: SMOKEY EYES.

smokey eyes sparkly lashlines
I even put on falsies (I have a couple bundles on the outer corners).
smokey eyes sparkly lashlines
Subtle sparkle on the lash lines

A few things…

I always forget what a difference clean tapered blending brushes can make. Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is what they look like:

tapered blending brush clean
It’s handy to have a few around.

Whenever I’m doing smokey looks, clean tapered blending brushes are very, very handy… At the very least, I like to keep two or three on deck. Having bristles that don’t have any eyeshadow on them is key because the clean brush hairs pick up/remove excess eyeshadow while also softening any hard edges, so everything looks that much smoother and more seamless.

Another thing? You’ll want to use the lightest touch while blending, and avoid pressing so hard that the bristles splay out (this just presses the powder into your pores, which makes it harder to sheer out your shadow). All you want is the very tip to lightly touch your lid.

smokey eyes tapered blending light touch
Please don’t smash your brush head into your crease.
smokey eyes sparkly lashlines unblended blneded
You know those pics of yourself online where you look crazy? YUP.

Last, but not least, always keep a clean tapered brush around for a last blending pass at the end. After you’ve done everything — base, blush, lips, the whole schebang — lightly blend your eyeshadow one last time, both on top of the lids and along the edges of the shadow to finalize the shape of your eye makeup.

It makes all the difference!

Makeup worn in this look

[Continue reading…]

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Eyes, Face of the Day (FOTD), Kevyn Aucoin, Lips, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, NARS, PYT Beauty

When You’re Wondering About Winged Liner at 3AM (and Reviews of the PTY Beauty No BS Eyeshadow Palette, a Fab Crease Brush for Hooded Lids, and a Drugstore Beauty Staple)

August 27th, 2018 by Karen 28 Comments

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette 1
WINGS!

I haven’t been sleeping through the night lately, and by “lately” I mean for the past two weeks, which was approximately when Tabs started his new workout regimen where he does wind sprints up and down the stairs beginning at the witching hour, and Connor started having dreams that wake her up in the middle of the night. (Last night she woke up saying, “Mama, NO! Those are my bubbles. MY BUBBLES!”)

The routine has gone something like this: After I’ve comforted all of the little animals, I crawl back into bed and lie there for an hour or two with my gumbo stew of thoughts.

Among last night’s ponderings…

  1. Is it possible to make a gluten-free roux for a white sauce?
  2. If all of your teeth were pointy, could you still eat Popsicles?
  3. When was the last time I wore winged liner?

I have a pretty good memory for makeup-related tidbits, like what lip liner I wore with Clinique Black Honey circa 1994 (it was Wet ‘n’ Wild 666, which is still around!), so to NOT remember when I wore winged liner last is a minor tragedy in my book, which is why I busted them out today with a mix of products, old and new…

PYT No BS Eyeshadow Palette ($28)

Ooh, can’t say enough about this cool-toned palette with its eight neutral powder eyeshadows. Whether you’ve taken a two-year hiatus from serious blending (LIKE ME), or you’ve just started experimenting with making windshield wiper motions, these buttery powders will make your crease work look like you can blend in your sleep. The shadows combine the fineness of NARS eyeshadows with the softness and smoothness of Dior, and they feel much higher end than $28 to me.

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette swatches
I’m an NC42 in MAC for reference.

For my wings today, first I lined my upper lash line with a black pencil liner to sketch out the wings, and then I dipped an angled brush into the matte dark brown and layered directly on top to set the pencil and soften the color just a touch.

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette k
Dark brown eyeshadow + black pencil liner = a kinder, gentler wing

[Continue reading…]

There are 28 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Face of the Day (FOTD), Makeup, Product Reviews, PYT Beauty Keywords: estee lauder double wear, face of the day, louise young, nars dolce vita blush, PYT Beauty, q-tips, winged liner

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About Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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