Monochromatic Makeup Has Cut Down My Beauty Routine by Half the Time—and It Looks Cool

I used to be really precious about my makeup application: I’d set an alarm, wake up early, and blend about 12 different shades on—and that was just for my eyes. But lately all I want to do is to roll out of bed and slap some color on my face, preferably in a haphazard, slightly messy manner. No brushes. Just my fingertips.

Enter: monochromatic makeup. It’s come and gone as the trend du jour in many different iterations over the years, but in 2017 I like to think of it as the makeup lover’s version of the “groutfit” (that would be the all-gray outfit—unofficial uniform to lazy girls who want to look like they’re not. No shade, it’s why I love it. I’m lazy.)

Mono makeup is effortless in an “Oh, this? I just threw it together” kind of way. And whenever I wear it, I get compliments. Little does everyone know that I mostly wear this look so I don’t have to worry about what colors I should blend together on my eyes or whether my blush complements my lipstick. If they’re the same color, they obviously match. Duh.

I turned to makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes, who I took some serious inspiration from when creating my mono looks, for her take on the trend. “You don’t need much to create it—a lip, a cheek, and an eyeshadow all in the same shade,” she says, “Even though you’re using one kind of shade, it will read slightly different on different places on your face, which is good.” She recommends using your fingers to apply creamy products (like the Bite Multisticks) for a natural finish. And that’s exactly where I started to create my first monochromatic look.

Here, my week in color.

Products used: Bite Multistick in Cashew ($24), Bite Lip Pencil in 032 ($18)

Time spent: 3 minutes

Why I love it: The Bite Multistick goes on like a cream but dries like a powder—and comes in a handy little stick. I’ve tried it in every rosy pink and nude shade by now. (If you can’t tell, the brand is one of my go-tos, especially for lipstick.) I slicked the stick over my eyes and cheeks and blended with my fingers. The matte formula was a bit dry for my lips so I went with a pencil that matched. The end result: an allover wash of color that’s as easy to wear as jeans and a tee.

Product used: YSL Kiss & Blush Duo Stick in Cute to Devilish ($34)

Time spent: 1 minute

Why I love it: Peach makeup is taking over Instagram right now, so obviously I want it all over my face. The YSL stick I used here has one burnt orange side and one poppy orange side, which I like to blend together on my eyes, lips, and cheeks since I can’t decide which shade I love more. It’s a cute little chubby stick that I can throw in my bag and use all over. No other makeup required.

Products used: Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff ($18), Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Bait ($26)

Time spent: 3 minutes

Why I love it: I can hear the questions now: Isn’t Glossier’s Cloud Paint a blush? Yes, but I use those babies all over my lids too. Puff is my favorite of the shades because the baby pink color pops against my pale skin. I like to layer it on my lids and just above the crease to make the color really stand out and then I dab it onto my cheeks and up toward my temples. It starts to look a little too matte everywhere though, hence the pink lip with some shine. I totally feel like Barbie—and I’m not mad at it.

Product used: Nudestix Intense Matte Lip + Cheek Pencil in Vintage ($24)

Time spent: 5 minutes

Why I love it: Poppy colors are fun, but sometimes you just want to look a little edgier, ya know? I love a deep purply red on my lips, my cheeks, and my eyes, so I figured I might as well put them together. Legit, all I used was this one Nudestix Pencil. I smudge it over my lids and a little bit under my lower lash line. Then I just dot it on my cheeks and blend with my fingers and fill in my lips like I would with any lipstick. It’s vampy without being too over-the-top, which is usually the vibe I’m going for on a night out. Also, for what it’s worth, it’s the look that nearly everyone I talked to complimented me on. It’s hard to go unnoticed in it, I’ll just say that.

Products used: Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Lips in Saboteur ($60)

Time spent: 2 minutes

Why I love it: We’ve all heard about the lipstick-as-blush-and-eyeshadow beauty hack for when you’re stranded without your entire makeup bag. Of course, I never really tried it. (Perk of being a beauty editor: You always have plenty of makeup floating around in your purse.) But then I saw this Tom Ford lip color and lost it. At first, I thought it was an eyeshadow duo and stuck my finger in it to find that it was actually not a cream shadow but lipstick. Regardless, I still wanted to put it all over my face, and that’s how I arrived here. I mixed the two purple shades together to create a bright raspberry hue, which I put on with the sponge applicator since it gives me more control than using my fingers and makes it easier to blend the super-creamy texture into my lids.

I’ll probably go back to my more involved eyeshadow palettes at some point, but for now monochrome is my perfect match.

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