LBR LOVES makeup and hair.  Her dream job is actually to be a makeup artist!  Maybe someday L, after this whole Market Research good thing you have going!  For now, here are our final insights from our visit to LBR Insights, great products and hot tips on how to put your work face on!

LBR always looks amazing!  And she’s the friend that does ALL of our makeup when we travel together and for special events and even just for special date nights!  We laugh our way through those sessions.  Five of us, crammed in a hotel bathroom trading places between sitting on the tub offering side comments like, “ooo, so pretty” and lots of “wows” and taking our own turn in her chair, picking-up products and asking, “what do we do with this???”

Heck yes we all look a million times better when she’s done with us.  She keeps it fun and makes you look like you, only better.  Which for a girl like me that wears make-up next to never, and frankly is scared of it, is really amazing!  When she’s done with all those brushes and tubes and has smoothed all sorts of feel-good fun products on our faces and lips, yes, we feel better about ourselves.  And who wouldn’t want that?

Her own 2, beautiful, young daughters have asked her in the past, “Mommy, why do you wear makeup?”  And her answer is always short, sweet, and pure truth:  “Because it’s FUN!”  I believe her.  But I’d take it a step further:  just enough makeup makes us all feel a little more self-confident.  And sometimes we all need that little boost!

LBR’s Tips on Face, Eyes and Lips:

Ok Laura, talk me through your process:  How long does it take and what on earth do we do with all of these products?  Confidently, she says, “It’s easy!  I give myself 5 minutes for this.”  (while that’s true, and I’ve seen it with my own face, eyes and lips, LBR also has crazy skills…so maybe this is a realistic 15 minute routine for the rest of us?)

Face:

• Start with a clean face,  tinted moisturizer goes on first, then powder.
• Sometimes I’ll use the bronzer if I’m feeling particularly pale.
• The highlighter is for nighttime.
• Next is blush on my cheeks.
• Then I move onto my eyes:  first I do eyeshadow base.
• Then I curl my lashes with this eyelash curler.
• Light shadow all over my eyes as a foundation, all the way up to my eyebrow.  Then cork goes just in the crease.  Then espresso goes on the lid.  And then I blend with a big brush.
• Eyeliner on my upper lash line.
• Finish with mascara.
• And then use this to clean-up the mascara, no clumps, right? (see all products linked below)
• Then I finish with lipstick and liner and gloss, the icing on the cake.  Pulls the whole look together.  Or it should.  If it doesn’t, it’s the wrong color.  Gloss in the middle.  But I’m still searching for the perfect one stop lips where I don’t need a liner and gloss.  Suggestions?  Leave them for me in comments, please!

Hair:

• Start with heat protectant (see below) on wet hair, comb it through.
• Then dry.  Invest in products that will last:  hairdryer  This is a must.
• Finish with an iron, curling or flat, and the hairspray I’m obsessed with, see below.
• And if you really want your hair done well and live locally (Philly), Laura started seeing Shannon on Shana’s recommendation and now there are approximately 40+ and counting of us taking up her book because she is just the BEST!!!

1/ Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (Bisque) | 2/ Jane Iredel PurePressed Base (Golden Glow)

3/ Nars Bronzer (Laguna) | 4/ Bobby Brown Blush (Tawny) | 5/ Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc (Peach Mosaic)

6/ MAC Eyeshadow Primer | 7/ MAC Eyeshadow | 8/ MAC liner | 9/ Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara

10/ MAC lipstick (Mmmmmm) | 11/ MAC lip liner (Staunchly Stylish) | 12/ MAC Gloss (Deelight)

13/ Bumble & Bumble Oil Primer | 14/ Kevin Murphy Hairspray

Maggie is far more fair than Laura, like many of us.  Here is her morning program which she says takes her 10-15 minutes for make up minutes and 30 minutes for that thick full head of gorgeous hair if it’s wet.  But again my sweet TME friends, Maggie was at one stage in life, a professional makeup artist…so maybe give yourself a few extra minutes for this routine until you nail it!

Maggie’s Tips on Pulling your beauty look together for work:

Face:

• Each morning I start my beauty routine with a clean face, and at times use quick swipe of a Neutrogena makeup remover wipe.
• Then I take care of my skin by dabbing on eye cream, massaging facial oil on my face and finishing with moisturizing lotion.
• While my skincare sets-in I take the Dermaroller out of the freezer and roll it over my face for a few minutes, which helps to take down any puffiness, close pores and get your skin ready for the day.

Eyes:

• I always start with my eyes using a primer
• Then I pat on Tarte Cosmetics Chrome Paint depending on my plans for the day which determines how many layers I put on (the more you layers, the more intense the color appears), blending the sides to make sure the color doesn’t abruptly stop but more melts away into a lighter shade.
• Then I use a precision long wear liner in black right at my lash line. I like the thin line the tip of the liner pens makes, and using black liner with a black mascara (coming later) will help to make your lashes appear longer.

About Face:

• After applying the liner I pump foundation on the back of my hand use a stippling brush to “paint” my face on.
• I love full coverage foundation so after the layer of foundation is on, I use a matte powder to smooth over the foundation.
• Then I pat concealer under my eyes and feather it out downwards letting the product get lighter as it goes down,.
• Followed by a translucent powder which is placed on slightly thick (so you can see it) and let it bake while I finish the rest of my face.
• Bronzer is next, then a dot of blush, and a few lines of highlighter down the top of my nose and over my check bones and then blend all together (under eye area, bronzer, blush, highlighter) which achieves a lighter under eye look and a slightly contoured face.

Back to eyes:

• Then we move to brows and lashes. I don’t have much of any eyebrows so I shape/draw my brow how I want it to look and fill in using powder.
• Then I curl my eyelashes (placing another line of eyeliner if the previous line got dulled from the eyelash curler.)
• And then use a few layers of  mascara.

Lips:

• I finish off my look by picking out my favorite lip colors:  generally something nude/light pink.

Hair:

• I must say, I love doing makeup and loathe doing hair, its just not my thing and I’m not great at it.
• If I need to wash my hair I use a shampoo for blondes (it looks like purple paint) and a hydrating conditioner.
• I let my hair air-dry for a bit then brush a styling treatment through and let it dry a bit more.
• Then I dry (see Maggie’s choice for a blow dryer below) using a big round brush and begin to blow it out section by section.
• Once dry, I use a flat iron on the top few layers of my hair but try to keep it natural with a little curl.
• To finish I use oil to keep the ends smooth and to attempt to keep my hair from getting fluffy. In this case I use the Trader Joe’s Rose Facial Oil again, just a pump or two rubbing into my hands and very lightly put on the ends of my hair.

1/ Juice Beauty eye cream | 2/ Trader Joe’s Rose facial oil | 3/ Derma Roller | 4/ Neutrogena Naturals Moisturizer 

5/ MAC liquid foundation (NW20) | 6/ IT Cosmetics concealer (Light) | 7/ CoverGirl Matte Powder (Buff Beige)

8/ Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer | 9/ Bobbi Brown Blush (Tawny) | 10/ Becca Opal Highlighter

11/ MAC Transparent Finishing Powder |12/ Eyeshadow Magnet (Natural)

13/ Tarte Cosmetics Chrome Paint Shadow (Park Ave. Princess) | 14/ Tarte Liquid Eyeliner

15/ L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara | 16/ Maybelline Brow Drama Pro Palette

17/ Clear mascara (to set) | 18/ ISH Lip Statement Palette | 19/ Living Proof Perfect Hair Day

20/ Dyson Hair Dryer | 21/ Trader Joe’s Rose facial oil (also used in hair)

Laura is my girl.  She asks, “Makeup?”  “Do I need makeup?”  But yes, not unlike when her boss lady LBR bought me a tube of mascara and a lipstick just before I turned 40 , and told me, “You need these…” spending time with the boss lady LBR, and the fabulous Maggie might have also created a makeup curiosity in this natural beauty too!

This might be the only of these programs that this HOME editor could actually follow.  Maybe you can too?

• My morning beauty routine starts with a gentle facial cleanser in the shower.
• Once a week I also use an exfoliating scrub  (Mario Badescu, Botanical Exfoliating Scrub or  Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser)
• After showering I apply an oil free oxygenating gel cream with SPF 30 (see below.)

• I start with a liquid foundation.
• Then I do my eyebrows for which I use the Eyebrow Editor Complete Brow Kit from the Sephora collection.
• I have been using different eye shadows, but my go-to is the Colorful 5 Eye Contouring Palette, and before I do that I like to apply a little bit of primer to keep the color in place.
• Next I use an eyeliner.
• And then mascara.
• A little bit of bronzer.
• And finish-up with lipstick!

1/ Philosophy “Purity Made Simple” | 2/ Philosophy “Take A Deep Breath” | 3/ Clinique Liquid Foundation

4/ Too Faced Bronzer (Medium-Deep) | 5/ Benefit Roller Lash Mascara | 6/ Sugar Honey Lip 

7/ Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick (Lolita)

Work Face On.  Three ways.  Done.

We love you raw.  We love you madeup.  We LOVE it ALL, just for fun.

If you are trying to pull yourself together…(aren’t we all???) these are the chicks I’d trust…you know…assuming Scottie isn’t in town to put my face on for me, Shana and Laura aren’t chasing me with a tube of mascara and a lipstick, and I have to do it ALL by my own big girl self.  And that’s all I have to say on beauty:  I see it, I share it with you.  We all end-up us, only better.   With love.  And specifics.  xoxo A

Thank you L, M, and L for sharing all your favorites with us!  xoxo

***photo credit to the magnificent Marissa from Redfield Photography!  Who also…always seems to be just perfectly madeup.  xoxo