Valentine’s Day Brunch

Valentine’s day 2021 is the first one in nearly 10 years that I’m home.  I only mention that because FOR ME, if I waited for a special day on the calendar to celebrate my love for my husband, my daughters, or anyone in my life that would be really crappy and lousy.  I believe in showering my near and dear with love each day.  I say I love you to each of them daily and yep I still kiss my daughters everyday…on their lippies!!  

Like many of you this pandemic has made socializing and going out to restaurants impossible.  So when it came time to share this holiday with all of you I decided it would be SO FUN to celebrate with a brunch at home with my daughters May (24) and Xia (18). To make it extra fun we each got made up with some of our favorite makeup.  Like, I even bought us matching-ish outfits because why the hell not!! 

It’s been equally as hard for them socially, maybe even more.  So being able to show them some EXTRA-special love means so much to Mommy!  And no worries that my husband Mike is missing out.  He and I are going for a drive up the PCH after brunch ;))))

But on to the important topic, what makeup are each of us wearing?!

Tennille’s Valentine’s Day Makeup

FOUNDATION: 

Bobbi Brown Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation SPF 15

Color: N70 Neutral Golden Brown

I love the medium coverage this gives me not to mention this color is me spot on!!  It melts into my skin, blurs my pores, while allowing my skin to feel like skin.  Wears beautifully throughout the day. 

EYESHADOW 

Natasha Denona Bronze Eyeshadow Palette   

This has been my go-to palette for many weeks now.  It has the PERFECT shades for my skin tone!!  I apply Beach using a large fluff all over my lids up to my brows and Ridge in the creases to give my eyes a bit more depth.  Finally using Deep Dive I create a winged-liner.  I have been wearing the softer winged liner look instead of liquid or pen for a more effortless finish.

MASCARA

Ilia Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara

Color: After Midnight

Ilia did such a fabulous job with the clean beauty formulation of their mascara.  It is rich and dark, the application wand makes it easy to apply, and it gently washes away after keeping my individual lashes perfectly spiky all day….what more could ask for!?

CHEEKS

Tower 28 BeachPlease Tinted Lip + Cheek Balm

Color: Happy Hour

I love me some Tower 28!!  What’s not to love??!!  The  packaging is youthful and modern and you can find this under Sephora’s Clean Beauty line up.  These days I only use cream.  Tower 28 blush  is richly pigmented so a little goes a long way.  The refreshing pop of pink that Happy Hour brings to my cheeks was the perfect V-day color I was going for.  I like to apply this blush to the apples of my cheeks and a touch on my eyelids and nose bridge with a brush (but can easily be applied with fingers).  Either way the creamy blush melts flawlessly into my skin, leaving a dewy radiant finish. 

LIPS

Givenchy Le Rose Perfecto Liquid Lip Balm

Color: 001 – Perfect Pink

Ahhhhhh I LOVE this pink!!  Listen to me when I say pink gloss usually does nothing on my lips, meaning pink glosses never pop.  Well this Givenchy gloss is all pop and shine!  I apply this gloss when I’m wanting a true “pink” lip but in a sheer lightweight finish.  If you ask me, it pulled together my Valentine’s Day look perfectly.

May’s Valentine’s Day Makeup

EYES

Kosas The Big Clean Mascara

I like this mascara because it is a thicker formula that really builds the lashes. I have really thin light lashes but the fluffy curve brush is really effective when placed in the roots and then wiggled up to the tip. 

Ilia Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara

Color: After Midnight

After applying the Kosas I follow up with a light coat of Ilia Limitless Lash mascara in After Midnight. I just like to top off my mascara with a second coat and since both of these mascaras are clean they build up well and wash off like a dream. 

CHEEKS

Ilia Multi-Stick Cheek and Lip

Color: Dreamer

I am a minimal make up kind of girl so I love a good multi-tool which is why Ilia Multi-Stick is my go-to. The shade Dreamer creates a very natural flushed glow. I apply the product onto my cheeks, nose bridge, and brow bones and I’ll either blend it out with a big fluffy brush to really disperse the product or just go in with my fingers and dab in a crescent along the apples of my cheeks to the high-cheek bone. 

Kosas Color & Light: Cream Blush & Highlight Duo

Color: 8th Muse

I top off the blush with the Kosas 8th Muse set which adds just a little more pinky sheen to my cheeks. Since the formula is also cream it just melts right into the skin 

Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight

Color: Transcend

I finished with a sheer highlighter that just added a little more glow to my face. I use Rare beauty liquid luminizer in Transcend on my high cheeks and nose bridge. 

LIPS:

Tower 28 ShineOn Milky Lip Jelly

Color: Coconut & Cashew

I go back in with the Ilia Multi-stick and swipe that along my lips to pull the whole face together. And then I blend two shades of Tower 28 Lip Jelly glosses, Coconut + Cashew which creates the perfect nudey-pink. 

Xia’s Valentine’s Day Makeup

EYES

Ilia Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara

Color: After Midnight

I like to use this mascara as a ‘base’ for my other mascaras because it helps separate my lashes. My lashes are super curly and tend to clump, so I like to have that first layer of separateness. I also really like to wear this mascara when I want a super minimal look, that makes it appear like I have naturally long and defined lashes, without it looking like I’m wearing mascara. This is a really good mascara to achieve that look. 

Kosas The Big Clean Mascara

This is my second-step mascara, and I really like this one because it makes my lashes look longer than they are and it’s really nice as you apply layers to your lashes. Sometimes if I want a more “clumpy” lash look I use this one. I also think this is a really good mascara for bottom lashes because it does not require many layers to make them look thick and long.

Elf Dual Clear Brow and Lash Mascara

I love this product. If I were on a deserted island and could have only one makeup product this would be it. I use this product almost every single day, like almost as much as I use sunscreen. I like to have fluffy and natural brows with a ‘no makeup look’ on an everyday basis. This product definitely helps achieve this. I also like to use the lash spoolie as a base for mascara sometimes, to give me really thick looking lashes. Sometimes I use it as my ‘mascara’ for the day, when I want separated eyelashes.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

Color: Taupe

Honestly when it comes to brow pencils I’m not picky. I’ve tried several brands and I have the same result. I used to like having dark and thick brows (and it was not a look… trust me), but now that I’m a bit older I really like a natural looking brow that looks like I’m not wearing anything. This was the first pencil I ever used and I recommend it because it’s a classic and it’s really easy to apply. I apply it really lightly to my left brow in particular because for some reason that eyebrow is significantly lighter (sigh). So now I use brow pencil to match my other eyebrow and sometimes I only apply pencil to just the lighter one because that’s the one with the problem.

Rare Beauty x Selena Gomez Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner 

I love eyeliner when I want a little extra on my eye. I typically add just a line on my eyelid to make my eyelashes look thicker, and if I’m feeling really special I’ll do a cateye. Eyeliner isn’t really a part of my day to day look, so I don’t wear it often. I’m also fine with using any kind of liner (gel, liquid, pencil, etc.) and I feel like I get similar results with whatever type. I prefer a waterproof eyeliner because my crease(s) on the corners of my eyes and lids get really oily so sometimes it’ll smudge or rub off. I also have been loving brown eyeliner because I feel like it looks more natural.

CHEEKS

Em Cosmetics Serum Blush

Color: Pink Nectar

This is the BEST blush ever! Growing up I watched all of Michelle Phan’s YouTube videos, so when I heard she had makeup I knew I had to try it. Blush is my favorite makeup product because you can literally apply it anywhere and I love being pink! I do not like powder blush as I kind of look chalky by the end of the day, so I prefer liquid or cream blush.

This is a really nice blush as it is really buildable. One small drop will take you a long way. I like to apply half a pump to my nose and half a pump to each cheek as a starter, and from there if I want to be pinkier, I’ll apply more drops. I think the best feature about this product is that it’s also skincare and is a serum that has really awesome ingredients like hyaluronic acid.

Benefit Cosmetics Watt’s Up ! Champagne Cream Highlighter

Ok I think every girl has either heard of or used this highlighter before. This is the OG highlighter and I was introduced to this product when I first started wearing makeup and I have never looked back since. I’ve tried other highlighters and nothing has compared to this one. I really like it because a little goes a long way and I like that it’s creamy and not a powder. It also isn’t too blinding and is buildable as well, so if it’s also great when I want a more natural look.

LIPS

Tower 28 ShineOn Jelly Lip Gloss

Color: Magic and XOXO

Tower 28 for the win when it comes to lip gloss! Lip gloss is my second favorite product (after blush) because like blush it’s so versatile, and I can use it anywhere on my face. I love the feeling of my lips looking glossy and hydrated. Personally I prefer pinks and anything with glitter, because glitter is my favorite color ( and yes I’m aware that glitter is not a color lol). I love Tower 28’s lip gloss because its very sheer and is very lowkey. I’ll wear lip gloss even if I’m not wearing anything else on my face. I love their color Magic in particular because it’s clear and glitter, which is fabulous. I also really like their XOXO shade because it makes my lips a really subtle pink and really glossy.

Happy Valentine’s Day darlings. All our love – Tennille, May and Xia