It’s been awhile since I featured my favorite makeup items, so here they are! Different categories, different price levels…I’m just sharing what’s in my makeup bag right now.
Hope you enjoy, friends!
Aveda Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisture.This is basically my foundation, and I’ve loved it for quite some time. It’s called “tinted moisture” but it definitely has plenty of coverage—but it’s light enough that I can put it on my chest (I mean decolletage) and neck and heck…I could put it on my feet if I wanted to.
It’s a good thing I don’t want to.
Depending on the time of year and how much walking I do outside (and yes, I use sunblock but some rays still get through), I use either Aspen or Beechwood. And the bonus is that it’s Aveda, which means it smells like Heaven.
Aveda Inner Light Mineral Dual Foundation. So after I apply the tinted moisture above, I use a pear-shaped makeup sponge (have you seen those? I love them) to just spot this on in areas I need a little extra coverage, otherwise known as everywhere. It gives great coverage and a nice matte finish without being dry. Now, this is great for covering up splotches and unevenness here and there, but if it’s warm outside, it won’t kill the shine for very long—you’ll need a loose powder for that. But for everyday touch-ups, I love this stuff and one compact lasts a pretty long time. I use Linen or Aster, depending on the time of year.
No list of my favorite makeup items would be complete without Cover Girl Concealer. It’s the best under-eye concealer known to man, and you can get it at the drugstore, which means the price is nice. I wear the “Neutralizer” shade, which works for my pale, I mean fair, skin tone…but it comes in a nice basic range of colors.
Laura Mercier Illuminating Powder. Two things. One, this is called “illuminating powder” but I use it as a blush. It’s pretty sheer, which means a fair person like me won’t have streaks of dark or bright striping her cheeks. Second, this is a pretty expensive makeup item—about 38 bucks. However, I have had the same compact for months and there’s still plenty left. There are three different color combinations, but I love the “Mocha Spice Quad” because it’s very natural with a tiny bit of rose/pink.
(And pssst. Here’s a drugstore version. CoverGirl Clean Glow Blush in “Roses.”)
Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm. Of course, Bonne Bell Dr Pepper Lip Smacker will always be my first choice, but this is a close alternative. (By the way, even though Bonne Bell is closing its doors, I’ve learned that Lip Smacker will still be manufactured by the company that bought Bonne Bell. Dr Pepper Lip Smacker lives on!) I love tinted lip balms because they’re sheer and casual and give you a little bit of color without forcing you to commit to lipstick.
In the lipstick realm, my favorite lipstick, hands-down, is Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick. I’ve featured this before in my previously favorite shade called “Totally Toffee” (which I still love), but oooooooh…I have a new shade. It’s called (appropriately, since it’s Maybelline) “Born with It” and is the most perfect shade of feminine, but not overpowering, but lovely, but not too bright, pink. I actually found it because I was looking for a drugstore version of Laura Mercier’s “Pink Label” lipstick, which I saw Countess Luanne wear on one of the Real Housewives of New York reunion shows, and which I thought was the prettiest pink lipstick I’d ever seen.
Well, it turns out that “Born with It” is every bit as pretty…and it’s $7 instead of $24. Love it!
One note about ColorSensational Lipstick in general: It is the bomb. Lovely texture/formula, great colors—everything from bright reds to neutrals. Try one out in your color range next time you’re at the drugstore!
In the eyeliner realm (also known as the survival realm since I couldn’t live without eyeliner), I first learned about gel eyeliner a few years ago when someone who knew what they were doing (i.e. a makeup artist) did my eye makeup. She used a thin brush and applied eyeliner out of a pot, and I was intrigued. And the verdict? I’ve been using it ever since. It’s a cross between an eyeliner pencil and liquid eyeliner, except you have much more control over it, it dries (or, I should say, sets since it isn’t overly wet in the first place) to a lovely matte and it stays put for a long, long time. I have tried Mac and a couple of drugstore brand, and I haven’t liked any of them as much as the Bobbi Brown version (above). And though it rings in at $25, the same pot will last you months if you do the following:
* Get into the habit of dabbing the brush in a circle around the outer edge, rather than the center, which most of us tend to do. This will help retain moisture inside the pot; don’t ask me how.
* Put the lid on immediately after you’re finished getting the eyeliner on the brush.
* Store the pot upside down. Again, I don’t know for sure that this works…but it’s a tip I heard and I try to make sure I do it!
The black eyeliner above is classic, but I’ve been using this “Chocolate Shimmer” color, which is nice because it’s dark without being jet black. Now, of course you’ll never catch me complaining about black eyeliner because I am from the Pat Benatar school of eyeliner…but theoretically, browns look a little bit better on a pale—I mean fair—redhead than blacks.
*Note: In order to apply the eyeliner, you’ll need an ultra-fine eyeliner brush. The Bobbi Brown version is $29, which I think is unnecessary—you can find thin brushes everywhere! Just be sure to wipe the brush regularly with a makeup wipe to keep the eyeliner from clumping.
If you’ve read my website for awhile, you have probably gathered that I am easily seduced when it comes to mascara, and I am very, very fickle. Mascara is my desert island item—the one I would choose above all others—so it’s always on my mind. (Well, as much as a makeup item can be on one’s mind.) I like Maybelline mascaras these days, particularly this one…
And this one. They both create lots of volume and va-va-va-voom, which I need these days, man.
Makeup removing wipes. (These are Walgreens’ brand.) One of the most essential makeup items you can have in your arsenal, especially if you’re over 35 years old. I’ve found that a mid-day swipe under my eyes can take up to seventeen years off my appearance.
Totally kidding on that. But a mid-day swipe under your eyes can really make your makeup look a little fresher and keeps you from looking 46 and haggard.
That’s it for now! I’ll keep you posted when I find fun new stuff.
Love,
Pioneer Woman