You know that woman. Maybe you see her dropping her kids off at school when you pull into the same parking lot. She may even frequent the same grocery store. Her skin is glowing and her eyelashes are long and dark without looking false. She’s a natural beauty…or is she?

In recent years it seems like everyone has been trying to pull off the “I woke up like this” look à la Beyoncé. Long gone are the days of looking like you meticulously applied your eye makeup and straightened your hair. For many moms, this laissez-faire approach to beauty is very welcome. The hard part: looking natural isn’t as easy as it appears.

Thankfully there is an assortment of products on the market that caters to women who want to look naturally beautiful without all of the work. When you use these five products, you’re five steps away from looking naturally, and like the title of a recent Beyoncé hit, flawless.

 1.  SimySkin Face Serum

When it comes to achieving the no-makeup look, great skin is key, but a busy mom doesn’t need a time-consuming, multi-step skincare routine. That’s why the SimySkin Face Serum collection is a dream. The serum comes in two types: Phase I for women ages 25 to 45 and Phase II for women 45 and older. Phase I is a hydrating serum that protects against signs of aging, while Phase II repairs and firms skin. Both serums provide sun protection, so applying a heavy sunscreen is one more step you can mark off your to-do list. Simply apply the serum twice a day post cleansing to start seeing results.

2.  Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation

Finding a foundation to match your skin can be difficult. What’s even more difficult: finding one that doesn’t look and feel like foundation. Maybelline is known for its impressive liquid foundations, and the SuperStay Better Skin Foundation may be one of the best ones yet. This baby provides medium-to-full coverage and improves your skin over time thanks to the bonus ingredient Actyl-C, a stronger form of vitamin C. Users claim the foundation looks and feels like real skin and they’ve been complimented on their skin since they started using it. Sign us up!

3.  Physician’s Formula pH Matchmaker pH Powered Bronzer (for lighter skintones)

These next two products are take-your-pick options. Physicians’s Fomula, the reigning queen of drugstore bronzers, hit the ball out of the park with the pH Matchmaker pH Powered Bronzer. Unlike most bronzers, this bronzer (available in Light Bronzer and Bronze) has a brown undertone rather than orange so you won’t have to worry about that dreaded fake tan look. The product’s formula also reacts to light, transforming into your perfect shade in 60 seconds or less. Dust the powder on your cheeks, nose and the sides of your forehead for the perfect sun-kissed glow.

4.  L’Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Highlighter Deep (for darker skintones)

If you have deep or dark skin, then you’ve probably had difficulty finding bronzers or contour shades to suit your skintone. Drugstore products and makeup brands in general are notorious for not having a wide enough range of colors to suit darker skintones. When it comes to creating a natural look, however, you don’t need a ton of bronzers, contour shades, or different concealers. You just need a little highlighter. The L’Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Highlighter in Deep doubles as a brightening concealer as well, so any signs of a late night can be covered up using this handy highlighter. Apply the product under and in the inner corners of your eyes, down your nose, across the middle of your forehead, and above your cupid’s bow for glow that looks lit from within.

5.  Milani Color Statement Lipstick – Nude Creme

Behold; this may be the nude lipstick to end all nude lipsticks, and it’ll only cost you around six dollars. The Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Nude Creme has a creamy formula that is easy to apply and is neither matte nor super shiny. While most nude lipsticks work on just a few skintones, Nude Creme is a neutral pink that looks great on everyone. The color will look like your natural lip color, just better. Want something a little brighter? Milani offers a variety of shades in the lipstick, ranging from pinks to purples and corals to reds. Plus, the gold packaging is super chic.

The post 5 Products for Achieving that ‘No-Makeup’ Makeup Look appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

In my last article, New Year, New You! Feel Beautiful! I wrote about a few different ways to change up your look and put your best foot forward this New Year.  Now I want to add a follow up on my favorite part the body that I think deserves a little more attention, the eyes.  Your eyes are the first things that people notice when they see you.  That’s how people can tell if you got enough sleep last night or if you were up with a sick kid.  You can play them up to create a dramatic sultry look, or keep them simple and bright.  “They” say that your eyes are the windows to your soul, and while I am not sure if that is true, they are a window to how you are feeling emotionally and how you feel about yourself.

The tell tale signs of a woman with too much on her plate are the puffy, dark circles around her eyes.  I have had them most of my life and I thought that they were just something that I would have to live with, until I found a product that was truly a dream come true!  My go-to eye product that I swear by is the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller.  It is a concealer that stays put all day and works to decrease the puffiness and darkness over time!  Two-in-one products are lifesavers when you want to look good in a hurry.  This easy to use roll-on applicator is gentle on the delicate skin around your eyes dispenses the perfect amount of product.  So how does it wake up your tired eyes?  The secret ingredient caffeine, how else?

The foundation of any great eye-look is a set of long beautiful lashes.  If false lashes have never seemed appealing, your alternative is maximizing your natural lashes.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of cheap products on the market that just don’t work but the good news is that if you are willing to sift through the bad, you can find some truly great products that produce amazing results!  There are two main things to consider when looking for a serum, the brand and the reviews.  For example, Le Métier de Beauté is a luxury skin care company that is sold at high-end department stores (and online) and has an amazing reputation!  So, when they came out with Peau Vierge Lash Growth Serum, the beauty world was set a buzz.

Along with a great brand, look for great reviews!  People can be brutally honest when it comes to leaving reviews on products, so you know what to expect with the product!  It is hard to find a product with better reviews than GrandeLASH-MD Lash Serum.  You can see the quality of their product simply by going to their website selecting the product and scrolling down to see what people are saying about it!

There are few things that look worse than the raccoon-eye that develops through out the day from eyeliner smudging and smearing.  This is my problem with most crayon/pencil liners, they look great immediately after application, but by noon I look like an angst-filled teenager.  If this is a problem for you as well, try a gel liner.  I know that they can seem intimidating at first but I promise they are easy with a little practice.  My favorite gel liner is Maybelline Lasting Drama by EyeStudio Gel Eyeliner.  Not only does it stay perfectly in place all day but it also gives you way more control over the thickness of the line.  Invest in a flat, angled liner brush (I literally use a $5 drug store one) and give gel liner a try.  Just be prepared to say goodbye to raccoon eyes forever!

For daytime looks I love matte shadows in a color that complements your eyes, but for night looks there is one universally flattering choice, a champagne shadow with a light shimmer.  Somewhere between a gold and a light brown, champagne complements all skin tones and eye colors.  This is an easy, wearable color that helps to brighten even tired eyes.  To create this elegant look sweep the color over the entire lid from lash line to the bottom of the brow bone.  Finish the look with a thin line of eyeliner (in whatever shade you prefer) and few swipes of mascara.

Try: Shimmer-Wash-Eye-Shadow in Champagne by Bobbi Brown

If you give your eyes a little attention, you can transform your entire appearance.  Now go out into the world confident, batting your perfect peepers!

The post New Year, New You! Perfect Peepers! appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.