Some days it seems like you barely have enough time in your schedule to shower before class, let alone put together the perfect look. But amazingly, Northwestern is filled with students who manage to look flawless — even with five midterms a week and a thousand extracurriculars. Each week, I’ll talk to someone on campus and get her makeup tips and tricks. This week, I talked to Medill freshman Sarah Spellings, and she gave the rundown on how to achieve a basic, everyday fresh look (while still getting enough sleep).

The Basic Look

Step 1: Primer

Starting with primer is a must for Spellings. Primer helps makeup stay better and makes it last all day.

Everyday, Spellings applies a half-pea sized drop under her eyes, at the tip of her nose and on other spots that might get oily throughout the day.  If you have trouble with dark circles, explains Spellings, you should make sure to apply primer under the eyes.

While that small amount might seem too little, Spellings reminds us that you don’t need a lot, since primer smooths over really well.

Sarah’s Tip: “Also, if you have to worry about wrinkles or discoloration of the skin (primer) will even out that too.”

Step 2: Concealer

Next, Spellings uses a concealer. This wonder paste hides the dark circles under your eyes to mask those unflattering all-nighter side effects. Spellings recommends Benefit’s concealers and using a pot and brush to apply it under the eyes.

Getting the right brush is key. Spellings explains that concealer brushes are flat and have stiff bristles that allow the makeup to be pushed into the skin evenly unlike a powder brush’s fluffy bristles that are meant to pick up pigment.

Spellings also adds that a concealer can be used for other places you have discoloration. To blend the concealer, just brush over the areas it’s applied with powder.

Sarah’s Tip: “When you’re in a store and you’re trying to find out what concealer to use, use the palm of your hand to test the skin and not the outside of your hand. The palm on your skin is closer to the skin on your actual face.”

Step 3: BB cream

No foundation! Yes, you can get a natural look without using foundation every day. Spellings says using foundation daily feels heavy, so instead she uses a light BB (beauty balm) cream. BB cream helps give you everything your skin would need during the day like sun protection, a little color and hydration.

There is another, similar option: CC (color correcting) cream which helps more with balancing your skin tone.

Sarah’s Tip: “It depends on your skin type. If you have a lot of discoloration or if your skin tone is uneven, then I would go with a CC (cream), but if not, then a BB cream gets the job done.”

Step 4: Eyes

For eyeliner, Spellings uses brown instead of black because she has (fun fact) one green eye and one blue eye. For her eyes, she feels black is too harsh for an everyday look. Therefore, the color you choose should be one that best suits your eye color.

Spellings applies eyeliner from the middle of her iris outward and uses no liner on the bottom. She explains that a full top line can make the eye look smaller as can liner on the bottom lid.

She advises that liner should be thickest at the outer corner of your eye to give you that open, doe-eyed look.

The next tip has approval from both last week’s maverick Sharon Wei and Spellings. Both say putting a light color on the inside of the eyes by the tear ducts helps brighten your eyes and makes you look more awake.

For mascara, Spellings applies her favorite drugstore brand, Maybelline’s Volum’ Express The Falsies. Of course, it’s your choice as to what is the perfect mascara match for you.

Apply mascara as normal by looking forward and gently wiggling the mascara wand as you sweep upward.

Sarah’s Tip: “Take care of your eyebrows because a good eyebrow job — this is something someone on Stitch told me — is like a face-lift. So if you just maintain your eyebrows that really makes a big difference.”

Step 5: Bronzer

Bronzer is applied on top of the primer and/or BB cream you applied earlier. Spellings focuses on sweeping underneath the cheekbones because she explains that the point of bronzer or contouring in general is “to darken the places you want to sink in and highlight the places you want to stand out.” The result? More definition around the face.

Sarah’s Tip: “When you’re applying bronzer you want to do it in a 3 shape. What that means is you want to take it from the middle of your forehead and kind of go out and then underneath your cheek bones and then out and then right underneath your chin.”

Optional Step 6: Lips

The last step is lip color. You don’t have to do this step to complete your look, but Spellings loves lip color so for her it’s a must. Most days she wears a chubby balm with color. This type of product gives enough color without being too heavy or glossy. Right now her favorite product is Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm. 

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