As a lover of all things beauty, I have found myself shopping at Sephora and Ulta too many times to count. I’ve also subscribed to a few monthly makeup boxes that have allowed me to try out new items and brands that I wouldn’t necessarily have bought on my own. Yes, I may have a makeup addiction – sorry, not sorry! I’ve gotten to play with SO many items and brands over the years, and I find myself coming back to a few items over and over again! I’ve recently stocked up on my favorite beauty items. I come back to these products again and again because they deliver with every single use!
Here are my Top 10 beauty must haves!
- Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer – $54.00
Oily skin – yes, that’s me! I’ve tried numerous primers, each with powder foundations, liquid foundations, BB and CC creams, setting powders, oil blotting sheets, makeup re-application – anything I could do to help my makeup stay on and keep the shininess at bay. This has basically been a life struggle for me since high school! About two years ago I decided to splurge on Hourglass’ Veil Mineral Primer after reading many positive reviews. I AM SO GLAD I DID! After using only the tiniest drop (a little goes a long way), your skin feels like silk, and any foundation goes on smooth and blends effortlessly. Second, and most importantly, my face stays matte and my foundation doesn’t budge. Holy grail product here, friends! I have used this with other liquid foundations, powders, or CC creams and no matter what the product, the foundation stays on and my skin stays matte for 8+ hours!
This is a MUST to pair with any mascara for longer, thicker lashes. My lashes are short and need any help they can get! This is by far the best mascara primer out there. Simply apply a coat of this just as you would mascara, then apply your mascara, and Ta-Dah – longer lashes!
- Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – $25.00
Like I mentioned, my lashes are short unfortunately most mascaras don’t lengthen them and the product goes on very clumpy. Not this one! I have gone through countless tubes of this stuff. The wand is shaped effectively to coat every lash and the formula is so smooth! This also pairs fantastically with the Lancome CILS Booster XL Mascara Base (see #2).
- Too Faced Shadow Insurance – $22.00
Just as our face needs primer for foundation, our eyelids need a primer for eyeshadow! Eye shadow primers make colors look more vibrant and most importantly prevent our shadows from creasing. Creasing was my main problem for a while. I have tried the other cult-favorite eyeshadow primer, Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion, but I have found TooFaced’s to be more effective in making your eye makeup last.
This is another great product to help foundation last all day long. As I’m nearing 30 I’ve also learned that this setting powder is very helpful to prevent foundation/concealer from creasing in those fine lines and wrinkles! Of all the setting powders I’ve tried, this is my favorite because the powder is extremely fine, it makes your skin feel very smooth after application, and it doesn’t make your makeup cakey after wear. It also doesn’t create any flashback from flash photography. As an added bonus, it smells delicious!
- OLEHENRIKSON 3 Little Wonders (Truth Serum; Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer; Invigorating Night Transformation Gel) – $72.00
OLEHENRIKSON is hands down my favorite skin care line! This awesome kit gives you mini versions of their morning serum, night serum, and moisturizer. The continued use of these three products targets signs of aging, evens out skin tone, firms, and hydrates skin. After I started using these products, there was a noticeable difference in how my face looked and felt. My makeup went on smoother and my skin had a glow to it which helped me feel more confident on days when I didn’t wear any foundation. Since this product changed my skin for the better, I began using some of the other products from OLEHENRIKSON and also fell in love, which leads me to my #7 and #8 picks.
This cleanser is part of this brand’s Find Your Balance line made for oily skin. While it does help with oil, I also have seen an amazing reduction in breakouts since starting to use this cleanser. It’s gentle on your skin, but it gives big results!
Your face has not been truly clean if you have not tried this walnut scrub – holy exfoliation! The product says to only use a few times a week, but I use it daily after I use the Oil Control cleanser to exfoliate and clear out pores. Other face scrubs that I have used seem to have less exfoliation power, and doesn’t really remove all your makeup and dead skin cells. After one use of this, your face will feel refreshed, smooth, and oh so clean!
When your hair needs a quick pick me up, this is a fantastic go to. It gives great volume and texture for a dry shampoo. I also like that it doesn’t smell like a typical dry shampoo. I don’t know about you, but the usual dry shampoo smell is strong and makes me feel a bit unclean. This one absorbs any oil quick, and gives hair a beautifully clean look.
- Moroccanoil Dry Texture Spray – $28.00
My hair is thick and smooth, so it has minimal texture and gets weighted down very quickly. I often curl my hair each day, and it looks great…for about 30 minutes, and then hello flat hair. I had been determined to find a spray or mousse to give my hair some life that would STAY throughout the day. This texture spray had been what I was looking for! It gives lots of texture and body without being heavy or cakey in your hair. And it smells good too!
Decor and Adore 