When I first started to wear makeup on the regs (read: daily) it took me 30+ minutes to do - much to the consternation of my roommate at the time. But that was then (a year ago) and this is now. I've got my '5 minute face' down pat and I'm actually kind of proud of it. Oh the strides I've made in a year.

It's a mix of both high-end and drugstore products - but really it's what I've found that works best for my skin type and for my coloring.
Starting from the top left: NYX Brow Powder in Taupe/Ash, MAC Eyeshadow in Club, Pürminerals Correcting Primer, No 7 Dual Action Tinted Moisturizer in Fair, Revlon Eyeshadow in Oyster, No 7 Blush in Soft Damson, Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara, and Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Strawberry Kissed

I've just recently started using the Pürminerals Correcting Primer and I am in love with it. It keeps my makeup in place all day, feels amazing and creamy on my skin (without getting really heavy) and somehow does a decent job of covering up my acne scarring all on it's own. Which is the most amazing thing in the world, to be honest. I use about a pump and a half of it to cover my entire face, eyelids included. 

For the longest time I had myself convinced that, because I had oily skin I would never need moisturizer. Wrong, wrong and also wrong. Finding a good moisturizer and cleanser has made an insane difference in my skin. Turns out, my body was overproducing oil because it thought I needed it, but with moisturizer that has stopped! Far gone are the days of super oily skin - now my skin is 'normal'. Not something I'd ever thought I'd be able to say. I have the clearest skin I've had in years and I'm pretty sure it's 90% thanks to good moisturizer. The No 7 Tinted Moisturizer is fantastic for days when I don't want a lot of coverage, but still has enough tint to even out my skin tone. Plus, it has SPF 15, which is always necessary in Texas.

 I'm hardly ever fancy when it comes to eye makeup, and my go to eye makeup routine involves 4 things: a base for all over my lid (Revlon metallic shadow in Oyster), a color for the outer 2/3 of my eye (MAC's shadow in Club), a brow filler (NYX Brow Powder in Taupe/Ash), and a mascara (Benefit's Bad Gal Lash). And if I'm feeling a bit fancy/don't want to put mascara on my bottom lashes I tight line my eyes with whatever color that's on the outer 2/3 of my eye.

 I am very very sad that the Target near me has decided to stop carrying No 7 products, because they are gorgeous (luckily, there are lots of Targets within driving distance and Ulta sells No 7 products as well). Their blushes are really lovely, non-sparkly muted colors, are nicely buildable, great for everyday-wear, and are pretty good dupes for much more expensive blushes. Their blush in Soft Damson ($7.99) is a great dupe for Benefit's Dandelion ($28.00).

You don't hear a lot about Sephora brand makeup, so I was a little wary of trying them out. But, their Cream Lip Stains: oh my god, they are beautiful - super pigmented, creamy, and hella easy to apply. I got my first one because one of the girls at Sephora was raving about it's staying power and, like any other victim of false advertising about the 'staying power' of certain 'lip stains', I bought it not thinking it would actually do what it said. I say again: oh my god, these lip stains are amazing. I wore it on New Year's Eve and didn't have to reapply once. And that's with eating dinner and ... drinking quite a few drinks. It looked exactly the same at the end of the night. The only downside to these is that I don't like very many of the colors they have, so I only own 3, but I love them. 

Aaand a quick OOTD because I am sick and tired of winter weather so I'm dressing for Texas spring, dammit. And there you have it! My quick and easy 5 minute face. I hope this was either helpful in some way, or at least a little bit entertaining. 

xoxo Kate