5 Products You Need in Your Makeup Collection

With endless beauty and makeup products on store shelves, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your buck. Putting together a makeup box kit can be difficult for even the best makeup gurus.

Why? Makeup is an art. It lifts your look and highlights your best features. It takes trial and error to really curate a collection that works for you.

To build the ideal makeup collection, start with the basics. This will ensure that you find the products you need without having to buy so much that you're paying the full makeup kit price. Try to focus on buying products that do it all: hydrate, polish, and provide good coverage.

Regardless of which specific products you choose, here are five things that should be in all makeup sets for women:

1. Primer

It’s can feel impossible to know where to start if you’re new to the world of beauty and makeup. First things first, it’s always best to start with a primer.

What does primer actually do? Primers provide the baseline your skin needs to look even and smooth. Primers allow your foundation, concealer, or eyeshadow to sit well on top of your skin and last longer throughout the day. Different types of primers can target various problem areas and goals, depending on your needs. Primers can be hydrating, blurring, correcting, mattifying, and more. They keep your makeup in place, brighten your face, smooth your skin and add moisture.

Pore-blurring and- minimizing primers, specifically, can do wonders for your skin. They primarily are used in T-zones to reduce oiliness and on your cheeks to minimize the appearance of pores with blurring effects. Correcting primers blur and fix redness. Gripping primers, such as Milk Makeup’s Mini Hydro Grip Primer, are best for holding your makeup if you live in humid or hot location where you may be easily sweating your makeup off.

Primers such as Make Up Forever’s Step 1 Primer Pore Minimizer and Benefit’s Pore Professional are makeup artist favorites.

2. Tinted Moisturizer

Next comes time for some more color and coverage. A tinted moisturizer is a good basic to have in your makeup collection at all times.

Tinted moisturizers provide lightweight but full-face coverage, allowing the skin to breathe and creating a glowy, hydrated look. The liquid formula creates a more natural look for your skin. Use a sponge to tap the product in for a flawless blend and natural finish. Tinted moisturizers that include SPF are always an added bonus.

A tinted moisturizer is the perfect middle ground choice for face coverage as it's not too light and not too heavy. If you want to cover up some problem areas or build-up to create a heavier look, add some concealer.

3. High-Coverage Concealer

Concealers are always a great way to add to your look and give you more coverage. They can also spot treat acne or dark circles or even build them up to act as a foundation if you want more coverage all around.

One trick to lift your face is to add concealer on the inner corners and outer corners of your eyes to give your face a lift. Use a sponge for a smooth blend.

Some guru favorites include Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, Maybelline Instant Age concealer, and IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer, just to name a few.

4. Mascara

A little mascara can easily elevate your whole look. Some curl and a lash lift can snatch your whole face, making you look brighter, fresher, and more awake.

To avoid clumpy mascaras, you typically want to find those with thin wands that are made with a lightweight formula. Tubing mascaras are the best. They are made with polymers that coat and cover each individual lash to give you length and drama — and long-lasting wear.

5. Brow Gel

Once you have your base coverage figured out, it's time to move to brows. Eyebrow trends have evolved over the years. We've gone from the thin eyebrows of the 90s to the bold, bushy brows of today. Whatever brow look you're going for, you'll want a good brow gel that will hold your brows in place for the entire day and give them the shape you desire. If you want some added color to make them thicker or fill in gaps, opt for a tinted brow gel.

Altogether, these five products are great key basics for any makeup box kit. To learn more about makeup or in pursuing a career in the beauty industry, get in touch today.

How to Use a Face Primer

Tip 1: Choose the Right Product

Before you select a primer, it’s important to find one that not only works for your skin type, but also your foundation type. Celebrity makeup artist Jamie Dorman explains that primers are typically water- or silicone-based. “Water-based primers are best for dry and dehydrated skin — they will last longer and look better on dry skin,” she says. “Whereas silicone-based primers look better on oily skin, as the silicone creates a layer that keeps the oil from breaking through.”

That said, water-based primers will provide you with a more natural look because they “let your skin texture shine through,” says Dorman. When looking for a water-based primer, be sure to look at the ingredients — water or glycerin should be one of the top three.

If your goal is to create a smoothed-out surface for makeup application, you’ll want to find a silicone-based foundation and primer. Again, ingredients matter: cyclopentasiloxane or dimethicone should be listed as one of the top three ingredients. 

To make sure your primer meshes well with your foundation, you should match silicone-based primers with silicone-based foundations, and do the same for water-based formulas. 

Tip 2: Prep Your Skin

Instead of thinking about primer as the first step in your makeup routine, consider it the last step in your skincare routine. Many primers nowadays have skin-loving ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid to ensure your skin stays well hydrated. It’s still important to use a moisturizer though, so after your moisturizer and sunscreen are fully soaked into your skin, pat on a layer of face primer.

Tip 3: Use Primer Sparingly

Rather than using primer all over your face, celebrity makeup artist Molly R. Stern suggests focusing on some of your problem areas. “I like to use it sparingly like where my makeup tends to wear off and places where pores are larger, like the t-zone.” If your makeup usually wears off around your chin and nose but not your cheeks, only apply it to those areas to keep it locked in place. If you’re looking for all-over hydration or oil control, however, you can apply the primer everywhere.

Tip 4: Pat, Don’t Rub 

Though you may be tempted to rub the primer into your face, Stern says that patting it into your skin actually increases the staying power. “Apply primer with your fingers and pat or press it instead of rubbing — this activates it with your body and allows it to sink in versus simply sitting on the surface of your skin.”

Tip 5: Use a Mist

If you’re still not sure that primer is the best for you, Stern suggests prepping your skin with a facial mist instead. “Spritz it a few inches from your face and let it settle into your skin. Your skin will feel tightened, fresh and ready for makeup.” We like the YSL Beauty NU Dewy Mist because the soothing spray offers an instant burst of hydration and plumps the skin. 

Now that you know the key steps for applying face primer, find some of our favorites below.

The Best Makeup Primers to Try

A favorite of Stern’s, this primer is infused with glycerin, rice bran and shea butter to instantly moisturize, soften and illuminate the skin. It helps to boost your complexion’s radiance and provide a smoother makeup application.