Hi everyone, Nikitha here :)) Welcome to this week’s post all about my beauty routine! I’m so excited to share some of my brown girl friendly beauty products with you and I hope you like them as much as I do! I never used to care for makeup or skincare as a little girl but as I’ve gotten older I love finding products that give me a minimalistic but glowy look! Growing up as a dancer I also always had to wear full coverage makeup and overtime I’ve found products better suited for brown skin. *All of the products will be linked!*
Skincare
First let’s start with skincare. I never really understood the importance of skin care until a couple years ago. Luckily enough I never had acne prone skin so I didn’t do anything but wash and moisturize my face along with the occasional homemade mask that my mom would make me use. Once I learned more about skincare, I started incorporating serums and sunscreen into my daily routine.
Cleanser: I use the CeraVe hydrating facial cleanser twice a day. I also use it as a makeup remover for my everyday more minimalistic looks. When I have more full coverage makeup on for dance, I use a Neutrogena makeup wipe first (even though it’s not the best for you) and then cleanse with CeraVe.
Serums: I only use my serums once a day, usually at night, after taking my makeup off and cleansing my face. First, I use the Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid serum and pat that into my face. After that dries down I use the Live Tinted SuperHue Hyperpigmentation stick. I struggle with hyperpigmentation around my upper lip and my under eyes and after using this product for about six months now I’ve seen a difference in my skin and could not be happier with my results! Multiple of my friends and family have asked me what I have been doing differently because they’re able to see the visible difference in how glowy and even my skin has become! After the hyperpigmentation stick I use the Ordinary Rose Hip Seed oil and gua sha my face.
Moisturizer: I use the Aveeno lotion as my moisturizer. It’s a super simple product but one that I’ve been using for a long time! In the morning I apply it right after using my CeraVe cleanser. At night I use it after my rosehip seed oil if I feel like I need some extra moisture.
Sunscreen: I use the Live Tinted HueGuard Sunscreen! It has no white cast and I love how lightweight it feels! It also moisturizes and primes too!
Lips: I use the Burt’s Bees Red Dahlia chapstick whenever my lips feel chapped or dry. I used to use vaseline but now I just find that Burt’s bees is more moisturizing and it has the perfect natural tint!
Body Care
Exfoliator: I use the Tree Hut Exfoliating Scrub in the Moroccan Rose scent and it’s my favorite exfoliator!
Shaving: For the longest time I couldn’t find a good shaving cream that I liked and I would have decent results just using conditioner. But then, I tried the EOS Lavender shaving Cream and I loved it! It really leaves my skin feeling so smooth and I struggle with Keratosis Pilaris (strawberry skin) and have found that this shaving cream makes it better! After I shave I use the European Wax Center Ingrown Hair Mist. This product also really helps with my strawberry skin. After this mist dries down I use the CeraVe SA cream for Rough and Bumpy skin to moisturize my legs.
Makeup
Base Prep: I mix my Live Tinted Sunscreen with the Live Tinted Hueglow in the Shade Dawn for a glowy bronzy drop look and apply this all over my face.
Everyday Makeup
Powder: I went through a lot of powders before finding one that I liked. I love the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder in honey. This product does such a good job blurring my skin and setting my cream products. I love using it to set my sunscreen because it gives me such an even complexion for the whole day. I use the mini version because it is cheaper and a little bit goes a long way!
Blush: I absolutely love the Rare Beauty soft pinch liquid blush in the shade love. It blends out so well on my skin and one dot goes a really long way! I also love the shade range of this blush and how brown-skin friendly it is! The elf putty blush is another one of my favorite blushes that is a cheaper option but also has good coverage and looks good on darker skin tones!
Eyebrows: I have naturally full eyebrows so I don’t really use an eyebrow pencil or anything on a day to day basis. I do use the elf Wow Brow tinted brow gel just to set my eyebrows in place.
Eyelashes: First I curl my lashes with the elf eyelash curler. This was the first eyelash curler that I ever bought and it was only $3 but it works really well and keeps my lashes curled all day!
Mascara: The L’oreal telescopic lift mascara has recently been my favorite. This is the famous tik tok scandal mascara but I decided to try it for myself and see if it was really worth the hype. The wand on this mascara makes it so that this mascara lengthens and volumizes your lashes. I have never found one mascara that does this and in the past I would have to use two mascaras to achieve this look. I’m also a big advocate of drugstore makeup when it comes to mascara because I feel like I go through it so quickly and I don’t want to keep spending a lot of money each time I buy a mascara. This is definitely a good option!
Setting Spray: The urban decay all nighter setting spray is my go to setting spray. I first had it gifted to me when I was sixteen and I’ve never used anything else. It does an incredible job keeping my makeup in place especially when I wear it onstage for dance performances and when I sweat a lot. However I will say, I’ve gotten used to the smell of this setting spray but it isn’t the most pleasant. But they do have a Vitamin C all nighter hydrating spray that works equally as well and smells better!
Full Glam
Even with my full glam routine I tend to go for a more minimalistic, clean girl look but here are some of my favorite products! I also apply my sunscreen + hueglow mix, setting powder, then setting spray before I do the rest of my full glam routine.
Primer: I use the elf power grip primer and it works as the perfect dupe (and cheaper alternative) for the milk hydro grip primer!
Color Corrector: I switch between two color correctors but I really like both of these products a lot. I use the LA Girl Pro Conceal color corrector in the orange shade under my eyes and in my upper lip area for hyperpigmentation. I also have a Live Tinted huestick that I use to color correct. When I am in a rush and doing my makeup I tend to use the hue stick because it dries down a lot faster unlike the LA Girl pro conceal.
Concealer: I love the tarte shape tape concealer in shade 37G (Medium-Tan-Golden) and have been using it since I first started wearing makeup. It’s really buildable and has really good coverage! I currently have a shade that is the same as my skin tone and since I don’t wear foundation I can use this all over my skin to get an even complexion. I typically only wear concealer all over my face for stage makeup for dance. Other than that I just spot conceal any blemishes I have and my hyperpigmentation areas.
Contour: I use the Live Tinted Huestick in the shade Grounded as cream contour. It blends out so easily and sculpts my face really nicely!
After I apply primer, color corrector, concealer, contour and liquid blush I like to set all of these cream products with my Laura Mercier loose setting powder. Then I spray another round of my Urban Decay Setting spray before moving on to the next step just to set all of my cream products in place. After I set my brows with my brown gel I move on to my eyes.
Eyeshadow: I use the urban decay eye primer before applying eyeshadow and it helps to keep my eye looks on all day. I use my tarte pro to go palette anytime I'm doing an eye look. It has three neutral brown shades that are useful for a simple eye look along with a few shimmery shades for a more fancy look.
After I finish my eyes I go in with my Telescopic Lift mascara. I do one coat for a more simple look and two coats for a more dramatic look.
Highlighter: I use the shiny gold shade in the Morphe 9d palette as a highlighter but unfortunately I think this palette has been discontinued :(
Lip Liner: I love this brown nyx lip liner. It looks so good on darker lips and brown skin in general!
Lip Gloss: I’m not a fan of lipstick because it transfers everywhere but I am a fan of lip gloss. I love the Live Tinted HueGloss in the shade proud because it looks super natural and it’s not super sticky! I also really only tend to use lip gloss for special occasions otherwise I stick to my regular burt’s bees red dahlia chapstick!
After lip gloss I finish my face with one final spritz of setting spray. Sometimes I add highlighter on my collar bones just to make them pop!
Thanks for reading this week’s post all about Nikitha’s beauty routine! If you haven’t already, check out last week’s post about Shreya’s beauty routine! I hope you enjoyed reading about the products that both of us love!