Beauty Must Haves

I am not one of those people who exclusively uses one makeup brand. Over the years my favorites have changed, and a lot of the new products I’ve tried in the past few years have been based on recommendations from other people or online reviews. Today I’m sharing my beauty must haves along with why I own and love each of these products.

Many foundations today contain SPF. However, my skin is a bit on the dry side, especially in winter. It appreciates the additional layer of moisturizer, so I always start with an SPF lotion. I like an SPF 30 for my face, and many foundations or tinted moisturizers only have SPF 15. At night I use a heavier cream by Dermalogica and during the day I use Super Goop. For years I used a Bobbi Brown SPF moisturizer but then they discontinued it. Don’t you hate it when that happens? I find it’s really hard to find SPF lotions that don’t smell like sunscreen, and theirs did not. The Super Goop is fairly pleasant to smell, but it’s not quite as lovely as the Bobbi Brown one was. Sigh.

For foundation, I bounce back and forth between a BB Cream (which is essentially a tinted moisturizer) and a heavier coverage liquid foundation. Because a BB cream provides lighter coverage, I use that from late spring to early fall. I like the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue. Through the winter when my skin doesn’t have as much natural color, I use a fuller coverage foundation. It’s not heavy though, and you can control how much coverage you get by how many layers you apply. A salesperson at Sephora recommended the Hourglass Illusion a couple of years ago and I love it.

If you’d like, you can set your liquid foundation with a bit of loose powder for oil control. I’ve been using Clinique’s loose powder since I was in high school. It’s affordable and great. I recently switched over to the transparency neutral shade which controls shine without adding color.

Even if I don’t have time for anything else, I like to do under eye concealer because it brightens my whole face. My dark circles improved after using VIICode oxygen eye masks. You can read my full review of the masks in this post. My friend recently introduced me to this color corrector by Urban Decay that evens out the color under your eyes. You can use that by itself, or add a touch of concealer on top. I like this thicker concealer from Bare Minerals, and I recently purchased this lighter one from Dior that has is equally lovely.

The Urban Decay eye shadow primer has also been a favorite of mine for many years. It prevents your eye shadow from settling into the creases, but the product is so pretty that I like how it looks by itself. Similarly, the Bare Minerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener takes two seconds to dab next to the inner corner of your eye and under your eyebrow. This is the perfect product to hide how tired you might be feeling! Ha.

Time permitting, my next step is to add blush and highlighter. The first day I wore highlighter, someone told me I looked like I was glowing. Mission accomplished! I apply a bit of the blush first to the apples of my cheeks, and then apply the highlighter to the same area and then extend it up to the brow bone. I like the highlighter from Bare Minerals because the colors are soft and pretty.

Last up is mascara and eye shadow. My lashes are pretty long, but I love the volume added by using a base layer. I’ve tried a few different brands over the past couple of years and my personal favorite is the Dior Show. I also love their mascara, but I’m currently using this one by Bare Minerals which is great and a bit less expensive. If I have a couple of extra minutes, I love the neutral colors in Urban Decay Naked Eye Shadow palette. I often add eye makeup later in the day, after a workout, if I haven’t done it in the morning. I throw on some Dior Glow for a moisturizing hint of color on my lips while I’m driving to school. It comes in a many different shades and I’m currently addicted to the berry color.

I realize that this seems like a ton of products, but I promise you can do the whole thing in less than 10 minutes! If you don’t have that long, you can do just the foundation and under eye concealer in under five minutes. I feel so much more put together if I am able to spend a few minutes on myself in the morning!

Although there are many places to buy makeup, I linked most of these at Sephora because of their generous return policy. You are free to try a product and return it if it’s not right for your skin. They have free shipping if you spend $49, and they always have excellent selection of free samples to choose from.

What are your favorite make up products for an everyday makeup look? I’d love to hear your recommendations!