What’s in my makeup bag? I think you mean makeup bags. Honestly, I could probably put them all in a carry-on suitcase and still have a small bag leftover to keep in my purse.
Since I am miles and miles away from home, I had to fit the makeup I absolutely need into three bags—yes, I know, tragic. I have sprawled out all of the make-up that I managed to take with me on my desk for you:
Yes... I am aware there are scissors in my makeup bag. I use them to touch up my bangs from time to time! Definitely part of my beauty regimen!
I could go on and on and talk in detail about every single item, but I’ll save you the boredom and countless hours of talking—or rather, writing and reading—and go through my normal makeup routine, highlighting all of my favorite products.
Must-Have Moisturizer:
I love a moist face. It prevents me from breaking out! I use Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Moisture with Sunscreen SPF 15. It is very cost-efficient, non-sticky, and lasts forever. Seriously, I’ve had this for almost six months and I use it EVERY day.
Tip: Let your moisturizer dry before you apply anything on top of it! Your makeup can become streaky and uneven if you apply primer or foundation to a wet face. No fun!
Perfect Primer:
Usually I only buy things in a Sephora store (because I've got to keep that VIB status!), but when I tried this MAC primer, I fell in love. I went into a MAC store looking for BB (blemish balm) cream and they gave me this instead: MAC Prep + Prime Natural Radiance. It definitely doesn't do the same thing as a BB cream, but I am lucky enough to have clear skin, so the primer blurred my face and gives me a natural matte finish. Love it. Worth every penny. I bought this last summer and I use it at least four times a week. It's perfect for the days when I don’t have time to do make-up: I just pump it out, put it on, throw on a little blush, and I look great!
Tip: Let your primer dry before you put your foundation on top of it. Sometimes to get a "tinted" moisturizer look, I will mix a pump of moisturizer, a pump of primer, and a smidge of foundation to get a light and natural coverage!
Flawless Foundation:
For foundation, I alternate between Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup and Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover Foundation. The Estée Lauder gives a more matte and velvet look, whereas the Make Up Forever gives a more natural and satin look. I love them both equally; they both get plenty of use! To cover my under eye bags and the occasional blemish, I use Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover Concealer: lightweight, blendable, and perfect coverage. The powder foundation (Make Up Forever Pro Finish Multi-Use Powder Foundation) is what I use to hyper-matte my face. I usually use it above my foundation to eradicate any and all traces of oil. Usually I'm then oil-free for a good couple of hours before I have to blot!
Also included above are my brushes. Honestly, I couldn't tell you where I got them. They were both probably a dollar, but they work great! I use a thick, angled blush brush for my foundation to give it a full and airbrushed look. I also use a concealer brush for, well, my concealer. No surprise there.
Tip: When using foundation, fingers give a sheer look, a beauty blender sponge gives a medium coverage, and a brush gives you a full and airbrushed coverage.
Contour, contour, contour:
Yes, contour x 3. Highlight, blush, bronzer! I use e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder duo, except I use their “blush” as highlighter. It's a sheer, rose-peach, shimmery color, so why not? For highlighting, I use NARS Illuminator in Orgasm above my cheekbones, on my nose bone, and under my brow bone before I put on my foundation! Then I use the “blush” above my foundation. I do have real highlighter, but it's too shimmery and light; I love the sheer peach colors on my skin tone so much more. For real blush, I use Buxom True Hue Blush in Shangri-la-la with my BareMinerals blush brush. I have at least 10 different colors of blush, but the berry hue of Shangri-la-la keeps me coming back for more! And then actual contouring… I use Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow --Matte in Coffee Break with my DIY contouring brush (which is the face powder brush with the tape all over… no shame whatsoever) and it works wonderfully!
Tip: If liquid/cream contouring is not your thing, powder works wonderfully because it is 100x more forgiving and more blendable. It gives a subtle and soft contour which is great for throw and go!
Enviable Eyes:
Yes. Eyes. Eyes, oh my. Where to begin? Primer? I swear by Urban Decay’s Greed Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I use Greed because it is a nice gold color, perfect for the days when I don’t want to put on real eyeshadow. Then I use colors from my nifty Smashbox The Master Class Palette II. I used to use Naked all the time, but this palette has so many more colors, plus it comes with blushes, highlighters, and eyeliners. I don’t use that side much. I'm just in love with the eye shadow shades. If you use them correctly, they're all fun daytime colors!
I like to line my eyes with Kat Von D’s Tattoo Liner in Trooper and I use Stila’s Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner for my water line! I finish off with Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara, which seems to be a crowd-pleaser over at the Beauty School Blog. I have myriad eye shadow brushes (seriously, I have at least 20 and I don’t even know why), but the one I use all the time is e.l.f. Studio's Eyeshadow “C” Brush. It collects the pigment and transfers the color to your eyes perfectly (plus it was like $3, so no complaints there!). In a rush, I use it to highlight and contour my eyes because it truly does it all (in a time crunch, of course).
Tip: Not a big fan of dark eyeliner, or eyeliner at all? Tightline your eyes to make your mascara look fuller and your eyes look bigger. Also, use a champagne pencil eyeliner to rim the inner eyes and water line to make your eyes look bigger and more awake.
Luscious Lips:
Mwah! I own just as many lipsticks as I do eye shadow brushes. It is wonderful. So let me give you my three favorite colors for summer!
- Funky:Sephora Rouge Cream Lipstick in It Girl
- Fun and Flirty:Sephora Rouge Cream Lipstick in Love Test
- Everyday Cutie: Lancôme’s Color Design Cream Lipstick in Love It
I lost my favorite go-to, Sephora Rouge in Crush, which deeply saddens me, but it has made me expand my horizons to funky colors. Orange (It Girl) and fuchsia pink (Love Test) are just… WOW. Like, WOW. Pair them with a matching muted blush (I use coral blush when I'm using orange lipstick) and an intense cat eye with neutral eye shadow colors, and all eyes will be on you. I get so many compliments. The colors look good on everybody; you just need to try them. Get out of your comfort zone! I use a small concealer brush to apply my lipstick because I find that it grabs the color and applies it better. Plus, my lips are a bit bigger than average, so a slightly bigger brush helps me save a minute or two.
Tip: If you’re too afraid to try a really bold color, buy a darker lip liner in the same color family (like orange and red, pink and purple) to line and shade in the corner V’s of your lips before putting on the color. You’ll get a nice ombré lip color.
I hope you enjoyed my favorites in my makeup bag! What's in your makeup bag? Tell us in the comments!