makeup i use everyday

the beauty world is so boring now and they make too much stuff but these are actually worth buying

i always encourage nurturing your individual relationship to beauty, not just consuming it. i mean logging off and figuring out what your taste actually is, how to do makeup for your face and your complexion. not just buying things because you saw a girl with loads of followers wear something.

a lot of the love in the beauty space has turned into mass consumerism and this constant urgency to keep up with what’s new instead of what genuinely works for you. there’s a fine line between being excited to play with makeup and feeling like buying something will bring you closer to the person you want to be, or feel like you have to be.

i sound pretentious, i know, but i think it’s important to have a relationship with beauty that doesn’t leave you feeling alienated, broke, or “behind.” constantly buying makeup can easily make you feel that way.

that said, i really really love makeup. so here are some beauty products i genuinely love because they make me happy. they’re fun, they spark conversations when i pull them out of my bag, or they just make me feel very me for their own unique reason.

i threw together this little collection of products i’ve loved and used for a long time because i’m constantly people irl about them so, why not share them with you too?

(i obviously havent been paid to say any of this btw nobody knows i exist on here <3)

simihaze beauty colour glaze lip & cheek pigment in magnolia

i’ve started and restarted this review like seven times already because thinking about this blush gives me a genuine love surge, but i promised myself i’d keep this quick. this is the most bubblegum-pink blush i have ever come across, and i was always in pursuit of that. it has the right amount of blue in it that it feels perfectly made for me and my complexion (black hair, very pale skin). as if that couldn’t make it any more “me,” there’s also this incredibly fine iridescent shimmer woven through it. you might not notice it at first, but it makes all the difference in the dimension it gives the cheeks, especially in the sunlight.

this is also designed for lips (!!!!!). i could write a thesis about multi-use products, i’m that much of a fan, but sometimes the quality can be inconsistent because the skin on our lips and cheeks is so different. this, though, is such a beautiful lip colour and formula, just as much as it is a blush. and the shade is so unique for lips, especially in the western beauty market. i can feel myself starting to get too excited and ramble, so the last thing i’ll say is that it’s perfect all around. the packaging is so gorgeous (it even has a little mirror), and the other shades are just as special.

wonderskin 1440 longwear eyeliner in oyster blue

ok! first of all, this is grey not blue btw. it’s surprisingly hard to find a grey eyeliner that’s actually the right shade and good quality. most are either too dark, too pale, or don’t look obviously grey. this one is perfect. it’s deep enough to define the eyes but light enough to look noticeably softer and cooler than black.

second, i basically have a phd in eyeliner, especially waterline liner. i wear it every day and have probably tried every formula on the market. this is genuinely the best one i’ve found. it really does not smudge. obviously it fades from the actual waterline over the course of the day because that’s impossible to completely avoid, but it lasts far longer than anything else i’ve tried. i do love their other shades too, btw, but grey has a special place in my heart because i am a cool toned baddie through and through. i also always get compliments on my eyes when i wear this.

pro tip: don’t apply skincare too close to your eyes before using any longwear product, and lightly set the area with powder if you want it to last as long as possible.

mac cosmetics lip liner in stone

i knowwww. people never shut up about it but there’s genuinely a good reason. if you’re light-medium with cool undertones, finding a lip liner that doesn’t pull bright red feels impossible. it’s been a long road. i used to use (and honestly still do sometimes) brow pencils on my lip line because a) they’re cheaper b) they’re almost always cool toned. but they can be harder to blend with lipstick/gloss depending on the formula. since this is actually made for lips, it ofc works beautifully with other lip products. the cool tone is so perfectly neutral on my complexion and creates the prettiest shadow around my lip line. i also love that the formula is buildable for days when i want a heavier lip. the hype is very real! it actually works! please go try it <3

remember, you don’t need to buy new stuff all the time! finish your products! enjoy using something for a long time! you will really start to figure out your perfect makeup bag that way.