Double Duty Drugstore Beauty! Multi-Talented Makeup From Neutrogena

It’s true.

You really do learn something new every day — like yesterday I learned that a ton of Neutrogena makeup products actually double as…well, they double. They’re multitasking, which is super cool, for one, because a) they’re drugstore, so they’re totally affordable, and b) if you’re traveling somewhere or just want to lighten your makeup load, it’s always nice to have a product that can do a bunch of things.

Celebrity Makeup Artist Amy Oresman broke it down for me in Nashville yesterday as I sat (OMG!) in her makeup chair. She just broke it down, man. She had some great product recommendations from the Neutrogena line, like the brand’s Crease Proof Eye Shadows…

1. Crease Proof Eye Shadows in Stay Golden and Improper Copper ($8.49 each)

There are two she really loves — Stay Golden and Improper Copper. Stay Golden she compared to, basically, Nylon or Shroom Eye Shadow from MAC, but in cream form.

Cream shadows with a built-in primer, these were designed for lids, but they work on other parts of the face, too — especially as a highlighter. Amy will take either one, Stay Golden or Improper Copper, and apply it directly to the skin. Then she buffs it down with a foundation brush.

On me, because I have a deeper skin tone, she used Improper Copper, which is kind of like a coppery gold with subtle shimmer.

Amy Oresman has worked her makeup magic on a multitude of makeup-loving mavens, including Madonna, Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Hudgens, Emma Roberts and Kate Bosworth. “When it comes down to it,” she says, “we all want the same thing — to look and feel beautiful.”

She applied it directly from the stick, too, right into the crease of my eyes, and then brought it out to my upper cheekbones, still just using the stick. Then she blended it all in with a foundation brush for a super soft, really glowing highlight.

And you can use it on other parts of the face — wherever you would apply a traditional highlight, like down the bridge of the nose, Cupid’s bow, that kind of thing.

Stay Golden works great for all skin tones, but it rocks the Casbah on fair skin; Amy recommended Improper Copper for medium and darker skin tones.

Yay, so that’s one thing.

But there’s more… 🙂

Sometimes Amy also likes to rub the stick shadows in her palm to get some product in there, and then she’ll mix that with a foundation. Yesterday she did that with Neutrogena Nourishing Long Wear Makeup Foundation, a liquid foundation, mixed those together in her palm, and just applied on me where she wanted more of a shimmery, dewy finish.

So, yeah, that’s one majorly multitasking product in the Neutrogena makeup line.

Amy also recommends the MoistureSmooth Color Sticks, which are first and foremost sheer lip balms, and I love these.

2. Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Sticks ($8.49 each)

I use Fresh Papaya. Love it, wear it all the time, but what I didn’t know until yesterday was that these also double as cream blushes. You can put them on top of foundation, powder, bare skin.

Amy will apply the Color Sticks directly on the cheeks, on the apples of the cheeks, and then just blend that in with a foundation brush to give a nice, sort of light, sheen to the cheeks with a pop of color, and then, if you don’t want to deal with finding a coordinating lip color, you just take that same Color Stick and apply it on your lips.

Next up, Healthy Skin Blends Bronzer in Sunkissed. One of three Healthy Skin Blends Bronzers from Neutrogena — these are the ones with the little squares inside the palettes. Amy calls Sunkissed a great eyeshadow palette that nobody knows about.

3. Healthy Skin Blends in Sunkissed ($11.49)

You can use the shadows individually (which isn’t easy, though, because the little squares are small), or mix them together. With me, she took the darker shade in Sunkissed, which she compared to something like MAC Soft Brown, and used that just beneath my lash lines.

Amy says that if you’re gonna wear something like a shimmer on your lids, it’s nice to also use something like a matte eye shadow along your lower lash lines, and Sunkissed bronzer, even though it’s not an eyeshadow by name, is great for that. With it, your lids will be the accent part of your eyes, and the matte eyeshadow will set off your lids.

Lastly, the new Neutrogena Nourishing Long Wear Liquid Makeup Foundation…

OK, this is what went down: so I’m sitting in Amy’s chair, and I’m like, “Amy, you know, I totally stress out about concealer. I just feel like I put too much of it on because, I don’t know, I look so tired all the time. What can I do to cover up my dark circles but not have that heavy, concealer-y texture look?”

4. Nourishing Long Wear Liquid Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 20 ($15.99)

She recommended Neutrogena’s new Nourishing Long Wear Liquid Makeup Foundation. She said it’s great for more mature skin (I like the sound of that, LOL! “More mature”) because it doesn’t settle into fine lines and it’s not creamy — it’s a liquid, so it doesn’t make the under-eye area look heavy or textured.

She applies it directly under the eyes with her fingers, waits about 30 seconds, and then just blends that in with her fingers. She likes it for covering dark circles because it’s a matte, so it doesn’t move, and you don’t have to set it with powder.

Lots of great multitasking products to get more bang for your buck in the Neutrogena makeup line.

I didn’t even know about any of this! Seriously, you really do learn something new every day. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen