Just like with fashion, personal style, and home decor, I like to mix a nice balance of drugstore brands and designer items {high-end and low} into my makeup bag, or well, makeup drawer, rather, because I like using what works. So if it’s $3 or $30, I don’t care. If I like it, I use it… and I use it FOREVER.
I’ve probably mentioned a few of the products listed here before, in fact, I know I have, but that’s just a testament to how great they are. So without further ado, below are 9 of my makeup must-haves and my current nail color du jour.
Okay, it took me a minute to get over my classic red and/or black nail polish obsession I’ve been clinging to since last fall, but I think I finally did because I can’t stop applying this perfectly ’60s ice blue meets ’80s zinc oxide blue on my tips. When I first wore it around Easter weekend, I felt a little pale to pull it off, but now that I have a teeny bit of color, thanks to equal parts sunlight and gradual self-tanning lotion, it’s the perfect color for spring and summer.
Shop: Revlon Colorstay Nail Gel in ‘Lovestruck’
These are my go-to foundation-not-foundation-base coverups. I mix a pea sized amount of both of them together in my hands and slather it on my face and tap-tap-tap until it’s blended evenly. They work seamlessly together… and when my skin is a little on the dry side, I add a little bit of a regular moisturizer or thick lotion to make it just a little creamier. I finish it with Jane Iredale mineral powder.
Shop: EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40 tinted moisturizer // Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting
I’ve been using this Hoola bronzer FOR-LIKE-EVER. In fact, it lasts so long, this may be the second one I’ve ever purchased, thus the rough edges around the corners. But I love it. Lately I’ve been mixing it with a Borghese blush in a peachier hue just to brighten it up a bit. But it’s what I use after my base and powder, and I even brush it on my eyelids as a prep before my eye shadows.
Shop: Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzing Powder
* I reviewed the Covergirl eye quads February 2015 and have been using them ever since.
Okay, Covergirl eye shadows are really my favorite. I don’t know what it is about them but I love their colors and I love the way they layer and blend. I use both of these two shown here religiously and use almost all of the colors for the perfect blend. The quad on top is a new version since my original one is almost to totally gone now.
Shop: CoverGirl Eyeshadow Quads, Notice Me Nudes 700 and CoverGirl Tru Naked Multiple Color Eyeshadow Palette (roses)
This is a newer favorite and it’s by far the best brow liner ever. I like it better than pencil because I can actually draw on hairs in sparse areas that blend in and look natural – while a pencil always looks like crayon on my face. This was the original brown and while my brows are very light, I layer this on so it’s not too dark. They FINALLY started selling it on Amazon and now they have a light, medium, and dark option, which they didn’t have prior. I love it. I just bought a new one since this one is almost gone. It takes a fine touch, but once you get it down, it’s the best for brows.
Shop: Eyeko Light to Medium Brow Liner
* I reviewed a few Eyeko products including this brow liner December 2014 and have been using the brow liner since then. The others, not so much.
So I’ve raved about my precision eyelash curler for years because my actual eyelashes are short and straight and the full-sized curlers don’t do a thing to help. This shorty curler however, works wonders because I can curl up and back in three different sections, and I use it a few times during my makeup application before I even get to my mascara; right after powder, again after eye shadow but before eye liner, and then again right before my mascara. If you have stubborn lashes, this will be your best friend… it’s weird too because I’ve had more than one makeup artist who had never even seen one.
The mascara is the main event. I always start with my L’Oreal Voluminous, which I’ve also been using for YEARS, and I like the waterproof better for some reason, though it’s not entirely waterproof, but that’s not the point. The point is, that even if I didn’t want to create great big lashes, this mascara is still the best for adding thickness and length.
Last but definitely not least, my 3D Fiber mascara. I did a review on a different fiber mascara brand, but basically they’re all the same {if the tubes look the same -on Amazon anyway}, and I happen to like this one a lot. I’ve been using fiber mascara since I did that review and although it does flake off throughout the night – which is actually very annoying – it gives me the dreamiest eyelashes ever without having to wear falsies. It takes a while to get the application down right so you don’t have crazy spider eyes, but hands-down, it’s my favorite makeup/eye enhancement of all.
Shop: JAPONESQUE Precision Eyelash Curler // L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Original Mascara, Carbon Black // 3D Fiber Lash Mascara, 300X Fiber Mascara
