Laney Crowell spent almost five years at Estée Lauder before she started Saie in 2019, and that inside knowledge shows in how practical the line is. It began even earlier as a blog called The Moment, about beauty being better, and the name and ethos came from community requests: you say it, we create it. Every formula starts with Saie Fatty Acid Complex, the thread that ties a blush to a bronzer to a tinted moisturizer. The brand reached its first shelf in February 2021, and several of the pieces here became bestsellers, Dew Blush, Dew Bronze and Glowy Super Gel among them. Dew Blush comes as a liquid cream blush and as a blendable liquid cheek flush, and the Dew Bronze soft-focus sculpting liquid bronzer is its natural partner. If you lean toward powder, the SuperSuede radiant baked blush and the Sun Melt cream bronzer give you both textures. Glowy Super Gel is the multipurpose illuminator that also works as a liquid highlighter, while the Slip Tint concealer and the Glowy Super Skin Tint foundation handle the base. Cheeks are the place to decide on texture, and this explainer on cream or powder blush helps. When the weather turns drier, a cream bronzer for cold-weather skin is worth a look beside the Dew Bronze.

The second half is where the skincare thinking shows most. Slip Tint is the lightweight tinted moisturizer with mineral zinc SPF 35 and hyaluronic acid, and the Sunvisor radiant moisturizing face sunscreen SPF 35 sits right beside it for mornings when you want only one layer. The SuperSuede baked eyeshadow is made for 16 hour wear, with a double-ended eyeshadow brush to match, and Mascara 101 lengthens and lifts. Lip Liner 101 is a creamy, nourishing pencil, and Glossybounce is the high-shine hydrating lip gloss oil. For a color idea, the good pink lip covers balms, oils and sheer tints. What I would skip is stacking a baked setting powder over Glowy Super Gel on days you want skin to look like skin; set only the center of the face and leave the cheekbones shiny. If you are choosing an SPF to wear under all of this, the moisturizer with SPF guide explains the options. The Vanity Case, the Mini Vanity Case Vault, the Glowy Super Gel gift set and the Mini Dew Blush trio package the range for anyone who wants to try it in one go.

My version is short. Slip Tint on bare skin, a touch of Dew Blush where the cheeks flush, Dew Bronze at the edges, a dot of Glowy Super Gel on the cheekbones and Mascara 101 to finish. Laney Crowell built Saie on the idea that people say what they want and the brand creates it, and a five-step face like this feels like a fair answer to that. For a plain weekday, the everyday makeup look is a good companion.

For more in the same spirit, take a look at By Terry Makeup and Charlotte Tilbury Makeup and Skincare.