Make Up Must Haves

I was recently at my best friend's house and her mom and brother were teasing me about my obsession with make up and her mom goes, "it's so funny, considering you hardly wear any!" And I started thinking, there really aren't a whole lot of products I absolutely need to have when it comes to make up. Yes, I love my indulgences and shopping sprees, but when it comes down to it, I only need a few things to get through every single day.

1) Benefit Cosmetics the Porefessional: I have raved about this so many times, I can't even count. I've gone through about 4 tubes of it since its launch. The silky formula literally makes your skin feel flawless and so soft, not to mention giving a soft focus type finish. It's an excellent primer under make up, but the slightest tint to the product also makes it just enough that I find I can use it on days when I don't need much coverage.

2) Origins VitaZing Tinted Moisturizer: This is a finicky one, but one that I cannot deny I used pretty much every single day I wore make up this past summer and most of the fall. While I'm pretty certain it is too orange-y for me year round, in the summer when I spend most of my time in the sun, it blends really quite perfectly. That is also its biggest drawback. This is supposed to be a self-adjusting tinted moisturizer that matches itself to your skin tone, but if you're on the moderate to extremely fair, or dark, it won't match all the time. Of course, this is the case with most products, but if a product markets itself as universal, it should be. I will say, I used this to the last drop, but it is pricey so I'm kind of glad I can only use it a little less than half the time, because it keeps me from going through it faster than I can fund the repurchases.

3) Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner: This is hands down the best eyeliner I've ever used. It comes in scads of colors and stays put for hours. You can use it as a base under eyeshadows, as an accent color, whatever. I think I own most of the colors, and I love them all. I hate black eyeliner on my face, it makes my eyes look ridiculously tiny and I find that I get much more attractive results when I use colors anyway. The top colors for me are Lucky (copper penny), El Dorado (true yellow gold), Underground (pale warm taupe), Rockstar (darkened plum) Stash (darkened olive green) and Lust (a true violet).

4) Clinique High Impact Mascara: This goes without saying, as does every other product on this list, but this is probably my favorite mascara ever. It is the most amazing mascara I've ever tried. And yes, I say this even comparing it to Diorshow Iconic. The reason this places at the top of my list, along with Covergirl's Super Thick Lash, is that it is super black, super easy to remove, holds a curl, and makes your lashes look insane. If I had to pick one high end and one drugstore brand mascara, those would be my picks, hands down.

5) NARS Duo Eye shadows in Key Largo and Kalahari: These are quite universally flattering. The eye shadows are great together or alone, I suppose that's why the company paired them the way they did. Key Largo is a matte peach with a shimmery bronze and Kalahari is a plummy bronze paired with a plummy brown. But they're really not nearly as close in color as that description sounds. The quality and pigmentation of these shadows is out of this world, they are really incredible.

6) MAC Eye Shadows in Rice Paper, Grain, Era & Cork: These are my most often used MAC eye shadows, and among the most often used eye shadows I own, period. I use Rice Paper or Grain all over my eye lids and Cork or Era in the crease. These are the most natural, subtle eye looks I keep in my stash but with the right eye liners and mascaras are incredible. Grain and Era is definitely the softest look in my bag of tricks, but both are fantastic every day looks.

7) Korres Jasmine Lip Butter: This is my favorite lip balm in the world. I own probably about seven pots of it, all in various stages of being completely used up. I keep at least one in my purse, one in my school bag, one next to my bed, one in my make up bag, etc etc. It makes my lips so soft and never feels greasy.

8) NARS Lip Stick in Dolce Vita and Cruising: Dolce Vita is quite similar to MAC Viva Glam V, natural, shimmery and the greatest "my lips, but better" shade. Cruising is a nude-y neutral pink that can be either subtle or not. Both are great every day shades.

I'm gonna call that quits for now, that's about all I can process at the moment. Those are definitely the top of my list. I'm going to be doing a post on skin care next, so until the next one, stay pretty.