Are you looking to streamline your makeup process in the mornings? Here’s my minimal mom makeup routine to save the day!
I have never been a makeup girl. When my peers began experimenting with makeup in middle school, I was fat and riddled with acne. By the time I shed the weight and cleared up my skin, the makeup craze had passed me by.
But I still need to wear makeup occasionally. I work in a corporate environment and I have special occasions every once in a while that require me to step it up a little bit. When I do wear makeup, I want to keep it light and minimal. I want Sara to walk in the room before my makeup. There’s also the time conundrum to consider. Most moms I know don’t have 30 minutes to devote to makeup application.
Keeping makeup minimal is especially important in the summer. I don’t want my face literally melting off and I’m sure you don’t either. These hot temperatures require minimal mom makeup that will look natural after you’ve just applied it and hours later after you’ve been roasting in the sun.
So, are you ready to learn my minimal mom makeup routine? Here’s the bare minimum you need to make yourself look like you, but just a little bit more polished.
Minimal Mom Makeup
Base
Every good face of minimal mom makeup starts with a good base. Even though we all know that we need a base, it’s tricky to figure out which base you need because there are approximately 1,000 different types of base products. I have two, and I think that’s really all you need if you’re sticking to minimal mom makeup.
Tinted sunscreen
The base I wear like 95% of the time is just a tinted sunscreen. It offers the sun protection I need along with enough color correction most of the time.
Even though a tinted sunscreen sounds like a simple minimal mom makeup base, it can be a bit tricky to find the right one. It is for me, anyway. You see, I have very fair skin that leans cooler in its tone, so most of the tinted sunscreens are way too dark and orange on my skin. To make it even harder for me to find a tinted sunscreen that works well, I need one that uses only mineral sunscreen filters. My eczema makes chemical sunscreen filters pretty much impossible for me.
After trying lots of different tinted sunscreens at all the price points, the one that I have landed on is an affordable one (hooray!). Specifically, Neutrogena’s Purescreen+ Mineral UV Tint in the shade light ticks all my boxes for less than $20 a tube. If your skin isn’t quite as sensitive as mine and you can tolerate a chemical sunscreen, many of my friends swear by EltaMD UV Clear for their tinted sunscreen.
Foundation
For the other 5% of the time, I need something with a bit more coverage than my trusty tinted sunscreen. I’m talking about work functions, dinner dates, parties, etc. Even when I need a bit more obvious makeup, I still don’t want anything cakey or heavy. That’s why I look for a foundation that’s got a satin finish with buildable coverage.
Lately, I’ve found that e.l.f. Soft Glam Sation Foundation (my shade is 20 Light Cool) works the best for me when I need to kick my minimal mom makeup up a notch. It is hydrating without being greasy, it plays well with the other products I use, and it can go from a sheer wash of coverage to something that’s great at hiding redness. If you’re new to foundation or if you have decided you hate what you have and you want to try something new, I recommend giving this one a try!
Concealer
Concealer is perhaps the most crucial product to getting the minimal mom makeup look I want. I have very light skin that is prone to redness and very dark under eye circles. Your girl needs concealer! Unfortunately, I’ve never met a concealer that I love. They all tend to end up looking cakey and settling into my wrinkles after a while. So, even though I’ll talk about the product I’m currently using, I’m always on the lookout for a better concealer!
The concealer I’m using these days is a hydrating variety from the drugstore. Specifically, I’m using NYX Bare With Me concealer serum in the shade vanilla. It covers the darkness pretty well, but it really struggles with settling as the day goes on. I won’t repurchase, but I don’t hate it enough to can it and go out and immediately purchase another concealer. If you have a concealer you love, will you please share?
Blush
To be clear, blush is only a part of my minimal mom makeup routine if I use foundation. When I use my tinted sunscreen, you can still see my rosy cheeks through it, so I have no need for blush. Only when I basically white everything out with the foundation do I need to add red back to my face. If you’re of English/Irish/Scottish/Welsh descent, you know that we don’t typically need more red.
Because I don’t use blush super regularly, I end up having to throw the blush away way before I’ve used up all the product. For that reason, I stick with very affordable blush. I like a cream to powder blush best because it tends to blend well with the other products I use. The best affordable cream to powder blush that I’ve found is e.l.f. Putty Blush. It blends so nicely and adds a subtle color that isn’t too in your face. I like the shade Tahiti on my skin tone – it’s a rosy pink. There are a few other shades in the regular Putty Blush and a few shades in the luminous Putty Blush, which is like blush and highlighter mixed together.
Mascara
I was blessed with dark eyelashes, so I don’t feel the need to wear mascara on a daily basis. It’s really only when I’m going somewhere nice that I feel the need to swipe some mascara on my lashes. Hate me if you want, I probably deserve it.
My favorite mascara that I’ve maybe ever tried is e.l.f. Lash XTNDR mascara. It’s a tubing mascara, which I was skeptical to try, but has become the type of mascara I can’t live without. Tubing mascaras are just so much easier to apply AND remove, I’ll never go back to traditional mascara. To get this tubing technology at only $8 – you’ve got to try this mascara!
Lip color
Until recently, I wasn’t someone who liked to use pigmented lip colors. I love a clear lip balm, but color always seemed strange on my lips. So, what’s with the recent change? Age, that’s what. As I’ve gotten older, the natural color has seeped out of my lips. They need help! But, I don’t want saturated color on my lips – that’s not me! So, what’s the happy medium?
Hands down, my favorite lip color is Revlon Glass Shine Balm in Glossed Up Rose. It’s super conditioning and provides a beautiful wash of natural color that goes with basically everything. All for about $10. It works on my pale complexion and on several of my friends, who have a range of skin tones. Sisterhood of the traveling lip gloss! You need this lip color in your minimal mom makeup kit!
Other posts
This is my first foray into makeup content here on Sara in Season, so I don’t have any other posts that are super similar. I have lots of mom-specific content, though, so I’ll add a few of my favorites for you to check out below.
I sure hope sharing my minimal mom makeup has helped you fill out your makeup kit. Is there anything else you would add? Do you have any holy grail products you love? Share down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.