An Easy, Everyday Makeup Look for Men

Cleanse and Moisturize

The key to flawless makeup application is a solid skincare routine. We recommend cleansing the skin with a gentle formula like the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, a fragrance-free pick that you can find at any drugstore. Follow up with an SPF-infused moisturizer, like the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 30 so your makeup goes on smoothly and looks more like your actual skin. Make sure to apply moisturizer around your under-eye area — the skin here is thinner than the rest of your face, so Kassajikian says it’s especially important to keep moisturized.

Apply Concealer or Tinted Moisturizer

“Once your skincare is dry, apply concealer only in the areas that are needed rather than the entire face and blend with a damp sponge or your fingers until it’s blended into the skin,” says Kassajikian. Whether you’ve got dark circles (either from a lack of sleep or genetics), redness, dullness or acne, make like Miranda and reach for the Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Multi-Use Concealer. For dark circles, dispense some product onto the sponge tip applicator and start dabbing it at your crow’s feet and work your way inward, towards the inner corner of the eye. To camouflage acne, gently apply concealer onto the affected area. 

If you’re happy with the way your skin looks overall but you just want to even it out a little, try applying a tinted moisturizer instead of a concealer. Tinted moisturizers are less pigmented and offer less coverage than concealers, so they’ll give a very natural look. Concealer is best for covering up more obvious blemishes and dark circles. 

Blend

Once you’ve applied the concealer or tinted moisturizer to the targeted areas, blend it out with your fingertips or feel free to use a damp beauty sponge if you’ve got one. Blending helps make the product look more like your real skin and prevents it from looking cakey. “Don’t layer too much product and remember less is more when trying to create a more natural effect,” Kassajikian says.

Set Your Face With Powder

If your skin is on the oily side, you may want to set your makeup with a powder to lock it in place all day. Take a matte pressed powder, like the Urban Decay All Nighter Waterproof Setting Powder, and gently tap it onto the areas you applied concealer or tinted moisturizer, using a large fluffy brush. (Try the NYX Professional Makeup Tapered Powder Brush). This particular powder is translucent, meaning it will blend into any skin tone. It’s also waterproof and gives your skin a matte look, which is perfect if you often find your face looking shiny by midday. Plus, it will help the products you applied underneath last longer.

Fill in Your Brows

You may be naturally blessed with full, defined brows — if that’s the case, go off, king. But if you’re looking to add some extra color and structure to your brows, there’s no shame in filling them in. “Rather than filling in the entire brow, apply product in a flicking motion to the sparse areas of the brow to create the illusion of hair, which will make the brows look fuller yet still natural,” says Kassajikian. “The Urban Decay Brow Blade is the perfect product for this.” Brow Blade is a dual-ended pencil and brow pen — the pencil is perfect for adding fullness while the pen makes it easy to create realistic, hairlike strokes.

Add a Gloss

Finally, if you’re feeling up to it, glide on some clear lip gloss. We love the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Pro Plump Lip Gloss because it contains hyaluronic acid, which plumps your lips and helps them stay hydrated all day long. If you’re not into the shiny look of lip gloss, reach for a clear lip balm instead — we like the Sun Bum SPF 30 Sunscreen Lip Balm because it shields your lips from the sun’s rays and comes in a variety of yummy fruity scents.

Top With a Setting Spray

Finally, to keep your skin looking fresh and to make your makeup last all day, you can spritz a setting spray all over your entire face. The Urban Decay All Nighter Vitamin C Setting Spray helps your makeup last for up to 24 hours (although we would never recommend keeping it on for that long) and gives skin a healthy, hydrated look. Editor’s tip: If you accidentally apply too much powder, a setting spray is a great way to melt the product into your skin and give it a more natural look. If you already own a face mist, you can also use that instead — just know that while it will make your makeup look more natural, it won’t make it last as long as a setting spray will.