Summer Favorites 2018
Foundation
Matte- Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation
This foundation could do no wrong. It covers everything you need it to, and is just beautiful on the skin!It lasts all day (literally 24 hours), is extremely waterproof, but somehow evens out the skin tone very naturally. You would think a foundation as long-wearing and matte as this one wouldn't look that natural, but I swear I always get compliments when I wear this foundation because of how great my skin (...and not my makeup) looks! This foundation is perfect if you need your face to withstand hot temperatures and long days!
Dewy- Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk
Listed as one of my favorite dewy foundations, this foundation is perfect for that J-Lo glow type of skin that's just essential for summer When I wear this, my skin looks naturally radiant, not overly dewy or oily. This foundation provides medium-full, buildable coverage with a radiant to dewy finish, and it lasts a little over 8 hours for me during the summer. It's definetely not as long-wearing as Double Wear, but I find it doesn't separate horribly when it does start to fade. It's beautiful in photography and in person as well which makes it one of my top picks for the summertime!
Concealer
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer
This concealer is perfect for summer as it's stay-all-day and matte. I know no matter how hot it gets, my under eyes are gonna stay concealed with this stuff! I also don't have to set this with a powder after application.
Powder
MAC Blot Powder/Pressed
Summertime is literally the only time I'll ever use blotting powder, and MAC's blotting powder is the one I tend to grab the most often. It's the one I also use on set, when my actors are under heavy lights and they start to sweat, because I know it's not gonna cause any issues with the foundation clumping together or getting cakey.
Bronzer
Nars Laguna
I've literally been using this bronzer for years, and it's still one of my favorites. It's on the warmer side, but that's why it's perfect for summer! I actually use this all over the face with a big fluffy brush (like the bareMinerals Full Flawless Face Brush) to give life to my face. It gives off this super natural glow to the skin when applied all over and leaves me with just enough color to look sun-kissed! I even go in with a denser brush after setting the whole face with it into the hollows of my cheek for a more defined contour.
Blush
Coral/Peach- Milani Baked Blush in Corallina
What better time to use a coral blush that on tanned, summer skin? For those summertime, everyday looks, Corallina is a beautiful natural coral that just brightens up the face. Honestly, if you're having a good skin day, you can just pop some of this color on and some mascara and you're good to go!
Red/Orange- NARS Exhibit A
This blush looks a bit scary in the pan, but this color truly can be worn by all skin types. It's opaque enough to show up on darker skintones, but it can be applied lightly for those with porcelain skin types. To apply for a more bold color, I would reccomend using a brush like MAC's 129 Powder/Blush Brush. For a more sheer application I would recommend a brush like MAC's 188 Small Duo Fibre Brush.
Highlighter
Artist Couture Diamond Glow Powder in Illuminati
This highlighter comes in a loose form, which means more work and time during application, but it's worth the extra time! Like I mentioned in my Top 5 High-End Powder Highlighters review, my favorite way of applying this is to spritz my entire face with MAC Fix +, pick up a generous amount of the product onto my MAC 244, spritz the brush and product itself with Fix +, and then apply to the areas I wanna highlight. It's a gold highlight, so it looks super pretty with summer bronzed skin!
Eyeshadow
Natasha Denona Sunset Palette
If the season "summer" could be a palette, the Sunset palette would be it. I mean, when I think of summertime, I see a sunset full of oranges, yellows, and reds- and well, that basically summarizes Natasha Denona's Sunset palette in a couple of words! Pigmented, soft, and blendable this palette is truly a must have in everyone's kit. The colors suit can suit everybody- and I mean, that's why it literally sold out the week it was released! Since then though, ND has restocked this palette, and for an affordable option to get your hands on this palette (which is what I've done with basically all my ND palettes) you can set up a payment plan on Beautylish (this is how much I love makeup hahaha). It's truly worth the moolah!
Eyeliner
Loreal Infallible Gel Eyeliner
I've used gel liner for so long, it's hard for me to switch to anything else. The reason why I love gel so much, is because it's sanitary for my clients, but two, it stays on throughout everything! Like my friends think I'm some sort of witch whenever I go in a pool or hot tub with my classic winged liner and I come out with everything looking the same as it did before I went in! But that's just honestly the beauty of gel liner- it's bulletproof. And Loreal's Infallible Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black is the one I swear by! It has a semi-glossy finish, is super opaque, and you can find it at the drugstore (which is awesome because gel eyeliners can dry out you know?)! It also comes with a pretty decent brush so you don't have to worry about purchasing a brush if you're new to gel liner!
Mascara
Loreal Lash Paradise (avail in waterproof)
This mascara is actually one of my favorite mascaras of all time! It creates such dramatic and fluffy lashes, without all the unnecessary clumps! I used to love the travel-sized version of Better Than Sex, but when I found this alternative, I was hooked! One, this full-sized mascara is cheaper than the travel-sized BTS, and it doesn't weigh down my lashes like BTS does. The waterproof version is also amazing! I use this on my bridal clients all the time, and it never disappoints!
Brows
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow
It's not often that I use Dipbrow anymore since I've gotten my eyebrows microbladed, but before then, Dipbrow was liiiiife. Before Dipbrow, if I knew I would be in sweltering heat, I knew my eyebrows wouldn't be able to take it (R.I.P.). It was one of those lost cause kind of things. Like, "Oh, well. I guess it can't be helped...". And then Dipbrow came along and changed the game! It provides that opaque color that I needed when I literally only had caterpillars for eyebrows, and I knew it wouldn't budge even if I jumped into a pool! Take about bulletproof brows!
Lipstick
Nude: MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy
Dusty Pink: Tom Ford Lip Color Shine in 07 Nubile
Peach/Coral: Tom Ford Lip Color in 31 Twist of Fate
Red- Burberry Liquid Lip Velvet in No. 37 Regiment Red
Lipgloss
Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in Gilded
In the bottle, this lip gloss looks straight-up like it was touched my Midas. As in- it's hella gold. But on the lips, it's this pretty champagne nude with gold flecks in it, that just screams early 2000's J-Lo (because J-Lo is the epitome of summer time glam no?). You can wear this gloss by itself (which is what I normally do) or over any one of the lipsticks I mentioned above!
Setting Spray
Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
Even if I'm sunbathing at the pool with a face of makeup on, and someone wants to play games, I know I'm good because of this product (Y'all can't touch me!). This setting spray + Double Wear = waking up with my face still looking flawless.
Note: I do not own any of these pictures in this specific post.