3 Cool-Girl Takes On The Trendy Lived-In Makeup Look

Scroll through any cool-girl musician’s Instagram and the first thing you’ll notice is how done but undone they look in every photograph: tangled in their sheets with languidly smudged eye makeup; at their guitar with soft stained lips; skin so fresh it looks sensually sweaty in every image. A far cry from deliberately perfect Instagram baddie style makeup, the lived-in, purposely-mussed aesthetic is the new go-to. Ahead, three takes on lived-in makeup looks to work into your rotation, from the gorgeously subdued to bold yet barely there — all with makeup you can find at Ulta Beauty.

BLURRED LIPS

Blurred lips are soft around the edges and extra balmy. They’ll make you look like you just ate a popsicle on your way to wherever you’re going, and now they’re all deliciously stained. To get it, prep your lips with a plumping and conditioning product like the Kylie Cosmetics Plumping Gloss to get your mouth as full and pouty as possible. Fill in your lips with a lip pencil like you would lipstick and smudge the edges out with a finger to get the blurred effect — you want your lip line to look elusive. For a similar shade here, use About-Face Matte Fix Lip Pencil in Sound The Alarm. To finish, swipe on a glossy stain to exaggerate the color and add a wet, shiny look with Benefit Cosmetics Liquid Lip Blush & Cheek Tint in shade Lovetint.

SMOKY EYES

You can’t go wrong with a statement smoky eye like this gorgeous look featuring warm brown shades and sparkles. Take it from us: So long as you have a good brush — like IT Brushes for Ulta Airbrush Blending Crease Brush #105 — and a quality eye shadow palette, then you’ll be set up for smoky eye success.

To start, use your brush to pick up a warm matte brown shade from Juvia's Place The Nubian Earth Eyeshadow Palette and apply it from lashlines to creases using a windshield wiper motion. Run the excess pigment on the bristles along your lower lash lines for added definition. Next, use a blend of the darker brown shadows from the palette and swirl your brush along your crease and outer corners to create depth and smokiness. Then, add a glamorous touch to the look by dusting a glittery shadow from the palette (whoever you prefer!) all over your lids. Finish off the look with a few generous coats of volumizing mascara like Tarte’s Maneater Mascara.

LIVED-IN SKIN

With the right products, fresh, glaze-y skin is supremely minimalistic. A primer like Ulta Beauty’s Hydrating Face Primer nourishes and adds a healthy dose of glow to the skin thanks to coconut water, aloe vera, and avocado oil. Dot a sheer concealer like the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Concealer for coverage where needed (under the eyes, on redness and zits), but apply sparingly, as you want your natural skin to shine through. If you’ve got shine in the T-zone, tamp it down with a light dusting of BLK/OPL’s Oil Absorbing Pressed Powder, then pat on your preferred shade from mented cosmetics’ Sunkissed Highlighter Palette wherever you want a reflective sheen. We suggest the tops of cheekbones, above the brow bones, and over the bridge of the nose. Next to nothing never looked so good.