Beauty Junkie
Over the weekend, I thought it was a good idea to curate my makeup collection. It then got me thinking, how much makeup do I really need, or better yet, could I live without 10 pieces? Probably not, but what would the 10 items be that if for some reason all my makeup disappeared, I’d instantly repurchase? I often chat about new products to hit the market, items I’m loving at the current moment, or my holy grail/ ride or die products that I can’t live without, but never really talk about the items I use on the daily. These are the ones that if something happened to my collection, I’d immediately go out and re-purchase.
Today, I’m sharing 10 products that if I had to start all over again, with absolutely no makeup in my collection, these would be the items I’d buy right away. Many of these I have already bought repeatedly, and some are just products that I reach for daily. Either way, these are items that if I was just starting out in makeup, or if all-of my makeup got stolen, I would purchase first.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned when it comes to makeup, is that any good makeup look starts with a base. The same way you prep your walls with a primer before painting, a face primer will also help set the face for a flawless finish. I tend to look for a multitasking product, one that not only hydrates, but adds a healthy glow and slight blurring effect. Although a slightly new product for me, I can’t imagine using anything other than the Becca Backlight Priming Filter Face Primer.
For those that are looking to create a seamless finish, and also have slightly dry skin, the Becca Backlight Priming Filter Face Primer will be your new BFF. Not only does it create the perfect canvas for your foundation to adhere to, it continuously delivers moisture back into the skin, keeping it plump and youthful throughout the entire day. It instantly adds a touch of radiance and luminous glow to the skin for a natural coverage with a soft-focus, blurred effect. Its luminescent pearl formula immediately diffuses the light and acts as an instant smoothing filter, filling in fine lines and wrinkles. Not only can it be paired with your fave foundation, it can be used alone for a brilliant glow on those “no makeup, makeup days”, or mixed in with a tinted moisturizer for that extra pop of glow. It retails for $46.
Speaking of foundation, it’s a must- for me. I know many people would say if they could only have one makeup item for the rest of their lives, it would be mascara. For me, it would be foundation. Not only is it the base to any makeup look, it’s a multi-purpose product. If can hide imperfections and breakouts, conceal dark circles and bags and even out skin tone and create a flawless complexion. Although the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation is a tad expensive, and maybe not the best item, when I’m forced to buy my entire makeup collection all over again, it’s one that I think is worth the splurge.
Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation lightweight, yet full-coverage formula neutralizes discolouration, evens out skin tone and creates a flawless finish for an incredibly natural look. On days when I’m looking for that “my skin but better” effect, I apply a thin, single layer and buff on. If I’m wanting an airbrushed, flawless look, without looking cakey or “mask-like”, I simply buildup the coverage with another thin layer. It’s breathable, blendable, and extremely comfortable to wear throughout the entire day. It doesn’t settle into fine lines, accentuate dryness, oxidize or breakdown mid-day. Its moisturize enriched formula ensures skin never looks or feels dry and stays in place for hours on end. It retails for $60.
On days when I don’t get enough sleep, there’s nothing a little concealer can’t hide. I think it’s safe to say, the YSL Touche Éclat Radiant Touch is a cult fave (and mine too). This magic wand instantly provides your skin with a little pic-me-up. With a few strokes of the brush, this illuminating pen immediately fakes a well rested effect. It instantly rejuvenates and brightens the skin for a radiant finish. It will help bring light to the skin and erase any signs of fatigue. Perfect for early mornings.
YSL Touche Éclat Radiant Touch brush-on highlighter is a click-style pen with built-in synthetic brush for easy application. Just click and brush on. Its rich and creamy, ultra-smooth texture glides on sheer, yet provides enough coverage to hide dark circles and bags. I love that it doesn’t settle into fine lines, nor does it crease throughout the entire day. Not only does it eliminate dark circles and shadows, it can also be used between your eyebrows and along the side of your nose to give the illusion of wider, more awake eyes. It can also be used in the hollows of the chin and around the contours of your lips to give the illusion of fuller, kissable and poutier lips. It retails for $51.
Setting the face is equally as important as priming it, and just like the Becca Backlight Priming Filter Face Primer, I look for a powder that can offer multipurpose. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette not only helps to capture, diffuse and soften the way light reflects on your skin, it also helps to brighten the appearance of skin and conceal minor imperfections, like enlarged pores and fine lines. It helps to lock and set everything in place to ensure a flawless finish the entire day.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette contains 3 different lighting powders all designed to filter out harsh light and refine the appearance of your complexion. The natural peach beige-y shade helps to blur imperfections and provide a radiant finish. This is perfect for dusting all over the face for a soft, almost airbrush effect. The pearlescent shade highlights cheekbones and instantly brightens the complexion for a lit-from-within glow. The sun-kissed golden shade helps to lighten your skin for that extended summer glow. It helps to enhance your overall complexion for a natural, yet radiant finish. Of course, each shade found within this versatile palette, can be mixed and matched together to create your own look. Try using Incandescent Light as a setting powder to create a subtle glow to the skin, use Dim Light around the eyes to soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and finish with Radiant Light as a contour shade to the hollows of your cheeks. It retails for $70.
An eyeshadow palette might be the hardest decision I had to make. I have so many favourites (Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Urban Decay Naked, any of the Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadows, etc), but I think the first one I’d repurchase would be the tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Palette. With its intensely pigmented formula, rich and creamy texture and slightly warmer colour selection, it’s one palette that never fails me. I can create a ton of beautiful looks, for both daytime and evening, with little to no effort.
tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Palette features both matte, luster and almost metallic shades in a wide selection of taupes, creams, browns, coppers and nudes. These 12 shades work extremely well together, which means I never have to think about which shades go with what to create endless looks. I can combine the 4 horizontal shades across each row when I’m feeling playful, or the trio of vertical shades when I want to keep things simple. Its Amazonian clay formula is one of the best eyeshadow formulas on the market, ensuring whether I’m using the shadows all over my lid, in the crease, as a liner or deepening up my look, it’s bold, blendable and longwearing. It features enough colours that I don’t have to reach for any other shades or palettes. It retails for $60.
No matter what my end goal is when it comes to makeup, mascara is always key in keeping my look bright-eyed in the morning. A good mascara can give the illusion of wide-awake eyes and provide me with that extra oomph in the AM. When I’m looking for length, volume, thickness, definition and drama, I reach for my Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. It’s been a favourite of mine for years, and the one I continue to repurchase.
You’ve heard me rave about Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara time and time again, but it’s the only one that holds a curl, adds mega volume, creates a definition and provides unlimited length. What can I say, this mascara does it all and is totally worth the hype. Its unique hourglass shaped brush is inspired by the curves of a woman’s body and pairs beautifully with its extra stiff bristle to help enhance your lashes. Its carbon-black, collagen-fueled and film-forming polymer formula not only adds volume and length, it also keeps your lashes curled all day and night. A single coat provides dramatically intense lashes, whereas two coats provide award winning performance without smudging or flaking. No matter how many coats you apply, it never looks clumpy or spider-like. It retails for $30.
A good eyeliner will help define the contours around the eyes and change the eye shape to whatever you want it to be. Depending on the shade, it can also fill in sparse looking lashes and add more definition to the lash area. Depending on the formula, it can be softy smudged to create a smoky effect or a precise line and define the eye area. I look for both an intensely black formula paired with an ultra-fine, pen-style liner when I’m looking to create that perfectly bold line. The Clarins Graphik Ink Liner has been a fave of mine for years thanks to its easy-to-use felt-tip brush.
Clarins Graphik Ink Liner can get extremely close to my natural lash line to give the appearance of thicker, fuller, multiplied lashes. It makes it incredibly easy to create an array of thick and thin lines. It allows me to show off my artistic flare by creating intricate eye designs with a flick of the pen. The formula is richly pigmented, providing an intense black line, even when I’m drawing on an ultra-thin line. The felt-tip allows me to create seamless lines in a single stroke, without pulling or tugging on the eyelid. It dries within seconds, is budge-proof the entire day and is intensely black. The design allows me to go from the thinnest line possible at the inner corner of my eyes, to a thicker, bolder line as I apply outwards. It retails for $30.
A bronzer is an excellent way for someone like myself (with pale skin) to add a little touch of warmth and radiance to my complexion without harmful effects of the sun. It’s the safest way to get a glow without damaging your skin in the process. You would think because I’m so pale, I would pack on the bronzer, but I actually like a more natural finish. Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion is an oldie, but a goodie. It instantly enhances a natural tan and creates the illusion of just returning home from a tropical vacation without looking too over the top. It manages to create a healthy and youthful glow that looks incredibly natural.
Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion in shade 151 Soft Iridescent Amber is ideal for those like myself, with light skin tones, who want a sun-kissed glow that looks almost skin-like. Its unique texture blends out beautifully with no harsh lines and never looks powdery. Its slightly soft iridescent finish provides a healthy, subtle shimmer that’s perfect for both daytime and evening looks. It helps to add definition, while transforming my lackluster skin into a luminous goodness. Its lightweight, silky-smooth formula blends into the skin seamlessly ensuring a perfectly tan complexion. It retails for $43.
Blush was another hard one, do I opt for pink, peach, rose or neutral? I think we all want to mimic healthy flushed cheeks, so keeping with the natural theme, I went with Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Fetish. It’s the perfect medium pink-nude that creates the ultimate rosy glow all year round. It instantly gives my face a pick-me-up and adds a little life back into my dull complexion. No matter your skin tone, I think this is the perfect shade.
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush is the easiest and foolproof way to creating a radiant, almost lit-from-within summer glow in a few quick and easy swipes. It’s infused with light-diffusing pigments to help enhance and perfect the skin for a natural, luminous glow. It features a luxe, soft and creamy texture that not only applies and blends out beautifully, it stays put for a solid 8+ hours without fading. Its finely milled formula starts off sheer, perfect for a subtle daytime look, but can easily be build up for a stronger, more opaque and intense coverage for evening. Fetish is the prettiest pinky nude that goes with any makeup look I’m creating. Its satin-matte finish isn’t overly shimmery, yet somehow adds a luminous glow to the skin. It retails for $33.
Since I went with a neutral eyeshadow palette and you know this girl is obsessed with pink, I went with Dior Rouge Dior in 888 Soho as my lipstick. Since we are in the summer months, I wanted something bold and fun, and nothing screams warmer months like fuchsia. Honestly any of the Dior shades would do, as I’m slightly obsessed with the Dior formula. Its luxe, rich and creamy texture paired with its intensely pigmented formula not only keeps lips soft, smooth and supply, it provides full opaque coverage in a single swipe.
Dior Rouge Dior honestly do apply like butter and comfortable to wear. It does an amazing job at hydrating and moisturizing the lips, without having the formula slip and slide around. It’s pigmented, provides true colour payoff, all with a high shine finish. It’s bold and vivid without smudging or budging for upwards of 6+ hours. Even when I eat and drink, the lipstick still stays in place. If you’re over those life-sucking, ultra-drying matte lippies, this satiny finish will be a real treat. Its light reflecting particles not only add depth to your lips, it creates a real healthy and youthfulness. It smooths fines lines and delivers a slight plumping effect. It retails for $43.
