Makeup

Even though I have a ton of makeup while also constantly testing new things, I have a handful of products that I tend to reach for regularly. This line-up can change over time so I thought I would put together a blog post that I can update every season with the makeup I am wearing the most. The products that perform the best, formulas that I continuously recommend and work for my skin at the moment. Currently there are some new additions to my everyday makeup routine, while some are long standing favorites that have stood the test of time.

Mature Skin Makeup Must-Haves: My Current Most Worn Products

Complexion Favorites

Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick

Hands down my favorite foundation stick is this one by Westman Atelier. It gives light coverage that can be built up, blends in seamlessly and makes your skin look like it’s just had a facial. It’s fresh and dewy without ever being too glowy. It is truly the perfect embodiment of a skin-like complexion product that manages to look better as the day goes on!

Merit Beauty The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick

The Merit Minimalist Complexion Stick gives a creamy satin finish to the skin, sheer to light coverage and easy application with the stick format.

Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Foundation

If you want a true foundation for special occasions, this is fantastic. The key for me is using the tiniest amount of product and applying it with a damp makeup sponge. It’s one of the longest lasting formulas I’ve tried while still keeping a hydrated and blurred finish throughout the day.

Trinny London BFF De-Stress

A long time favorite for me because it makes my skin instantly look healthy and fresh. It contains various skincare ingredients which help to plump and hydrate the skin. The finish always looks like my skin but better – never too dewy or too flat.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Pressed Powder

This pressed powder is blurring and helps to mattify slightly but still leaves a soft luminous finish to the skin.

Danessa Myricks Liquid Blurring Balm Spray

This is like a filter for your face. It blurs, gives a soft velvet finish and makes your makeup last ALL DAY LONG! And as someone who has never found use in a setting spray, this has become a non-negotiable for my everyday makeup. It is GORGEOUS!!

Ilia Skin Blur Serum Concealer

An absolute dream for mature skin! This concealer truly blurs in the most amazing way. It has a satin finish that gives a soft focus luminosity to the skin. In addition to the incredible blurring properties, it stays put all day long.

Sarah Creal Beauty Face Flex Concealer & Complexion Enhancer

The Face Flex Concealer and Complexion Enhancer is designed to be a multi-purpose complexion product that moves with your face throughout the day without creasing or fading for up to 12 hours. It conceals, corrects and adds just enough coverage. I personally use it only as a concealer but it can easily be dabbed all over the face and blended out as a light foundation or complexion enhancer. It’s moisturizing and slightly blurring.

Eye Favorites

Ilia Beauty Eye Stylus Shadow Stick in Adorn

Most of the eyeshadow colors I gravitate towards are champagne or rosy in tone, but I wanted something more in the cool taupe family. This shade was absolutely perfect and applies beautifully.

Colourpop Eyeshadow Stix in Socialite

I’m a one and done eyeshadow queen so I am always looking for new single shadows to use day to day. This eyeshadow stick formula is creamy and smooth while staying put for the entire day. The shade Socialite is a shimmer finish but looks closer to a satin finish when fully blended on the lids.

Armani Eye Tint in shade in 9S and 67S

A longgggg time favorite and a formula that many of you have purchased and loved as well. This cream shadow is easy to apply, blend out with your fingers and lasts all day long.

Tarte Tubing Mascara

My favorite mascara that I constantly repurchase. No smudging or flaking.

Cheek Favorites

Rhode Pocket Blush in Juicebox

The Rhode Pocket Blush is a cream blush formula designed to give a diffused wash of color with a satin finish. They are a lightweight formula that melts into the skin easily without leaving a tacky or greasy feel. They leave my cheeks looking fresh without being too dewy or shiny.

Sarah Creal Blurring Pressed-Mousse Blush in Love Bites

If you don’t want something dewy or anything that leaves a glowy finish, this Sarah Creal cream-to-powder formula is a must try. It is one of the most beautifully blurring formulas I’ve ever tried while still leaving a soft focus powdery finish. As someone who is usually a glowy cheek fan, this has become one of my favorite blush formulas.

Makeup by Mario Bronzing Serum in Light

This is a definitely a product that is super user friendly and almost foolproof to apply. There is a pump so you can choose to mix product in with your foundation/skin tint or you can choose to use the doe foot applicator to place the product where you want it on the face. You can use it as a bronzer or as a sculpting/contour product to define certain parts of the face.

Makeup by Mario Skin Enhancer in Light

The name “Skin Enhancer” can be a bit confusing at first and even had me pausing a second to figure out exactly what the product was supposed to do. In short, it is a form of a cream bronzer but is very sheer and can be used on specific parts of the face or all over to give a subtle radiant glow. There is no shimmer to the product but it does give the skin a healthy glow. It’s a complexion balm that adds warmth to the complexion and can be used to even out the skin tone.

Rhode Pocket Bronze in Pebble

These bronzers were the launch of the season! I am a HUGE fan of the pocket blushes so I had high hopes for these new bronzers. Thankfully they live up to the hype for me especially the shade Pebble. It’s a rosy toned bronzer that is nothing like any of the bronzer shades I own. It looks gorgeous on fair skin and doesn’t turn orange or skew too warm.

Lip Favorites

Versed Lip Frame in Dash

More brands are launching these contour style lip liners which thrills me to no end. I struggle with using a traditional lip pencil and drawing a straight line. With a thicker contour liner, you get a smudged soft look from the first application. No harsh lip liner lines with this. This color Dash is a soft neutral pink that adds just a hint of color to the lips.

Rhode Peptide Lip Shape Liners in Lift and Press

The Rhode Peptide Lip Shape liners are designed to be a soft-focus blurring formula that enhances the lip shape while also delivering skincare benefits. They are meant to give the lips definition and dimension without any harsh lines. It gives the lips a more contoured appearance and enhances the shape of the lip in a soft and subtle way. I’ve truly never tried something like this before so I didn’t even realize what I was missing! The blurred finish of these lip liners is so flattering without looking messy. I also can use them a bit outside my natural lip line without looking like I’ve over lined my lips. Hands down my holy grail lip liner formula and the one that I recommend to everyone.

Sarah Creal Beauty No Further Questions High Glide Peptide Lip Gloss in Deal With It

The formula is creamy and intensely nourishing while the pigment is just opaque enough to give the perfect amount of color. They are designed to be slightly plumping but with no tingling or stinging. The finish is very glossy and reflective. But it doesn’t move around throughout the day settling into lines or bleeding past my lip line.

Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing Gloss in Cherry Vanilla

The colors of this gloss are very sheer and the line smoothing claim is pretty spot on. The texture is very glassy and smooth leaving the lips looking blurred and shiny but not an ounce of tackiness!

Kulfi Lassi Lips Staining Lip Oil in shade: Rose

The most unique lip formula I’ve tried in a long time. It feels like a lip oil but dries down to a stain that lasts all day long. I love wearing it alone or layering it under another gloss. The finish is natural and the shade Rose is the perfect everyday neutral pink.

OneSkin OS-01 Lip Shield SPF 15 in Bare Blush (discount code: MAREE15)

I love everything OneSkin does so I knew I would adore this new lip launch. And I was right! But I didn’t just adore it – it immediately became a monthly favorite. The color is the perfect neutral everyday pink that I can wear with any makeup look. It feels nourishing with no tackiness (and no weird sunscreen scent).

Summer is my least favorite season of the whole year. The heat + humidity is a brutal combination especially for wearing makeup. But I still love to wear a full face most days though there are some particular complexion products that I have been reaching for that really hold up well in the summer months. These products are all long wearing, not too dewy, weightless on the skin and work well for my mature skin. Here are the 6 complexion must-haves I’ve been loving this summer:

My Summer Makeup Must-Haves For Mature Skin

Merit Beauty The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick

This is a complexion stick that you can use as a foundation or a concealer or just spot treat where you need it. I personally use it all over my face as a traditional foundation which means it will probably run out a bit sooner than my other stick foundations which is a downside but the formula is so great that I would be willing to repurchase it even with this issue. The Merit Minimalist Complexion Stick gives a creamy satin finish to the skin and is very easy to blend. It provides sheer to light coverage but it spreads nicely so you can cover a large portion of the face with just one swipe.

Ciele Tint & Protect Serum Foundation with SPF 50

While I do wear a sunscreen underneath my makeup, I love when my complexion products also have sun protection in them. This is a medium coverage skin tint that has a high level of SPF while still feeling like a traditional complexion product. It’s hydrating and feels like nothing on the skin but still gives amazing coverage for any imperfections.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Pressed Powder

This pressed powder has become a holy grail at this point. It’s blurring and mattifying while leaving a soft focus finish to the skin. I wear shade 2 which is perfect for my skin tone but it doesn’t add any extra brightness. Especially for mature skin, this is the type of powder that works best for our concerns. Not too drying, mattifying in a blurring way and long wearing.

ILIA Beauty Skin Blur Serum Concealer

This is a true blurring formula that gives medium coverage with a satin finish. It gives a filtered look to the skin which is perfect for those with texture or fine lines. Additionally, the ILIA Skin Blur Serum Concealer is extremely long wearing and doesn’t require any setting powder to last the entire day. It feels lightweight because of the serum-like texture but still covers everything I need it to.

Sarah Creal Face Flex Concealer & Complexion Enhancer

The Face Flex Concealer and Complexion Enhancer is designed to be a multi-purpose complexion product that moves with your face throughout the day without creasing or fading for up to 12 hours. I personally use it only as a concealer but it can easily be dabbed all over the face and blended out as a light foundation or complexion enhancer. This is creamy and smooth perfection!!! Some concealers claim to be creamy and hydrating but still dry down and make my under eye area look cakey. This does not at all. It’s super blendable but does set after a few minutes. It’s moisturizing and slightly blurring. I shared my full review here.

Danessa Myricks Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray

This is like a filter for your face. It blurs, gives a soft velvet finish and makes your makeup last ALL DAY LONG! And as someone who has never found use in a setting spray, this has become a non-negotiable for my everyday makeup. It is GORGEOUS!!