Today I have my top picks to recommend in makeup for the Sephora Spring Bonus Event which starts today! To recap the dates, details and codes:
- Rouge Members: receive 15% off 4/13 through 4/16 and 4/20 through 4/23, use code YAYROUGE
- VIB Members: receive 15% off 4/20 through 4/23, use code YAYVIB
- BI Members: receive 10% off 4/20 through 4/23, use code YAYINSIDER
My favorites and recommendations by makeup category below with links to previous reviews and swatches where applicable. Press samples mentioned have a * next to them. Some items I haven’t had a chance to review yet but hope to soon.
Bases and Foundations:
- NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation * I wear Vanuatu Medium 3.5 (swatches of all colors here)
- YSL Touche Eclat All-In-One Glow in B40 is one of the prettiest glow bases I’ve tried (review here)
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger is always in my top picks for concealer (swatches here)
- Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra Longwear Concealer * in 3W is my match, (swatches of all colors here)
- Bobbi Brown Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation * in Natural Tan 4.25 is the only foundation I’ve tried that does not oxidize and stays true to color all day (review soon)
- Erborian CC Creme in Regular is a color-adjusting base that has color-matching pigments to blur fine lines and make the skin look fresh and soft (more detailed review soon)
- Erborian BB Creme in Dore is a lightweight BB creme that makes the skin look dewy and hydrated, I’ve had it since December-ish and it’s one of the few BB cremes I’ve actually liked using (more detailed review soon)
- Erborian Pink Perfect Creme (not shown) is something I bought recently which I’ve been blown away by, it’s a blurring primer with a very soft pink tint that disappears on the skin once blended, it makes the skin look and feel plump and smooth and preps it for foundation
- Tatcha The Silk Canvas * is back in stock! It’s not shown above but detailed review here
Cheeks and Complexion:
- Natasha Denona Diamond and Blush Palettes * are the prettiest blush/highlighter palettes I’ve seen this year, I really love Citrus (review of both options here)
- NARS Highlighting Powder in Fort de France * is a soft skin-like highlighter (review of all shades here)
- Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Glow Stick in Sunstruck is a pretty cream blush/highlighter stick for a summery fresh glow that adds life to the complexion (swatches + my picks from the summer collection swatched here)
- Tom Ford Sheer Cheek Duos give a natural sheen and glow to the complexion without looking or feeling heavy (not shown, all swatched here)
- Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick * is one of the best creamy highlighters that’s smooth, doesn’t disrupt one’s base and lasts all day without getting greasy looking (review and swatches here)
- Top 3 Bronzer Recommendations: Tom Ford Bronzing Powder in Terra is the most natural looking matte bronzers I’ve tried, Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light * for a luminous glow (review here), Becca Sunlit Bronzer * for a truly natural looking glow with options light enough for fair skintones (swatches here)
Eye Makeup:
- Diorshow Brow Styler in Universal Brown is my holy grail brow pencil
- Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel * is a phenomenal brow product that tames brows, holds them in place and also fills in sparse areas, I use Soft Brunette or Warm Brunette (swatches here)
- Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eyeliner in Bronze (swatch here)
- Pat McGrath Permagel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil in Blitz Brown (swatches here)
- Pat McGrath Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner is my go-to liquid liner of the moment (swatches here)
- Pat McGrath MTHRSHIP Subliminal Platinum Bronze Eyeshadow Palette * is a must-have in my book, Bronze Ambition is also really stunning (swatches of all 3 spring palettes here)
- Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quads are some of my most-used palettes, my top 3 favorites are Disco Dust (shown), Honeymoon and Nude Dip
- Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Opale is my go-to everyday shimmer base (swatches here)
- Natasha Denona Chroma Crystal Top Coat in Peach * is a stunning glimmering top coat for the eyes, do me warned they are glitzy but I still find them wearable (swatches here)
- Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks in Rosegold and Copper are the best easy-to-wear shimmer cream shadow sticks
- Tom Ford Cream and Powder Duo in Golden Peach or Paradiso are my goof-proof duos (swatches here)
- Marc Jacobs Eye Conic Eyeshadow Palette in Glambition is my top pick for a neutral palette that’s glitter free (not shown, but reviewed here)
- NARSissist Wanted Eyeshadow Palette * is one of the few pinkish eyeshadow palettes I can wear (not shown, but reviewed here)
Lips:
- NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Bound is the best neutral-mauve that I’ve found, there are also 5 new shades in Xenon, Paradise Garage, Mars, Roseland and Swing which I ordered sight unseen and started playing with yesterday (review soon but spoiler alert is Bound is still the best one in my opinion)
- NARS Audacious Lipstick in Barbara is one of the best everyday neutrals I own, I’ve used up two tubes since the formula was first launched years ago (swatch here)
- Tom Ford Lip Colors are 100% worth the splurge, and since they never go on sale, the Sephora event is the best time to save! Color shown is Pink Dusk is shown, I also love Bad Lieutenant and Sugar Glider (swatch here), Indian Rose is probably the best wearable medium neutral that isn’t too light or dark (shown here)
- Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick in Realness (swatches of more shades here)
- Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balms are must-haves, my favorite is Coral but there are new shades that launched this year which are stunning! (all shades reviewed here)
- Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick * has a super opaque long-lasting creamy formula, I still hate the price tag, but as I’ve mentioned before the formula is excellent (all shades swatched here)
- YSL Volupte Liquid Color Balm is the most pigmented tinted balm I’ve tried, I can’t pick a favorite color, they’re all really pretty! (my picks swatched here)
Whew! I feel like this is quite an extensive list! If I had to narrow it down to just 5 of my top recommendations in makeup, they would be the Pat McGrath Eyeshadow Palettes (any of them), Natasha Denona Diamond Blush Palette in Citrus, Dior Addict Lip Glow (any shade), Tom Ford Lip Color in Indian Rose and NARS Highlighting Powder in Fort de France.
Some of you have asked what I’m shopping for. I’m pretty well stocked but will most definitely be getting some beautyblenders. I tried to find cheaper dupes and after testing several other brands found that the beautyblender is still the best one (let me know if you want a full review). I also have some foundations on my list that I want to check out in store to see if I can find a match. I’m almost out of shampoo and conditioner so I’ll probably stock up on a few favorites. Finally I’m about to hit pan on my La Mer Pressed powder so I may buy another one. I really love the formula but the price is such a big ouch!
I’ll share my haul in the next week! What’s on your shopping list? Are you going in store or shopping online? I really just want to do an online haul but I really should try to get foundation matches in store rather than guess my shade!
