'My name is Emily Dando [@emilydando] and I live in New York. I am a receptionist at an asset management firm in midtown, where I also assist the marketing team with projects. I don’t quite know what I’m good at or what I want to do yet. I took this job as kind of a way to move to New York after a summer at home after college graduation, but it ended up being pretty cool. On the weekends, you can most likely find me on Mott Street stuffing my face with soup dumplings or spastically dancing the night away at someplace like Output in Williamsburg.
Growing up, my best friend down the street was Korean and her mom had all these cool lotions and creams and we would sneak in her bathroom and put all this shit in a salad bowl, stir it with a spoon, and smear it all over ourselves. Another time, I found hairspray under the sink and sprayed it all over my hair—the next thing I remember is my mom picking me up because I was scream-crying that my hair would be hard forever. It's been uphill since then.
I once read somewhere that given a certain amount of money, American women would spend the a larger percentage on cosmetics, and the rest on skincare, while European women took the opposite approach. Not sure where I read this, but it's always in the back of my mind. I try to go about beauty in the European fashion—better to have a solid foundation than try and dress up a broken one. At this point, I spend close to half hour in the bathroom just washing my face. I cleanse, exfoliate, tone, and moisturize every night in the hopes that one day, I won’t need any makeup at all.
I have both oily and sensitive skin, and trying to cater to both issues can be kind of tough...sensitive wins out most of the time, which is fine. I hear oily people get less wrinkles. Every morning I use First Aid Beauty Facial Cleanser, followed by Origins United State Balancing Toner, a spritz or 5 of rosewater spray to calm it down, a few layers of the Glossier Priming Moisturizer, and whatever random sample eye cream is around. Even though I don’t necessarily care about the formula of the eye cream, I have to wear it. Otherwise my concealer won’t go on smoothly. At night, the routine stays mostly the same except I remove my makeup with the Say Yes To Cucumber Face Towelettes after showering and use Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub. Scrubs can be scary but this really just polishes my face and helps even out my skin because it has soy in it. Then I use Eucerin Redness Relief night cream. I am pretty sure this stuff really works, and it’s not just in my head because ever since I’ve started using it I wake up a lot less…red. For weekly maintenance I'll use the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, which really pulls everything out. I recommend it to everyone.
My everyday makeup is pretty subtle—mostly because I like to look like me, but also because makeup will slide off my face in three hours if I use too much. First, I put Glossier Skin Tint all over my face, then Tarte Maracuja Concealer under my eyes, then RMS Un Cover-Up on all the spots I don’t want to be so red, leaving my cheeks alone—I blush naturally. After that, I use the RMS Living Luminizer on my eyelids, brow bone, inner eye, cupids bow, and most importantly, cheekbones. I put a dusting of loose powder on my t-zone to set the coverage and reduce oil. My favorite is the Nars Loose Powder in Beach. I heard that Blake Lively uses Physicians Formula Bronzer and so I figured it's good enough for me. I put it all over my forehead with a big fluffy brush, and sweep a little down my temples and inward a little to my cheekbones. Then I always brush my eyebrows up and out with a little spoolie and put clear mascara to keep them in place. I really like my eyebrows, so besides that, I don't touch them.
My mom has always used Lancôme Definicils Mascara, and after much trial and error, I always come back to it. It’s the best. It makes my lashes just a tiny bit clumpy, so they stand out, but still look lush. I also just like how simple the wand is. I don’t need all that crazy bending and such, I’m way too uncoordinated for that. Then last but not least I'll put a whole lot of Dior Crème De Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm, which smells and feels really good. It also adds to the whole 'I'm shiny because I'm healthy' look I'm trying to go for here.
For going out, I usually do more of an eye, with Lancôme Kohl Eyeliner in brown and use shimmery bronzer for eye shadow and lots of mascara. I like my skin to be a little more perfect-looking, so I’ll wear more coverage than during the day. I really like the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, so I’ll throw that on between the Skin Tint and the Un Cover-Up with a synthetic foundation brush, and set the whole face with powder. Dior Lip Glow is a must because it takes the guesswork out of finding a flattering shade of lipstick and its pretty moisturizing. I recently cut my hair short and I’m never growing it long again. It’s the easiest thing in the world. I just use any old volumizing shampoo and conditioner, comb it out, let it air dry, spray some salt spray on it and I’m done.
I don't have any great beauty tips, just like to try to take good care of myself. I take my gummy vitamins, I drink a lot of water, and try to get a lot of sleep. I don’t work out beyond going dancing on the weekends. But when I'm feeling good, I could have 20 pimples on my face and still feel pretty.”
—as told to ITG
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