By Pauline Ybañez

Whether it be the bare necessities or high-end glow kits or matte liquid lipsticks, more and more people are becoming fascinated with makeup and all its wonders.

As someone who considers themself the Queen of Basic and Bare Necessities, I’ll be able to share with you some tips and recommendations on what you should be carrying around for a basic, yet productive, arsenal of make-up essentials.

 

The Right Make-Up Bag

In order to carry around make up, you need the perfect make up bag. A make up bag is definitely a necessity if you want to stay organized and not lose your prized possessions.

Recommendation: Department stores such as Marshall’s or TJ Maxx carry solid choices for bags that can get the job done with ideal sizes and appearances. If you’re looking for a more expensive bag, Sephora or Ulta can do the trick, but just know you’ll spending a few more pennies.

If you want to carry around this make-up bag in your purse, keep in mind travel size options for certain items because they will end up being your best friend.

 

Face

Moisturizer:

It is essential to have any type of moisturizer. It preps your face for all the crap you’re going to be putting on and a good moisturizer will benefit your face overall.

Recommendation: I rarely carry around a face moisturizer but it’s handy to have one if your face tends to get dry. Cetaphil is a great moisturizer and it’s what I use on the daily but it is also can be a bit pricey.

Foundation: This piece is key to have if you want to pursue a “flawless” look and cover up the unevenness that can come with applying makeup.

Recommendation: Is it necessary? Probably not, if you don’t believe in caking your face. I am pretty basic when it comes to foundation so I only use it on special occasions such as a wedding or a nice date. If you feel like you need something there but do not want to go too heavy, a tinted moisturizer is your best bet. It also kills two birds with one stone because you can just carry that & ditch the basic moisturizer.

Concealer: A great item because it hides all of them stubborn bad boys on your face. Essential to have if you are having those rough days and the redness and dark circles can’t be tamed with just foundation.

Recommendation: NYX and Covergirl have reasonably priced concealers compared to some of the more high end products. A great concealer will act like a handy dandy magic eraser on those bad days.

Contouring & Highlighting: The newest trend of 2016, specifically highlighting. I love highlighting, . Now, I myself have not mastered contouring yet but it is great to use to highlight and bring out specific features in your face.

Recommendation: I would recommend an All-in-One palette. You can also just get a basic matte brown and highlighter separately. For starters, I would not recommend getting any glow kits or contour palettes. There is just too many colors that you will end up not using anyways. We don’t want to waste money. If you’re looking for an awesome highlighter, Laura Geller’s Gilded Honey Highlighter is bomb!

 

Eyes

Eye Shadow Primer: A good eyeshadow primer is needed to keep your bold or natural eye-look stay intact all day.

Recommendation: A basic eyeshadow primer is good enough to tackle the job. I use the Urban Decay Primer Potion in the travel/smallest size that is sold because only a small amount is needed and it can last a long time unless you’re doing eyeshadow every day.

Eye shadow Palette: Give your eye a pop of color and make the colors of your eyes stand out with the array of shades out there.

Recommendation: For starters, the most basic natural brown palettes are great. They have everything you need for that every day look. They have more unique colors as well if you’re into that.

Eyeliner: Eyeliner puts the look together. Without a wing or smudged liner on the water line, a full eye make-up could potentially be underwhelming.

Recommendation: Liquid liners, gel liners, and pencils are all of the necessary tools you could use. It’s all about preference. Try them all and find out what works best for you.

Mascara: The Holy Grail of it all. Even on your worst days, some mascara on its own can do the trick.

Recommendation: Once again, mascara is all about preference. It comes down to what looks well with your face and what you feel comfortable in. I prefer the Too Faced’s Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara because quite frankly it’s just “better than sex”.

Eyelash Curler: An essential if your eyelashes are nowhere near curled at all. Very handy and a must have to do before mascara.

Recommendation: Any will do the trick. Go get one!

 

Brows

Brow Pencil/Gel: Get them eyebrows on fleek! Make your eyebrows pop.

Recommendation: Anything that works for you! If a matte eye shadow or basic pencil does the job, roll with it. There’s no need for the high end stuff if you’re comfortable with whatcha got. I do dabble in Benefit’s new eyebrow line as well as Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer because I’ve grown comfortable with them.

Eyebrow Brush/Comb: Tame them bad boys!

Recommendation: Any basic one, just lick your fingers and smooth them out. Side note: make sure to groom them bad boys or they’ll look like little hair beavers above your eyes.

 

Lips

Chapstick: Not only moisturizes cracked or dry lips but also a good base before any lip look.

Recommendation: I love Blistex, Blistex is my best friend. But once again, preference, man.

Lip Liner: Keep your lip look within the lines.

Recommendation: Universal lip liners are life and so are lip kits.

Lipstick: So… Many… Colors… So many choices.

Recommendation: Try all of the options if you can. There’s lipsticks, tints, stains, liquid mattes, chubby lip pencils. It’s whatever your desire and whatever color works best with your skin color. You can basically pull off anything. They range in prices so it can be affordable or questionably pricey depending on where you go. Have at least one of each in your arsenal.

 

With the right amount of items from the ones named above, you’ll be carrying a A1 makeup bag in no time. A make up bag at first, but once you keep testing out more and more options, you’ll be owning your very own makeup suitcase! Good luck beauty boos!~

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Pauline Ybañez is a contributing writer for YourSitch.com

Twitter: @PaulineYbanez