Getting Ready with @TheMinneBlonde

Happy Tuesday friends! Hopefully you had a restful weekend and a productive Monday! I know I personally am working through a bunch of wedding and private client inquiries for beauty sessions, so just know that your responses are on the way! 🙂

Over the weekend, I was blessed to work closely with Jess, (@theminneblonde on IG) and do a brief Q+A/Glam Session to help walk you through a few skincare and makeup questions, as well as a few tips and tricks that you can incorporate into your daily makeup routine as well! If you have not watched the video yet, be sure to head over and check it out! In true Ashley form, there are awkward jokes and little “oops-es” along the way, but that’s okay! We are all human and it shows that even when you are doing your makeup, you should never get disgruntled or discouraged by the process… Even if it is something as small as getting the lid off your primer because you have lotion on your hands… haha check out the video here -> IG Video with @TheMinneBlonde

AS PROMISED: I will link all of the products below, as well as similar or supplemental products for you to check out as well! Disclaimer, I am an affiliate with TooFaced, Temptu, and CLN&DRTY(code “ASHLEYA10” saves you 10% site wide), as well as a consultant for Beautycounter so if you shop with those links, I will receive a small commission, but just know that I would NEVER recommend a product I didn’t use on myself, or did not trust to use on a client, so rest assured that you will love everything linked below! Another thing to keep in mind, a lot of what you may have at home can potentially be substituted in for some of these products by using proper technique, so if you would like to sign up for classes, be sure to send me an email over on the Contact Me page, and we can get something set up! Okay.. For the fun part! LETS TALK PRODUCTS.

The key to any successful makeup application, whether you are using a BB Cream and Mascara, or going full glam is always going to be skin prep. Skin prep is so incredibly crucial because regardless of the hundreds of products you may pick up to to perfect your makeup look, your makeup is only going to look as fantastic as the skin beneath it… Trust me, when I was younger before getting involved in the beauty world professionally, I didn’t understand that either. The result? I would waste so much money on products that didn’t actually help. If you are a beginner with skincare and have no idea where to start, head over to The Importance of Skincare and peruse through the information. I also recommend breezing through What to Do About Oily Skin and Winter Blues: Dry Skin Issues – For the sake of this post I will try to keep it a bit more short and focus on what was specifically used on Jess. As mentioned in the video, you do need to be exfoliating as well, so be sure to check out The Benefits of Exfoliation and pick up a bottle of The Overnight Resurfacing Peel by Beautycounter! Truly, I use this little bottle of magic every night.

SKIN PREP:

Okay, so to start we prepped Jess’ skin with the Beautycounter Countermatch Intense Moisture Serum to help add a boost of hydration beneath the skin’s surface to create a suppleness and natural radiance. We followed that up with the Beautycounter Adaptive Moisture Lotion and an eye cream by Clinique (All About Eyes Rich). I keep a tube of the Beautycounter Eye Rescue, as well as the jar of Clinique All About Eyes Rich to ensure that I have different options for different clients. Both are incredibly hydrating, but the biggest difference is texture, the Clinique eye cream is a little thicker while the Beautycounter Eye Rescue is more liquid-y and dissipates more quickly – both are fantastic basic eye creams. If you are searching for something a bit more anti-aging to slow the signs of darkness, and puff I also recommend the Beautycounter Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream or the CLN&DRTY Coffee Lavender Eye Cream – both have extra hydrating and brightening properties, and help to fight the key signs of aging – which eye cream you select is completely based on your specific needs but I cannot urge the importance of eye cream enough!

EYES:

For sake of keeping this project broken down in a way that is easy for you to sift through the knowledge, I will go over all of the eye products that we used on Jess in this section, despite the fact that we ended with liner, lashes, and mascara. So if you are watching the tutorial, just know that I like to finish with those steps when working with a client, but order of operations will really depend on what works best for you!

Eye Primer: As mentioned in the video/Live, I use the TooFaced Shadow Insurance on each and every one of my clients and I haven’t run into any issues with sensitivity thus far. This primer dries “clear” and helps to waterproof your eyeshadow all day long – if you struggle with your shadow “skipping,” getting patchy, or creasing throughout the day, this product is for you!

Eye Shadow: Shadow is tough because as you saw in the video, I skip around between multiple palettes. My advice for this would be to select a palette that works best for YOU. If you gravitate towards soft, warm undertones – I recommend the TooFaced Sweet Peach Palette (which is one of my most used bridal palettes), if you like something soft and understated, I really enjoy the Born This Way Palette as well. For the sake of this product guide, the 4 palettes I used on Jess were The Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Vol 1 for our transition shades to begin with in the crease, I then dipped into The Naked Reloaded for the outer corner (brown and plummy brown colors mixed together), and I used a combination of “Buzz” and “Trick” mixed with a little rose water spray and a concealer brush to achieve the radiant shimmer on the lid from the Naked 3 Palette. To blend things out, I went back into the crease colors from my Morphe Palette, then popped a bit more of the brownish plum from Naked reloaded in the outer corner, and went back in with a clean brush to blend all of the matte shades that I used in the transition and the corner to create a soft gradient effect. In the under eye area (in place of an eyeliner) I also used the Naked Cherry Palette and blended four of the matte shades to create a soft smoulder – I believe I lined with “Bing and Devilish” and then I took a small pencil shader brush and blended the shades out with “Juicy and Feels”.

Eyeliner: For Eyeliner I usually use a tiny pointed brush (disposable from Amazon) on my clients with a Gel Liner from Anastasia Beverly Hills – I have used this on countless brides and never had an issue with smudging or smearing, the big thing though is to let the liner set completely before opening your eye fully as while it is still wet it can shift a bit and leave a line on the top of your lid if your eyes are “hooded.” The liner that I used on Jess was a (brand new, back-up tube) of STILA Stay All Day Waterproof Liner – this is a liquid liner so it can be a little intimidating at first but I love that it dries down to a Demi matte and does not move at all.

Lashes: I like to use the Tarteist Pro Goddess Lashes on my brides, as well as a few other faux mink brands. On Jess, I used the Goddess Lashes to show the added “oomph” that using a fuller lash can add, but still be nice and soft in nature! For adhesive I used the Tarteist Pro Lash Adhesive in the clear shade! This is the adhesive that goes on white, turns blue when ready to stick, and dries clear. I swear by it!

Mascara: Finally for mascara I have a few that I love! On Jess I used Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Splashes – which is also the brand that I use on all of my bridal and bridal party clients! I have also been known to keep a tube of TooFaced’s Better Than Sex Mascara in my kit for when I work with Boudoir Clients and Family Photo Clients as well. I love both mascara’s equally, but it is just dependent on what your needs of waterproof vs water-resistant are!

COMPLEXION:

Okay so we have completed the eye shadow above, lets now talk about complexion and what we used to give Jess a soft and naturally luminous finish, but taking special care to ensure her makeup didn’t look cakey! If you haven’t peeped at my Why Airbrush Makeup post, be sure to pop over there and check it out! I really do not have enough great things to say about the products that I use from TEMPTU!

Primer: For primer we used the Tarte Cosmetics Timeless Smoothing Balm, I use this product on all of my clients from young to mature skin. It has a soft mousse-like texture and does a phenomenal job filling in pores and fine lines. LESS IS MORE with this product. So I always say to start with a small amount and use a pressing and blending movement to smooth the canvas of your skin – you can always go back in for more if you need to spot treat/correct pores. After smoothing onto the skin, I like to use a damp beauty blender to press it into the skin to ensure there aren’t any areas with extra product or patchiness. Generally a pea-sized amount is great!

Foundation: Let’s talk about the foundation that we used on Jess and ALL of my bridal clients – TEMPTU S/B Foundation. This stuff is amazing. Water Resistant/Water Proof for around 16+ Hours, completely customizable and buildable coverage (think anywhere from BB Cream level coverage with your freckles accentuated, all the way up to full glam) – this product is incredible, gluten-free, and photographs flawlessly. Truly, if you are in the market for a no-fuss makeup that looks like your skin but better, and applies like a dream, I highly recommend this airbrush system from TEMPTU! (ps – if you pick one of these systems up for your personal use with my code, reach out to me with your purchase receipt and I’d be happy to set up a mini makeup lesson with you to get you started on all things personal airbrush at a discounted session fee! Shhhh… that’s our little secret though! And if you need help color matching please don’t hesitate to connect). I use this product on all skin types (mature, young, oily, dry, and normal) – and it wears beautifully dependent on how we prep the skin, let me help!

*** Some things to note: An awesome feature about the TEMPTU S/B Foundation is that it comes in minis and full-sized options, I know during the live you guys had asked about color matching during a pandemic and the nice thing about picking up 2 minis or even one mini is that it’s only $15 a bottle. This is a safer way for you to find your perfect shade and then go back and buy the full sized bottle! You WILL want to pick up the compressor kit as it has an “AirPod” that is empty to use to mix and apply your foundation and contour, as well as contour, blush, bronzer, and highlight in the future if you’d like. The kit also comes with the necessary solution that you can use to clean out the compressor pod to ensure it doesn’t clog or break, and it comes with a little cleansing brush to use to wash away any excess product and the compressor unit with a charger. It’s such a good value!

Concealer and Setting Powder: Some of you might have noticed that I did not use concealer or setting powder on Jess after using the airbrush foundation and contour – this is because the manner in which I applied the airbrush foundation and the skincare and primer beneath, I actually didn’t feel it was necessary to conceal the under eye area with traditional products, and this is a trick I use on my brides too! By using thin layers, and gently passing over an area that needs to be concealed a few times, you can slowly create a softened and concealed area without caking on tons of product. I also did not use a setting powder as the airbrush liquid sets once it has dried onto the skin, I did use setting sprays that we can talk about later! IF you are looking for a great setting powder to incorporate into your daily makeup routine, I highly recommend the TooFaced Ethereal Powder! This is the powder I use on any of my clients that opt for traditional makeup, and the powder I use daily on myself as well. It’s sooooo darn good. You can use this as a setting powder for liquids, baking powder for the under eyes and tzone, and a finishing powder for your final step too. It’s so versatile and has zero flashback, and why do I like this one better than the Laura Mercier Powder? They work fantastically (both of them) but this one is fantastic for travel as it has a small stopper in it to ensure excess powder does not spill into the lid.

Contour: Okay, I cannot encourage you to pick up a quality MATTE highlight and contour palette enough, this will truly be a game changer in your routine. By using a contour shade (slightly deeper than your natural skin tone, and in a more neutral/cool under tone) you can more effectively create a natural looking shadow and sculpt to your face. I also like to use a matte highlight in the area where you would normally conceal/brighten to give a subtle change in dimension and make those areas pop. The contour palette I used on Jess is the Tarte Park Avenue Princess Sculpting Palette, to my knowledge this palette is no longer available and might be discontinued, so the palette I recommend in its place is the TooFaced Cocoa Contour Palette. I’ve used this on countless clients and I use it on myself daily, it is infused with cocoa powder (which is so good for your skin because of the antioxidants) and it has 3 matte highlight, and 3 matte contour shades that range from very fair to medium deep skin tones dependent on how you blend them. (This is another one of those products that I’d be happy to help you learn to use if you order with my link. Of all the steps that confuse/concern my clients the most when it comes to beauty trends, contour is definitely the most puzzling and a palette can be overwhelming. Let me help!)

Blush: My two favorite blush formulations of all time are the cheek powder stains from Beautycounter and the Amazonian Clay Blushes from Tarte. I like them equally and use them interchangeably! What I’ve found in the past is blush is one of the first products to go when it comes to your makeup throughout the day, not with these products. There is something almost magical about the pigmentation and color pay-off in these formulations that leave a naturally flushed look to the skin all day long. On Jess I did use a holiday shade from the Amazonian Clay Blushes and mixed it with one of my Beautycounter blush shades. I’ll be honest, I don’t have the shades labeled in my custom palette I made myself, but I’d be happy to help color match you!

Highlighter: As mentioned in the video, I love the powder highlight palettes from Anastasia Beverly Hills (I’ll link my favorite palette here). I also love to use the Luminous Highlighter Powders from Beautycounter on myself and my clients as well. Again, similar to the blushes I can’t say I like one more than the other… I really just grab whatever product I’m feeling that day but both are finely milled and look like a subtle glow as opposed to a chunky glitter, a bonus of the one from Beautycounter though is that if I’m not feeling eyeshadow, it’s safely milled to the point where I will just dust a bit on my eyelid if I want to look like I am more awake.

Lip Color: THE BEAUTYCOUNTER BEYOND GLOSS IS MY FAVORITE. I used this product on Jess and I use it on ALL of my clients. It is a beautiful level of pigmentation, it is so incredibly hydrating, and it never gets sticky/tacky the way a lot of glosses do. Hands down I would sell this to people all day long, and to be honest I have 3 personal tubes in my purse because you never know when you’ll need a gloss. AH-MAZING. For Jess we used shade “rosewood.”

Setting Sprays: As mentioned in the little tutorial, I love to layer two setting sprays. In the words of Bob Ross, “There’s no such thing as mistakes, only happy accidents.” Well, the way I can across this technique was I was working with a client one day, and as per usual I was talking to much… we both were. And I grabbed the wrong bottle of setting spray, I grabbed my Mario Badescu Rose Water Spray instead of my Urban Decay All Nighter.. oops! Well, we decided to roll with it, and we layered the All Nighter over the top. The effect? My client’s makeup looked even more flawless, natural, and luminous AND it lasted longer throughout the day. Go figure, right? By using the Rosewater first, it helps to melt the powders, liquids, and other products into the skin to look softer – then by locking everything in with the All Nighter Spray it is essentially hair spray for your face and amplifies the longevity. Honest to goodness, you want to try this trick!

I know this little blog post turned into a much longer post than initially intended, I apologize! HAHAHA… But here’s the thing, these products are amazing and incredible, and I’d use these over and over again on any clients – in fact I’d say I have used these products on thousands of clients and have nothing but the best things to say. But artistry is just that, artistry… and there are no “Right or Wrong” products or answers, so please know that these products may not be the perfect solution for everyone, but they are a fantastic launch pad and I am happy to help you find the skincare and makeup solutions you need to make your routine and your makeup flawless! Sending bug hugs and thanks for inviting us into your living room for this little project!

XOXOOXOXOXOXO, Ashley ❤️