Sir John’s Everyday Makeup Looks: 8 Everyday Makeup Tips

Sir John is a makeup artist and leader in the beauty industry. His celebrity clients include Beyoncé, Zendaya, and Joan Smalls, and he is one of the most in-demand artists creating looks from the red carpet to the runway. Over the course of his twenty-plus-year career, he has worked with legendary British makeup artists Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tillbury. He has also created some of Beyoncé’s most iconic looks, including the merlot lip she wrote in her 2016 “Formation” music video and the sparkly eye she sported in her history-making 2018 performance at Coachella. Sir John understands how makeup has the supernatural ability to transform the wearer’s sense of self. The passion he has for his craft is evident in the showstopping looks he’s created over the course of his twenty-plus-year career.

An everyday makeup look is a simple daytime look that can easily transition to the night. Like a no-makeup look, an everyday makeup look is a natural makeup look that uses fewer makeup products than full-coverage makeup and is quick to complete. Unlike a no-makeup look, everyday makeup can be more prominent with colorful eyeshadows, blush, highlighter, and a glossy lip. Tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, highlighter, and lip gloss are typical products for an everyday look. According to Sir John, an everyday makeup look “is all about a sense of punctuation” and to make the wearer look “easy and fresh and approachable” but not overdone.

There are several ways to achieve an everyday makeup look. Consider adding these makeup ideas from Sir John to your daily makeup routine:

1. 1. Start simple. Instead of using heavy foundation and setting powder, opt for “a little bit of tinted moisturizer and concealer,” Sir John says. These products will prevent your face from looking cakey. Apply tinted moisturizer before adding concealer to your blemishes and dark circles.
2. 2. Blend the eyeshadow. Use a soft eyeshadow color and gently apply the product to the eyelid. Then, use a clean brush to soften the lines.
3. 3. Create a small cat-eye. Using a dark eyeliner, line your eyes on your lashline on the top lid and bottom lid. Connect the two lines together into a V-shape in the outer edge of the eye, and then flick upwards to create a small cat-eye. Do not connect the lines on the inner corner of the eye. “This little cat-eye flick is really flattering on everyone. It elongates the eyes. It lifts the eyes.”
4. 4. Choose the right mascara. Mascara is an essential way to tie your eye makeup look together. You can use any dark mascara with an everyday makeup look. The type of mascara you choose depends on the effect you’re going for. “If you want more volume, look for mascaras that have where the bristles are not as close together. If you want a lot of separation, look for bristles that are closer together, and also for brushes that are smaller.”
5. 5. Apply highlighter. Applying highlighter can be a great way to give your face a glowy radiance. Using your ring finger, dab highlighter on the high planes of the cheekbones, between the eyes, bridge of the nose, and on the Cupid’s bow of the lips. Highlighting the Cupid’s bow “brings attention to the pout and brings attention to the lip color. It makes your lips look three dimensional.”
6. 6. Keep it glossy. To achieve a natural finish to your everyday makeup look, Sir John recommends a tinted lip balm or gloss. Pick a soft shade to complement your skin tone. Brown-toned cream gloss “​​is a really universally flattering shade,” Sir John says, “but if you are lighter in complexion, maybe opt for something a little bit pinker, or a pinky-brown instead of a serious caramel or brown-brown.”
7. 7. Fill in your lips. If you want to make your lip color last longer, fill your lips with lip liner instead gloss and cover with lipstick. “Having that duality creates a lip that you can drink, you can eat, and it'll stay.”

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