An Essential Un-Makeup Roundup
Less Is More:
An Essential Un-Makeup Roundup
You’ve heard the term “makeunder.” You’ve been enticed by the notion of “no makeup makeup.” You’ve been privy to the Glossier craze, built on the idea that makeup shouldn’t really look like much of anything on your face. More than ever, there are plenty of luxurious cult-level products to help you minimize the chaos and put your best (almost) all-natural face forward.
The cliché holds true: Cosmetics ought to accentuate your inherent beauty, not function as a barrier-forming mask. Painstaking contouring and infinite layers of eyeshadow are on the way out. And really, this is the U Beauty philosophy: Not only is less more, it’s best. As we like to say, simplify your life, amplify your skin. Or in this case, simplify your makeup, amplify your features. Behold, a roundup of the latest and greatest in the true-to-you makeup movement:
Surratt Dew Drop Foundation
This product is brilliant for those of you who can’t bear to part with your base. We understand: It’s not that you need it. A silky veil all over your face feels great sometimes. But if you’ve already broken free of the shackles of foundation, fear not, despite the name: Surratt Dew Drop Foundation is more of a decadent tinted moisturizer that glides on to smooth over your complexion without stifling your skin.
Chantecaille Real Skin + Eye and Face Stick
While nothing beats eight hours of sleep, eight glasses of water and a healthy swipe of your Resurfacing Compound, as our founder Tina Craig will attest, solid sleep can be elusive. Sadly, the dark circles that accompany a less than ideal night’s rest are less so. All you need is a single hero product to wake up your face: the Chantecaille Real Skin + Eye and Face Stick is a multi-purpose concealer that hides weary eyes and the odd blemish, while letting your real skin shine through.
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops
Deeply baked-on bronzer suddenly feels like a vestige of the past. A gentle wash of Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder will never be wrong, per se, but there’s a more evolved way. Enter Drunk Elephant’s D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops. Just as the name suggests, this breathable serum protects your skin against stressors, acting as an all-around antioxidant, while making you look like you just returned from Santorini. Apply it over your Resurfacing Compound for a nonchalant sun-kissed glow.
Kosas Color & Light Palette
Kosas, a relatively new brand that’s won over cosmetic junkies and diehard natural women alike, pegs itself as “makeup for skincare freaks.” Enough said. Their sporty packaging might happily belong in your gym bag, but their formulas are the real deal. Speaking of the gym, while nothing imparts a healthy flush like a serious bout of cardio, the Color & Light Palette in 8th Muse High Intensity is a skin-conditioning cream blush that lets you command how much color you want to radiate and the accompanying highlighter catches sunlight without shimmer or sparkle.
Victoria Beckham Beauty Bitten Lip Tint
Lip stains have a complicated history. Often drying and buildup-laden, most bring more frustration than finesse. Victoria Beckham to the rescue. Fresh out of her new posh new line, her Bitten Lip Tint is as light and hydrating as it is versatile. Delivered in one universally flattering shade that amplifies your lips’ natural hue, this gel contains mustard sprout extract to moisturize, squalane to restore and hyaluronic acid to plump. It’s also vegan.
Kjaer Weis Lush Up Volumizing Mascara
You eat almost exclusively organic (as much as you can, of course). Don’t your precious eyelashes deserve the same unprocessed treatment? Kjaer Weis seems to think so, which is why they’ve developed a thickening, darkening, volumizing formula that is CCPB Certified Organic. Their Lush Up Volumizing Mascara has everything your lashes want, including castor seed oil with antibacterial properties for hair growth and diamond powder to promote a gleaming finish, and nothing they don’t.
Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil
This product might be the most traditional of the edit, but it’s been selected for good reason. Hourglass’s Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil: a three-in-one multitasker that’s all your eyebrows need to face the day and beyond. A pencil-powder-wax hybrid, simply brush up your brows and fill them in for definition, density and a naturally lush, Brooke Shields-in-Blue Lagoon kind of look. Bonus: No sharpener required.
