I call these my “non-negotiables,” and I go through them faster than everything else: concealer, mascara, brow pencil/gel, black or brown liner for tightlining, and bronzer.
Lip balm, nude lipsticks and glosses are up there, too, as are face tint, powder, blush and neutral (mostly beige and brown) eyeshadows, to a lesser degree.
OK…from the look of it, I’m using everything in my bag pretty regularly, LOL! 🙂
But I swear, there are things in there that I like to have with me, but I hardly ever touch, like lip liner, liquid liner, gel liner, and deeper lipsticks and glosses (dark browns, purples, burgundies, reds).
I haven’t been wearing highlighter at all lately, but I go through phases with it. Sometimes I’ll go theret… I think it’s fun to transform yourself into a version you don’t see daily, but it’s not one of the first things I’d grab if I were rushing out the door because it isn’t forgiving.
On that note, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been pressed for time and thought, “Sure, I can pull off black liquid liner, no problem.”
In those situations, though, it’s never a good idea, LOL! With liquid liner, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong IMO, so best not chance it when rushing.
So I ask you, of all the beauty products in your makeup bag, which do you use the most, and which do you use the least? Inquiring minds want to know.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The only thing I carry with me on the go is my lip liner and lipstick that I have chosen to wear for the day. I do have a little kit in my purse but it contains things like body lotion, travel deodorant, perfume etc.
Hmm, probably tweezers. Sometimes the lighting at home sucks and I miss one, and then you’re in that awful dressing room lighting and you can see all the hairs you missed as if there was a beacon of light shining on them. The least? I guess my lippy. Mine are too sensitive to wear makeup on a regular basis. I wear lipstick maybe once a week now. I keep a touch up powder and mirror (mainly for the mirror) in there and Bobbi pins and hair elastics and lip balm. When I was younger I used to keep blush, eyeliner, brow liner, mascara and at least four different lip products in there.
The non-negotiables for me are: tinted sunscreen, mascara, blush, and eyebrow pencil. 90% of days, I’ll also wear liner and must have Pro Prime underneath. The rest of my bag is sort of sad and dusty. 🙁
I use my Dior Spf lip balm the most and whatever lipstick I brought along. I use my EL DW powder the least just because I forget to look, lol. But my nose could use a touch up now and again.
I don’t even own a makeup bag because the only makeup I ever carry with me is the lipstick and/or lipgloss du jour. Home is a different matter entirely. I have drawers full! LOL My non-negotiables are sunscreen, finishing powder, eyeshadow (I typically use 2-3 shades at a time), mascara, eyeliner, and lip balm. I love—and have—sheer foundations, blushers, highlighters, lipsticks, and glosses, but I can easily do without those products because of the condition of my skin and my natural coloring. I haven’t owned a bronzer or contouring powder in years and I never was interested in all the color correcting products that were in vogue awhile back. I love to try new things but since I purge my makeup stash on a regular basis, if I’m not using a product, it gets tossed.
Hi Eileen,
I am a recent sheer foundation convert! Please tell me your faves. I know you recently mentioned Clé de Peau… I have that on my list. 🙂
I love Clé de Peau’s Radiant Fluid Foundation (my very favorite), Tom Ford’sTraceless Foundation (the first one), and just lately, when I was traveling and forgot my foundation at home, I bought Shiseido’s new Synchro Glow Foundation and quite like it. These are all on the radiant side, best suited to normal to dry skin, and have buildable sheer to medium coverage. As we age, less really is more.
Bag? Try BagS, plural, the hazard of once working as a Cosmetics SA. But truly, eyeliners. I go through them more than anything…followed by mascara, foundation, and finishing powder. Then maybe blush. I use brow gel so that lasts For-ev-er, but eyeshadows and lipsticks hardly ever get completely used up, because, lets face it, variety is the spice of life and so are pinky nude lipsticks.
Agree with you on the pink-nude lipsticks, Janine. At any given time I’m rollin’ with at least two or three. 🙂
How long have you been working as an SA? Do you like it?
I worked as an SA for 12 years in a Major Department store and loved it at the beginning, but by the end I was DONE. The insane goals of the makeup lines I worked for plus the insane goals of the store and a cray cray manager finally put me over the edge. I value all I learned during that time, but also glad I’m done with it.
I’ve read that putting makeup on different people day in day out levels up your skills quickly, so I bet you learned a lot. Even though you were over it at the end, at least you have those skills to show for it, which is great! Do you still work in beauty?
Hi Karen ,
Happy Thursday
My makeup bag consists of : essence lash princess mascara,L’Oréal glam shine in Diva , Mac blotting powder , Mac lippy in “ O” , and refresh tears .
Usually have to touch up my mascara and drop some refresh in my dry eyes . I already use Latisse ??♀️
Happy Thursday, Michele! How are you liking Latisse? I’ve been wanting to try it for a while but just haven’t gotten around to it. Did it take a while to see a difference?
I use my lip color of the day, blotting papers, pressed powder, fragrance rollerballs, and mirror compact the most. I use the concealer the least.
Lip balm, mascara, black eyeliner, and a small eye quad or palette are usually in my makeup bag, and their usage falls in between the items listed above.
Can I just say I’m jealous that you use concealer the least? I would love to be in that boat, Rachel!
I’m lucky in that I don’t get undereye circles often. Lancome Teint Idole 24H Foundation’s coverage is so good that when I have a big breakout, it covers everything.
You’re SO lucky! I’m staring at mine right now (don’t have any makeup on at the moment) and they’re all up in grill, LOL! I can’t believe there was ever a time when I didn’t look tired.
Makeup bag? I think you mean my makeup Ikea Raskog cart, an acrylic divided holder, and all that my makeup table can hold. ?
Out of all that, I use my Kiehl’s avocado eye cream, FAB tinted moisturizer, various brown eyeliners, Tarte blush and eyeshadow palettes, Laura Mercier loose powder, and Maybelline Baby Lips on the daily. I’ve recently really gotten into the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit for under-eyes when I want to be fancy. (You know it’s hot when concealer is considered fancy and I don’t touch my brows at all.)
LOL, or a massive four-tiered shelf often used in large garages…
BTW, I used to use that Bobbi Brown Concealer back in the day and liked it. Have you ever tried the color-corrector?
I haven’t. Mom is using the UD color correct for a little redness, but she’s not loving it. I think she’s finding it too thick to blend well. I’ll tell her to try the Bobbi Brown.
I think I speak for all the Makeup and Beauty Blog fans when I say we Need to see pics of your makeup storage, lol. It has got to be epic.
Oooh, if she’s not into thick then BB might be too much. The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD is the best one that I’ve found. It has a few different options, too — a lighter peach and a darker one. It layers great underneath concealer, but you have to set it first. 🙂
Oy, one of these days I’ll actually get my office organized! I live in a constant state of chaos and to be honest it stresses me out.
Hmm, my most used would be blush & tinted lip balm, closely followed by concealer, mascara, then B.B. cream.
Least used for me is also liquid liner (maybe it’s being Mums of toddlers that makes it impossible to do?) and powder eyeshadows. I don’t know why, I just never got on the eyeshadow train. I love cream stick eyeshadows though, swipe, blend with finger, and go!
Janet, I totally feel you! 🙂 How is Sally doing these days, by the way?
My most used would be foundation, concealer, bronzer, black gel liner, neutral shadows, mascara and nude lipsticks.
I have a couple of red lipsticks that I love (MAC’s Viva Glam 1 and Chili) but rarely use – nudes require practically no effort, right?
Also, I’ve got two glosses and a liquid liners that I barely touch.
I did a HUGE declutter last year and have since been committed to keeping my collection down to a reasonable size. It’s saved me a lot of money and allowed me to enjoy my favorite formulas more frequently 🙂
So true, Mia! I love reds and bright pinks but nude lips are so, so easy. BTW Viva Glam 1 is a great red!
How long did it take you to declutter everything?
Oh yes, Viva Glam 1 is one of those few reds that look beautiful on any skintone!
The declutter took only couple of hours, believe it or not! We relocated a little over a year ago and I decided not to bring along makeup I knew I wouldn’t use. I went through my vanity before the movers came, and was horrified by the sheer volume of slightly used items in my drawers!
A lot of that makeup was old and gross so I had to throw it away. What was left was first offered to family members, and the remaining was donated.
I now keep an inventory on my phone so I’m more conscious of what I have already before I make a purchase, and am more likely to buy items that will get the love they deserve.
What is this makeup bag you speak of? The only time I pack a makeup bag is when I’m on a trip, then I usually have one for color cosmetics and one for skincare.
When I’m home I usually just toss my current lipstick in my purse. I always have a compact mirror in my purse as well as a small bottle or tube of sunscreen. Occasionally, I’ll toss in a pressed poweder if I fear I’m gonna be sweaty.
At home my most used products are brow pencil (why do I love Japanese brands of this so much?), mascara, sunscreen and lip balm or lipsticks.
Haha! Umm… how about makeup trunk? Because that’s pretty accurate for me. LOL
Hope you guys got to see some sun today. It’s been crazy overcast and cold here up north.
Nope. I stepped outside to go for a run this morning with Dear Hubs and he was wearing shorts, I was wearing a tee and we both ran back inside to change. I put on a long sleeved running shirt and a jacket and DH put on long pants. I don’t think it got above 63 today and it was cloudy all day long. I just looked at the forecast for tomorrow and they say “rain”? Rain in May?
I use my powder the most, followed by deodorant, lip liner and lip balm. I tend to barely touch my concealer, even though I probably should.
My most used is currently my MAC red lipstick in Proud to be Canadian, a classic red. Least used is a bunch of sample lipsticks in clamshells which have to be applied using brushes. I can use them in the morning and that’s all. It’s too much of a mess and hassle to apply them on the go.