The consummate “it” girl just spilled her effortless beauty secrets.
Katie Holmes shared her go-to routine on Instagram yesterday. And as it turns out, it’s from the same brand stars like Martha Stewart and Cameron Diaz use: Merit Beauty.
The “Dawson’s Creek” alumna admitted that she wears “very minimal makeup” in her daily life because she doesn’t feel assured in her ability to apply it. (“I guess I still think it’s the ’90s, it was cool back then,” she quips). But she swears Merit really “does make it easier,” even calling its products “confident-making.”

In the branded post, Holmes breaks down the rest of her routine for a quick, fresh face that’s covetable as it is summer-ready. Read on for all of her favorites (many of which our editors also swear by).

The A-list actress applied a full face of makeup in a coordinated soft pink palette, using her fingers to gently pat on product.
She dots Flush Balm in Cheeky, a cool pink, on the high points of her cheeks, plus a tiny dot on her nose — a trick she credits her “amazing” makeup artist Genevieve Herr for teaching her.
The sheer, balm-like pigment also comes in a dozen other shades and features skin-conditioning ingredients like vitamin E.

Using the shades Sand and Burlwood, Holmes pats on Merit’s foundation/concealer hybrid to even out her skin tone for a naturally flawless look.
Formulated to blur imperfections while remaining sweat- and transfer-resistant, the cruelty-free makeup is sensitive-skin safe.

As she discussed her love of living in New York City and its fast-paced lifestyle, the star shared that she doesn’t spend a lot of time getting dressed in the morning, saying she’s “sort of always in a rush.”
But that doesn’t mean the city and culture don’t influence her style. She recalled how seeing a rosebud bush once made her want to wear a pink sweater the next day — and in a serendipitous moment, she was simultaneously applying this lip liner in Rose, a dusty pink.

Shouting out her “Our Town” co-stars, Holmes quips that every night she’d ask them, “How did I do on my brows?”
“I usually had one good night of brows,” she deadpanned, as she filled in her arches with this pomade in Taupe. It provides both conditioning and color, promising fluffy, natural-looking brows.

While Biaritz, the nude-pink color Holmes uses over her Rose lip liner, is out of stock currently at Merit and Sephora, we found it available at Kohl’s. Though, of course, there are also plenty of other hues to pick from!
The actress also added mascara to finish her look — but it seems to be a new under-wraps-for-now formula.