Makeup for When You're Sick + Holy Grail Products!

Have you ever felt so miserable that you just didn't want to leave your house? Yes, that was me just last week when I developed a really bad sore throat and cold. I spent one day sleeping it off on the couch but couldn't afford to take another day off so I put myself together and went on to school and about my life. I was pondering new blog ideas today and I thought this would be a perfect time to share with you the makeup look that I rocked when I felt so rotten. I know there are plenty of fresh-faced makeup tutorials out there and plenty of makeup looks for when you're sick. So I thought to make the post a little bit more interesting and informative to read rather than be just rambling about products I would include some of my tips and tricks for the perfect flawless makeup application for when you're sick. I also decided to complete this look using products that are all holy grail status in my collection and never fail me no matter how I'm feeling.

The start to any great makeup look whether you're sick or not is to have a great base. For me, this involves having great clean skin with moisturizer. After that, I love using a hydrating primer as well to give some life back into my dull sick looking skin. My favorite of the moment is the Maybelline Master Prime by Face Studio, but I'm also a huge fan of the Smashbox Hydrating Primer for a bit of extra moisture than the drugstore equivalent. After that, it's time to conceal those dark under eye circles that happen from the lack of sleep you get some sniffing and coughing all night long. Maybelline also makes my favorite concealer at the moment called the Master Conceal by Face Studio. One of my biggest tricks for using concealer when I'm sick is also making sure that I put a nice amount on my eyelids as well. Because I probably won't be wanting to put on eyeshadow and liner and mascara, I don't want to leave my eyes dark and red because of lack of sleep. This pulls everything together for me. After using concealer, I like to put on a light layer of BB Cream rather than a heavy caked on foundation. I love using the LA Pro BB Cream, while this isn't the best color match for me, I'm able to make it work and give me just enough coverage to make my look healthy and full of life. BB Creams also work well because unlike foundations you don't have to set them as heavily. However, if you are like me I tend to powder everything just to make my skin appear more smooth and more flawless. I'm really into using the Essence All About Matt Powder for a healthy and semi-matte finish.

Moving on from the major base makeup of the face I also like to do a nice natural bronze and contour. I don't go super overboard on this step because if you're sick your skin is generally dull and a bit muddy looking. I love using NYX Powder Blush in Taupe for this step because its the perfect shade for both bronzing and contouring for the palest of ladies ( this product I believe has been discounted and replaced with a new version ). After bronzing and really defining the face, I like to apply a light baby pink blush that isn't completely matte. I find that matte products can just dry the skin out more and what was the point of putting a moisturizer and hydrating primer on if you are just going to cake your face with powder. I love using the Jordana Powder Blushes because they are super affordable at around $3 and have a really light natural formula and texture while not being completely matte. I also really love to highlight my face lately so I did go ahead and throw some highlighter on my cheekbones and down the bright of my nose. I used the Hard Candy Limited Edition Heart Shaped Highlighter for this, but you can of course, use the ELF Baked Blushes as they create a really natural highlighted effect.

While those are the main steps I would take to refreshing myself in the morning you can also up your makeup with a few more easy steps if you are headed out to a meeting for work or more serious events. I love focusing on the eyes if I have a few more minutes and I'm feeling up to it. The first thing I start with is some eyeliner. I tend to go softer on the liner than I would for a normal everyday look. This day I used the Essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen and I used the thin side to create an eyeliner that was super close to my lashline. I then moved on and did mascara using the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara for a little extra volume since I did decide to do the thinner liner. If you wanted to create more length you could opt for the Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara. Finally for the eyes, since I was just feeling too awful I decided that I wanted to clean up my brows but not completely fill them in and brush them and so forth. So I decided to just use the Milani Brow Gel and made sure that my brows were nicely groomed and in place. Last but certainly not least I also decided to put on a tinted lip balm, which didn't last very long because I get really dry lips when I'm sick but it was there for a little bit. As the day went on I decided not to touch up my lips just because I was feeling too awful. I decided to use the Maybelline Baby Lips in Plummy Yummy for a very natural and everyday lip color.

Of course, these are just the steps I like to take when trying to create a flawless and perfect look when I'm sick. There are plenty of other methods and products out there on the market. But since I had the opportunity of being sick, I thought it would be nice to throw a post like this into the mix. Many of these products and steps can also be a really great look for the fall and winter seasons in general since it was dedicated towards a more dry and dull skin which tends to happen around this time of year. I also always use holy grail products when I'm sick because I know they are products that work for me no matter how I'm feeling or the weather outside. I hope you enjoyed learning about my holy grail products as well as learning about a versatile makeup look that you can use for a variety of occasions.
*** Products in this post may contain PR samples sent to be for consideration