I am a great devotee to the trend of the ‘no makeup’ look. I have to admit that I adhere to this fun and expressive ritual almost 25 days a month. There’s nothing more swift and elegant, yet powerful in makeup for an everyday look. It makes me feel like the most comfortable version of myself; enhancing my features in the most minimalistic way possible. But I do feel there’s an ironic element to the term ‘no makeup’ look, knowing the amount of makeup it takes to achieve it.

It is the name of this look that I find hilarious at times. Had its name been something else like the “individuality’ look or the ‘self-enhancer’ look, I wouldn’t have been sitting here writing about it. Although I embrace it every day and it makes me feel more alive, it does make one wonder how much makeup goes into a look that screams ‘I don’t have any product on my face’.

It was not before a friend of mine visited me that I realised: the name of the look suggests that we’d only be using minimal makeup, while it actually is on the contrary. Excited to master the ‘no makeup’ look as she is more of an admirer of the effortless beauty, we were all set to refine our skills. Blissfully unaware of how long the whole process was going to take, we spent the first two hours talking and unwinding. Towards the last 15 minutes of her visit, I persuaded her to get up and learn the tricks of the trade. As I started, I found her startled at the number of steps she had to follow. I could see that she was willing to skip most of them. I felt it was taking much more time than she had expected. Towards the end of the tutorial, she couldn’t keep her focus at all. ‘This is the amount of makeup and time that goes into a ‘no makeup’ look?’, she exclaimed with huge laughter. Guilty as charged, I cringed thinking, I do get mesmerizingly caught up in the glory of makeup but this pared-down look is just the opposite of what its name suggests.

To look into this, I decided to document what goes into creating the ‘no makeup’ look. To begin with, I moisturise my face. Apply the under-eye corrector. Use a beauty sponge to the apply a sheer foundation or a skin tint. Incorporate some concealer to make the skin look more alive. Set with a translucent powder. Blend in a bronzing colour into the crease of my eye lids and the outer corners to add definition. Load up some mascara. Fill in the eye brows to make them look phenomenal. Lightly contour my face. Bring a little colour to my cheeks for that flushed out look. Highlight the high points of my face for that glow. Put on a lip stain to keep it natural. Here are the products that i used;

 

 

It amazes me the way makeup companies promote their newest products, and yet suggest ‘less is more’. It makes us question if no makeup is the ultimate method of beauty and individuality. Why do we still need makeup to achieve that realness? They have their newest palettes for the ‘no makeup’ makeup, which demonstrates that there is still a huge price to pay to achieve that ‘natural beauty’ and an air of confidence. Do we not realise that to look natural we still need products to add that hue of beauty?

Here are some of the palettes especially made to achieve how one looks without make.

Too Faced No Makeup Makeup

Nabila”s Zero Makeup Kit

 

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