This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
After a LOT of online shopping, we have narrowed down our favorite makeup essentials. These are the products we keep reaching for, and we don’t plan on giving them up any time soon.
These makeup essentials are products we basically can’t live without, and we admit we are sometimes afraid to leave the house without them. However, products like mascara and concealer come in many different shades, formulas, and brands. That’s why we compiled a list of the best makeup essentials with products that are perfect from the packaging to the formula.
Key Takeaways
- A basic kit covers concealer, foundation, mascara, brows, blush or bronzer, lips, a setting spray and a good makeup remover.
- Affordable picks such as Essence Lash Princess mascara and Milani Baked Blush hold their own against pricier options.
- Replace mascara every few months, never share eye makeup, and wash sponges and brushes regularly.
- Always remove makeup before bed; an oil cleanser followed by a gentle water-based cleanser works well.
- Key Takeaways
- Makeup Essentials: Concealer
- Makeup Essentials: Beauty Sponge
- Makeup Essentials: Lip Gloss
- Makeup Essentials: Mascara
- Makeup Essentials: Foundation
- Makeup Essentials: Lip Stick
- Makeup Essentials: Eyeshadow Palette
- Makeup Essentials: Blush
- Makeup Essentials: Setting Spray
- Makeup Essentials: Bronzer
- Makeup Essentials: Eyeliner
- Makeup Essentials: Brow Powder
- Makeup Essentials: Makeup Remover
- Sources
Makeup Essentials: Concealer
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
We can honestly say it is very hard to leave the house without a full-coverage concealer to hide blemishes and dark circles. Concealer is one of our beauty essentials, and the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is tough enough for the job. This concealer is formulated to last all day while leaving your skin radiant. You can use it to correct, highlight and contour, and it does a great job of covering blemishes and dark spots. The long and skinny packaging is perfect to fit in your purse and on the go.
Another great thing about this concealer is the shade range. You won’t have to worry about buying this product online because the description of the shade and the range of shades allow you to find the perfect match for your skin tone easily.
Makeup Essentials: Beauty Sponge
ORIGINAL BEAUTYBLENDER
Now we aren’t going to lie to you: there are so many beauty sponges on the market for less money than the Original Beautyblender. However, the Original Beautyblender is still our favorite. This product falls into the makeup essentials category because it is super soft and blends your liquid and cream makeup products to perfection. If you ever have a patchy foundation or cream contour that doesn’t blend out correctly, the Original Beautyblender makeup sponge is your best friend. Wash it often and replace it once it starts to tear or stain, since damp sponges can harbor bacteria.
Makeup Essentials: Lip Gloss
Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Polish
We have tried many lip plumpers, glosses, and stains, but none of them achieve the pouting effect just like the Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Polish. The perfect essential for some glossy lips. The formula is not sticky but instead glides on top of lip liner or lipstick while adding pout with a single swipe. You can use this alone for a quick and glossy plump lip. Not to mention, the smell is sweet and delicious. Plumping glosses often tingle, so if your lips are sensitive, try a little first and skip it if it burns or irritates.
Makeup Essentials: Mascara
Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara
Get ready for one of the best affordable mascaras out there. The Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara elongates and bolds your lashes to the extreme. We always see makeup artists add false lashes, and it immediately elevates their makeup look. False lashes aren’t always for everyday use. Sometimes we want a bold lash without the trouble of putting on fake lashes. This mascara provides volume and length, and it looks like you could be wearing false lashes. It’s also a dupe for many high-end mascaras that achieve a similar effect. Like any mascara, replace it every few months and never share it, since eye makeup can spread germs that cause eye infections.
Makeup Essentials: Foundation
ColourPop Pretty Fresh Foundation
Hyaluronic acid has become one of the most talked-about hydrating ingredients in skincare. Brands have hopped on this train too, as they are promoting their products with hyaluronic acid. The ColourPop Pretty Fresh Foundation contains hyaluronic acid, a humectant that helps your skin hold on to moisture, and it gives your complexion a plump, glowy look. A makeup essential like this one is a medium coverage that is buildable and creates a skin-like finish.
Makeup Essentials: Lip Stick
HUDA BEAUTY Power Bullet Matte Lipstick
Glowy lipstick with shine may not be for you, so this HUDA BEAUTY Power Bullet Matte Lipstick will be your go-to lipstick. The creamy formula leaves a matte finish that is not drying and lasts all day. The shade range is stunning, from everyday nudes and pinks to bold reds.
Makeup Essentials: Eyeshadow Palette
Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette
Many eyeshadows palettes have neutrals similar to the shadows in the Tartelette in Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette, but this palette carries every essential neutral shadow. You can create an abundance of different classic eyeshadow looks with this palette. The palette has 12 mattes and shimmers for easy layering and blending. Whether you like shimmers or mattes, these shadows are perfect for creating a soft makeup look.
Makeup Essentials: Blush
Milani Baked Blush
Milani Baked Blush is a beautiful bronzer and blush combination product. Although the colors are mainly pinks and peaches like a standard blush, a warm bronzer undertone adds a sunbaked finish. We consider blush to be a makeup essential because it highlights and brings life to the face. The Milani Baked Blush is also inexpensive and comes in great shades.
Makeup Essentials: Setting Spray
MAC Prep & Prime Fix + Primer and Setting Spray
Priming and setting sprays are often neglected in a makeup routine, but they help makeup hold up and last longer. Often setting sprays and priming sprays are two separate products, but the MAC Prep & Prime Fix + Primer and Setting Spray do both. It primes so your foundation glides on smoothly and blends beautifully PLUS it sets your makeup so it holds up better against sweat and heat.
Makeup Essentials: Bronzer
Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Bronzer
Although the Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Bronzer is advertised as a bronzer, it can also be used as a contour. In fact, its matte, natural-looking shade makes it a popular choice for powder contour. Apply it wherever you want soft shadows and a little extra definition.
Makeup Essentials: Eyeliner
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencil
Out of all eyeliners (pencil, liquid and gel), a creamy pencil is our favorite. The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencil is an incredibly versatile makeup essential. With a soft pencil, you can create a sharp line or use an angled eye brush to smoke it out before it sets. This one does an excellent job of creating a smoky effect, and it is super smooth. Keep the tip sharpened and clean, and apply liner only when you are standing still, never in a moving car.
Makeup Essentials: Brow Powder
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo
We hate when our eyebrows are not filled in enough or filled in too much. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo is our favorite brow essential for creating an even and effortless brow look. Use an angled brush to flick small lines into your brows to fill them. The best part about this product is the arrangement of shades. From blonde to black hair, you can find the perfect shade for your brows.
Makeup Essentials: Makeup Remover
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
You may consider this product in your skincare routine, but it has everything to do with makeup just like the previous products. Removing your makeup is technically still a beauty essential, and after the glam look, you need to properly take off your makeup. The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is an oil cleanser that acts as a makeup remover. Use a pump or two on dry skin, and it melts away even stubborn eye makeup without leaving a film. We recommend following with a gentle water-based cleanser, and making sure all of your makeup comes off before bed.
We hope this list of our favorite makeup, with its killer formulas and flawless finishes, helps you build your own kit. These products are made to last, so you can spend less time worrying about touch-ups. These vital makeup products will provide you with exactly what you are looking for in a makeup product and more!
No post found!
What are the basic makeup essentials?
If you’re brand-new to makeup, I advise beginning cautiously by introducing 1 or 2 of the fundamental components at a time. So, for instance, you might begin by using foundation and concealer. Primer and mascara could then be incorporated into your routine. Finally, lip and blush products.
What is needed for full face makeup?
You need to hunt for a face concealer and an eye concealer if you want to apply full-face makeup. Make sure the latter includes a moisturizing component to reduce the appearance of fine wrinkles around the eyes. Face concealers, on the other hand, should be thicker and quite dry to hide bothersome blemishes or discoloration.
What are 10 essential items needed in a professional stage makeup kit?
I group together foundation and primer because they complement one another. Then, concealers/color correctors, eye, lip, cheek palettes, eye and lip liners, highlighting creams, setting spray and setting powders, and tools.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy an item through one of those affiliate links, Successible Life may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep the blog running so we can continue to provide you with the best content.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Eye Cosmetic Safety
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Using Cosmetics Safely
- American Academy of Dermatology – I have acne! Is it okay to wear makeup?
Kourtney Anderson is a freelance writer for Successible Life and one of its most prolific contributors, covering makeup looks and techniques, skincare routines and ingredients, hair care and beauty shopping guides.