Minimal Make-Up

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about make-up items we simply couldn't live without. It got me thinking about all the products that have multiple uses and how you could create a beautiful look without using many products at all. I use a small number of make-up products to create a wide variety of looks and it never occurred to me until then to share them with people. It's early in the morning and my make-up is being held captive by a sleeping Tom, but I may post a mug shot later if I remember!

The products you will need are:
Vaseline Lip Therapy - Rosy Lips or a pinky-red lipgloss
Some kind of shimmering eye-shadow powder
Eyeliner
Mascara

The key to creating a simple look is to think of the many uses your products aren't designed for but are perfectly capable of doing. So here's the run down of each products' uses.

Vaseline (or lipgloss)
- Most obviously, to colour your lips!
- As a blush - use the tiniest amount (we're talking teeny tiny) on your cheeks and blend well. Build up colour by only adding a tiny dab each time and blending until you're happy. Don't be tempted to use more to speed up the process, you'll end up with clown make-up!
- As an eye-shadow base. This one should only be done with vaseline as lipgloss will just make the shadow sticky and clumpy.

Vaseline is better for fresh-faced dewy looks, lipgloss is more suited to a going out look.

Shimmer Eye Shadow Powder
- As a shadow for your eyes.
- To highlight your brow and cheekbones. As with the vaseline for a blush, use the tiniest dab and blend it well. This works best with a shadow with a warm hue, but a cold hue could be used for creating a more striking look.
- To add sparkle to your lips. Add a touch of the powder to the vaseline (lipgloss will only work if it's closer to a liquid than a gloss) and blend well. Your lips will catch the light and be the focal point of your face!

Eyeliner and Mascara
I can only think of the conventional uses for these products (unless you're into a more extravagant look, in which case liquid eyeliners are perfect for artistic designs around the eyes) but no look would be complete without either. If you were very careful and talented you could probably use mascara as an eyeliner, but I wouldn't recommend it!


So there you have it, a make-up look that only takes 4 products but looks like you've gone all-out! I can vouch that this works because I'm a very lazy person when it comes to make up, so I only have these products in my daily make-up bag. I have an assortment of mostly unused items in a drawer somewhere that I pull out for special occassions, but day-to-day this is the most I'll use. :)

Do you have any multi-use products or alternative uses for the products above? Also feel free to share any pictures if you try out this look!