Tate McRae's 10-Minute Makeup Routine Involves an Internet-Famous Foundation Hack and a $9 Mascara

Tate McRae, singer, songwriter, and all-around Gen Z beauty icon, recently shared her go-to 10-minute makeup routine with Allure. Even though it's only 10 minutes, it packs a punch. First, she shares an internet-famous foundation hack that keeps her makeup from looking too heavy. Then, she applies a $9 mascara she swears by for bold, look-at-me lashes, an iconic lip liner, and more. Needless to say, I took notes (and shopped a few of her favorite items while I was at it).
In the video, she says she keeps her makeup routine simple with the defining elements being subtle winged eye shadow, sparkles, and bronzer. "Just what I would do for old competition dance, kind of," she says. If it's not broke, don't fix it, right? Keep scrolling to see the 11 tried-and-true items in her makeup bag.
The first item McRae uses is actually a moisturizer and a drugstore one at that. "I've actually been seeing this all over the internet recently where people take moisturizer and they mix it with their foundation, so I started trying it, and it's been so great." She says it's a good trick "if you just don't want your foundation too heavy," because she hates "it so much when it's too heavy."
She mixes the moisturizer with this foundation-sunscreen hybrid. "Usually I go very natural on the foundation," she says. "I don't like to do too much, especially because when I get on stage or go throughout my day, I'm doing a lot—usually being really active, dancing, working out, so I like to not clog my skin."
For brows, McRae ditches pencils and pomades for this transparent, strong-hold brow gel. She brushes it up and out to shape her arches before pressing down with her finger, which is a trick she learned from her makeup artist, Lilly Keys. "I think it stays more," she says.
McRae uses this concealer sparingly to brighten her under-eyes and the space between her brows. She blends it in with her trusty Beautyblender ($20). "I use Beautyblenders for everything," she says. "I think it's so much easier than brushes."
After applying faux freckles with what looks like ColourPop's Freckle Pen ($9), she focuses on eye makeup—specifically glitter eye makeup. She calls it her "favorite part." Using a mix of neutral shades to define her eye shape before going in with a gold-toned glitter on her eyelid, she says, "This is, I think, the only reason people think I'm good at makeup is because I cover myself in glitter on stage. I love glitter. It makes everything so much better."

Kaitlyn McLintock is a Beauty Editor atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing . She has 10 years of experience in the editorial industry, having previously written for other industry-leading publications, like Byrdie, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Bustle, and others. She covers all things beauty and wellness-related, but she has a special passion for creating skincare content (whether that's writing about an innovative in-office treatment, researching the benefits of a certain ingredient, or testing Wholesale Replica Bag and greatest at-home skin device). Having lived in Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas, she has since relocated back to her home state, Michigan. When she's not writing, researching, or testing beauty products, she's working through an ever-growing book collection or swimming in the Great Lakes.
-
I'm a Beauty Editor, and I Think Hailey Bieber's Go-To Mascara Is Vastly Underrated
She never gatekeeps a good beauty product.
-
I Asked AI How to Look Like a Bronzy Internet It Girl This Summer—Then I Wore Its 6 Recs for a Week
Summer glam, simplified.
-
Say Hello to "Toasty Glam," the Hottest (Had to) Makeup Trend of Summer 2025
It's flooding my FYP.
-
I'm a Beauty Editor With a Fashion Degree—How I'm Translating the Fisherman Trend Into My Makeup Routine
These looks are compliment bait.
-
Celebs Like Sabrina Carpenter and Bella Hadid Swear By These Chic Prada Beauty Staples
A celeb-approved shopping list.
-
I've Been Traveling Nonstop—My Friends Can't Stop "Borrowing" These 9 Beauty Essentials I Pack
Officially influenced.
-
I Asked Sabrina Elba About Her Must-Do Beauty Practices—Here Are Her Nonnegotiables
Yes, she really does do it all.
-
I Tried a Viral Korean SPF After Billie Eilish's Aesthetician Recommended It—Spoiler Alert, I'm Obsessed
It's my new go-to formula.