The Beauty Routine Makeup Artist Erin Parsons Has Been Loving As Of Late

In the age of "no-makeup" makeup, "clean girl" aesthetics, and an understated, dewy visage, celebrity makeup artist Erin Parsons is a breath of fresh air. Her social media portfolio serves as an ode to old Hollywood glamour, with vintage-inspired tutorials that transport you back in time yet somehow maintain an elevated, modern twist. (One day she'll test a 1930s Rigaud Rouge; the next, Westman Atelier's cult-favorite Lip Suede.)

"I really feel like I've seen every vintage classic film you could possibly watch," she gushes over the phone. "I'm so inspired by Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Josephine Baker…how they do their makeup is so fabulous." On camera, Parsons can pretend she's starring in one of those classic films—her "fantasy world," she calls it. Her commitment to various roles and genuine passion for makeup history feel refreshing among the swarm of "effortless" beauty looks; it's what no doubt fuels her 1.7 million TikTok followers.

"As the 44-year-old woman I am, my skin is maturing rapidly. And for years I always used a foaming cleanser. I liked the squeaky clean [feeling], like my skin literally squeaked if you rubbed your finger over it. I found later in life, especially in my late 30s when I started to transition to different skin care, that foaming cleanser was actually kind of rough on the skin. As you get older, the skin gets dehydrated really fast, especially if you're overdoing it.

"So I switched to a milk cleanser. My current favorite one is from a brand that's pretty unknown; it's called MBR—Medical Beauty Research. I have to double cleanse because I wear a lot of makeup, so I always have an oil cleanser. There's no specific brand; I will use anything because they all work. And then I use a milk cleanser.

"I'm really loving this LED mask, and I feel like I'm seeing a difference… Omnilux actually sent me this mask, and you can move around in it. It only does one light… This is just the red light. This is for wrinkles and fine lines, and every night I put my skin care on, I turn on YouTube, and I watch makeup tutorials or fragrance reviews, and I just put the mask on for 20 minutes.

"I have shared it before, but I'm not necessarily screaming from the rooftops that I use Rogaine. I'm not ashamed or anything, but I think we always had this idea that Rogaine was for men, but I started to lose hair [around my] temples, up in those corners on the sides. I still struggle with it, but it's so much better since I started using Rogaine. I mean, the stuff works.

"This is the easiest one: Dickinson's witch hazel.

"I wear hard-core waterproof makeup, and just micellar water doesn't remove my waterproof makeup. This product actually removes my waterproof makeup, and it doesn't feel greasy after I use it.

"If I mess up my liner, I'll always dip a [cotton swab] in micellar water, but sometimes that can even mess up the wing when you try to straighten it out. Whereas with Dickinson's, there's no grease. It wipes everything off, it cleans everything, and it's very inexpensive. I have a bottle on my vanity in my office; I have a bottle on my vanity at home. It's great, and it's cheap.

"When I worked in retail at 19, there was this woman who told me about how Erno Laszlo would suggest that you rinse your face with water like 50 times. So if you're in the bathtub, you just cup your hands with water and splash the face 50 times. That stuck with me.

"I don't know if it makes any difference. I don't do it all the time, but if I'm laying in the bath, I will literally start to splash my face 50 times thinking that this water is going to miraculously make me look like a teenager. It's this weird Erno Laszlo–developed routine.

I love the Amethyst KNESKO masks because they're super moisturizing. In the wintertime, I have a humidifier in my room, so [I'll use] the humidifier and the KNESKO moisturizing mask.

"I used to do this look on Gigi [Hadid] all the time: A classic staple '50s look but with a nude lip. It would be that gorgeous cat-eye liner—my favorite is the Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Liner. Love that stuff. A bit of a false lash with a flare at the end…and lots of mascara, mainly on the top because I like to lift the eyes.