Meet the wonderful Liv Lundelius — a kindred spirit I first connected with through my daughter’s Montessori school, where Liv’s daughter also attends.
Liv is an exceptional makeup artist who specialises in natural beauty, bringing her love of nature into everything she does — inside and out.
I thought it would be inspiring for our community to learn from her expertise and gain some insider tips on embracing makeup the natural way. Let’s dive in and discover Liv’s wisdom.
Hi, I am Liv - a professional Makeup Artist and Holistic Beauty Coach. I believe everyone is beautiful. There is no such thing as a beauty standard.
It's easy these days, in the age of filters and invasive treatments, to lose perspective and forget the beauty in our unique features and faces. Easy to forget that it's all meant to be fun.
Makeup can be many things: A wonderful creative outlet for self-expression with bold and colourful or edgy looks. Or it can be your tool to enhance what you already have, embracing your beauty. To enjoy the process of looking after your skin. With so many products and tutorials out there it's easy to get overwhelmed.
But if you are like me, you might be looking for simple, practical, quick & easy techniques that you can use to do your makeup every day.
Are you looking for products that make you feel good, support your skin and your health, and leave you fresh and glowing? You want your makeup to not take up too much of your precious time, still allowing you to focus on all the other important and meaningful things that you wish to do in your day.
Enhance, not mask your natural beauty
A natural makeup look works with your features, rather than trying to change them. Natural makeup uses fewer steps, fewer products and only small amounts of those.
If you have five minutes in the morning, that's all that it takes for a personal fresh look. You don't need a whole bag or shelf full of different potions and lotions, nor is a complete brush and tool collection necessary.
If you are starting out to find the right products, look for multitasking products. A colour that you can use on both your lips and cheeks, for example. Cream products are easy to blend with fingers, which saves time and the need for additional tools.
If you already own everything under the sun and have given in to many impulse buys that are now collecting dust, don't fret. It's time to simplify and curate your collection and only keep your key products for the season on hand, where you can access them easily. Store the rest for now.
Finding the right products for your skin type, season and life stage is more important than how many products you are using.
Quality over quantity. Be mindful when shopping, take time to select something and read the ingredient label. Avoid synthetic fragrances in your beauty routine. They don't improve the performance of your product, yet they increase allergy risks. Make sure you actually enjoy using the product. Do you like the feel, the texture and the scent?
Your 5-Minute Feel-Good Makeup Routine
Skin Prep
Every makeup starts with good skin prep.
Take time to apply the products gently and give your face a massage to improve circulation and lymph flow, this will wake up your skin and reduce puffiness.
If your skin is sensitive to touch, you can try a cooling crystal roller or gentle patting instead.
Listen and feel your skin and its needs. Your routine is all about feeling good and beautiful in your skin.
A few drops of a natural form of hyaluronic acid serum followed by a botanical oil, moisturiser or balm, depending on your skin type, will lock in moisture and prep the skin for makeup application.
You want the products to absorb into the skin and create a smooth surface.
If your skin is dry, don't be shy, apply another layer, use your moisturiser as a mask overnight, and listen to how much moisture your skin needs.
In Winter or harsh conditions, or if you have just had an illness, a balm can be soothing and healing and provide more nourishment.
The products must work together, not against each other; certain textures won't sit on top of each other and can make your makeup peel and roll off your skin, known as pilling.
If you will spend a reasonable amount of time outside, apply a mineral SPF, the ones designed to be primers and have a slight tint usually work best and won't leave a white cast.
If you are spending the day indoors, skip this step and focus on your moisturiser. This moisturiser will act as your primer.
Unless you have extremely oily skin or need a waterproof finish, no need to use a separate priming product every day.
Foundation
To find the right foundation, you need to understand your skin tone, texture and also skin type. What works for one person doesn't work for another.
Always aim for as little coverage as possible for a natural look and skin-like finish.You might prefer a lightweight skin tint or serum foundation for a light overall glow. This works best when applied with fingers or a foundation brush.
The drier the skin, the more glow you want in your foundation. A liquid foundation will work best.
For oily skin, choose a powder foundation or a foundation with a more matte finish, these will need to be applied with a powder brush.
These bases also have many ingredients that protect and support your skin built-in, makeup doesn't need to be bad for your skin anymore.
Always start with the smallest amount of product in the centre of your face and then blend outwards.
You can use a concealer, full-coverage or stick foundation to add a little more coverage where needed, but use it only in small amounts and work it well into the skin.
This can also give a natural result but will be more suitable if you have skin concerns (acne, rosacea, redness, pigmentation, dark circles)
Blush & Bronze
Cream or stick products can be your best friend for everyday makeup when you want to be quick and have a radiant result.
A little colour on the cheek prevents you from looking washed out after applying foundation and brings dimension to the face.
You can apply the blush colour on the apple of the cheek and blend it upwards.
Choose a bronzer that isn't too orange or sparkly; this way, you can use it as a soft contour and avoid looking like a disco ball in the daylight.
Sparkles work better at night if they are your thing.
Eyes
A good eyelash curler is such a great investment. Give your lashes 3 good squeezes to open up your eyes.
A wash of colour on the lid, that can also be your blush or bronzer, a coat of black or clear mascara, you decide.
Brush your eyebrows with a spoolie brush and fill them in softly; they are important to frame your face.
A brow powder can make sparse brows look fuller yet softer, a pencil can draw in any missing hairs and define.
If your brows are naturally full and even simply brush them upwards and outwards with a clear brow gel.
Lip
Just dab the colour on from your lipstick and press into the lips for a light stain that is easy to wear. A lip oil or gloss keeps the lips from feeling and looking dry and can also be more subtle and sheer.
Setting
Setting for drier skin is best with a hydrating mist, oily skin will be best finished off with a translucent powder.
If your makeup doesn't need to last for a long time, setting is entirely optional. Observe how your skin reacts during the day.
How to use colours that suit me
Find your personal style! Do you love a pop of colour on the lip and cheek (use one product for both) or do you love more expressive eyes?
Use complementary colours (the colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel). Blue eyes do well with bronze and warm golds. Green eyes? Try a Bordeaux eyepencil or deep aubergine mascara to make them pop. To make your brown eyes stand out, try shades of blue.
Don't worry, it doesn't need to be a whole layer of bright eyeshadow. Just a subtle tightliner or fine eyeliner with a hue of colour is enough. Brown eyes also look beautiful with gold and bronze tones for a more neutral look. Or do you want everything to be subtle yet enhanced? Go for neutral blush with a depth that matches your skin, softer pastel shades for fair skin and deeper tones for more tanned skin.
A hint of bronzer on the eyes and below the cheekbones, and a rosy or peachy gloss, lip oil or stain. Have a play and see what makes you feel the most confident. It is meant to be fun.
Want to learn more?
If you would like to get some help on how to get started, to understand your skin and its needs better or learn more about feeling beautiful in your skin, please get in touch for a bespoke 1:1 session with me or read more about natural beauty by following me on Instagram and reading my blog.
Liv Lundelius
Make Up Artist
