How To: Five Product Face

Could you do your entire face of make-up with just five products? After seeing this post on thebeautyisle.com, I was inspired to have a go!

Let’s start by saying I do not have the ‘less is more’ gene, just like I don’t have ‘packing light’ one.

Excess is practically my M.O. So this one is a genuine challenge for me. I use an average of 17 (count ‘em) make-up products to get ready on an average day (what are they? Find out on my ‘Daily Go To Face’ post). That sounds like a lot, because it is.

But is more always better? I’m not so sure. It’s certainly more expensive! Using just five products was a tough one. I tried to find stuff that would multi-task, which I enjoyed because I’m very keen on stuff that has multiple uses in general.

What did I use?

1.  Bare Minerals Original in ‘Medium’

Base is one of those things that’s non-negotiable if you have less than perfect skin, like me. Normally, I add on a primer and a BB cream, but do I really need them? I chose the Bare Minerals base because its one of the best multi-taskers. You can build it up from sheer to opaque easily and it can also double as a concealer by using a thicker layer in areas that need extra coverage. This works well -  I blended all over the face with a stippling brush in circular motions and then went back into problem areas with a concealer brush and a dotting motion.

2.  Revlon Five Star Eye Mousse in ‘Apricot Chiffon’

This product always comes on holiday with me because its great for use on eyes or as a bronzer. It’s a cream eyeshadow and great quality, so I dabbed some on my lids and then also used to sculpt my cheeks a bit seeing as bronzer was out of the question!

3. Mac Fluidline in ‘Dipdown’

It came down to a hard choice between eyeliner and mascara with only five products to choose from, and I went for the liner! I thought this brown shade would look less harsh with bare lashes. The cream formula means you could probably use it to tint your lashes in an extreme situation. In my case, my lashes are already dark and fairly long, so all I really want is more of them and an appearance of thickness. I reasoned that tightlining and using a slated brush to push the colour into the roots of lashes gives the same effect.

 

4. Mac Shadow in ‘Charcoal Brown’

Definitely can’t skimp on the brows! I can’t believe I never used to fill my brows in until a few years ago and now it’s the thing I can’t do without. It just makes such a difference to your whole face, especially if, like me, your brows are patchy and not a great shape on their own. I fill them in using a soft powder shadow anyway, so this was a double win as I could then use that colour in the crease of my eyes as well. I got a rather strange ‘chocolate peach’ look going on  with the Revlon cream shadow and this, but it worked alright.

5. No7 Pop & Glow in ‘Mango Sorbet’

Continuing with the peach theme, I decided to use my newly-purchase favourite blush stick to add a healthy flush of colour to the cheeks. I also used it on my lips for a double hit. However, I have to say it doesn’t work very well as a lip colour (to be far it doesn’t claim to, I was just improvising). It goes very chalky and cracked looking. So in an ideal world, I would have swapped this out for something designed specifically for dual use, such as a Nars The Multiple or a Stila Convertible Colour.

And here’s the finished look!

It’s a lot softer than my usual finish, and I sort of like that. I would go back to this quick approach for a lazy Sunday, but I’d have to find a better lip and cheek option. I have also come to the conclusion that I really need a heavy-duty concealer on my undereyes and I don’t feel confident without it, so I’d need to add that. I can’t really see me going anywhere serious without mascara either! But the five product challenge has made me feel more confident about being a little more relaxed in my approach, rather than panicking because I’ve run out of primer. I’ll be looking more into time-saving multi-tasking products too or anything that can save me a few extra minutes in bed in the morning.

Have you tried the 5 Product Face yet?