Products I keep coming back to

by Raakhi Tanvi

JUST like everyone I get tempted by new product releases and wanting to try everything because it looks so good.

But time and time again I regret it because I can’t find the right colour, the product oxidises or isn’t shown on someone with my skin tone, so doesn’t look great when it arrives. Then there are products that are always reliable, so with that in mind I wanted to share ones I keep coming back to and have become a staple in my beauty kit.

First up, foundation and my all-time favourite is Urban Decay Stay Naked. I am shade 51NN and it is a perfect match for my skin. It gives medium to high, buildable coverage with a real-skin matte finish. It covers up any pigmentation so well and doesn’t look heavy or cakey. Urban Decay is waterproof, really long-wearing and has an impressive range (50 shades) and it feels like I am wearing nothing. It is described as a ‘flexible formula’, which is why I think it feels so natural on the skin. I wear it for up to 14 hours and it looks flawless.

On to my favourite concealer and one I can’t be without is Tarte Shape Tape. I am shade 35N medium (medium skin with neutral undertones). This is a full coverage formula, which smooths and brightens to make eyes appear lifted. It is crease-proof and doesn’t look cakey. You don’t need to colour correct for day-to-day use (I do if I’m going to an event). It sets so nicely, and I couldn’t be without this in my personal makeup kit. I apply foundation and concealer with a beauty blender.

For my eyeshadow I own so many palettes and shades of eyeshadow, but the one that I keep going back to and is my ‘travel buddy’, is the Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette. It has the perfect range of colours to create a day or night look and is really long lasting, with high colour pay-out formulas that don’t crease. I have one in my personal and professional kit. I have been known to gift this palette to my friends too! My go-to contour/blush/highlight palette is NARS Overlust Cheek Palette. The shades are so buildable and really lovely tones for day-to-day looks. So subtle, but you can transitioninto a heavier more defined look really easily. NARS quality and formula can’t be beaten for me. Easily one of my favourite brands.

Last but not the least, has to be the Benefit Precisely, My Brow eyebrow pencil in shade 5 and also the Benefit BADgal BANG! volumising mascara. I keep coming back to these two products and every time I try something new I instantly regret it. The brow pencil is so blendable, buildable and allows for natural precision. The mascara stays, adding amazing volume and not crumbling as the day goes on. I even keep mini ones of these in my handbag beauty kit. Moral of the story – stick to what works!

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