There are some really wonderful ways that we can mix makeup products together and multi-task with them which can not only save time and money – but which can also solve problems and create some beautiful new looks. And these techniques can work especially well for those of us over 50.

In today’s accompanying video I’ll create a different look on each side of my face by mixing and multi-tasking with a variety of primarily drugstore makeup products. And I’ll share some additional ideas for mixing and multi-tasking as I move through the application process.

Eyebrows

I often use a powder eyebrow product to fill in my brows, but you can multi-task by using a shade of powder eyeshadow that matches your brows. And if you have an eyeliner pencil or a powder bronzer that matches your brow color, you could certainly also use those products to fill in your eyebrows.

And for those of us who have grey and white sprinkled in our brows, finding an eyeshadow color in matching grey shades can often be the very best way to match our brow color since grey eyebrow pencils are hard to find, and they’re often too dark.

Eyeshadow

Instead of using regular powder or stick eyeshadow, I’ll use colors from my Elf Cream Contour Palette on one of my eyes. I’ll use the lightest color on my eyelids and apply it with my fingers. I’ll use the lightest brown cream contour shade in my eyelid crease. And because I want to be more precise with my application, I’ll apply it with a brush.

I could also multi-task by using a powder bronzer in the crease or even a medium toned concealer or foundation color. And since I like the look of a shimmer or metallic lighter color in the middle of my eyelid to brighten that area, I’ll use a cheek highlighter rather than an eyeshadow as my eyelid highlight. I’ll apply the Colourpop Super Shock Cheek color in “Flexitarian” to the middle of my eyelids.

On my other eye I’ll use the lightest concealer shade from my Makeup Forever HD Skin All in One Face palette all over my eyelid. Then I’ll combine the two blush shades for my crease color and use the highlight shade in the center of my eyelid.

Usually, I apply eyeshadow as my eyeliner using an angled brush because it applies so much more easily than an eyeliner pencil. So I’ll use this technique on one eye and use the darkest shade from my Wet and Wild “Nude Awakening” eyeshadow palette.

On the other eye, I’ll use the darkest foundation shade from the Makeup Forever Face Palette as my eyeliner. On the bottom outer third of my eye I’ll apply slightly lighter eyeliner shades from each of these palettes.

Face Products

To give my skin a little more radiance, I’ll apply a liquid highlighter as face primer on each side of my face. On one side, I’m going to use the clean beauty brand InnBeauty Project’s Face Glaze Skin Barrier Veil. And on the other side I’ll use Elf’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter which is a dupe for the far more expensive Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter product.

If we want a lighter coverage on our face than regular foundation provides, we can always mix a tiny bit of concealer or foundation with our moisturizer to create our own tinted moisturizer.

And if we’re using a matte foundation but want a little more glow, we can apply a highlighter underneath our foundation as I’ve done today, or we can add a bit of liquid highlighter to our foundation. Another option is to mix a matte and a dewy foundation together to create a lovely satin look.

Since I’ve applied a highlighter as my face primer, I’m going to use Wet and Wild’s Matte Foundation on one side, and on the other side I’ll mix a very tiny amount of Elf’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter in with the Wet and Wild Matte Foundation. Hopefully, this won’t create a look on that side of my face which is too glowy.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Solving a Problem with Multi-Tasking

We can also multi-task with a makeup product to solve a challenge. Maybe some of you – like me – have a lot of redness on your nose. Often, foundation just doesn’t cover it well enough. So after applying foundation, I’ll often take my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and apply that product to my nose.

Since eye primer is designed to absorb oil on the eyelids so our eyeshadow doesn’t crease or smudge, it helps keep my nose from getting shiny and it also helps reduce redness.

Creating Beautiful Blush Options

We can always mix a little moisturizer with our lipstick color and use that as our blush which I really love doing because it creates a beautiful, harmonious look. I’ll do this on one side of my face by mixing one of my favorite lipstick colors – Milani’s “Violet Volt” – on the back of my hand with some moisturizer to create a beautiful blush color.

If you have a blush color you’re not particularly fond of, you can always mix it with another color to create a look you like better. So I’m going to take an Em Cosmetics blush color called “Baby” – which isn’t a favorite – and mix it in with a liquid blush from Rare Beauty called “Happy.” By mixing these two colors together, I’ll get a color I like much better.

On the other side of my face I’ll mix together two drugstore products. One is Flower Beauty’s Gel Blush Bomb in the shade “Cheeky” and the other is Elf’s Putty Blush in the shade “Bora, Bora.” I love the color that this blush combo creates.

And if you want to create a blush that has a lovely soft glow, you can always mix in a liquid or cream highlighter with a matte blush to create that type of look.

Speaking of highlighter, it’s always possible to use a shimmer or metallic eyeshadow as a cheek highlighter. To show you how this looks, I’ll take a brush and dip it into the shade “Moremi” from the “Warrior Palette” from Juvia’s Place and use this as my cheek highlighter. Using a brush will give a softer glow than using our fingers to apply it.

Lips

I’m going to apply a stick lipstick as my lip liner rather than my regular lip liner. I’ll use Doll 10’s Lip Lock Color Serum in the color “Spell on You.” Then to get the lipstick color I want, I’ll mix together two colors: Doll 10’s lipstick in the shade “Doll’s Only” and Ilia’s lipstick in the shade “Ultra Violet.”

To create the final lip look I want, I need to add some glow. But instead of using a regular lip gloss to create the glow, I’ll dab a very small amount of a liquid highlighter onto my lips: L’Oreal’s Lumi Glotion.

More Good Options

And if you want a really quick and easy makeup routine, you can always use a face palette to multi-task with products. For instance, the “Transition Palette” from Dominique Cosmetics is specifically designed to be used for almost an entire eye and face look.

All of the shades can be used for eyeshadow, but there are also shades that work for our eyebrows and as eyeliner, contour, blush and highlight. For a complete makeup look, all you’d need to add would be foundation, mascara and lipstick.

And the all cream face palette from Makeup Forever which I used earlier for eyeliner has everything you need to create an entire look except mascara.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you multi-task with your makeup products? If so, what do you like to do? Do you often mix together makeup products? What are some of the favorite combinations you’ve created?