The time has come; it’s the end of the semester, summer is just barely out of your reach, you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and dreaming about what new bikini you’re going to wear at the beach.. then it hits you: it’s the dreaded finals week. It’s the one thing between you and that adorable new bikini. It’s the week where your school tests your ability to persevere when all of the odds are undeniably stacked against you. The week where you find yourself wearing questionable outfits and your unwashed hair tied into giant knots on top of your head that in the normal world,(aka outside of the university lecture hall), people would double-take at and wonder whether or not you’re homeless.

And let me just take a moment to say that all of this is ok to do. I mean, when else in your life is it socially acceptable to walk out in public like this? And by all means, you don’t need to wear makeup this week, if you simply do not want to!

But nonetheless, I am going to give you guys a quick Finals Week Makeup routine in 10 steps that will take 10 minutes tops. I know for a fact that when I put in effort to freshening up my face and makeup that I feel better about performing on my exams and studying for ungodly amounts of time in the library. Hey, if I’m gonna suffer, I’m gonna look cute doing it!

Side note: So here’s the deal; I filmed a whole nice video to insert here and once I was finally done, I realized that my camera was completely out of focus the entire time. So for the sake of getting something up while it is still actually finals week, I am just going to write a step by step account of what to do and link all of the products as well! So sorry guys, I am a total beginner at all of this tech stuff. So here we go!

Step 1: Wash your face! I know, I know. It can sometimes feel like a waste of time in the morning when you’re just going to put makeup on top of your fresh face anyways. But trust me when I say that a freshly washed face is a better canvas to work with, and not to mention, a nice invigorating face wash will definitely wake you up! After patting your face dry, make sure to pat your favorite facial moisturizer on, and to put on your favorite chapstick. I used the Sugar Lip Treatment by Fresh.

Step 2: Put on foundation! I would recommend using a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream for days where you are going for a “no makeup makeup look” like finals week, but I unfortunately have completely run out of my go-to: the Garnier BB Cream. So, instead, I have opted to use Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation. During weeks like finals when I am extremely stressed out, my skin gets flaky and dry, and I have found that this foundation gives my skin the pick-me-up it needs! I dab this foundation all over my face, and blend it in with a Real Techniques beauty sponge.

Step 3: Use NYX Dark Circle Concealer under your eyes- I don’t know about you, but my eyes are definitely carrying some dark baggage this week. This concealer is great for brightening up the area and still feeling extremely light on the skin. After I dabbed this under my eyes and blended, I used Maybelline Fit Me Concealer on top of that to further brighten up my under-eye area. (I need all the help I can get, guys)

Step 4: Set all of your foundation and concealer with a loose powder so that it stays put through the hours of slaving away in the library and in exams. I used the High Definition Powder by Elf.

Step 5: Add some quick color to your face with Hoola bronzer from Benefit Cosmetics. I’m not talking about a full contour and highlight routine (I just don’t have time to break out the cream contours this week 🙁 ); just a light dusting to warm up your complexion! After that, I used Milani’s Baked Blush in Luminoso (aka the most universally flattering shade ever) on my cheeks. Finally, I used the lightest shimmery shade in my Naked Basics 2 palette to highlight the tops of my cheekbones and along my nose to make me look glowy and refreshed.

-by the way, this is one of my favorite things to do for a quick highlight on the go. I hate carrying a ton of products with me when traveling, so I usually throw an eyeshadow palette into my bag and use the light shimmery shades as highlighters!

Step 6: Now onto the eyes! Grab that Naked 2 Basics pallet again and use a nice fluffy brush (the fluffier the better. It’ll blend quicker, thus saving sweet, sweet time). I used my trusty Mac 217 to get the job done. Pick up a mix of the 3rd and 4th colors in the pallet, which are a nice light taupe-y color and a cork-brown. Dust this all over your eyelids and bring it slightly up into the crease. Turn your brush horizontally and blend into your crease. It’s okay for it to come up a bit onto the brow bone right above the crease! This is a very light and quick look, so perfection is not too important here. Then take the lightest shimmery shade and place this on the brow bone right below your eye brows, as well as on your inner corners to brighten the eyes up.

Step 7: Take your favorite eyeliner and tight-line your upper waterline. This isn’t necessary for everybody, but I have very open eyes and they tend to look a little ..buggy if I don’t do this 🙂 My favorite eyeliner of all time is this Black twist-up one from Ulta. Then, using the Wonder Pencil from NYX, I lined my bottom waterline. This just brightens up my eyes and conceals any redness that my waterline has from sleep-deprivation.

Step 8: Curl those lashes and apply mascara! I used Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes and applied three generous coats.

Step 9: Use a brow powder to fill in your brows if your are like me and can’t leave the house without a little something on your eyebrows. I chose a powder because it is the quickest and simplest to apply and to fix if you screw up. I used SmashBox’s eyebrow powder and just lightly filled in my brows after brushing them with a spoolie. My goal was to just darken them up, not to completely shape them. To me, this makes a big difference in how “finished” my makeup looks.

Step 10: Last but not least, I used my Mario Badescu Facial Spray to spritz all over my face. This is also completely optional, but I find that it gives my skin a nice hydrated and dewy look, while making me feel more refreshed and awake. I admit, I carry this stuff with me in my purse and spray it on my face (and sometimes even my hair) sporadically throughout the day just because of how addicted I am to this feeling.

So there you go! Simple, quick and easy no-makeup makeup for Finals Week! Good luck to everyone out there on your exams, you’ll all do great! 🙂

-Jenna

 

p.s. Please let me know if there are any requests you have for content in the future! I’d be happy to take requests or answer any questions at all 🙂