Can You *Really* Apply Your Makeup With Just One Product?

Photo: Stocksy/Alberto Bogo

Recreating a gorgeous fresh-face of makeup in a locker room mirror may seem almost impossible, but this season's on-trend look is so minimalistic, it only requires one product (truly!). Lazy girls—and girls who hate lugging around an entire makeup bag all day after an a.m. workout class—rejoice!

The secret to this pared-down look is monochromatic makeup or using a single shade all over your lids, cheeks, and lips. It's basically the makeup equivalent of matching your sports bra and leggings to your sneakers, and it means that you don't ever have to think about coordinating colors ever again.

"It keeps coming back in trend because it's easy to create," says Kristine Cruz, a senior makeup artist at New York City's Antonio Prieto Salon. And to make things even easier? Instead of using a complicated combo of different shades of blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick to get the matchy-matchy look, you can really use just one product in place of all three.

Here's how: Start by choosing a shade that you love. Next, opt for a creamy or gel-like formula—albeit it in a pot, palette, or stick—then triple its use and apply it as you would blush, eyeshadow, and lip stain. "I often like the colors in a lip and cheek palette and then just use the same shade on those two areas as well as dab a hint of that color on the eyelids, too," says Cruz.

Don't have a creamy formula on hand? Don't worry. Pretty much any powdery product can double as an eyeshadow and blush—and you just have to mix it with a sheer balm to create a smooth, easy-to-apply finish for lips. Here, our favorite monochromatic color combos. Try one—or try them all—whichever way you choose, you'll still help to lighten the load of that bursting-at-the-seams makeup bag.

Loading More Posts...