Friends, I am so excited to share my favorite (ride-or-die) makeup products with y'all today! I've always been intrigued by makeup, and I really see it as a kind of art form that I've fallen in love with! These are my personal favorite products, tried and true, and I hope you find something you'd like to try in this post! The products on today's post are listed in the order I would normally use them throughout my beauty routine.
Makeup skills definitely take a LOT of time and practice to develop - I myself am self-taught from YouTube (shoutout to my girl Jaclyn Hill) - not to mention the $ it takes to grow your collection! Don't feel like you have to own all of these products; I have acquired them over the years of obsessing with beauty products.
PRIMER
The first step in my makeup routine is a moisturizing primer - you wouldn't believe the difference a good primer can make in creating a base for all of your makeup, as well as keeping everything in place throughout the day. Primer smoothes your skin, fills your pores, and helps foundation apply to its full potential.
I have tried a ton of primers, and the Becca primer linked above is by far my favorite! It smells amazing, and gives me the dewy, luminous glow that I desire in a primer. Keep in mind that, depending what type of foundation you use (liquid, stick, powder) each primer will work differently. I can't speak to how the Becca primer will apply with a liquid foundation, but I've found it's the my favorite to use with stick foundations.
I also love the Benefit Porefessional primer for days when I have texture on my face. As the name suggests, this primer smoothes over pores and magically improves texture on the skin.
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FOUNDATION
My #1 foundation for the past three years has been the Makeup Forever HD Foundation Stick. This stick foundation is full coverage, which is great for hiding the redness in my cheeks.
It has a beautiful, natural finish that is slightly dewey, and I honestly can't see myself using anything but a stick foundation from here on out - I'm hooked!
Since this foundation is pricier, I use a shade that fits me for the majority of the year - if it's too light in the summer, I use bronzer to warm it up, and in the winter I just apply with a lighter hand! If you're not sure what shade you are, just visit your nearest Sephora and they will match you! I use the Sigma F80 flat kabuki to blend in my foundation.
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CONCEALER
Best. Concealer. Ever. This concealer does the best job of brightening up my face, and doesn't crease throughout the day! It's pretty pigmented, so if you like a more minimalistic look, this may not be the concealer for you. I use this concealer under my eyes, then use a beauty blender to pounce the concealer into my skin, down onto the apples of my cheeks to brighten my face, and then blend it over my eyelids, creating a base for my eyeshadow.
I normally use the shade "light neutral".
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SETTING POWDER
Anastasia Banana Powder / Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder
Setting powder is soo important for locking everything in place. I religiously use the Anastasia banana powder under my eyes to lock in my concealer and brighten my face, and will often use it to set any other parts of my face/foundation that need to be mattified. I tend to like a dewy finish, so I don't use too much powder, but when I need to lock my look, I use the Cover FX setting powder.
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BRONZER | BLUSH
Lemme tell ya, I hopped on the contour train, but now I prefer to use my bronzer with a tapered Morphe M523 brush to define my face! A dash of bronzer can make all the difference in creating a sunny, warm glow. I carefully apply my bronzer just below my cheekbones to carve out my cheeks, sweep it over my temples, and on a day when I'm going for a more natural, quick look, I'll use bronzer as eye shadow to tie my look together! Mac "Give Me Sun" is the first and only bronzer I've ever purchased - it's perfection guys, and a bestseller.
As far as blush goes, my favorite is actually a drugstore blush by LORAC. I've found it to be super silky and pigmented, and the shade "Aura" is the most beautiful blush I've ever come across. You can use the lightest hand and have plenty of product! I also adore the Becca blushes. When applying, I use the Morphe E4 brush and sweep product on my upper cheekbones and up towards my temples for a more lifted look.
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BROWS
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Medium Brown), ABH Brow Gel
My best friend in high school introduced me to the brow game senior year (bless you Brittney) and ABH's amazing products. Ever since then, I've used the Anastasia brow wiz to shape my brows and fill in any bald spots. I love the brow wiz because it's super easy to use, buildable, and is better than any pencil. Additionally, if you have crazy brows like me, consider purchasing clear brow gel to hold those puppies in place. Remember, everyone has a different brow shapes and that brows should be "sisters, not twins"!
Pro tip: The middle of your brows should be in line with the bridge of your nose; I wish I had known this in middle school before the over plucking/awkward stage began. /:
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EYESHADOW
TBH I haven't picked up any of my other palettes since purchasing Jaclyn Hill's Morphe palette last summer. If you haven't noticed already, I'm a major "Hillster" (aka Jaclyn Hill fan) and when she created this palette, she 100% killed it! I love basically every shade, the pigment payoff, the texture, EVERYTHING.
Aside from Jaclyn's palette, I'm a fan of both the Naked and Anastasia shadows. When creating an eye look, I start with a primer/concealer on the lid, sweep a neutral shade over the lid to create a base, create my look, and then use highlighter on my brow bone and inner corners. My go-to look is to blend warm neutrals into my crease and pop some shimmery gold onto my lid; I used this look today, but also popped some of the aqua shadows from Jaclyn's palette on my lower lash line and waterline for a summery feel.
(**Use code JACATTACK for 10% off any Morphe purchase**)
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MASCARA
Allow me to introduce you to my secret weapon: The Lancome Cils Booster XL mascara primer - it's literal magic! Sweep it on prior to applying mascara for longer, more voluptuous lashes!
I have yet to find a mascara that rivals Too-Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara - not to mention it lasts in the tube forEVER. This stuff is pretty amazing and comes in a travel size, perfect for if you just want to try it out and not commit to the full $23. For lower lashes, I tend to use mascaras with smaller brushes/bristles, such as the Benefit Roller Lash, to maximize coverage on all those tiny lashes!
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LASHES
Ardell Demi-Wispies, Ardell Faux Mink Demi-Wispies & Wispies, SlayLa Lashes by Flutter
Falsies are definitely a love-hate relationship for most people - they can be tricky to apply, uncomfortable to wear, and overall intimidating. However, they make allll the difference in a makeup look! Disclaimer: Once you try them, you'll never want to go back!
Today, I'm wearing the Ardell Faux Mink Wispies (third from the top in the above photo). My favorite "casual" lashes are the Ardell demi-wispies - they're easy to apply, the lash band is nearly invisible, and look very natural, not to mention being super affordable. Ardell recently released a "faux-mink" line, which look and feel very high-quality, and I'm obsessed! When I'm dressing up for a special occasion (or feeling especially extra) I'll opt for more dramatic lashes, such as the SlayLa lashes by Flutter. The lash glue I use is by Revlon.
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HIGHLIGHT
Moving on to my FAVORITE makeup product to exist: highlight. It's so fun to use and sooo pretty to look at! The girly girl in me loves to sweep sparkles across my cheeks!
My favorite? Jaclyn Hill's baby, Becca's Champagne Pop - I've tried many highlighter's and I have yet to find one that I love more! It sweeps on so evenly, so glowy, and looks BEAUTIFUL. It also lasts like no other - I can spend the day playing in the ocean and my foundation will be gone but my highlight will still be popping!
I like to apply highlight with the Morphe M510 on my cheekbones, brow bone, lower temples, the bridge of my nose, cupids bow, and the inner corners of my eyes. To increase intensity, try applying a liquid/cream highlight before topping it off with a powder highlight.
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LIPS
PHOTO: From left to right - Anastasia Gloss in "St. Tropez", Anastasia Mini Matte Lipstick Set in Nudes, ColourPop Lippie Stix in "Cookie", Jouer Lip Creme in "Creme Brûlée", Revlon Lipstick in "Sweet Tart", Buxom Full-On Lip Creme in "White Russian", Marc Jacobs mini lipstick in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", Anastasia Mini Lip Gloss Set
Every girl loves a good lip! My most used lip products are pictured above. The Anastasia lip gloss in "Toffee" and the ColourPop lippie stix in "Cookie" and "Frida" are my all-time favorites.
My go-to, everyday lip products are by Anastasia and ColourPop. I could rave about the Anastasia lip glosses all day - They're long-lasting, highly pigmented, and smell soo good! I highly recommend the mini lip gloss sets by ABH (pictured at the bottom of this post). Also, if you haven't discovered ColourPop yet, you're missing out! High-quality, low price products (most cost around $5), and their lippie stix are bomb.
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SETTING SPRAY
Lastly, to lock my look in place, I mist setting spray over my face. This is the most recent product addition to my collection, but from what I can tell, this stuff does it's job!
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XOXO - Talia