Beauty journalist Sarah Tarca's five minute makeup routine for busy, tired mums
With links! Plus, why we need to get better at finding confidence in our own decisions instead of judging others
Today on Ready or Not, I interview the brilliant Sarah Tarca — ex magazine queen, beauty journalist, mother of two, and co-founder of Gloss Etc. I’ll get to why you should listen to the whole episode later, but first, I couldn’t help but ask her about a makeup routine for the mums out there that are like me — not a beauty person, but not not a beauty person, either.
Here’s her tips
First things first: Skincare:
Before we even get into makeup, Tarca says to “spend the time with the skincare, first of all, because you need less makeup when your skin is looking good.”
Hang on then, I say! What’s your skincare routine? I need to know. I need her to explain it to me like I’m five years old.
Here’s her basic routine and advice:
— PM: You have to cleanse at nighttime to get off everything from the day and then choose a serum. A serum is where you spend your money because it does the hardest work. So, it depends on what your skin type is, but I think a lot of new mums get very dehydrated with all the hormones and what not. So getting a hydrating serum is a good place to start. I use a retinol at nighttime (LM: FYI I don’t think retinol is recommended when breastfeeding so have a look at the advice), and I use it with a hydrating serum.
You can use a cheap cleanser and a cheap moisturiser, and then spend your money on the serum. So, get a gentle chemist cleanser, like CeraVe or Cetaphil, and whatever you like for the moisturiser.
— AM: Vitamin C in the morning is non-negotiable for me, and sunscreen, of course.
As for the makeup? Here’s Sarah’s tips:
“The key is not to overdo it. It looks like you’re hiding something.”
But we don’t need to hide anything. We need simplicity. Here’s how she keeps it simple:
— Step 1: Go in with the concealer first.
“ I apply that to the red spots, so under the eyes, but also sort of around the nose. If you go in with that first, then you can see how little coverage you need on the rest of your face. Whereas if you go in after your foundation or tinted moisturiser, you end up putting more on. You might find after you've put on the concealer that actually you don't need any foundation at all because that's given enough coverage.”
— Step 2: “I start with a face tint or tinted moisturiser mixed with some illuminator. Mecca Cosmetica have a really great one that I love called In A Good Light. It is literally just a sheer coverage because it's glowy.” (LM: looks like there’s a few products in this range so I’ve linked the face tint here, illuminator here).
— Step 3: A lick of something on your our lips, your lashes, and your cheeks (LM: for the cheeks, she recommends Merit, who are known for their five minute makeup routines, and I personally am a big fan of Fluff).
— Step 4: Focus on what makes you feel good. In Sarah’s case, this is making sure her eyebrows are groomed (LM: I couldn’t agree more with this more, and I personally love dying my eyebrows at home and shaping them with The Complete Brow) and getting her nails done.
As for the rest of the interview and why you need to listen…
Sarah Tarca's decision not to send her kids to childcare has nothing to do with me and my choice to send mine, and yet, of all the choices she's made in her parenting life, this is the one that is the most divisive...the one that compels people to voice their opinion the loudest.
She's not holding up childcare is bad signs, she's not telling others not to do it. Simply, it just wasn't part of her motherhood and career plan. And after listening to her talk about it, I'm convinced that we can all get a little better at finding confidence in our own choices, rather than judging someone else's.
Prior to motherhood, she cut her teeth at the likes of Cosmo and Girlfriend, before building a freelance career as a beauty journalist that would allow her to travel and work around the world. In fact, she was on a plane to Brazil to attend Carnival when she got the call to confirm her first pregnancy.
Here, she talks about the identity loss that came with leaving her corporate career behind, what she learned from how Mia Freedman made work, work as a young mum in the media world, how starting her family later than the norm helped her to create the flexible work schedule she wanted, and why childcare wasn't part of the plan for her family.
Love this—anything that gets me out the door with some makeup and not looking like I’ve had 3 hours’ sleep is a win.