I do not especially love cleaning…but I love Spring Cleaning. Mostly because you can apply the idea way beyond the reaches of your rugs: Spring is a great time to chop off a few inches of hair, brighten up your color, streamline your wardrobe to highlight those pieces you really do wear, and whittle down your beauty products to the bare necessities. I’m not saying to throw your teal liquid liner and bold red lipstick in the trash – not at all – but rather to take a look at your everyday morning routine and see if anything can be taken away…because one thing the past couple of years have taught me is that when it comes to IRL makeup (as opposed to the kind of makeup you’d wear for, say, a major event, for a big night out, or for photographs), less can sometimes be more.

Take my skincare routine, for example: since I write about beauty and try to take lots of different products for a test-run for comparison’s sake I have a pretty cluttered vanity…but lately I’m trying to be extra-careful about the ingredients in the things I’m putting on my face, so I’ve cut my routine down to the basics: face wash (right now it’s Simple Skincare Moisturizing Facial Wash, because I’m feeling dry in the wake of a cold), moisturizer with SPF in the morning (the Protecting Light Moisturizer), and a slightly richer moisturizer in the evening (Nourishing 24 Hour Day/Night Cream). That’s it. (Incidentally, for those of you who are expecting and want to make sure your skincare products don’t include anything that’s potentially unsafe for pregnant women, Simple is a great choice – no additives, fragrances, or anything that might cause an adverse reaction in sensitive skin.)

For this post, I went for a super-fresh look with soft color: an almost-bare face (just a little blush and concealer where I need it) with lengthening mascara (I curled my eyelashes first) and berry gloss to brighten things up. Simple, sweet, springy.

Pink eyeshadow has historically been filed under the heading of Things I Will Probably Never Wear In This Lifetime. I just didn't get it: wouldn't it make you (or at least me: a fair-skinned blonde) look…sick? Or at the very least, kind of like an alien?

And I'll be honest: when Urban Decay asked me to help them launch their new Electric Palette, I was nervous. I don't tend to wear bright eyeshadow a whole lot, and I also don't apply makeup like a makeup artist; I apply it the way a real person does, and I wear it in the real world alongside other real people (as opposed to on sets, alongside models, or at…I don't know, raves).

I wanted to create a look that was bold, but also something I'd actually wear.