(Image credit: Merit)
ICYMI, Brenda Song collaborated on a makeup tutorial with the internet’s favorite minimalist beauty brand, Merit. In the video, she reflects on her Y2K beauty blunders, her modern aesthetic, and what she learned from playing London Tipton on Disney Channel. (I don’t think I need to remind anyone that Tipton was a hotel heiress and all-around style icon.) She also talks about what it’s like to play Ali Lee in Netflix’s Running Point.
“I’m slightly more subtle now,” she joked after explaining how her 2003 beauty aesthetic was bold…maybe too bold; it’s clear she considers some of her past beauty choices to be a bit of a blunder. Think a red lip, smokey eye, full contour, and something she refers to as “little worm” brows. “It traumatized me,” she says.
These days, she says she prefers a minimalist routine. “I feel like I really like to focus on my skin—enhancing instead of masking.” As such, she uses a total of eight makeup products to enhance her beauty, admitting “I think I’m more Ali Lee than London Tipton.” Scroll to see her eight favorite makeup products.
MERIT
The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Foundation and Concealer Stick in Palomino
This creamy complexion product can be used as a foundation and/or concealer. It seems Song uses it as the latter, applying it to precise areas where she wants coverage. She leaves the rest of her skin bare for a fresh look.
MERIT
Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer in Seine
Next up, Song uses Merit’s Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer in the shade Seine.
MERIT
Flush Balm Cream Blush in Cheeky
“I love this blush because you can not overdo it.”
MERIT
Solo Shadow Cream-To-Powder Soft Matte Eyeshadow in Midcentury
“I love a one-and-done shadow. What a difference that makes.”
MERIT
Brow 1990 Ultra Fine Eyebrow Gel Pencil in Brown-Black
“I have a very interesting relationship with brows,” she says. “When we did the pilot episode of The Suite Life, my makeup artist wanted me to look more like a teenager, so we did a little plucking, and I literally had little worm brows for all of my formative years. It traumatized me.”
MERIT
Clean Lash Lengthening Tubing Mascara
“I have such a hard time finding a good mascara because I have those Asian straight lashes,” she says. “I don’t want to wear waterproof because I don’t want to be scrubbing my eyes and getting wrinkles and losing my eyelashes.” It seems Merit’s Clean Lash Mascara is her perfect fit.
“A makeup artist told me you have to moisturize your lashes the same way you have to moisturize your hair, so I use a mixture of avocado, castor, and coconut oil to take off my eye makeup, and I make sure I rinse it off really well, but I feel like it’s helped my lashes grow.”
MERIT
Signature Lip Sheer Lip Liner in Coupé
Song uses Merit’s newest product—the Signature Lip Sheer Lip Liner.
MERIT
Shade Slick Sheen High Shine Tinted Lip Oil in Pointelle
Last but not least, she adds a swipe of this lip oil in the shade Pointelle. “That’s the look,” she says. “Yay me! I’ll always have a little London [Tipton] in me.”
