Top 5 Make Up Essentials For That Everyday Natural Look

Make up is part of every girl’s essentials and I for one love them. If there’s one person I know who really loves lippies & collects make ups it’s my grade school classmate Cierre Anne Tan. As much as I want to follow her footsteps in hoarding & searching for those limited edition collections, I just can’t seem to convince myself. So I leave the collecting to her & just drool on her collections, Hi Cierre!  Anyway, like I always say, I only buy what I need and don’t exhaust much effort on trying other brands I haven’t heard of (unless used on me for shoots or recommended by close friends), since I find make ups & make up tools all the same (at least that’s what I thought).

The moment when you reach your mid-20s and feel a wee bit older & wiser (I think) in making better & good decisions, which (as petty as it sounds) includes protecting & taking good care of your skin & body. That moment has arrived for me (a few years earlier) when looking good physically is a requirement for work. In my case, being careless about what I put on my face & what I use to care for it has been a habit, until I’ve realized it’s no longer an option.

After years of trying out different kinds of beauty products, I’ve come to love these 5 make up essentials  (which have now become staples) that I use for that everyday natural look. You see, I often times don’t wear make up, in order for my skin to “breathe” but there are just some days that I want to look naturally good. But being all natural isn’t easy and it does reveal the sleepless nights(being all nocturnal) & haggard(ness) of my skin.

So I share with you all these budget friendly make ups that might just help you boost your confidence & give you a fresh natural look despite the sleepless nights, the stress, the haggard(ness), and pulling off an all-nighter. After all, you deserve to look good & feel good.

(left to right clockwise:)  Shu Uemura lash curler, The Body Shop lip & cheek tint, Carmex lip balm, MAC brow set in Boy Girl and MAC Studio Fix

Well it may not be in the brands I chose (hiyangan lang yan), it still depends on what brands suit your skin best. But I swear by Shu Uemura lash curler. I used to use La Cross lash curler (around P400+ I think?) but because I have long, somehow thick lashes (which is now becoming thin ) which is hard to curl, it just couldn’t keep up with me. The rubber on the curl lash wouldn’t last 2 months on me & the hassle part is La Cross doesn’t sell the rubber alone. Knowing that girlfriends & make up artists swear by how they love their Shu Uemura lash curler, I decided to buy it (even though the stingy in me finds it really hard to spend P1,00 for a lash curler,still I gave in) and with no regrets I’ve been using it for almost  6 years now. Indeed durability has its price.

Moving on, as I’ve said in my previous post about The Body Shop Products, my loyalty belongs to their lip & cheek tint. It will forever be one of my favorites (especially if I buy them on sale!). It gives me an instant flushed cheeks & red lips. Makes me look glowing! Yun na! ;p

As for the lips I also need to use a lip balm since I have very chapped lips ( I blame my lack of interest in hydrating) and thus Carmex is my lip’s best friend and it has not failed me since. Need I say more?

Ah, and now I reveal my obsession with my eyebrows.I have a fairly sized, shaped & groomed set of brows. They’re not too thin nor thick and I like them just as they are. Although I sometimes find it hard to pull off the au natural look because my brows sometimes tend to look darker than my hair color (because at times I’m too lazy for a brow bleach) and filling it every time can be a drag. So my best bet is MAC’s brow set (P950) and yes it may appear too pricey but believe me that it can last for almost a year (assuming you use it on an average of 4-6 times/week ). It’s like a mascara for the brows, so easy to use & apply. You can control the thickness & the shade of your brows with it. It’s true that your eyebrows define the overall look of your face, a little tweak here & there can really change your overall look so please be careful (if in doubt, go to your favorite salon & have an expert pluck, shave, thread and shape them for you) . Yes, I am one of those girls who would always feel complete whenever my brows are made.

Lastly, for those blemishes & pimples that need coverage and for the uneven skin tone that I just can’t get away with, I use the ever trusty MAC Studio Fix Foundation/Face Powder (P1,750). Doubles as a foundation (when use with a wet sponge) and as a powder. Given you get the right shade of it, it can be your ticket to a flawless face! Like the brow set, depending on how much you use it, it can last months servicing you with a flawless skin with just minimal use. Some face powders offer the same coverage but MAC’s Studio Fix can really conceal the deal. It can last a whole day without touch ups (especially if you have dry to natural skin).

So here’s a quick look of me using my top 5 make up essentials.

When you think about it, it pays to invest on good make ups, meaning make ups that’ll last on your face and will last for more than a few good uses. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. I can get away with drug store make ups & home remedies (that’s another post) but I also want what’s best for my skin. These products have been tried & tested by yours truly and I swear by them on how efficient & effective they are on me, if you’re not sure don’t take my word for it. Instead, research on your own & find out what brands & products suits you best!

Hope this helps!

That’s all!

ooo,

J.