I love watching makeup tutorials, but I’ve never thought about making my own. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true because anytime I watch Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets Series,” I imagine myself making one. The only issue is that I’ve never had a makeup routine that I consistently wear. In high school, classes started at 7:25 a.m, and because I was already late most days, I never had a desire to put makeup on in the morning. Now, with a flexible and varied schedule in college with class-free mornings, I wanted to find a way to feel more put together.
On game days this fall and when I went out, I would randomly throw products on my face and bank on the fact that wherever I would go, people would most likely not be able to see my makeup. Most days this semester I just put on mascara and eyebrow gel, but recently, I wanted something that made me feel as though I was putting more time into getting ready for the day. So, I asked my makeup artist who did my makeup for senior photos and prom — my sister — to come with me to Sephora to pick up some updated products. Since then, I’ve been using my new products every day..
There are so many personal details that go into what products people decide to use, but here are some of the products that have been working for me.
Primer
Saie’s Glowy Super Gel is marketed as a lightweight, shimmery base for makeup. I love things that are sparkly. I was not loving the primer I was initially using before this, so this has been the perfect upgrade for me. As soon as I put it on, my skin is super glowy. It feels like it’s a great buildable base for my other products.
Skin Tint
Something about Boulder is that the sun is usually out, and ever since I’ve moved here I get sunburned really easily. Nars Cosmetics Skin Tinted Moisturizer has been a really nice addition to my routine because, in addition to being slightly sheer — which is nice and why I didn’t want to buy a full coverage foundation — it has SPF 30 in its formula. Something that I really value in makeup products is having something that is buildable, and this does exactly that. This skin tint not only looks nice over the Glowy Super Gel, but also complements the other products.
Concealer
Tarte, please send me on a trip. No, but seriously, Tarte’s Shape Tape Concealer is one of the only products that has stuck with me since I started applying makeup more than once a year. Another reason I had to include a skin tint was because I wasn’t using concealer properly. I’d often cover too much, my entire face, it felt like, with concealer. Despite using it sparingly (and properly) now, I still stand by this concealer.
Contour
I love the effect Milk’s Sculpt Stick has after not using contour before. Because I would only use concealer, my face would turn incredibly pale. Now, although sometimes I can apply a little too much contour, and bronzer too, my face looks more dimensional. I appreciate how pigmented the product is and I love the tiny packaging the contour comes in that makes it really easy to apply.
Bronzer
Benefit’s Hoola Matt Bronzer is one of the only powder products I have in my lineup. It’s incredibly pigmented and the bronzer complements the Milk product really well.
Powder
I can come off really conceited sometimes…but I opened Snapchat and thought that the beauty filter was on me when it wasn’t — it was because of this product. I use numerous products in my routine, however, the Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder is exactly as its name describes. It blurs the places I apply concealer and is probably my favorite addition to my routine.
Blush
If there’s one thing that can sway me, it’s a good marketing campaign. First it was Skims, and now it is Rhode Beauty. Over winter break and in need of some retail therapy, I ordered some of the Pocket Blushes and Lip Peptides. They’re really pigmented and I feel like they have been lasting throughout the day. I got the shades Freckle and Sleepy Girl, and being pale — and even with the help of contour and bronzer — Sleepy Girl has been my go to.
Eyebrows
There’s no particular reason why I chose Anastasia Beverly Hills’s Brow Freeze Gel, but I really like the way it holds my eyebrows in place. I have pretty full eyebrows and they’re pretty dark, so when looking for a product, I didn’t need something that provided more color or coverage. I feel that this product looks great on my eyebrows without any assistance.
Mascara
I love mascara. There are a lot of makeup tutorials I have seen that are mascarless routines, and as much as I like the way they look on others, I love having my eyelashes done. I used to get eyelash lifts, but showering as frequently as I do, I felt that they didn’t last as long as they should have. What I loved about them was not that my eyelashes were darker, but that they held a curl. In October I picked up Maybelliene’s Sky High Mascara in True Brown after seeing numerous commercials and have not looked back since. I love the way it looks and how it separates my eyelashes from one another, preventing any clumpiness.
Setting Spray
After growing up watching makeup YouTubers, I don’t think I can part with my Morphe Continuous Setting Mist. When I wore random products to hot football games, and now multiple products everyday, this setting spray has always kept everything locked in place.
Lip
Lip products are where I have the most variety. In my purse I have eight different products because I love cycling through them throughout the day. My most common two have been Aquafor and Rhode’s Peptide Lip Treatment in Rhode Vanilla. I love the way it smells and while it is slightly grainy — I personally don’t mind — it has been my everyday favorite.
There are so many different makeup products in the market, so it can be hard to choose. I love the products I have been using, from their lightweight feel to their pigmentation and buildability, but I have no doubt that there may be more products that would also work for my routine. For the time being, however, these are my go-tos.