I can still remember smearing on the patchy, purple eyeshadow every morning before my school day in the fifth grade. Although I know I must have stood out, I had never felt more confident in myself. I’ve always loved makeup ever since my mom allowed me to wear it. From a young age, I was able to appreciate the creativity that was at the core of this art form. It allowed me to express myself even if I didn’t know what I was doing with it.
But of course, when I was a child I only made about five dollars a week doing chores around the house, so I had to get creative with the makeup I could afford. Most of my makeup came from the Dollar Tree when I first started wearing it. I remember trying to get the most colorful items because I felt you could do the most with them. I would get eyeshadows and use them as lipstick and vice versa. I never let the range of my products stop me from being creative and putting together whole looks.
So now, although I have built up my makeup collection, I always enjoy using products for other reasons besides what they’re intended for. In this article, I set out to create three different makeup looks using only the same four products—a concealer, a brow pomade, mascara, and a red lipstick. In order to create these three looks, I used four products I knew were staples in most people’s makeup routines. I chose the Instant Age Eraser Concealer, the Tattoo Studio Brow Pomade, the Volum’ Express The Colossal Mascara, and the Super Stay Liquid Lipstick in shade pioneer, all by Maybelline.
The “No-Makeup” Makeup Look
This everyday makeup is exactly what it seems—a seamless look that appears effortless. For starters, I used concealer to highlight sections of my face as well as to spot-conceal. Then, I used the brow product to fill in my brows. Then, I moved on to the eyes. Priming my eyes with a thin layer of concealer, I then used the brow product to create a small, natural wing starting on the outer corner of my eye. I then put on a few coats of mascara on my top and bottom lashes. For the lips, I lightly tapped on the red lipstick and used my finger to smudge it out to create a light pink, natural lip. This makeup look uses the products mostly for how they were intended to be used, so I know this one may not be the most interesting, but it’s perfect for a quick, everyday look.
The Night-Out Look
This look can be for any special occasion. Maybe a nice dinner, maybe a holiday, or maybe this is just your everyday look. First, I used the concealer and brow product as intended—similar to how I did in the first look. For the smokey eye, I used the brow product smudged on my eyes in a winged look. I then used the mascara to darken this “faux eyeshadow” look and used it on my lashes as normal. I then used the brow product as a lip liner to ensure a sharp lip and proceeded to use the red lipstick in its full opacity. This is a great way to improvise when eyeshadow isn’t available and when you want to create that smokey look!
The Party Look
This look is definitely the most fun and creative. To start, I used the concealer and brow product to conceal and do my brows (big surprise). But then, for the eye look, I used concealer to prime my eyelids and went in with the red lipstick to create a graphic eyeliner design. For this, a small eyeliner brush works best to create these precise lines. I followed this with mascara and mixed the lipstick with some concealer to create a pink lip. This look is great for a pop of color in the nontraditional sense. Graphic liner is in and a great way to participate in the trend without buying extra products is by using a fun liquid lipstick!
At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what products you have as long as you can be creative with them. Makeup should be a tool to express yourself, whether you want to go more natural or bold. And if you are just starting to get into makeup, this is proof that you only really need a few of the basics to start being creative. If I can make three different looks with only four makeup products, just imagine what you could do with just a few more!