My Daily Makeup Essentials

My Daily Look...Except for the days that I go bare faced lol

If you don't know already, you will soon find out that I LOVE LOVE LOVE makeup!  When I am around cosmetics I feel like a kid in a candy store.  I can easily spend the entire day at Sephora or a cosmetics department. 

Although I love wearing makeup, my every day look is actually very simple.  Some days I even go bare faced...yes bare faced!  I like the idea of my skin being able to breath once in a while.

Below I will highlight some of my daily makeup essentials.  It may seem like a lot of products, but trust me, to achieve a "natural" look, I need these products in my life! lol  
And remember, a good makeup application will always look like you are using minimal products, even if you had to use your entire makeup stash to achieve that look! 

Nars - Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel
Nars - Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe

I cannot express my love for these 2 products enough!  Like many people, I have been on a hunt for the perfect foundation and concealer for EVER!  For me, the right colour is my first priority in a foundation and concealer and formulation is the second.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found both in 1!

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation:
Back in the day my go to powder foundation was MAC Studio Fix.  I still always have a backup and use it often as a transitional blending powder for eyeshadows or for a nude eye look, but I kind of grew out of it and was looking for something more radiant.  After doing some research online, and hearing great reviews about Nars Sheer Glow, I decided to give it a try. I  have been using it for almost a year now and I will never look back!

MAC shade comparison: If you are a NC43 or NC42 Tahoe is the perfect shade for you. 

Coverage: The finish is so radiant and dewy. The coverage is medium to full.  Nars makeup artists suggest applying with your fingers, but I always polish off with my beauty blender which gives the best full coverage without looking cakey.  This shade also comes in sheer matte, but be careful, the colour is not always the same in both finishes.  
Longevity: I have normal skin in the summer and normal/dry in the winter, but for me I found the foundation lasts all day!  8 Hours with no problems and the colour stays the same all day.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer:
My go to concealer used to be MAC Studio Finish and Select Moisture, again I always keep a back up because it is a great concealer to have in my kit, but the main problem I always had was the shade was always a little off, which was okay if I wore it with a full face of makeup, but it was very obvious when I just wanted to wear concealer under my eyes. Also it was very drying (both formulas) and creased on my skin.  But the Nars Creamy Concealer is just phenomenal! It is definitely true to its name.  When you apply it, you will notice a radiant and bright look right away!  

MAC Shade Comparison:  If you are NC45 in MAC concealer, Caramel in Nars is the most perfect shade!
Coverage:  This concealer is medium to full coverage. The best part is you can totally layer it on with minimal to no creasing.  I can finally wear this concealer with out a full face of foundation and it still looks amazing.  I find it best used as an under eye concealer because of the radiant finish rather than a spot concealer, but you can use for both.
Longevity:  For me it lasts all day with no touch ups.  I also have used it on more mature skin and also more youthful skin and the results are the same.  Does not sit in or create fine lines.

Ben Nye - Banana Powder

When I started using this powder, I thought "Where have you been all my makeup life?!?!"  Although this product has very mixed reviews, in my opinion, its AWESOME!  After working in the cosmetic industry for so many years I have been lucky enough to experience and play with so many different brands and products and I can honestly say that this product is comparable and even higher quality than some luxury brands.  This banana powder is amazing for so many reasons:

• It's finely milled, which is important so it doesn't make your foundation cakey
• this is truly a universal powder and works on so many different skin tones (Dark to Light)
• it gives you that glow you think you may be lacking from your foundation
• it's so affordable and you get so much product for the price
• it doesn't change colour all day
• it's a versatile product that has many uses 

Lancome - ArtLiner in Black

Hands down the BEST liquid eyeliner I have ever tried, and trust me, I've tried many.  Everything about this liner is amazing.  

• It's very very black! 
• The applicator makes application so easy.  I always teach clients to use this liner as if you would use a pen or a marker.  You can achieve both a natural or thick line by applying less or more pressure.  
• The longevity is great and lasts all day.  This liner does not have fall out.  The finish is like a satin finish (between glossy and matte). 
• I think the combination of the applicator and formula of the product makes it so that you don't skip when you are lining your eye.
• This liner comes in many different shades, the blue is my second favorite.  Perfect for a little bit of excitement to your everyday look!

Dior - BrowStyler in Universal

This brow product is the one I reach for the most.  To be honest it works the best for people that have some hair on their eyebrows and just need to fill it in where the areas are sparse.  I love it for so many reasons:

• It's convenient to use because it has the brow comb attached to it.
• The colour is perfect for my brows and perfect for most (From Blondes to Reds to Black)
• I find the pencil has a bit of a waxy feel which really helps tame and keep your hairs in place.
• It's very fine so makes it really nice for mimicking eyebrow hairs.
• It's very forgiving.  If you got carried away and went to dark, you can always use the comb to brush it out and blend to the right colour.

Estee Lauder - Lash Primer Plus
Dior - Diorshow Iconic Overcurl in Black

These 2 products are my dynamic duo for full, curly, long lashes.  I have been using Estee Lauder's primer for years now and I swear by it.  Many mascara primers claim to be a treatment plus primer but this is the only one I found that I was satisfied with and here are some reasons:

• The formulation is so great, it conditions your lashes to make them nice and soft and yet helps your mascara build to its potential.  
• I have pretty straight lashes, but I don't need a lash curler.  My primer and mascara usually do the the job for me.  But if you use a curler, you would have to curl first and then apply the primer and mascara.
• Makes your mascara build and thicken your lashes without having to use a lot of mascara.
• Makes your mascara last a very long time.

Iconic Overcurl by Dior is one of my new loves.  For me, the trick with mascara is to use it a couple times before I can really see the beauty of the formula.  I feel like mascara needs to oxidize and thicken a bit before it's perfect.  Or else it's too runny for my liking.  But that's just my opinion.  Here are some reasons why I love this mascara.

• The applicator/brush is amazing and combs through both my top and bottom lashes without clumping.
• The trick with this mascara is to apply it from base to tip of lash without that innate need to wiggle the brush.  This ensures the best clump-free application!
• This mascara is known as the "hairspray" for lashes.  It holds a curl like no other and makes my lashes appear longer and thicker.

Estee Lauder - Duo Bronzer
Dior - Poudre Shimmer in Amber Diamond

This Estee Lauder bronzer  and Dior highlighter combo is my secret to glowy skin.  Since I have darker skin and don't really have a need to use a bronzer, I mainly use it as a contour colour.  Here are some reasons why I love them:

• The bronzer is not orange, it's a true brown with no shimmers!
• The bronzers dual shade is perfect to mix and match to any shade that you need.
• The formuation of the bronzer is not chalky and blends out really well.
• It's HUGE! and lasts me forever.  However every year Lauder comes out with new packaging for one or more of their bronzers and if you're a sucker for that, then it doesn't hurt to have a new one every year! lol
• The Dior shimmer is the most finely milled shimmer I have found!  You will not find any glitters, just fine shimmer.  It's quite comparable to the Bobbi Brown shimmer block as well.
• This shimmer is perfect for medium to dark skin tones as it is so hard to find a good highlighter/shimmer that doesn't look grey/chalky on us.  Having said that it works wonderful on lighter complexions as well and gives all skin tones the most amazing glowy golden highlight.
• This product from Dior is so versatile.  I use it as a highlighter for my cheek bones and all the high points of my face, but it is also my go to highlighter for my high brow and inner corner of the eye.  It can also be used on the center of your lips on top of your favorite lipstick to give the appearance of fuller lips.
• This highlighter is perfect for pictures and photographs beautifully. 

MAC - Beauty Powder in Eversun (Discontinued...sorry)
Nars - Blush in Orgasm

These are my 2 mostly used blushes.  I use them together...Most of the time.  The MAC one, which I absolutely love but is discontinued WAAAAAAAIN, I use more of a contour blush.  Yes, I like to apply my blush like it's the 80's...I love it and it works for me .  As for the Nars blush, I use it on the apple of my cheeks.  It's got really beautiful fine shimmers.  Both blushes are in the coral family so they work very well with each other.  I have to say you should be careful of Nars orgasam.  I love it and it's loved by many for good reason, but on darker skin, it can get ashy if you wear it on its own and it can get too shimmery if you apply to heavy handed.  But overall, it's as good as everyone says!

The Body Shop - Vitamin E Face Mist

The last step in my makeup regimen is this vitamin E spray from The Body Shop.  I pretty much use it for everything.  Here are some reasons why I love it:

• It's very refreshing and perfect for winter skin.
• You can use it on top of makeup, the fine mist will not disrupt your makeup application and it sets very quickly.
• It takes away the "powdery" look to your makeup and I find that it makes my makeup last a very long time.
• It's great to use on hot days, especially if you leave it in the fridge. (On top of makeup or bare skin)
• I use it as a toner when I'm travelling.
• Gives a very dewy look to your makeup which is great for normal or dry skin.  If you have oily skin, you might not love that dewy look.
• I use it to thin out foundations, kind of like a mixing medium.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my daily makeup essentials and hope that I was able to provide some product knowledge to some of you.  If you have any questions about any of the products, please leave a comment and I will try my best to have a brilliant answer for you!  

xoxo