The Chief AI Officer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center invited me to speak at his annual conference and leadership retreat in A Coruña last week. It was an event with all the trimmings, it even had hair and makeup. This is not that common at European conferences. However, the makeup artist took one look at me and said I didn’t need anything and that I did a great job. What a compliment from a pro! The reason is; I have made ALL of the mistakes in the past and I have found what works.
In this post I will share the 5 products that are always with me when I have to speak in bright lights. I also used most of these for my photoshoot in Seoul, which is the picture in the header. The photos came out nicely.
Some are high-end, some cost less than a coffee, but they all work.
1. L’Oréal Infaillible Matte Resistance Lipstick
Comfortable matte that actually stays put, no smudging on glasses, mics, or colleagues’ cheeks.
The shade range is decent, but the most important thing is that it doesn’t start getting flakey or wear strangely. Some lip products go pale or white on the inner lip, which is horrible.
Great value: performs like luxury, priced like pharmacy (drug store for my American friends).
2. Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation
You often have to look a bit too made up in person for looking well on stage when it comes to choosing a foundation. The Double Wear foundation is quite heavy, but I always apply a very thin layer with a wet sponge like one of the ones from real techniques. I choose this product because it wears so well. It’s a cult classic for a reason and with the right skincare and primer underneath and a good powder it does not look cakey. It also lasts for a good few hours before you do need to powder again. I have combination skin so I tend to go shiny on the forehead, nose around the mouth and chin.
In terms of my top tips for using it :
- Start with a thin layer, you can always add more
- Combine it with a corrector under your eyes if you do have under eye bags or darkness, which I do.
- Then add the Double Wear concealer as well.
3. Estée Lauder Double Wear Concealer
I only picked this up on my most recent trip away and I just chanced my arm and thought how good can this really be? Turns out it’s really, really good.
It’s very smooth and skin-like, but very high coverage. The consistency is fairly thin, it’s not quite like the ink like concealers, but it’s nowhere near as thick as some of the infallible concealers from L’Oreal for example. I personally don’t really like the latter. It’s just too thick and pasty for my liking.
As the name suggests the Double Wear concealer wears well and I like to have it in my handbag for touchups if my foundation starts fading a bit from touching my face or just getting a little bit oily.
It’s the same story as with the foundation; you don’t need a whole lot to get good results. It is a bit of an investment. It’s not the cheapest product, but it does last ages given that you need to use so little. It is not crazy high end either though. I’ve seen Dior foundations (which I wish I liked less), for 70-80 Euro.
4. Essence Lash Princess Mascara
You’re so used to me writing about very bougie items, but here is a surprise, budget friendly, option.
What I like about Lash Princess is that it’s volumising without being heavy, doesn’t flake, and costs about €5. You can find it almost anywhere, which makes it an easy backup when you’re travelling. I usually add a few Ardell cluster lashes if I’m on stage, just enough to give a bit of extra volume. I then blend those clusters with my own lashes using this mascara. Honestly, mascara doesn’t need to be expensive; there are plenty of great options in the drugstore, and this one consistently holds its own against high-end formulas.
5. White or Nude Inner-Eye Pencil
If I’ve had a long flight or a short night, this is the quickest fix. A nude or white pencil on the water line instantly makes your eyes look more awake, even if you’re running on caffeine and willpower. I also use redness-reducing eyedrops because I tend to get dry eyes from too much screen time and busy schedules.
They don’t mimic good sleep, but they do help. I prefer a nude pencil over white; it looks softer and more natural in daylight and on camera.
Rimmel, L’Oreal, Maybelline, all have decent options and I would say don’t buy the absolute cheapest one because often they don’t last well in my experience.
I have plenty more where this came from. Leave me a comment below if you have thoughts, questions or recommendations for future content.
Wishing you a great week ahead,
Emerald
Thank you for sharing your tried well working items, Emerald