Because I’m a makeup artist and beauty blogger, I’m often asked what products I like. And there is no easy answer to that question, because I like so many things. What I do understand is that I gravitate to some products for professional use. Those are in my kit and have withstood many different situational uses.
But there’s also my own personal makeup drawer. The one in my own powder room. The one that collects so much stuff that it’s sometimes difficult to open the drawer. When that happens, I cull through the products, put them in a bin, and vow to find a home for them. I find myself asking, “Surely someone could use a partially-used blush or this awesome eye palette?!?”
I think it’s an interesting divide, the products I use on clients for work and the products I love for my own face. The main difference is that my own skin needs may be greatly different from what my clientele’s needs are. There are pro products that are specifically made for the needs of the pro makeup artist. They are workhorses that get a job done; many of these products you have to have professional credentials to obtain. It doesn’t sound too sexy, but they are tried and true for those uses.
Then there are consumer products. The ones you can find in a department store or retail setting. Those are the products that have the beautiful packaging, that may or may not have status-symbol, and many of those are the bulk of what’s in my personal drawer.
My first personal preference is dewy, glowy, plump-looking skin. And I suppose I like those words and those skin qualities because I lack them on my own; I have dry skin. I want the dew. I want the glow. I want the plump. (Someone with naturally oily skin may completely shy away from those.)
On a daily basis, after I apply whatever blush and/or bronzer, I reach for this product: a Bobbi Brown shimmer brick. I’ve tried a lot of colors (there are a dozen or more), but I always come back to Pink Quartz. I like it on the tops of my cheeks, and swiped over my eyelids, too. If I’m wearing a matte lip color, I may even swipe some shimmer brick over the middle of my bottom lip to encourage the plump pout.
Thank you, Bobbi. This is a perennial favorite of mine, and I love all the regular colors as well as the limited issue ones.