Your new go to beauty favorites!
Hey there! One of my favorite things I used to love to do was non stop watch beauty gurus on youtube. Almost every night I would wind down, and spend more time than I’d like to admit watching beautiful women put on make up. It was oddly satisfying! But along with this new hobby of watching, came a new hobby of buying! I absolutely loved trying new things, and I genuinely enjoyed “putting on my face” as I like to call it for the day. I ended up with quite the collection. Though I no longer watch as much YouTube I still have an affinity for makeup that I don’t think I’ll ever lose. I absolutely love sitting down at my vanity and putting on my makeup. I still enjoy trying new products, but over the past few years I have some clear favorites that I reach for more, and I figured why not share them with you!
Foundation
Okay, so this one was tough because this one has changed the most over time. When I was younger I wanted full coverage, but the older I got I realized that didn’t look the best on my skin. Believe it or not my favorite foundation is from the drugstore. L’oreal Infallible Pro-Glow is a medium coverage, dewy foundation. I have normal combination skin. It makes my skin look glowy and it doesn’t settle into fine lines. I wear this on its own from day-to-day and it gives me just the right amount of coverage and looks great in natural light. However when I want a little more coverage I always reach for my It Cosmetics CC Cream. The first time I tried it I can’t believe how good it looked on my skin and I’ve been hooked ever since. In my opinion you need to spend the money to get better coverage, but if medium coverage is what you’re after the drugstore is the place for you with so many good options.
concealer
Shocker! It’s Tarte Shape Tape. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since shape tape hit the market a few years ago, you’ve more than likely heard of this product. It truly is a great full coverage concealer. The lesson with this one is that a little really does go a LONG way. I use it sparingly, I mean like one dot under each eye sparingly!
Setting Powder
For years I was reaching for the Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder, I used it under the eyes and all over the face. It’s a great lightweight powder. It’s doesn’t make me look cakey and won’t give a white appearance if you take a photo with flash (I’m sure we can all remember those phots of celebrities going around 😳) . As great as it looked on my face, my under eyes were a different story. I’m lucky enough that I don’t have dark circles, but we can all use some extra under eye brightening, I mean does anyone actually get enough sleep?! Also I wanted something that would be more delicate and not settle into my slowly developing fine lines, yay for aging! Enter, Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for Under Eye. This stuff is holy grail for setting the under eye, and I even set my T-zone with it. To apply I actually use a soft fluffy eye shadow brush, it picks up the perfect amount of product and doesn’t put it on too thick. I swirl the brush in the cap rather than dipping it directly into the product. The older I get, less really is more.
Under eye setting powder
All over setting powder
bronzer
Ahhh, one of my favorite parts of my makeup routine. When your face goes from flat to getting some dimension back into it! Also, one of the easiest things to over do. Bronzer can get muddy and too much too quick. Which is why the Too Faced Sweetheart Bronzer is my go to. I’ve tried them all, from Nars laguna, to Marc Jacobs which I love them, but I seem to reach for this one more. It does have a slight shimmer but I prefer a light shimmer over a matte bronzer, I think thats personal preference. It isn’t over pigmented, making it buildable and hard to over do it.
Blush
When it comes to blush I could recommend so many. Tarte blushes are great and have long staying power, hourglass has beautiful blushes but they are on the more expensive side. If I. had to choose just one blush to use it would be Nars Orgasm. It’s a perfect everyday color, with a little bit of shimmer to bring your cheeks to life. It also comes in liquid or powder form.
Eyes
With all of the eyeshadow pallets on the market and all of the new releases constantly coming out its hard to keep up. I used to love buying new eyeshadow! Now I’ve turned more towards skincare, but the ones I still reach for on a daily basis are the Tartelette 2 in bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette and also the Anastasia Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette. They are great neutrals and both are good for day or night time looks.
Mascara
Okay, this one was hard. Is anyone else guilty of layering on 3 different types of mascara at a time? 🙋🏻♀️ Because I’m guilty as charged. One kind just doesn’t seem to cut it. I recently started wearing false lashes most of the time, but I did have a few favorites. Different mascaras do different things, I always wanted volume over length. Loreal Voluminous Mascara has been my favorite drugstore mascara for years. Personally, I’ve tried a few different higher end mascaras from Ulta, and in my opinion the drugstore has so many good options and I save my money on other splurges. BUT I love the volume the IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara gives me. It’s SO good. There are so many great mascaras out there it was hard to narrow it down to just these two!
Eyebrows
First of all, is there any better compliment than when someone compliments your brows?! My brows are…nonexistent and they need a lot of help. They are huge insecurity of mine, and I would love to get microblading one day, I’m just waiting to find the right artist. BUT in the meantine, Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is the best option for me. I think theres a learning curve with any pomade, but it lasts ALL day without any issues. If you prefer a pencil the Brow Wiz is great. Also, I’ve tried quite a few brow gels, and Anastasia Clear Brow Gel is the best at holding my brows ALL DAY. Basically, Anastasia is the queen of brows, and I know so many people who would agree! I haven’t needed to branch out and try other brow brands because these ones work, but I know that benefit is another brand with great brow products as well.
HIGHLIGHTER
Ahh highlighter. When used in the right way highlighter can be beautiful. For awhile there I feel like it was so popular to do a “blinding” highlight. I think this looks great in pictures, but what real person is going out in real life with a a stripe on their cheekbone? For me I much prefer a more subtle highlight vs a blinding one. I also don’t like glitter in my highlight, it tends to accentuate fine lines which we want to avoid as we age! Enter, Hourglass ambient metallic strobe highlight. I have the palette and also a couple individual pans. Any highlight that doesn’t have glitter, and is more on the subtle side works for me, and this one fits the bill. But there are sooo many on the market its easy to find one you love. I’m currently on the hunt for a liquid one that I like during these summer months, I’ll let you know when I find it!
lips
Lastly we have lips! Which over the past year has anyone been wearing anything on their lips? I know here in NY I’ve been wearing a mask every time I go in public and wearing lipstick just hasn’t been worth it. BUT I still have a few favorites I cant wait to wear. Out of everything I’d say my lip collection is the biggest, because I’m always looking for the best color and what feels the best. I am aa self proclaimed chapstick addict and I like my lips to feel moisturized. The Milk Kush Lip Balm is one of my favorite products. Also the Tarte Juicy Lips are so good. For an everyday thing, I much prefer the more sheer hydrated look. For a liquid lip my favorite is the bareMinerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipstick. It has good staying power without being too drying.
And thats it! These have been my most reached for products lately! Let me know if you try any out and if you’ve found any new favorites!