Influencer Melissa Alatorre Shares Her Top Beauty Tips — Including Her Favorite Red Lipstick

Melissa Alatorre lives by one simple rule: “If you want to be on your phone before bed, you can’t be in bed. You have to stand up. It makes you realize how long you’re standing there.”

It’s funny, given that Melissa’s life and career exist within the walls of social media. The L.A.-based content creator has over 650K followers on YouTube and over 280K followers on Instagram, where she creates beauty and wellness content.

A former freelance makeup artist, Melissa engages her followers with educational tips and tricks based on years of experience behind makeup counters and chairs, so when we launched MINERALIST Hydra-Smoothing Lipstick, we wanted her expert opinion. We sent Melissa the entire range of clean, vegan lipsticks and today she’s sharing her favorite shades, her everyday beauty routine and a peek into life with two adorable (albeit VERY large) Siberian Huskies.

As a makeup artist, how do you approach beauty?

There isn’t any particular technique that’s better than another. There’s no look that’s better than another. There’s no style that’s better than another. I think beauty is how you see it. So whatever you feel your best in, whether it’s a cut crease or it’s no eyeshadow, a bold lip or a nude lip. It’s just whatever makes you feel your absolute best. That’s how I always approached it when I used to do makeup on others. I wouldn’t try to push something on someone if they didn’t necessarily feel comfortable. Beauty is whatever makes you feel your best.

How do you want your followers to feel when they’re interacting with your content?

I never want them to feel like they can’t accomplish whatever it is that I’m showing, so I never want to come off like I’m just showing off or I’m showing only one side of me. I want them to see me when I also mess up. I know that if they’re coming to me, they’re trying to learn.

When you’re not busy creating content, what do you do in your free time?

You will probably see me with my two crazy Siberian Huskies. I have a 1-year-old puppy, Boomer, who is gigantic. He’s 75 pounds. And Meeka is the older Husky who is going to be seven. So it’s usually us doing activities.

If you had to pick one, which beauty product could you not live without?

If I had to pick one, I would probably say a brow gel because I have crazy brow hairs and they always need to be tamed. Not even a brow gel — just one of those spoolie brushes.

Walk us through your everyday makeup routine.

My everyday look always consists of … clear brow gel so that my brows look groomed, something light on the skin that’s quick and easy to apply (like a little bit of concealer underneath the eyes or sometimes a foundation), bronzer in the crease as eyeshadow, mascara and lip balm. Oh, and highlighter for sure. Basically, glossy skin and a no-makeup makeup kind of look.

What lipstick shades do you usually gravitate toward?

I always say I have two moods: it’s either a glossy nude lip or a bold berry.

So MINERALIST Hydra-Smoothing Lipstick is perfect for that, since it comes in so many shades.

I love the range. I love seeing the gradient from the nudes to the mauves to the pinks to the reds, to the berries, to the deep, deep plums. I love that there’s a variety. People think of nude lipsticks [and know that] one nude is not going to match everyone. But the same goes for mauves and reds and pinks and corals. It’s not just one shade that’s going to match.

What was your first impression of the MINERALIST Hydra-Smoothing Lipstick?

I love the creaminess of it. I love the hydration. For people who might not be used to wearing lipsticks or are beginners in makeup, I love a formula where you can apply a single layer, rub your lips together and then get a perfect outline to your lips. And I feel like you can do that with this formula.

Which are your favorite MINERALIST shades?

The shade Focus is my everyday, go-to lip. On me, it enhances my natural lip color. I can apply it without a mirror throughout the day and feel confident that it looks good, because the formula just goes on so beautifully. And the other shade I love is Perception. Whenever I’m in a rush or I don’t feel super glam, I always toss on a really bold lip.

What’s your favorite beauty tip?

I have so, so many, but in terms of application, I would tell someone to use their hands and their fingers as tools. You’ll get such a beautiful finish from your foundation, your concealer, obviously your skincare. One of my best tips for lipstick is to put on one layer and then take your ring finger to spread it out. It doesn’t look layered on.

We’re all about sharing THE POWER OF GOOD, whether it’s good ingredients powering a product, or doing good for yourself and others. What is one good way that you start the day?

With the gym. Even if it’s not a full-blown intense workout, just a walk with the dogs and with my boyfriend, I just have to get my body moving. It sets me up for a successful rest of my day.

What is one good place that you’ve visited and loved?

Majorca, Spain. I love it there. It’s so beautiful. My 10-year goal is to actually live there. It kind of reminds me of California, but a little more relaxed.

What is one good book you would recommend?

If anyone is trying to improve their Spanish, I recently bought The House on Mango Street in Spanish. What I love to do is, as I’m reading it, if there are any words that I’m not that familiar with, I’ll write them down and then later on I’ll practice them in my day-to-day.

Do you speak Spanish regularly?

My family primarily speaks Spanish: my mom, my dad and my extended family. But they do speak English really well. As a first-generation Mexican American, it was very ingrained in me that you had to speak perfect English in order to make it in this world. So my parents would speak Spanish and I just got in the habit of always responding in English.

What is something that makes you feel good, even on a stressful day.

My dogs! I call Meeka my therapist and I call Boomer my source of comedy.

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