By Maddie Sievers
Makeup is a fun part of my daily beauty routine. While I typically stick to a quick and easy routine most days (concealer, powder, blush, bronzer, mascara and sometimes eyeliner), I always enjoy going all-out (adding eyeshadow, lipstick, foundation and so on to my usual lineup) when I have the time and energy to do so. Here are my favorite items in my beauty arsenal, along with a little bit of the process I go through when doing my makeup!
ULTA Beauty Brushes
ULTA is known for their high-quality beauty products, and they are overall pretty affordable for most things. Recently, while shopping for a new set of makeup brushes, I spotted a large selection of ULTA-brand makeup brushes on clearance. Naturally, I chose these over the more expensive ones, and I’m glad I did! The powder, blush, and highlighter brushes all work very well for their respective purposes. I also love the sleek silver sheen on the brush handles!
EcoTools Brushes
This brush set is another one of my favorites. It includes four eyeshadow brushes of various sizes and one blush brush. They’re all very soft and do an awesome job of helping me apply eyeshadow with a lot more precision.
Beauty Blender, Sponge Rounds & Silicon Blender
While I use several types of sponges to apply foundation, my favorite is the beauty blender! It’s so helpful in getting the foundation onto every part of my face, because it has many different sides and contours. The most recent addition to my makeup sponge collection is the silicon blender, because I thought it sounded interesting a few months ago when they were super popular. It doesn’t do a very good job of actually blending foundation onto my skin, so I go back in and even it out with the beauty blender. It helps my foundation last longer because it doesn’t absorb any foundation like other sponges do.
Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation, Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, & Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder
If I want to do a full face of makeup, this is the perfect combination! For full coverage, I begin with concealer under my eyes and any dark spots on my face, apply foundation, re-apply concealer in the same spots and then finish off with powder. I love the Fit Me line of Maybelline’s products because it matches up to my skin tone so well. It’s also easy to find the color I need for each type of product because they all use the same number system. For example, I wear 120 for foundation and powder and 20 for concealer.
Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Loose Powder Foundation
This powder is my go-to on days when I don’t have time for a full face of makeup. It’s great because I know Neutrogena products won’t irritate my skin, and since it’s a powder foundation, it provides a lot more coverage than regular powder.
Maybelline Fit Me Blush
You’re probably noticing a trend here: I love anything from Maybelline Fit Me. It’s affordable, high-quality, and available almost anywhere! Their blush is no exception.
Maybelline Fit Me Bronzer, NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator & NYX Strobe of Genius Illuminating Palette
Applying highlighter and bronzer is my favorite part of my beauty routine – it’s sparkly and instantly makes me feel more glamorous. When I want a sun-kissed glow, I reach for the Maybelline Fit Me bronzer or choose the brown color in the NYX palette. The other colors in the palette and the NYX liquid illuminator work well as a complement to the blush or on their own.
Maybelline The Nudes Palette & Nuance by Salma Hayek Palette
I don’t wear eyeshadow very often, but when I do, I love the natural color schemes of these palettes. I’m a firm believer that makeup is best for complementing your natural beauty, so there aren’t any crazy eye shadow colors in my makeup bag.
Revlon Volume + Length Magnified Mascara, NYX That’s the Point Eyeliner, NYX 3-Dimensional Brow Marker, Maybelline Eye Studio Master Duo 2-in-1 Glossy Liquid Liner, & NYC Liquid Eyeliner
These are all my favorite eye products! I love to do a subtle cateye and winged eyeliner, and the NYX That’s the Point and NYC liquid eyeliner are best for creating that look.
I love using the NYC eyeliner because its applicator is a tiny paintbrush, but it takes a lot of precision so I only use it when I have more time! On the other hand, the NYX That’s the Point liner is much quicker because it works like a marker.
Finally, I love the NYX Brow Marker because it makes adding a little pop of color to my brows fast and easy, and isn’t as much hassle as a brow pencil.
Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss Mini-Set
These tiny lip glosses are about the size of your thumb, making them super easy to toss in my pocket and have one on hand all day. They’re tinted in various colors and add extra glam to any look in seconds.
e.l.f. Cosmetics Moisturizing Lipstick
I don’t wear lipstick very often, so I can’t justify spending lots of money on it. Luckily, e.l.f. Is such an affordable brand that it’s possible for me to have a wide variety of colors in my arsenal, whenever I do need them. I also love that they’re moisturizing, so I know my lips won’t be super dry after wearing them.
NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick
Last but not least is my growing collection of NYX Lip Lingerie. These little babies are amazing! They come in so many colors, feel super soft on my lips, apply easily, and last all day or night without having to reapply. This is perfect for me, because I hate having to constantly worry about my makeup. With this, I can apply it and know it will look perfect for a long time.
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The Spread 