You know those women whose makeup somehow looks polished without looking like they spent an hour applying it? Their skin is glowy but not shiny, their concealer isn’t creasing by lunch, and everything still looks intact by the end of the day. I’ve spent years trying to crack that code, and I finally feel like I’ve gotten pretty close.

At 43, with no injectables and plenty of fine lines, I've learned that good makeup is less about buying more products, but about knowing which formulas work for you and how to apply them. So I’m sharing everything: the exact routine I’ve tweaked over the years, the products that earned permanent residency, and the small tricks that made the biggest difference.

TO BEGIN

One of the simplest tricks I've learned is to give my skincare (listed in detail here) a few minutes to settle before going in with makeup. I aim for skin that feels hydrated and slightly tacky to the touch, not freshly moisturized and slippery. It takes almost no extra effort, but I've found it makes a huge difference in how smoothly everything applies and how well it holds up throughout the day.

BROWS FIRST

The first thing I do is set my eyebrows in place. It’s sort of the thing that makes or breaks the rest of my look, and if my brows are good, everything else sort of falls into place. I've tried what feels like every brow gel on the market, from luxury to drugstore, and keep coming back to NYX's Brow Glue. I start by brushing my brows backward, from the tips toward the base, then brush them up and out at a slight diagonal. It helps separate the hairs, creates a bit of lift, and makes them look fuller without feeling overly done.

DEWY BASE

When I want my skin to look especially glowy, I’ll start with L’Oréal’s Glotion (in Medium) all over my face. It gives me a subtly bronzed, lit-from-within base and is one of those drugstore products that performs like something far more expensive.

From there, I’ll choose one of three complexion products depending on the finish I’m after. For the most dewy, airbrushed look, I reach for either Victoria Beckham’s Foundation Drops (in 7 Light Medium) or UBeauty’s Super Tinted Hydrator (in Shade 05) and apply them with my fingers directly onto my skin. Neither is inexpensive, but if you’re going to splurge anywhere in your makeup routine, I’d make a strong case for one of these. They somehow blur and perfect while still looking like real skin. If I want something a little more natural and less luminous, I’ll use Saie’s Slip Tint (in 3), which offers similar coverage with a softer, less glowy finish.

A BIT OF WARMTH

On the back of my hand, I’ll add a few drops of Rhode’s Glazing Milk, and with the Makeup by Mario dual-sided brush, I’ll swirl it into his Soft Sculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer (in Medium) and blend it into the Glazing Milk on my hand to create a sort of liquid/cream bronzer hybrid. Then I’ll diffuse it across my eyelids, up onto my temples, along my hairline, and on the tops of my cheekbones, blending upwards. I’ve tried all the Rhode products, but this is the only one I consistently rebuy since it makes the biggest difference in how my makeup sits on my skin.

BLUSH

I use the same method for blush as I do with bronzer, adding it first to the back of my hand and blending it in with Glazing Milk. I’ll switch up my blush colors frequently, depending on what I’m wearing and if I’ve used self-tanner recently (I mix this one in Medium/Dark with my nighttime lotion several times a week). I rotate between several Westman Atelier blushes: Garçonne (a pretty mauve), Petal (a nude rose), and Poppet (a poppy pink), but if I want something with serious staying power, I’ll use Rare Beauty’s Encourage (a soft, neutral pink). After blending it on my hand, I’ll apply it onto my cheekbones, across the bridge of my nose, for a sun-kissed effect.

SET IT

Once my base is on, I’ll spritz Charlotte Tilbury’s Setting Spray all over my face to set everything in place and help it blend together. This one smells unreal, very spa-like.

EYES

I use the Shu Eumera eyelash curler and hold for 10 seconds, really squeezing at the base of my lashes to get a lift since they’re naturally straight and short. If I’m applying eyeliner, I’ll use Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick in Cocoa, a rich, pearlescent dark brown. I smudge it sort of into my lashes, right beneath the waterline, and on the outer corner, messily applying it so the effect is lived-in and imperfect. If it gets too messy, I’ll just clean it up with a wet Q-tip, but this one trick makes everything look better. Then I’ll use Tarte’s Tartlette XL tubing mascara (in brown on days I want it more subtle and black for when I want it to pop) on my top lashes.

BACK TO BROWS

Once the eyebrow gel is set and my base is done, I’ll go back to my eyebrows to fill them in. I’ve been loyal to Benefit’s Precisely My Brow (in 3.5) for years, and I like that it has the thinnest pencil tip, so I can add what appear to be individual hairs, only where it’s sparse. I follow the TikTok tip that says your brows should be two parallel lines, like a train track, so I aim to keep them straight with minimal tapering.

CONCEALER

I used to apply way too much concealer, which is probably why, by midday, it always seemed to look a little cakey and settle into places I’d rather it didn’t. Now it’s one of the very last steps in my routine, and I use far less than I used to.

I still love Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Concealer (in 5.75), but these days I rely just as much on Bobbi Brown’s color corrector (in Bisque). I find it does a better job of neutralizing the darkness without making me look like I’m wearing much of anything. I apply a small amount under my eyes with this brush, but not too close to the lash line, then add a touch around my nose and a couple of tiny diagonal strokes at the outer corners of my eyes for a subtle lifting effect.

POWDER

I’ll use powder to mattify areas that veer a biiiit too shiny, but I also find that, if used very sparingly, it sort of blurs fine lines. The Fenty Invisimatte Instant Setting + Blotting Powder is less intimidating than loose powders since it comes in a compact, and I’ll use this angled brush to sweep it across the palette, tap it against the edge, then very lightly tap into spots to lock in the rest of the makeup.

LET’S GLOW

If I want a little more glow in specific spots, I’ll dab on the Chanel Balme Essentielle Glow Stick with my finger. I’ve gone through more sticks of this product than just about anything else, and though I’ve used and loved several colors, I now stick to the transparent. I’ll dab it onto the high points of my cheekbones, my cupid’s bow, the tip of my nose, and the inner corners of my eyes.

LIPS

I’m loyal to the Makeup Forever lip liners that veer towards brown - Wherever Walnut, Endless Cacao, and Anywhere Caffeine. I’ll overline my lips ever so slightly until I get towards the corners, and I’ll cut in slightly. If I want them to be really dramatic, I’ll use my Victoria Beckham contour stick and line just under the middle of my bottom lip, creating a sort of shadow effect that makes my lips look bigger. I’ll finish with Violette’s balm amour lip treatment for a glassy finish or Tower 28’s plumping lip jelly in Bitter Sweet for a touch of pink.

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