I confess: I am a makeup junkie. I love going all out and doing a fab smoky eye, or a bright lip, or a glam metallic look… but there are some (many!) days when I was up half the night, am on my third cup of coffee, and time’s ticking.

There’s nothing “important,” per se, on the schedule, I really just need to look not tired, knowhatimean? Or maybe I’m going to the gym and don’t need much, just a little perk. Then there are the times when I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, like say… volunteering for Neighborhood Clean-Up Day or taking the kids to the park.

Enter the “no makeup” makeup look.

It’s pretty minimalistic; just covering the dark circles, lending a glow to your skin, and barely enhancing your flirty bits (eyes + lips).

Start by cleansing and moisturizing your face (always!). Then dash on some foundation with our large kabuki brush; it covers a lot of ground at once, so you can do your whole face in about 30 seconds. Then I always dab on my foundation a little more under my eyes with the Flat Brush to get heavier coverage where it’s needed. Goodbye, dark circles!

Next, take black eyeliner (or brown, if you’re blonde) and, using an angled eyeliner brush, “tightline” your upper lids. This means you pull up on your upper eyelid a bit and put the color right on that bit of lid that rims your eyeball (called the waterline). It’s odd at first, and kinda tickles. But once you get used to it, it’s really no big deal.

I leave the lower waterline bare, but the color usually transfers a bit anyway, which I don’t mind. I prefer tightlining for this look rather than a traditional eyeliner application (on the lid above the lash line) because it doesn’t LOOK like you have eyeliner on, but it still adds fullness to your lash line. It’s like magic, really.

Then using Champagne Pearl eyeshadow and our Large All-Over Eyeshadow Brush, stamp a bit of shadow all over your lids, brow to lashes. It gives just the right amount of brightness and shimmer without looking either chalky-flat or overly sparkly. Pay attention to the inner corners of your eyes (near the bridge of your nose) because it tends to get dark when you’re burning the midnight oil. (Pro tip: stamp, don’t sweep your shadow on; it will go on more opaque and last longer.)

If you like, use the Angled Eyeliner brush and your liner of choice to do double-duty on your brows. (Most of us need to fill our brows. At least a little.)

Now sweep some blush right on the apples of your cheeks. Smile… the part that chubs up a bit? That’s the apple. I’m currently crushing on our Pinky Pink blush; I love the bright sheer wash of color for springtime.

Curl your lashes. I like to warm my curler a bit by running it under hot water right before I use it. Longer lasting curl that way! Then layer on your mascara. (Note: We currently do not carry a mascara because we are still working on the perfect formulation that both performs well AND meets our stringent purity guidelines.)

A dash of our lightly-colored Lip Shimmer finishes things off! Kiss Of Ruby is perfect for my coloring.

That’s it, you guys. This whole process takes me maybe 3 minutes? Seriously, less time than it took you to read this step-by-step guide. And then I feel awake and ready to tackle my day. After one more cup of coffee, that is…!