My make up favorites

Favorites: a funny thing. Because when do you label something as your favorite? When you use it often? If you like using it? There are many reasons why you could say something is your favorite food, song and also your favorite make up product. A favorite make up item for me is when I use something often, reach for it all the time, it’s easy to work with and I would repurchase it because my life would not be complete without the item. When it comes to make up I have certain items I use more than others. I wear lipstick more often than lipgloss, eyeshadow and blush are my favorite products to buy and then there are some more practical matters. Here are my favorite make up tools, face products, eye products, blushes and lipsticks.

Favorite make up tools: Sigma brushes, Herome glass nail files and Tweezerman tweezer set

Sigma brushes are my favorite make up brushes. I do have to admit, I have never tried MAC, but Sigma brushes are affordable, much more so than MAC’s and also well made. They’re soft and easy to work with. Here you see the Sigma Small Tapered Blending E45, Sigma Pencil Brush E30, Sigma Tapered Blending E40 and the Sigma Duo Fibre Powder/ Blush F15. The first is great for inner corner highlights, the second is my favorite crease brush, the third is my favorite blending brush and the last one is perfect for applying highly pigmented blush.

Nail files are important if you want long and healthy nails. I invested in buying these glass nail files after I read that these are better for your nails than metal or cardboard ones. And it’s true. My nails have improved greatly after using this big and small version by Hérôme. The small one goes into my bag to get rid of small rips and tears and the big one is for making my nails shorter.

I bought these Tweezerman tweezers at Sephora in the USA over 4 years ago so I’m not sure you can still find them. The set consists of a regular set of tweezers as well as a very pointy one. The first is great for the heftier work, the pointy one works best on grabbing the smaller hairs that have just started to grow out.

Favorite face products: Sephora Sundisk Bronzer, MAC Select Moisture Cover concealer in NW20, MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium

My favorite bronzer to give some depth and definition to my horribly pale features isn’t everyone’s favorite NARS Laguna. No it’s this Sundisk bronzer by Sephora. The reason? A.) It’s massive. B.) It is matte and the perfect color for my pale skin.

This concealer by MAC is the champion of under eye circle concealing. I initially bought it to replace my Studio Sculpt concealer for just the summer months. Now I find myself loving it so much that I just can’t go back to the old one, even though this one is becoming a bit too dark for me.

When it comes to powder I really like the MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural. I sometimes where just a bit of tinted moisturizer with this over it and that’s it. For winter it’s a bit too dark for me, but come summer, I’m sure I’ll start busting it out again.

Favorite eyeshadows: Make Up Designory quad with matte shadows (incl. swatches)

As I mentioned in my intro, eyeshadow is one of my favorite make up products to buy. That is why I have a lot of it. I just love all of the colors, the endless combinations you can make with it and thus the different looks you can create. When I’m stumped for ideas though, I will reach for this palette by Make Up Designory. Not a make up brand you hear many people talk about, but I new this would be a staple for me the minute I saw it. It came in a set with a make up bag and a bright red matte lipstick, but it’s the eyeshadows that I use most. Honeysuckle is great as a highlight or all over the lid. Apricot is the perfect matte peach color whereas Taupe is one of my favorite crease colors. Espresso is a nice color for the outer v and water line to add a bit of definition. The pigmentation is great as you can see on the swatch. This is by far my go to eyeshadow palette.

Favorite eyeliners: gelliner by MAC, Essence, Catrice & Bobbi Brown

Eyeliner comes in many shapes and forms and I used to be an avid pencil/ kohl liner fanatic. As of late I have gotten the hang of using gel liner and I hardly ever go out the door without a bit of gel liner anymore. I have gel liner by these four brands, of which MAC is my favorite. The other one’s are nice too and especially Essence and Catrice are great if you are on a budget. My most used eyeliner is Dipdown by MAC, then the shimmer ink by Bobbi Brown in Ivy.

Favorite blush: Sleek Blusher in Blush by 3 in Pumpkin and Sugar

A bit of color on your cheeks can make of break any make up look. That is why after eyeshadow, my favorite make up product is blusher. I love the colors and the again the different ways you can play with it to reflect your mood, the season or just accomplish a full face look. In the picture you can see my 2 Sleek Blush by 3 palettes which I picked up in London earlier this year. I love Sleek blushes: they are super well-pigmented (you’ll need that Sigma brush for these for sure!) and suit a lot of skin tones. I like wearing the shades in the Pumpkin palette in spring. The Sugar palette I tend to use more at this moment.

Favorite lipsticks: MAC lipsticks (Cremesheen, Lustre, Matte & Amplified)

Where I used to wear more lipgloss some time ago, I have found myself wearing much more lipstick as I’m getting older. The colors are much more fun to play around with and with my dark and well-pigmented lips that is simply a prerequisite for any lip color I want to wear. MAC makes my favorite lipsticks. In the picture and swatch you can see Ravishing (Cremesheen), Love Lorn (Lustre), Velvet Teddy (Matte), Impassioned (Amplified). I love the Matte lipsticks best and together with the Amplified ones they have the best staying power. However, the Cremesheen and Lustre formulas are a lot more moisturizing and do a lot of good for your lips.

What are your favorite make up products?