poll: what comes first, eyes or base?

My sister and I were chatting a few nights ago, and she asked me a question that really got me thinking: "What should you do first? Eyes or base?"

As with a lot of things in the beauty world, I'm sure there's no absolute correct answer, but I am curious to hear what other people think about that question. I like to do my base before I do my eyes, just because that's the way I have always done it. What do you do first?

What's your first step?

• Eyes
• Base

This post will be the first of a weekly poll, and next week I'll post the results with some insight! Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you don't miss out on the recap. Thanks for voting!

my lazy day makeup routine

As a full-time student with a full-time job, I have way more lazy makeup days than not, but I do love a light face of makeup. This post has all of my lazy day products, and how I use them. And just as a note, I've included links to products in case you want to check them out, but I don't profit from anything.

To start, I like to use the Hourglass Airbrush Primer. I put my primer over a light moisturizer with spf, just because I have very dry skin, and this keeps my base smooth and glowy all day. On my lazy days, I don't use foundation, but I do use a bit of Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Concealer under my eyes. I do not use concealer to spot-correct acne, because I find that it tends to make it more inflamed. Instead, I opt for a cute pimple patch (hello, Starface?).

My eyebrows look a little sparse on their own, so I like to fluff them up with the Urban Decay Big Bush Brow Gel. I love how volumizing this eyebrow gel is. It has little fibers in it that really create the bushy brow look that I like. If I have the time, I'll fill them in a bit with the Urban Decay Brow Blade Brow Pen, but I don't always get around to doing that.

My very favorite makeup product is definitely blush, and lately I've been loving the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in the shade happy. It's such a fun baby-pink shade. I put three dots on each cheek, a bit on my temples, on my forehead and my chin, and blend it out with a beauty sponge.

After I'm done with my liquid products, I like to set it with the Nyx Matte Finish Setting Spray. After that dries, I dust a bit of the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder over my nose and forehead (where my oily forehead girls at?). After powder, I dust a little, or a lot, of the Fenty Diamond Bomb Highlighter over my cheekbones, forehead, sides of my nose, and sometimes I'll swipe a bit on my eyelids. It's never a finished face without my Fenty highlighter. The fine, light-catching sparkle is just delicious.

Lazy days mean no eyeshadow, but I usually do swipe on some mascara. I absolutely love the Clinique High-Impact Mascara. It lengthens, volumizes, and doesn't clump. Finally, I love adding a champagne-colored shimmer to the inside corners of my eyes, on my brow bone, and on the tip of my nose. For the last few years, I've been scraping the pan of a single eyeshadow that was given to me by my mother before I started high school. I'd love to tell you what the brand and shade is, but that label has been worn off for years.

My lazy day lip product varies way too much for me to have a "usual", but I love a super shiny gloss. My current obsession is the Hourglass Phantom Volumizing Glossy Balm. I don't remember which shade it is that I have, since the label has worn off, but this gloss stays on for so long, it's insane. It's slightly plumping, without the insane minty burn that some glosses will give you, and they have just the right amount of pigment.

I set all of that again with the Nyx Matte Finish Setting Spray, and that's my lazy day face of makeup. It sounds like a lot written out, but it usually takes me no longer than 10 minutes. Thanks for reading!

What’s the difference between bronzer and contour?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between contour and bronzer? Are they interchangeable, or do you need both products? This brief article will share the main differences between the two products, and their uses.

Bronzer

Bronzer is a makeup product used to mimic a fresh, sun-kissed glow. Bronzer can come in many forms, including stick, cream, powder, and liquid. It also comes in a range of finishes, like matte, satin, glowy, and shimmery. Since bronzer is supposed to recreate the same midsummer tan that you might get from being in the sun, bronzer is most often very warm in tone. It is meant to be applied on the high points of the face. This includes the tops of your cheekbones, forehead, top of the nose, and chin.

Contour

Contour is a product used to sculpt the face, making certain features look bigger smaller, shorter, wider, or narrower. You may use contour to make your nose look smaller, by swiping some down the sides of your nose, or to emphasize your cheekbones by placing contour underneath the high parts of your cheekbones. You use contour by placing it on parts of your face that you want to appear shadowed. Since contour is meant to look like a shadow, it is typically cool toned and comes in a matte finish. You do not want to emphasize the contours of your face by making them shimmery or glowy.

Conclusion

These two products are not interchangeable, if you're using them correctly. Contour is much cooler than bronzer, so if you were to use contour in the place of bronzer, it would make your complexion seem grey and muddy. If you were to use bronzer in the place of contour, it might make your base seem orange.

If you want to use both contour and bronzer, it is definitely worth investing in the two separate products, instead of trying to make one product serve two purposes.