Lauren has an effervescent personality with an incredible work ethic and gorgeous locks. Below she shares a game changing product, describes “regrettable” style choices, and explains how she manages stress.
When did you first start wearing makeup?
I’m not sure when I started wearing makeup on a daily basis. It probably started around middle school. Even as a little girl, I was super fascinated by makeup. When I was maybe 6 years old, I remember getting a bizarre and awful color changing lipstick for Christmas one year. It was green and changed to blue, but I was so excited because I loved makeup.
What makeup do you typically wear on a daily basis?
My basic everyday look is eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and blush. Depending on mood, it’ll be brighter or lighter. My shadow and liner game has matured over time, and I actually find it really relaxing in the morning to take care with applying those items.
What about for special occasions?
When it comes to special events, I like to break outside my box and mix it up a little bit. I’m not somebody who wears a lot of foundation on a regular basis, so I’ll go all out when I do have special occasions. In general, I just wear more. Depending on the event, I’ll gauge who I will be with and what the look will be. For example, if I’m wearing a sequined dress, my makeup will have a lot of color and glitter. For a wedding, black tie event, or more formal evening, I’ll go more complete with the products on my face like primer, contour, and highlight. When I do that, I’ll tone it down to more neutrals. If I wear a red lip, I’ll balance it with a natural eye. It really varies.
What are some of your favorite products?
For makeup, I would actually say the game changer product for me is the first Naked Palette by Urban Decay and decent application brushes, of course. I really like brushes by Sigma Beauty and IT Cosmetics. For hair, I would also say Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel and Redken Diamond Oil Glow Dry. The Big Sexy Hair gel really boosts volume and thickness and the Redken Diamond Oil protects from heat while cutting drying time a little bit. As for my skin, I still really like Mario Badescu face moisturizer. My usual go-tos are the Moisture Magnet for daytime and the Chamomile Night Cream for evening. It works well for my skin type, which is very dry and moderately sensitive. I especially love that they are cruelty-free products. I don’t require that my products are vegan or cruelty-free, but I will definitely favor cruelty-free companies whenever possible.
So, what do you typically use on your face?
When it comes to washing my face, I use a facial cleanser from Paula’s Choice (PC) CLEAR Regular System. I started that product line when I had an acne outbreak earlier this year and had some success with it before making other more critical changes. Again, I like PC over other popular product lines because they are cruelty-free and members of PETA’s Leaping Bunny program. For makeup removal, I usually try to use coconut oil. On a typical night, I start by cleansing my face with PC’s CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser followed by PC’s CLEAR Regular Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution. Next, I use a prescription Retin-A to help with my. I also spot treat any blemishes with Clendomicin or PC’s CLEAR Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment. I wrap the routine up with my Mario Badescu Chamomile Night and Eye creams.
Is there any feature that you didn’t like growing up but have grown to like?
I actually really hated my hair growing up because the texture is naturally wavy and curly, but it’s also very fine where the curls tend not to hold. In middle school, I was very natural. I didn’t use flat irons, hair dryers, or even wear hair ties. When I did start wearing hair products, I was not very good at finding the products that could best handle my hair type. I also hadn’t learned how to style my hair myself. I spent hours burning my hair trying to get it stick straight as that was a popular look at the time. I’ve learned both to work with my hair now and to appreciate the natural texture much more.
How do you style your hair now?
These days, I blow dry my hair. It takes me less than 10 minutes. I rarely use a flat iron and just roll with it. Some days, I go natural. I have the most success if i go to bed with my hair wet. I think that works better because I leave it alone and wake up with a sexy, bed head look. Otherwise, I run my fingers through my hair which anyone with textured hair knows is a really great way to create frizz.
Have you ever tried anything crazy with your hair or makeup?
Aside from cutting it for Locks of Love twice, I haven’t been particularly adventurous with my hair. However, in highschool I wanted to dye my hair wild colors like blue, pink, and purple. Normally, my mom wouldn’t let me do anything with my hair, but one time she bought me a canned temporary hair dye to wear one Halloween. We sprayed it on in the backyard in the morning before school, and my hair was very purple. Because it was an aerosol can, it got all over my clothes and hands. It also made my hair so frizzy and sticky. I couldn’t get a brush through it. By end of the day, I just wanted to take a shower. As far as makeup, I decided I wanted to try a brow gel to give my natural light eyebrows some color. Unfortunately, I went heavy handed, and my eyebrows looked ridiculou
When is a time in your life you have felt beautiful?
I definitely did not feel beautiful in middle school or highschool. Those were really awkward and awful years for me. It wasn’t until college when I really started to feel attractive. I feel most beautiful now. Even though I still struggle with body image and weight, I would say that overall I feel like I am more attractive. I think I have finally accepted what I do have. Despite having more work to do with body image issues, I am most comfortable now. Some days I even can look in the mirror and think, “Damn, I’m hot”. That’s certainly not every day.
What was your style like when you were younger?
I definitely made some regrettable choices with my clothing in high school because I wanted to be goth. It was a battle with my mother, though, who hated that aesthetic. My mom really struggled to let me experiment with my style. I remember one time I managed to buy a pair of those ultra baggy Jnco jeans. When I brought them home, my mom made my grandmother hem them to not drag despite the fact that they were supposed to drag My nannie took too much off the bottom, and they ended up being way too short to wear. They felt like high waters. It was so embarrassing, and I was so mad. Pretty sure that was my mom’s plan all along.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
I have a lot of guilty pleasures! My biggest one might be carbohydrates. I love everything that has to do with starches – potatoes, pizza, pasta, you name it. That is absolutely a pleasure. I also binge watch way too much netflix. Right now I’m binge watching Gilmore Girls. I could spend a weekend eating pasta and watching Netflix.
Do you have any tips for de-stressing?
Meditation and yoga is helpful for me, but I don’t do as much nowadays. What I find most helpful right now is rock climbing. I’ve gotten into rock climbing over the last four months. Being on the rock wall is a huge stress reliever. When I’m climbing a route, I rarely have the capacity to think of anything else. Being on the wall is a wonderful release of endorphins and requires an intense amount of concentration. Gym routes are purposefully designed to be problems you have to solve. Each problem consists of a particular set of features, which are the ‘rocks’ you hold and step onto in order to ascend the route. It requires a lot of thought because you have to determine where you need to reach or hold on to a feature to be able to get to the next point. Sometimes you have to play with the route a little bit, experimenting with how to balance or hold a feature or point your feet. It requires all of my attention, and there are very few things in my life that can focus 100% of my attention. I find that to be very cathartic. There’s also a sense of accomplishment when you’ve gotten to the top of tough climb or “project” (a climb that you find particularly difficult). The goal is to get up without falling of course or “take”, which is where your partner allows you to rest by sitting in your harness and dangling from the rope. If you can ascend a climb without any takes or falls, there’s a sense of accomplishment. The concentration, accomplishment, and sense of pride when you get up are all a stress relief. Plus, it’s a social sport. I meet up with a group every Tuesday and Thursday. It’s become my favorite way to unwind and put my attention on something outside of work or personal problems.
How do you get your beauty inspirations?
I get most of my inspiration from everyday encounters. I am always on the lookout for what people are doing – people on the street, at work, wherever. I often find myself sitting on the bus or somewhere equally mundane and looking at someone and thinking that I like certain aspects of her look and wondering if I could replicate it on myself. Occasionally, I’ll search for a look online if I’m purposefully looking for inspiration.
Finally, what is your beauty philosophy?
I’m a big fan of keep it simple, which it sounds like something I don’t do particularly well. But, I have routinized my daily makeup routine. With that being said, keep it simple but have fun with it too. I think makeup, fashion, and beauty products all give us the opportunity to explore or reinvent ourselves. To me, that’s a wonderful thing.
Brainiac Babes 