The essentials. The five-minute face. Quick and easy on-the-go beauty. Whatever you want to call it, Subtl Beauty is here to deliver.
The creation of our revolutionary Makeup Stack has changed the makeup game forever, making it easier than ever to curate your own five-minute face, no matter what that means to you, while removing the need for bulky, heavy makeup palettes.
Read on to learn more about this completely customizable assortment of makeup essentials, guaranteed to keep you looking and feeling great any day of the week.
Did we mention we make phenomenal makeup gift sets, too?
Slimming Down Your Makeup Drawer
When it comes down to it, you only need a few things to look fresh-faced and rejuvenated:
- A little concealer can camouflage spots and double as a barely-there foundation.
- A flattering pinky-toned lip balm or another product is a great way to achieve a monochromatic lip color and cheek look.
- Bronzer can bring color to your face, add natural definition, and even be used as a soft eyeshadow palette when applied with an eye pencil.
Our three-step Makeup Stack, which we call “Tones,” have conveniently merged these products together to create the only trio you’ll ever need — no full-size kit required. With 19 concealer shades available to account for a range of skin tones, you just need to pick the one that matches your complexion the best.
Using a clean ring finger, swirl around your Cream Concealer from our all-in-one makeup set to warm up the product and pick up pigment. Using delicate patting motions, apply the concealer to your eyes, acne spots, red patches, and any other marks you might want to cover up.
The Cream Concealer can also be applied all over and blended out with your Mini Applicator to achieve a more even complexion. Adding a second, more concentrated layer on top of any other so-called problem areas will complete the look.
Each Subtl Beauty purchase also includes a free Stack Brush BFF, a portable purse-sized fluffy brush that’s ideal for applying Bronzer (and anything else you need to put on). Swirl your Stack Brush BFF around your Bronzer pan and use it to chisel out your cheekbones, enhance your jawline, and add a sunkissed glow to the high points of your face.
Finally, using two or three fingers, pat Lip and Cheek to your cheekbones and pout for a rosy, lit-from-within addition of color.
Essential Glam To Amplify Your Go-To Look
Just because you’re a girl or guy on the go doesn’t mean you can’t pull off a sultry glam look.
Contrary to what we might see on social media, you don’t need to spend $3000 to get ready for a night out on the town. With our customizable Stacks, taking a look from day to night can be a super easy process.
To achieve a simple but stunning smoky eye, you honestly only need two or three shades of color:
- Start with a fluffy eyeshadow makeup brush and blend a little bit of Bronzer into your crease as a transition shade. This step is totally optional!
- Then, reach for your Smoke and Mirrors Eyeshadow Duo. Take a different eyeshadow brush, and blend the matte charcoal shade into your crease and down onto your eyelid.
- Pro tip: If you’re looking for a razor-sharp look without putting in too much effort, hold the straight edge of a sheet of paper or index card up against your eye at an angle to create the illusion of a winged liner look.
- Be careful if you try doing this with tape; tape can tug at the delicate skin around your eye and cause irritation. Not to mention, it could move around moisturizer or other base products you already have on. Let’s leave this makeup “hack” in 2013 where it belongs.
- Grab another clean brush from the makeup brush set in your makeup bag, or dust off one of your others using the Dry Brush Cleaner, to blend the charcoal pigment into your transition shade and buff away any harsh lines.
- Lastly, take your finger and rub it over the silver shimmer shade a few times. Lay the pigment right onto your eyelid, gently pressing it on. The warmth and natural oils from your fingertips will help the color effortlessly melt onto your lid, creating a glamorous, almost wet illusion.
Bring Out the Best in Yourself
Another easy way to really make your eyes pop is simply to work with what you were born with. Use a color wheel, and go for products in the shade on the opposite side of the wheel from your eye color.
Here are some examples of what we’re talking about:
- Blue eyes pop when paired with dramatic copper, pink, and burgundy tints. For blue eyes, we recommend our Jelly Duo.
- Purples and pinks are dazzling on people with green eyes. Try our Purple Haze Duo to make your peepers pop.
- Shimmery shades of rose gold look particularly glamorous on deep brown eyes. The Sunset Duo will be perfect for you.
- If you were blessed with hazel eyes or an in-between eye color, try playing up your secondary color.
Our seven best-selling Eye shadow Palette Duos are available in both light neutral shades and deep dramatic hues.
In addition to the sultry Smoke and Mirrors combo, Jelly, Crush, and Dune are great for everyday looks on fair, medium, and deeper skin tones.
Nectar, Sunset, and Purple Haze are great ways to bring a flattering pop of color to your face without going too overboard.
Add Some Shine With Highlighter
While highlighter is commonly associated with an all-out full glam face, it’s actually the perfect addition for a refreshing touch of light in your routine. Our Highlighter can be applied with a brush or your fingertips.
Similar to the Eyeshadow Duos, the natural heat and oils from your fingertips will help the pigment in the Highlighter effortlessly blend and melt into your skin for a glossy yet seamless combination.
If you want to take your look to the next level, apply our Highlighter with a more densely packed brush to really concentrate pigment on the high points of your face. Cheekbones, brow bones, the top of your upper lip, and the inner corner of your eyes are great places to catch the brightest reflection.
Touching Up Made Easy
Aside from the quick turnaround time and the minimal number of products used, an essential makeup look also means easy touch-ups throughout the day. You shouldn’t need to layer on tons of heavy powder for a look to stick.
Our Shine Control Pressed Powder will set your face up for success in the morning, and it’s the perfect pick-me-up you need to mattify your look throughout the day. That means it’s another essential addition to your makeup set.
This lightweight powder goes on clear, making it suitable for all skin tones. It also absorbs excess oil and shine without flattening your face or making it look cakey.
The Shine Control Pressed Powder even provides a layer of protection from harmful blue light, something hardly any other powder on the market is able to do. Best of all, each of our small-but-mighty components lasts for 60 applications, with lip liner and cheek blush lasting for up to 80.
Set Yourself Up for Success and Take Care of Your Skin
After you’ve put together the perfect makeup set, what's the secret to making a simple five-minute face look so stunning and fresh? It's pretty straightforward: A strong base will make all the difference in the world, and we aren't just talking about foundation. A good makeup set is useless if you’re not taking care of the skin you’re in.
Here’s a skincare tip for beginners: It’s crucial to use makeup remover at the end of each day. Leaving eyeliner, concealer, and lip gloss on your face overnight can lead to problems the next day, regardless of your skin type.
Sometimes, life gets in the way, and happy hour accidentally lasts till closing time. We get it! But do everything you can to get some warm water, cleanser, and hydrating serum on your face when you get home ASAP. Just like nail polish, you wouldn’t leave your lip stain on forever.
At the bare minimum, keep a few makeup wipes or micellar water on hand to remove old product, debris, and unseen bacteria from your face. This way, you wake up the next morning feeling fresh, clean, and free of surprise breakouts — and then your face will be ready for you to make use of the products in your makeup set once again.
Everything You Need (and Nothing You Don’t)
When you really get to the bottom of it, makeup is meant to enhance your features, cover up spots, and help you feel and look the best you can. With a few intelligently designed products and the right techniques, your essential makeup routine doesn’t need to be complicated.
With your Subtl Beauty Stack, you can pull off a gorgeous look in only a few minutes to take you from your desk to dinner, with minimal touch-ups needed in between.
Take our quiz today to curate your perfect Stack, and find your faves from our cruelty-free cosmetics collection.
Sources:
Is It Really That Bad To Sleep In Your Makeup? Dermatologists Tell Us The Truth (PHOTOS) | HuffPost
5 Benefits and Uses of Micellar Water | Healthline
Science Shows You Can Sleep Your Skin Younger – Here’s How | Healthline