Take it from me: I have gone through years of trial and error with makeup products, ranging from a wide variety of products, brands, and price points. Having started doing makeup as a hobby in middle school, at a time when beauty videos and content creators were on the main stage of the internet, I have heard of, and most likely tried, many of the very talked-about products that have come and left the beauty world’s attention. Now, though, I find myself always coming back to the same rotation of products — in my opinion, they are some of the best on the market and never fail to increase my ego a bit after doing a full face. Hopefully, this list can give you some inspiration on your next trip to the makeup aisle!
Note: These products may not work for everyone; obviously, skin types and facial features differ from person-to-person, so make sure to try these out for yourself and see how you feel.
- Benefit boi-ing cakeless concealer
-
I understand that concealers/foundations and other facial pigments work well for some people and worse for others, and ranking them can be arbitrary, but this concealer is my all-time favorite. As someone with very dry skin and hyperpigmentation, this concealer both hydrates my skin and is very full coverage, which is generally hard to come by. Even if I’m just throwing on some concealer and nothing else, my skin always looks dewy and blurred to perfection! I’ve been using this product most days for the past three years, and I fully recommend it to anyone with similar preferences and skin texture.
- maybelline fit-me blush
-
This blush is perfect for people who don’t prefer to spend more than $20 on a compact, and for its affordability, it is also a quality product! These blushes have a luminous factor with a bit of shimmer in the formula, which adds some extra glow to your look. On top of that, I appreciate how pigmented it is for how affordable it is. Because it’s a powder blush, the powder does a great job of setting the base of your makeup while adding the perfect amount of rosiness. It’s a great product to have for very quick makeup applications, and I would recommend it to everyone with a preference for matte powder blushes.
- Fenty beauty killawatt freestyle highlighter
-
Full disclosure: this is the best highlighter I have ever used. Trust me, I have gone through my fair share of upscale highlighters, from crèmes to powders, and have never used one with such beautiful shine and pigmentation. One swipe of either shade included in the compact goes a long way, and I have not stopped receiving compliments on it since I decided to spend a little extra cash on a designer brand highlighter. This product comes in a variety of shades to suit every skin tone and pigment, and I urge anyone looking to splurge on a very high-quality and durable highlighter to make the investment!
- benefit badgal bang! mascara
-
As someone who relentlessly swore by the Too Faced ‘BTS’ mascara for years, I can wholeheartedly say that this mascara is better. I admit I was born with dark and somewhat long lashes (thank you, parents!), so I cannot expertly recommend the perfect mascara for those with different genetics; however, this mascara creates enough volume and adds enough length to the lashes that anyone, I’m convinced, would approve of its quality. When figuring out the right mascara to use, I try to steer clear of anything that looks clumpy and creates a ‘spider-like’ effect, and luckily this product manages to create the appearance of false lashes without any of the mess. Benefit truly kills it in so many types of makeup, and, once again, I recommend purchasing this product!
- Fenty gloss bomb universal lip luminizer
-
This list may seem repetitive in the brands I’ve included, but I would be doing readers a disservice by not including the products that help me look and feel my best, which happen to be made by a select few brands that kill it every time. This lip gloss is unique in that it is very smooth and luxurious, but also does not clump or feel too heavy upon application, which is very important for someone like me who hates the feeling of overly thick glosses. There are multiple shades to choose from, but the “Fenty Glow” tint is my all-time favorite; it’s beautiful and richly toned on its own, and also adds depth and shimmer to any lipstick or matte pigment. It is one hundred percent a worthwhile purchase!