1. Maybelline Fit Me Loose Powder
I love this stuff. I’ve been on the hunt for a light colored powder to set my under eyes. I wanted something lightweight & blurring that wouldn’t crease or change the color of my concealer… and my hunt was over when I came back to this. In an era of talc being removed from loose powders at Sephora, it’s nice to have a drugstore option that keeps the talc. I like this even more than the cult classic one from Laura Mercier. I use the lightest shade 05 Fair.
Another case of me returning to an old love. I’ve been using the Hy Glam concealer from Natasha Denona for the better part of a year and I thought it was the answer to issues I’d been having with Shape Tape. When I started using a retinoid in my skincare routine last year, my under eyes were dry and Shape Tape was just clinging to the scaly patches. Hy Glam was kind to the dry patches but the shade match was never great and it’s been creasing pretty relentlessly lately. To Shape Tape I returned. And as the weather heats up? Dry patches have been much less of an issue. I use the lightest shade 8B Porcelain Beige.
3. Tower 28 Make Waves Mascara
I think my hunt for the perfect mascara ends here. I’ve strayed a couple of times since discovering this one and I always regret it. This mascara is inky with a lovely formula that sits somewhere between dry and wet. The wand is rubber and does a great job of not only lengthening but volumizing. I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to do multiple coats of mascara, so finding one that provides what I’m looking for in one coat is a big ask. This one always delivered. I use the shade Jet.
4. Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation
Ok… so I almost always use drugstore foundation. Not for any particular reason, I’ve just never found a high end foundation that’s really blown me away. But after my beloved Revlon Illuminance was recently discontinued, I decided to trek to Sephora to find a new foundation to love. Enter the Dior Skin Glow. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in a foundation: basic as hell, medium coverage, and not too drying on my Sahara desert skin. I held my breath the first time I applied this, expecting to look AWFUL like the stick version of this foundation did on me. But alas… this looked… good. And continued to look good all day. I use the shade 00N Neutral (and it’s borderline too light, hoorah)!
5. Sephora Retractable Rouge Gel Lip Liner in Sink or Suede
I feel bad sharing this one because it is also discontinued. Someone get out world’s tiniest violin for me. This shade of lipliner is a gorgeous cool toned pink-y nude for pale girls who struggle with everything showing up orange on them. The formulation isn’t out of this world, as it doesn’t have the longevity of other liners. But she’s been my ride or die for a while and I’m going to use her til the very end. I’ve been pairing this with the Bobbi Brown tint I’ll talk about in a sec.
6. Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner
I’m always looking to level up my makeup products… I can fall in love with a lipstick and still want to try something new. Eyeliner? Not so much. I’ve been using this inky black liquid liner for the better part of a decade and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. Is the liquid liner a little millennial of me? Sure. I am one. And I feel naked without my black liquid liner. I use shade Intense Black.
7. Dior 5 Couleurs Couture Eyeshadow Palette in Soft Cashmere
As I age, I do start realizing things about myself. And I’ve recently faced the fact head on that I just don’t wear much eyeshadow. I wear eyeshadow every day, but I wear maximum 2 shades and 99% of the time it’s a cool toned brown for the crease and a light shimmer on the lid. So why did I think I needed a ton of 12 pan eyeshadow palettes? I recently gave away & sold all of my eyeshadows and set out to find something perfect, simple, and small. This palette fit the bill. It gives me a little more versatility beyond 2 shades, but is the perfect blend of cool and slightly warm.
I typically use the light shimmer on my lid and the cool toned shade in the left hand corner in my crease. If things look a little too gray? I use the center shade to warm things up. The upper left shade is great on my lid for a more night time look. And the lower right shade I use as liner if I want something subtler than my liquid liner. This formula isn’t as buttery as Natasha Denona or Anastasia but it’s been working great for me. I’m really glad I downsized.
8. Rhode Pocket Blush in Piggy
My cool girl little sister gifted me this cool toned pink cream blush for Christmas and I’ve been using it pretty much every day since. I apply it with a tiny flat top brush from Rephr and it gives such great color pay off with the perfect glow.
9. Bobbi Brown Extra Lip Tint Sheer Oil-Infused Lip Balm in Bare Blackberry
My lip collection up until the purchase of this product consisted of a couple of milky pink glosses and a handful of pink-y nude lipliners. But I was craving something a little less involved and yet a little more pigmented. When I swatched this at Nordstrom, I knew I had to have it. It’s the perfect darker (but sheer) berry tint that gives my pale lips enough pigment to make me look alive. It’s what I’ve always wanted Black Honey to be for me. But this one looks better on me & has a hydrating formula.
Listen, I’ll probably never be a minimalist when it comes to makeup. But when I see the opportunity to simplify, I take it. I was feeling like my brow routine of pencil + clear gel was looking a little… 2016 sharpie brows. So I decided to lighten things up by switching to just a tinted brow gel. And I like the messy, youthful look that Boy Brow is giving me. I use the shade Dark Brown.
11. Bobbi Brown Extra Plump Hydrating Lip Oil in Lilac
Did I need another milky pink/purple gloss? Probably not. But the formula of this one is so gorgeous and the shade was in fact a little different than the Rhode Peptide Lip Tint I’ve been wearing religiously. So I figured I’d snatch this up and throw her in my purse. She has the slightest tingle and a really nice plushy applicator. Looks great on its own or with a pink liner.