I love makeup. I try to fit in the time a few days a week to put it on. Makeup gives me the power to experiment with new looks, try new products and practice techniques until I perfect them. Over the years, I have accumulated a vast collection of makeup products, and now have a selection I can use every day for a variety of looks.
Be warned: This is not going to be a list of budget-friendly makeup products. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that sometimes it is better to pay more money for better quality. I wasted a lot of money buying a bunch of cheap makeup, when I could have spent it on something more expensive with a longer shelf life.
Face
I always start my makeup (after washing my face, of course) with the Benefit Porefessional Primer. It minimizes pores, goes on light and isn’t oily. This primer is the perfect example of paying more for quality. I bought the NYX Poreless Primer for half the price, but it makes my face oily and doesn’t show any real difference.
I prefer liquid foundation, so I go with the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation. The best thing about it is that you can put on a light layer and keep adding more based on how intense you want your look to be. It doesn’t look like you’re wearing a lot of foundation, and there are a lot of shades to match a variety of skin tones.
I love to do a good contour every day, no matter what the occasion is. While I have the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit, I prefer to highlight with the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer. I got the Clinique product free from one of their bonuses and fell in love with it. It blends so well, which is a problem I sometimes run into with the ABH kit.
I like to finish the look with a light cream blush (any brand, I got mine from Costco) and some glow. I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in That Glow because the colors suit my skin tone, but ABH keeps releasing more and more great kits you can choose from!
I always finish my look with the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray so the makeup stays perfect all day!
Eyes
I don’t do much with my eye area, and my products are always changing as I experiment with new things. I like to fill in my eyebrows, but I don’t have the time to make them perfect, so I usually buy the Maybelline Eyestudio Brow Define + Fill Duo. It takes me less than a minute to make my eyebrows look 10x better.
I always curl my eyelashes; it makes the mascara go on smoother and with fewer clumps. Right now I’m using the Rimmel London 24HR Supercurler mascara which makes my lashes look fuller and longer. I’m terrible at putting on eyeliner, but I think any liquid or gel eyeliner is your best bet. I recommend something with a long handle to make applying it easier.
Lips
I only use NYX lip products. They are inexpensive and last all day without having to reapply. Plus, they never leave my lips feeling dry at the end of the day. You cannot go wrong with any of their liquid lipstick products. I also highly recommend using lip liner all the time. It is a life saver that makes your lipstick look cleaner and helps define your lips.
Brushes
I have so many brushes, it’s ridiculous, yet I somehow manage to find a way to use them all. I cannot recommend specifics because I have so many picked up from random places, but I recommend having one specific brush for each function, such as foundation, highlight, contour, liquid blush, powder blush, etc. Also, beauty blenders will make your liquid foundation look much more natural. You don’t need to break the bank on them! I’ve gotten some of my favorite makeup sponges from TJMaxx for under five dollars!
Have fun with your makeup and remember that there is so much out there that you will always end up finding something you like!