From professional work meetings to no-makeup weekends: A beauty editor shares her weekly beauty diary.

Omg my beauty diary! Out in the open! Geez... I could've sworn I kept a lock on this thing?! What a doofus. Where did you find it?  

Wa-wa-wait! Don't read it! 

Oh, well... uh... seeing as you're here and you've already have a nosy through the pages, you may as well take a seat and start, I guess. Do you want a tea or anything?

Nah, there's nothing too scandalous in there - so don't get all excited. 

But if you are the type of folk who quite enjoys being a nosy creep when it comes to what other people put on their face, you'll probably be into this kinda thing. 

Cause as an insufferable beauty rascal who tries A LOT of different skincare and makeup products for 'work', this is where I keep a record of my Daily Face. That is, what kind of products I like to slap on my skin all the way from Monday to Sunday. 

And while you'll find that I heavily enjoy swapping and switching between different products pending on the type of day I'm in for (being a stunt double, feeding my pet jaguar, lounging at home etc.), you'll probably notice that there's one thing that remains pretty dang consistent in my daily routine.

Wanna guess? Go on, take a guess!

What? No, not my obsession with Burger Rings. It's my sunscreen application, you sweet fool! I'm *always* consistent with my sun protection.

Don't give me that eye-rolly face. Y'know I just want to help reduce some skin cancers and premature skin ageing.

Oh, you wanna know exactly what sunscreen I use? Knew you'd come around.

Shuffle over and let's read this together, shall we? 

Monday

In the morning, if my face is a little puffy I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser...

Jks, jks, jks. I'm not going to go all Patrick Bateman on you! (Yet).

On Sunday evenings I like to tell myself I'm going to wake up Monday morning feeling fresh, well-rested, meal-prepped and ready to take on the week. But alas, it's all lies.

I wake up approximately too late every Monday morning, drag my dull little face and frizzy hair outta bed and go straight to the bathroom sink to wash my face (if I don't do this first thing I just, like, go back to sleep).

I simply splash my skin with some cool water, pat it dry and wander over to my skincare trolley (a skincare trolley? What am I a dermatologist now?) and slap on a hydrating serum, followed by a vitamin C serum and a light moisturiser (with drying time in between - obvs).

Now for the important part - sunscreen! My go-to is Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen, $14.95. As I mentioned earlier (um... are you skimming?), this 50+SPF is my non-negotiable. Cause sun damage sucks. Also, this formula feels comfy and light on my fussy skin and makes my makeup sit nice.

Image: Supplied 

Just on makeup: I tend to keep things fairly natural on a Monday (cause, tired). 

I'll apply a couple of dabs of BB cream to the centre of my face to cover any redness around my nose, chin and forehead. I also pop a little bit of concealer under my eyes to make me look all well-rested and stuff (I just use my ring finger for this). 

I finish it all off with a big fat slick (or seventy) of mascara to make me look wide awake. I'm never been very loyal to my mascaras (#playa), so I usually switch and swap between formulas. Oh! Oh! And brows. I never leave without eyebrow gel - because mine are up there with Bart Cummings' big fellas.

I then briskly walk/run up to the bus stop, miss my bus and wait 15 minutes for the next one. It's always sunny as hell waiting at the bus stop, and I usually take this time to chuck on my sunnies and congratulate myself for always remembering to apply sunscreen. It's the little things, right?

Tuesday

While it can differ week-to-week, Tuesday is the day most of my colleagues are in the office, so I like to look a little more pulled-together because I know I'll have a few internal meetings (also, in case it is someone's birthday and a Woolies cake makes an appearance).

On these mornings I try to wake up a little earlier and do a quick work out or go for a walk (this has about a 15 per cent chance of happening), so I generally have a little more time to get ready.

After washing my face and applying a hyaluronic acid serum and a vitamin C serum, I'll go in with a lightweight moisturiser and then cover my face, neck and chest with sunscreen (again, Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen is my jam).

When it comes to my Tuesday face, I'll usually opt for a medium-coverage foundation and then I apply it evenly over my face using my fingers. I'll use a damp beauty sponge to make sure it's blended in around my hairline and neck. 

To amp up that fresh and glowy look, I love to add a couple of dabs of cream blush on my cheeks and some highlighter over my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, under my brows and on my cupid's bow. So dewy! So bright!

When it comes to my brows, I'll go in with a pencil and fill in any sparse areas, before going in with a trusty gel. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll do a lil winged liner situation (oOoOo!) and apply a couple of coats of mascara.

I do a dance. Grab my lunch. Pop Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen in my bag (cause, topping up your sunscreen during the day is a thing you should do). Run to the bus.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays, I'll maybe have an external meeting or, invariably, have an event to attend - so again, I put in a little more effort on these days so as to not make it *so* hard for people to believe that working in beauty is my job.

So! Wednesday mornings are usually my under-eye mask mornings. YES! A morning for under-eye masks. This is a thing that I do. 

I'll try wake up a little bit earlier (not guaranteed) and after washing my face, I'll stick on a couple of juicy and hydrating under-eye patches and make myself some coffee (and scroll through Instagram for way too long).

After slapping on some serums and a moisturiser, I'll then reach for my trusty Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen and apply this to my mug, before chucking the tube in my handbag and thinking about how I should just have one 'home' tube and one 'bag' tube.

For no other reason than the fact that Wednesdays are in need of more sparkle (and less 'Happy Hump Day!' email greetings), I like to zhoosh up my makeup look and bring a jazzy eye or statement lip off the beauty bench.

A brown kinda smokey eye is my go-to (different! adventurous!), and I'll usually switch between palettes and use around three different shades - one for the base, one for all over the lid and a deeper one for shading on the outer section of my eyelid. If I'm feeling it, I'll apply a little something sparkly to the inner corners/middle section of my eye to really make 'em pop.

I'll rarely do a jazzy eye look AND a statement lip - it's usually one or the other for me. But if I'm doing a statement lip, I'll make sure my lips are exfoliated and moisturised, so the lipstick doesn't end up looking all flaky and gross by 2pm.

On these days I'll also chuck a few products into a small makeup bag and bring them with me, so I can top up my makeup/sunscreen on-the-go. Double whammy!

Thursday

Thursdays! My day off! I don't work on Thursdays as I'm a cute part-timer, so it's all about skincare and less about makeup on these kinds of days.

After sleeping in approximately way too long, I'll wake up and wash my face before chucking on a hydrating sheet mask and letting it do its thing while I make coffee/watching some trashy TV show. 

Disclaimer: I have super dry skin - so I like to work in a couple of masking sessions every week to keep my skin happy and in check (read: not flaky and annoying).

Afterwards, I'll slather on SPF. 

I'm super cautious about sun protection every day (can you tell?) and never skip this step - but I'm EXTRA cautious on a Thursday (even if the weather is utter poo), because I know I'll be out and about.

Friday

Omg is it Friday already?! What a week! 

Whether I'm working from home or going into the office, I usually like to keep my Friday Face pretty pared back and minimal (unless I have an event or something... in which case I'll amp it up a little). 

After washing my face, slapping on a serum or two (the specific serum and ingredients always change depending on how my skin is feeling on the day) and applying my staple SPF (ahem... Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen, just in case you've not actually been reading anything I've written so far.), I'll rustle up a natural, glowy makeup look.

Starting in the centre of my face, I'll apply some BB cream to cover any red spots or blemishes (usually around my chin and/or nose) and add a swipe of mascara to my eyelashes, maybe some cream blush - nothing too fancy! 

Saturday 

The diary notes are getting shorter and my makeup application getting almost non-existent, which means one thing... it's SATURDAY, FRIEND.

Sun damage doesn't take any days off, so the only thing that really remains the same over the weekend is my sunscreen application. 

Yeah, I'll still wash my face in the morning (obvs) and apply some serums and such, but this is the one thing I make sure I don't slip up on. 

Similarly to Thursdays, I'll make sure I am SUPER cautious with my sunscreen application, and cover my neck, ears and chest - I take it all the way down to my boobs!

My makeup routine varies on the weekend (pending on breakfasts and boozy lunches with friends and dogs), but for the most part, I'll usually go makeup-free and let my skin breathe.

Whatever the plans are, I always make sure I have a tube of sunscreen kicking around in my bag so I can re-apply through the day, like the insufferable sun safe beauty editor that I am.

Sunday

This is when I go full beauty nerd and ramp up the skincare side of things. Like, I pretty much turn my Sunday into a full day of self-care - just cause I can.

Upon crawling out of bed about three hours after my boyfriend, I'll apply some kind of detox mask (usually a clay one) first thing. 

I'll leave this on while we make breakfast, have coffee and chat about how scary I look and if I can move my face enough to eat bacon. 

I try to do a detox mask most weekends, because I feel like it really clears out my pores, polishes my face and leaves me with a clean slate to tackle the new week ahead. Cause while I may suck at meal planning and getting enough sleep, one thing I don't suck at is unclogging my pores (and wearing sunscreen).

After washing off my mask, I follow with a hydrating serum and usually some form of vitamin C, before applying an eye cream and SPF.

Makeup-wise, I'm very much pared-back and natural. Because listen, I'm not going to spend two hours on pampering my skin, only to cover it all up in makeup.

So, there you go! That's my weekly beauty routine. See? Wasn't it great? (Just nod, please).

But if anything, it kind of just goes to show that it doesn't really matter what you use or buy (so many products out there! So many brands! So much confusion!), if you protect your skin from the sun on the daily, then friend - you're doing it right.  

Feature image: Supplied.

What does your beauty routine look like? Is sunscreen one of your skincare staples, too? Share with us in the comment section below.

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