Blog Kickoff: Everyday Staples

Hello! I am so excited to bring you my first post on this blog.

I created this blog to be the counterweight to the endless blogs, Instagram accounts, and YouTube channels raving about the same products, telling you that you HAVE to buy a product because it’s AMAZING, or worse, because the packaging is so great (even though the product is mediocre at best…). Over the years as a beauty consumer (and not at all as someone part of the industry), I have watched the beauty industry be innovative and creative in its use of social media and product promotion, but I have also grown weary of the same PR packages sent to all the big “influencers” and products that were released just six months ago fall into the wayside.

Honestly, I’m tired of seeing the same products, the same photos, the same packaging, and gimmicky products. I’ve found that over the years, I have really started to find my taste in makeup. Increasingly, beauty brands’ desire to stay relevant, push new releases and constant limited edition collections often hide rushed product development and quality behind gimmicks and over the top packaging,and well – I’ve stopped keeping up with most of the brands I used to love. Instead, I find myself going back to brands that stick with a core collection of products that work, and new niche beauty brands.

And that’s why I created this blog. I hope to break down some of the hype and gimmick that happens in today’s beauty industry, and to re-inspire excitement for products that have been on the market for a long time that you may already have.

This is not an anti-haul blog. I do plenty of hauling and buying, and there are many other people who have anti-haul blogs. One of my favorites is the aptly named Anti-Haul blog. And I do buy products that are talked about and hyped, but I aim to show intention and examination behind why I chose a certain product.

As I thought about content for this blog, I envisioned content falling into two main categories:

1. Showing you products that I have that I love and rediscover
2. Taking apart trends and new products, how they cater to a certain image and branding, and why I’m not interested

EVERYDAY PRODUCTS

With that said, I’m kicking things off with a post on some of my everyday staples. These are products I use anytime I wear a full face of makeup, and some of them are products that I’ve used for years. There are plenty of products that aren’t here (primer, foundation, mascara) because they change frequently.

After I finish applying foundation, I start with the other cream products. I don’t have extremely dark undereye circles, but they do need some correcting. The It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye Corrector has been my go-to for a few years now. It is a huge pot (5 grams), and the shade Medium has just enough salmon undertones to brighten up my undereyes. It doesn’t crease on me, either. I used to use the Bobbi Brown Corrector and really liked it, but this is a much cheaper option since they’re about the same price, but the It Cosmetics one has far more product.

I do use concealer on top of corrector sometimes, but most days, I just use the Garnier Under Eye Dark Circle Roller for a bit of sheer coverage. It never looks cakey, and even though it’s a light shade, it’s sheer and blends out to brighten my eyes without giving me a reverse panda look. It’s not the perfect packaging – I don’t think the rollerball has much of an effect on depuffing my eyes, and the cap gets a little bit messy after awhile, but the product is solid.

To help increase longevity to my makeup, I prefer to layer cream under powder products. I start with contour. I rotate between two products – the Becca Lowlights palettes and pictured here, the Palladio Contour and Highlight Stick. Both the Becca and Palladio are very cool toned, creating the perfect illusion of a shadow. They are also subtle and easy to blend out, which is great, because I’m not into the super contoured look.

For powder contour, my favorite is the Kevyn Aucoin Contour Powder in shade Medium. It’s a cult classic, and I think it really is one of the best contour products I’ve tried.

I will then always use a cream blush. Always. I’ve done this everyday for the past 10 years, but I didn’t include one in here because I rotate through them so often, and I’ll have a separate post on them! But rest assured, I’ve tried many and have some favorites.

To set the cream products, I have been almost exclusively using the By Terry Hylaronic Powder. It was expensive, but it really exceeded all my expectations. It is mattifying while not drying, so it works during both the summer and winter.

For brow products, I tend to prefer powder products over pencils or creams. For the past couple of years I’ve been using a (now discontinued) Catrice eyeshadow, which is a cool-toned brown. I’m pretty minimalist when it comes to brow products and like to keep them on the natural side and I find powder products easiest to work with.

MAC Paint Pots were my original cream shadow favorites, and they’re still some of my favorites today. I like to switch in stick cream eyeshadows too, but I usually reach for MAC’s Vintage Selection, a light taupe-champagne shade. I’ve heard rumors that this is being discontinued, and I really hope not!

When I first started wearing makeup, I hadn’t discovered how using a transition shade before applying any other eyeshadows could help make my whole look more blended and seamless. Since then I’ve been using a transition shade every. Single. Day. after I apply a cream base, and it really helps with giving me definition in my eyes. The  one I’m using right now is MAC Rich Flesh (limited edition), but any matte tan/light brown shade will work.

I much prefer liquid eyeliner to pencil or gel because it gives me a precise line most efficiently, but my eyes are tricky and I need something super smudge- and waterproof because I have watery eyes and oily skin (sigh). But the Physician’s Formula Eye Booster Liquid Eyeliner in Ultra Black thankfully does all of that while being affordable at around $12, and lasts me nearly a year of daily use.

After applying the rest of my eyeshadow and eyeliner, I ALWAYS curl my eyelashes with my Shiseido eyelash curler. This fits my eyes really well, and I’ve had the same curler for probably almost 10 years and it’s still going strong with regular pad replacements.

These are all the products that I regularly use anytime I apply makeup, some of which have been staples for multiple years. I’d love to hear what some of your staples are, and products that have been in your routine for years!

Thanks for reading my first post, and I hope you’ll continue to stay with me!