My Actual ‘No-Makeup’ Makeup Routine + Additional Steps

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I’m Makena, the creator and editor of Makeup By Makena — a beauty blog dedicated to empowering others through the art of makeup.

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Although it is no secret that I love a full face of makeup, I also love to wear makeup in a way that looks as if I am not wearing any at all! I decided to call this a routine instead of a makeup look or tutorial because everyone’s ‘no-makeup’ makeup look is different since we all have different preferences and different faces. My goal is that you learn a few new techniques and different options for confidently applying makeup in the most minimal way possible, truly enhancing your natural beauty!

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FACE

Before I start my makeup, I wash and moisturize my face to keep it clean, healthy, and properly hydrated. The main focus of this look is my skin, so the first and most essential step in my routine is to conceal. Although you can achieve this look beautifully with a lightweight foundation or tinted moisturizer, I prefer to use a light and slightly dewy concealer only in the areas where I feel I need it, which leaves the majority of my skin completely bare. Conveniently, the areas where I want conceal are also the areas where I would normally highlight, so I combine these two steps by using a concealer in a shade or two lighter than my skin tone. For the step that makes the most difference, I draw an upside down triangle under each eye, using a damp makeup sponge to blend it from the outer corner into the inner corner and down towards my inner cheek and corner of my nose to minimize under-eye discoloration and face redness. After that step, I then apply a small amount of concealer in between my eyebrows, down the center of my nose, and in the middle of my chin to lightly highlight and conceal, as well. My goal is to enhance my complexion instead of covering it up, so I personally like it when I can still see a bit of discoloration or redness peeking through, giving the illusion of no makeup. When doing a ‘no-makeup’ makeup look always remember to do what you are comfortable with and you feel the most confident in because everyone’s skin is different and perfectly imperfect, and that is okay! After my concealer, I set only my T-Zone and under eye area with a lightweight translucent powder. I apply both of these products with a damp makeup sponge, which blends everything into the skin beautifully, maintains a natural finish, avoids any cakiness whatsoever, presses the makeup into the skin, and absorbs any excess product.

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CHEEKS

For my cheeks, I will either use blush, bronzer, or highlighter depending on how I want to look and what I feel my skin needs. Although I do love the way it looks, I find that using all three of these products on my face at the same time defeats the purpose of my actual ‘no-makeup’ makeup look, so I just choose one, but you do you. No matter what, I make sure that I am only using cream and  liquid products on my face because not only does it provide a lovely sheen, but it also blends easier and melts into the skin better than powder products, ultimately looking more skin-like. Using shades that mimic the way my skin would naturally look when my face gets tanned, my cheeks flush, or my cheekbones glow will enhance my skin tone and look believable. Most importantly, I never use anything shimmery, because no one wakes up with glitter on their face. I always use a damp makeup sponge to apply these, using up and down patting motions, which distributes the product evenly and ensures that there are no harsh lines. If you have oily skin, feel free to set the cream products with a light layer of translucent powder.

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EYES

Sometimes I like to leave my eyebrows the way they are, but when I do want to enhance them a little, I always take a matte eyeshadow in a lighter shade than I would normally use and draw a soft line on the bottom edge of my brow to make it look more clean and then fill in any sparce areas before blending them out with a spooly. I never fill in the inner front portion or the top edge of eyebrows because that would make them look drawn in. If you have more hooded eyes or want some extra definition, you can also blend a tiny bit of that powder in and slightly above your crease. I always give my eyelashes a good curl, but I have found that the easiest way to look like you are not wearing any makeup is to skip the mascara. If I do want to enhance my eyelashes, I will take a natural-looking mascara in a brown shade. I concentrate it on the roots of my lashes, just adding one quick coat to add some definition and length instead of thickness or volume, and then taking a spooly and comb out the excess to make it look even more natural.

LIPS

I already have very pigmented lips, so a lot of time when I do this look, I will just add a thin layer of tinted lip balm because it moisturizes, while also adding a really pretty and natural sheen and tint. Another option I love is to take a more sheer lipstick with a satin (not matte) finish in the closest possible shade to my natural lip color and just dab this on my lips. Dabbing the lipstick up and down in the center of the lips instead of applying it regularly will make it more blended and natural-looking.

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My  Favorite ‘No-Makeup’ Makeup Products

This was one of my most favorite posts to write and I worked hard to make it as educational as possible, since that is what my blog is all about! I sincerely hope that I taught you something new today and that I encouraged you to embrace your natural beauty. What was your favorite part of this makeup post?

XOXO,
Makena

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Read the Comments +

  1. I love the section of your favorite products at the bottom, definitely helpful! That Chanel foundation would be a dream to get some day!!

    • Thanks so much for the sweet and helpful feedback, Sofia! I appreciate it! Vitalumiere is amazing, especially for summer when you want the most natural possible look with a more semi-Matte finish. So far, I haven’t found a dupe, but I’ll definitely let you know because to be honest, it is overpriced for an everyday no-makeup makeup product;) xoxo

      • I do love a good high-end foundation, Nars Sheer Glow just entered my collection

        • Ooooh! That one’s seems amazing? How dewy is it because I’ve heard YouTubers say it was not sheer or glowy, haha.

          • It’s probably a natural finish, I haven’t tested it with different setting powders/sprays yet but it goes on kind of semi-matte but by the end of the day it’s more natural/satin finish. Definitely not as glowy as L’Oreal Lumi. It’s also probably medium coverage, not sheer at all. Horrible name but awesome product, you just have to be looking for the right thing!

          • That actually sounds amazing! I ran out of my Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, so I am going to purchase another high-end foundation for more formal events. If you love it, I’m sure I will too! Thanks for the help! xoxo

          • You could always try a sample from Sephora first to make sure! xo

  2. estaylorblog says:

    Love this! How do you take your pictures? I notice you have no shadows of your camera/phone, I always struggle taking a photo without a shadow. Do you use any extra professional lighting?

    • Thank you so much! I use a Canon DLSR and always take photos in natural lighting, usually next to a big window. Try taking some photos with your camera facing towards the window and some facing away from it to see which has less shadows. I do get shadows of my camera sometimes, but I think it is easier for me because of the direction of my window. For this post, I actually tried taking my flatlay outside in direct sunglight, and there were much more shadows than usual, so I just had to rey different angled rather than from straight above. I do not use any extra or professional lighting, just play with my ISO, aperature, and color balance. I also use the Ludwig filter on instagram to make the white backgrounds whiter. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any more questions or need help with anything! I love your blog, and am always thrilled to help! xoxo

  3. Love your blog as well! Really interesting posts and I love all the pictures! Really great quality ❤️

  4. […] Although I love a full face of makeup, I also love to wear makeup in a way that looks as if I am not wearing any at all, so today I am sharing a few new techniques and different options for confidently applying makeup in the most minimal way possible, truly enhancing your natural beauty! The main focus of this look is the skin, so the first and most essential step in my routine is to simultaneously highlight and concleal with a concealer in a shade lighter than my skin tone. I draw an upside down triangle under each eye, a dot some on my chin, down my nose, in between my eyebrows, and around my nose, blending everything out with a damp beauty sponge, keeping everything in place with a dusting of translucent powder. For my cheeks, I will either use a cream blush, a cream bronzer, or a cream highlighter because not only does it provide a lovely sheen, but it also blends easier and melts into the skin better than powder products, ultimately looking more skin-like. Most importantly, I never use anything shimmery and I always use a damp makeup sponge to apply these. When I want to define my eyes, I will take a matte shadow and softly fill in the bottom edge of my brow and any sparse areas, and lightly blend that shadow slightly above the crease of my eyelid. I always curl my eyelashes, but I have found that the easiest way to look like you are not wearing any makeup is to skip the mascara, or at least do only one coat with a brown one. I love to wear a moisturizing tinted lip balm for a pretty sheen, but another great option is to take a more sheer lipstick with a satin finish in the closest possible shade to your natural lip color and just dab this up and down on the lips. For more details about my full routine and more of my favorite ‘no makeup’ makeup products, check out my own blog post here! […]

  5. Susan says:

    Amazing blog, truly love your unique perspective,
    Most people dont trully understand the dynamics of true beauty

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Hey, I'm Makena.

I’m Makena, the creator and editor of Makeup By Makena — a beauty blog dedicated to empowering others through the art of makeup.

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