I finally did it: I went on the DMV’s crunchy website (seriously, does anyone else think that looks straight out of the early ‘00s?), made an appointment, and went in to register for an official New York state license. (!) Yeah, I know – my wallet just became *that* much cooler. (Please note the sarcasm.)

A very wise person once told me that ID photos fall into one of two categories: stoner and mug shot. I have basically only found this to be 100% true.

My old license fell into the latter category. I was eighteen, and had recently discovered makeup, and by makeup, I mean eyeliner. And so due to an unfortunate mix of black & white photography, high contrast levels, and an excess of smudged liner, I ended up looking like I was about to crazy murder someone. I am barely exaggerating.

Now that I’ve grown up a bit – and worked a couple years in the beauty industry – I knew that when it came to driver’s license makeup (if that’s even a thing) and really, makeup in general, less is definitely more.

I started with a base of Benefit’s The POREfessional, which I love for its velvety texture and light scent. Then, I reached for the one full-coverage foundation that I actually like – Marc Jacobs’ Re(marc)able in Bisque Golden. On an average day, I don’t like anything heavier than a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, but trust me – this stuff is pretty freakin’ amazing. It’s more lightweight than most full-coverage formulas, but evens out everything like a dream. I’ve tried blending with my fingers, but you won’t get better results than when you use the brand’s The Face III brush, which buffs the product in quickly and evenly.

For eyes, I wanted to brighten, not darken. (Seriously, 18-year old me, what on Earth was I thinking?) I used my all-time favorite champagne shadow, Giorgio Armani Eye Tint in Gold Ashes layered underneath Clinique’s Daybreak. I almost always wear a simple black cat-eye, but since I wanted a super thin line, I used Le Stylo Ultra Slim by Chantecaille to draw a neat band across my upper lash line – and not a touch of makeup on the lower. For lips, I used my favorite nude lip shade, MAC’s Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera. Done and done!

Now we’ll see in two weeks how the pic turned out. Fingers crossed…

UPDATE 3/29: not bad.