On days where you are short on time, what are your must-haves for a quick makeup application?
Here are my top five must-have cosmetics at the moment:
1 // Tinted Moisturizer: Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturizer in bliss.
2 // Concealer: Cle de Peau concealer in ivory. (Homechild has dark under-eye circles. Concealer is a non-negotiable.)
3 // Bronzer: Guerlain bronzing powder in 03. If I must choose, I’d opt for bronzer over blush, though I usually layer both. I love this Guerlain formula. It goes on very naturally and is less about achieving a sunkissed look than it is about achieving a kind of healthy balance with my complexion — I apply it on my cheekbones, the tip of my nose, and along my hairline. Also, one palette lasts a REALLY long time; the formula is excellent and I’ve never had an issue with the bronzer cracking and dissolving everywhere, which seemed to happen consistently back when I was a Nars Laguna girl.
4 // Mascara: It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara. I freaking love this mascara. I was a Diorshow gal for about a decade, but I’ve fully converted to this formula. It’s thick, goopy, dramatic, and yet I feel as though it separates the lashes. I love a dramatic lashline. The only mascara I’ve ever found that makes me feel like I’m wearing false lashes.
5 // Lip Color: Fresh lip treatment in sugar rose. Just the best. Moisturizing and deposits the lightest slick of tint-enhancing color.
The above are MUSTS on a daily basis. Three other products I use most days aside the above: Smashbox Always Sharp Eyeliner (the easiest eyeliner to apply — I usually wear it in brown for daytime, which somehow brings out the blue in my eyes), Chantecaille HD Perfecting Powder (this stuff is pure magic: you literally cannot see it when it’s on, but it balances and glow-ifies (???) your skin), and RMS Living Luminizer, a clear balm that adds just the right amount of glimmer and glow to your skin.
For skincare, my current regimen, which I’ve been perfecting for the last two years and am extremely pleased with (and I apply the products in this order):
1 // Cleanser: Tata Harper Regenerating Skin Cleanser. Gently exfoliates and smells like a fresh squeezed grapefruit. So refreshing and toning.
2 // Serum: Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum. Smells like a heady bouquet of flowers and brings life to my skin — it has completely evened out my complexion. An amazing product.
3 // Eye cream: It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye Brightening Cream. I’m constantly playing around with eye creams. I’m into this one at the moment — it has a kind of whipped consistency, glides into the skin, and does actually brighten the undereye area. I alternate between more affordable eye creams (also love Ole Henriksen’s Banana Bright Eye Cream in this category) and La Mer’s eye concentrate. I go in and out of seasons of being adamant about using La Mer and wanting to test more wallet-friendly formulas.
4 // SPF: La Roche Posay Ultra-Light Mineral Sunscreen Fluid. Virtually scentless, glides on, and offers incredible protection. Easy to layer under other products and leaves no white residue!
5 // Moisturizer: Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb. As with eye cream, I tend to vacillate between La Mer and more affordable versions when it comes to moisturizers. I fell hard for Belif’s formula this winter when my skin was super-dry: it boasts a gel-like consistency that seriously hydrates skin.
I will also usually spritz on Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir at some point in this routine — sometimes on my just-cleaned skin, sometimes after I’ve applied my makeup.
What about you? Share your top fives pls and thank you — I always get good recommendations on beauty products from my Magpie Tribe.
P.S. A lot of these products are permanently showcased in my “Best of Everything: Beauty” roundup. And, ICYMI: my favorite beauty products under $50.
P.P.S. I still stand by my love of all of the products listed here, with the possible upgrade of my handheld steamer to the Rowenta I bought earlier this year. I still think the Joy Mangano one is an excellent, inexpensive pick and easy to travel with/use, but I did find that the interior molded and eventually it just puttered out. The Rowenta is more powerful and better-made, but then there’s the tradeoff of price. Both are good picks!
P.P.P.S. My favorite sleepwear for children.