What's your makeup number?

• What is your makeup routine?  
• How much time do you spend putting your makeup on - on the typical morning?  

I just went through a survey that asked those questions in a way I have not looked at before.  Here is the question:  how many items are in your makeup bag that you use on a daily basis?  I thought this was a fair question, as I have never actually counted before.  If any of you have seen my  train case where I keep my "daily" makeup, you will know - it is quite large and extensive.  I like variety and honestly have gotten many cosmetics at a fraction of the retail cost and/or been given them via a cosmetic company's gratis program.  Hence I don't wear the same makeup items every day - mainly shadows and lip products and blushes tend to get rotated fairly quickly.

So, here is my number: 15 - yes, on the typical day that any of you may see me, I have used 15 pieces to pull my look together. What to know what that looks like?

This does not include skin care steps:

1. pore filler
2. primer for face
3. primer for eyes
4.  foundation
5.  bronzer
6.  face highlighter
7.  blush
8.  shadow 1
9.  shadow 2 (sometimes I use 3 and 4 shadows)
10.  eye liner
11.  lash primer
12.  mascara
13.  brows
14.  setting powder OR urban decays all nighter - depending on the day I expect to encounter
15.  Lip gloss or lipstick - some days both

wow!

So, let me get down and dirty:  If I had to pick 5 items (which I think is average for most women) - what would those be?

1. primer
2. foundation
3. bronzer (yes, you all know I am an addict)
4. mascara
5. lip gloss

How'd I do?  What are your five basics?  What would your 15 (we can also call this night out) consist of?

Reply to this post on the fb link - I would love to hear from you! 

A note on primers:  I don't feel any makeup should go on your face with out a primer, that is why you see it repeated in my routine so many times.  It makes all the difference in the world!  If you have not tried on makeup WITH a primer, go to your local department store and ask for a sample.  Or, here are my recommendations: 1. Mac (face only, not eye, but lash ok) 2. Bare Escentual's primer - it works best with loose mineral makeup, it tends to ball up with other cosmetics, but the makeup primer and makeup work best together.  (face and eye, not lash primer) 3. Smash box 4. Urban Decay (face and eye), Makeup Forever.  

I can go into skin care and hair another time, but those are things I do without leaving the house as well.

Quickly:  on a day to day basis, my hair is terrifically easy to take care of in terms of styling - maintaining my color is another story...  

This week's favorite makeup item: All Nighter

My friend introduced me to Urban Decay's All Nighter spray a few months ago and I think she was a little aghast that I: 1. had not heard of it and 2. had not used it!

So... I traveled to Sephora to get a good look at this "All Nighter".   I decided to try a mini size for $11, just to see for myself, before I splurged on the $30 for the regular size.

All Nighter is a facial spray that is to be applied at the end of your makeup application to ensure that your makeup will stay all day AND all night.  I questioned the thought of liquefying my makeup after it was set with bronzers, powders and mineral foundations.

The recommendation is 2-4 sprays to your face.  So, when I first used it I noticed that I had to be very strategic in how I sprayed and that my face squished up every time I sprayed!  My whole face got "wet" and then dried without any running or displacing the face of makeup I had created.  My face did not feel tight or any different than it had any other day.

Don't make a face when applying and I found that 2-3 strategically spaced sprays seemed to be plenty.

Between my facial primer (this goes on BEFORE you apply your makeup) and the All Nighter, my makeup stayed perfectly for my long day.

I recommend this product for anyone who has a long day ahead, who does not have time for a retouch (I typically only retouch my lip gloss), is really uptight about their makeup (yes that is me too), or lives in a warmer climate (hello Arizona in the summer).

You can purchase the full size here:

http://www.urbandecay.com/all-nighter-makeup-setting-spray/237,default,pd.html