Some New Favorite Makeup Products
It's been about five months since my last makeup post. And during these past five months, I've acquired some new favorite makeup products. Seventeen of which I'd like to share with you.
Trust me when I say all the products below are amazing. I've tested out lots of makeup, and if like me, you're a fan of natural looking, glowing, "no makeup makeup," I think you'll love the products listed below as well.
You'll find a mixture of high-end and drugstore makeup in this post - I decided to just combine all the products together instead of separating them into two different posts like I've done in the past.
So here they are. My new favorite makeup products:
1. best natural highlighters
Ciate London Dewy Stix Highlighter
RMS Beauty Living Luminizer Highlighter
If you appreciate a highlighter that imparts a dewy, glowing sheen instead of a blinding, metallic light or a glaring strip of sparkle, you are going to love these highlighters.
The RMS Beauty highlighter comes in a subtle champagne hue and is slightly more sparkly than the Ciate London highlighter; it is very natural looking, dewy, and creamy.
The Ciate highlighter is akin to a balm texture, has minimal to no sparkle, and imparts the most natural, glowing, dewy, highlight.
2. Sephora pro Highlighter Palette
Sephora PRO Dimensional Highlighting Palette
This highlighter palette doesn't have a very high rating on the Sephora website, but I'm not surprised; most people prefer a sparkly, obvious highlight, which you will not get from this product.
This modern highlighting palette ranges from shades that are very glossy and wet looking to shades that are slightly more creamy and buildable. I personally love the look of a glossy, dewy cheekbone, but most people don't, which is probably why this palette doesn't have the best reviews.
But if you do appreciate a more wet, glossy, or natural illumination, this palette is for you.
3. mascaras
Loreal Telsecopic Mascara
Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara
I'm over thick and full lashes. My new thing is long, feathery, whimsical lashes. Which is what you'll get from the Maybelline and Loreal mascaras pictured above.
I mentioned the Loreal Telescopic mascara in my drugstore makeup post, but I didn't give it enough attention, so I'm featuring it again. It's an incredible mascara, and it's affordable too.
The Maybelline Lash Discovery mascara is great as well, and thanks to its super skinny brush, you can really get in there and coat every single lash, from root to tip. I discovered this mascara because I had been using a higher-end mascara that had a similar tiny wand, but it irritated my eyes. I searched for a mascara dupe and found this Maybelline one, which happens to be even better than the original one I had been using.
And the Tarte mascara is excellent if you're trying to achieve thick and full lashes, so I had to include it as well.
4. mac face and body foundation
If you're looking for a sheer, buildable, light-weight foundation that has a dewy finish and doesn't look like you're wearing anything on your skin, get this foundation. Please.
Just apply the foundation with your fingers, rubbing until the foundation starts feeling thicker and slightly tacky.
5. jouer tinted moisturizer
Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint Sunscreen
I've tested out countless tinted moisturizers (Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Bare Minerals, Clinique etc.) in order to find one that ticked every feature on my checklist. And this Jouer tinted moisturizer is the one.
Natural-looking, luminizing, hydrating, doesn't settle into fine lines or dry areas, SPF 20, and a dewy finish - it's perfect.
6. Bronzers
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer
RMS Beauty Buriti Bronzer
Normally, I wouldn't like the hue of the Hourglass bronzer; it falls slightly more on the orange side and has some shimmer in it. But for some reason, I always get complimented when I wear it, so I guess it translates really nicely on the skin.
The RMS Beauty bronzer is creamy, is the perfect balance between orange and muddy, and is the type of bronzer you can wear without people realizing you're wearing anything. It'll just look like you have great cheekbones and a sun-kissed glow :)
7. clear eyebrow gel
NYX Control Freak Eyebrow Gel
Sonia Kashuk Eyebrow Gel
In my drugstore makeup post, I featured the Loreal brow stylist plumper, saying it was the only drugstore eyebrow gel I found that was effective.
Well, since then, I've discovered two more great, affordable eye brow gels - the two you see above. They'll keep your brows in the shape you brush them in all day.
8. tarte lip tint pencil
This is an all-around, great lip tint that provides hydration, good pigmentation, smells minty and amazing, and even slightly plumps the lips.
9. concealers
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer
Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer
I also mentioned the Maybelline concealer in my drugstore makeup post, but I kind of brushed right over it. But since then, it's become one of my favorite concealers, so I have to post it again. If you tend to have the problem where your concealer settles into lines, creases, or flakes because of dry skin, do yourself a favor and get this affordable concealer, because it's very hydrating and creamy.
The Tarte concealer is also very hydrating, but it is thicker and more full-coverage. It's also unique in the fact that it has a dewy finish, which is hard to find in a concealer. I love it for under my eyes, as it really has a brightening effect because of its radiant finish.
10. Benefit cosmetics posie tint
Benefit Cosmetics Cheek and Lip Stain
Ever since I discovered this product a few months ago, it has become the only blush I wear. I love this tint because it lasts ALL DAY (hence the "stain" aspect), and it just looks like a sheer wash of color on the cheeks. That is, if you're careful not to over apply, because once you blend this liquid blush into your cheeks, it ain't coming off.
11. Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm
Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm Tube
My favorite thing about this lip balm is probably its smell. And minty taste. And the fact that I found it in a tube instead of in the original metal tin which was highly frustrating to open.
