It's my birthday! Birthdays don't mean much to me anymore (Brett so kindly pointed out that I'm now closer to 30 than 20, so I kind of would like them to stop), but I still like to use them as an excuse to throw all my favorite products on my face at once. This year I've gone for a bit of a purple theme.
I'm not big into primers, but my favorite is definitely the Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer. I start with a couple pumps of this every time I do my makeup, and it instantly hydrates, plumps, and smooths out my skin. It's the perfect product to prep the skin. For foundation, I'm reaching for my ultimate favorite Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation. It gives good coverage, makes the skin super glowy, and it's basically undetectable. I don't know how Charlotte Tilbury did it, but you really can't see it on the skin at all. It's been three years since I first tried this, and it's still one I reach for all the time. Concealer is, as always, the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer. I just love it so much - it looks so good and skinlike, and it works well both under the eyes and on blemishes. It has the perfect finish, between matte and dewy, so it's not too dry under the eyes and yet it doesn't slide off blemishes. Concealer used to be the one thing where I would bounce around the most, but I've stuck with this one through three tubes now.
For brows I'm still using the Nudestix Eyebrow Stylus Pencil & Gel - I didn't think anything would ever replace my beloved Boy Brow, but here we are. The triangle-tipped pencil makes it so quick and easy to fill in my brows, and the gel is amazing. It manages to fluff up the hairs but also set them into place. I always wear this in my kickboxing class and it doesn't budge despite constantly wiping sweat off my forehead.
I had such a hard time choosing what eyeshadow I should wear. I rarely wear much on a day to day basis, so I wanted something a little more special but that wouldn't be over the top. I'm starting with a layer of the Glossier Lidstar in Lily all over and then topping it with the Dior Five Couleurs Eyeshadow in Dream. The purple tones all go really well together, and I find the Lidstars not only look beautiful on their own, but they also make really good eyeshadow primers if you layer something on top. For mascara, I'm going for the Le Volume de Chanel Mascara. This is a new favorite but it's instantly become the only mascara I ever want to use. It makes the lashes super black, holds a curl really well, and makes them both super long and voluminous. It does it all, really. And it doesn't smudge on me, even though I don't have the waterproof version.
I've been neglecting my favorite Lilah b. Bronzed Beauty Bronzer Duo lately, but I'm picking it back up today. It's such a good shade - not too orange, but not too gray. It leaves me looking perfectly sunkissed and adds a little bit of glow. For blush, I'm going with a two-step process - I'm starting with a bit of the Glossier Cloud Paint in Haze smudged over my cheeks, and then I'm topping it with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure. The Cloud Paints are my absolute favorites, so I have to use at least one every time I do my makeup. The Hourglass Blush is one I definitely need to remember to use more - Mood Exposure is such a pretty plummy nude shade that goes with everything, and it gives the skin such a pretty, subtle glow.
Speaking of glow, there's no other highlighter I could imagine reaching for other than the Glossier Haloscope in Quartz. It's my number one favorite, and I've gone through two tubes of it already. It just makes the skin look so naturally glowy and dewy, and yet it still can look pretty intense.
I had a hard time choosing a lip product, but I'm going with the purple/berry theme here and using the NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in Save the Queen. It's the prettiest cool mauve shade that will really pull the whole look together. I'm still obsessed with these - they're perfect smudged into a lip balm for an everyday stain effect.
What makeup products do you reach for on a special day?
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