Best Makeup To Shop During the Sephora Sale 2025

The Sephora Savings Event for Holiday starts today with first access for Rouge Members! Use code EVERYTHING to save when shopping online, these are the details per tier:

• All Sephora Collection 30% off: 10/31 – 11/10
• Rouge members 20% off: 10/31 – 11/10
• VIBs 15% off: 11/4 – 11/10
• Insiders 10% off: 11/4 – 11/10

I’m rounding up my staples and favorites by category. I tried to narrow each category down to my Top 3, but there are a few sections I have more than 3 favorites.

Best Primers

These are my favorite primers. I try to find ones that multi-task (ie has SPF, adds hydration or glow.

• Charlotte Tilbury Invisible UV Flawless Primer SPF 50 – love this for the combined high spf and primer formula
• Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter – this is still the best glowy multi-tasker to wear under foundation or on top of the cheekbones, I use Shade 3 or 4, sometimes 4.5, swatches here
• YSE Beauty Skin Glow SPF 30 Primer – works well as a primer with SPF under makeup, it has a soft peachy rose tint with a tiny bit of glow to it but disappears on the skin, love the medium fluid consistency (it’s not too thin but not too thick)
• Saie Glowy Super Gel – love Roseglow under foundation, if you need something hydrating and found the Charlotte Tilbury too shimmery, this is a great option that is glowy but not too shimmery (love this Mini Glowy Super Gel Trio Set)
• Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base – a classic multi-tasking moisturizer + primer in one

Best Foundation Formulas

I’ve split the foundation and skin tint bases into a few different categories based on formula.

Best Skin Tints/Sheer

• Rare Beauty Positive Light Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 – I think this is one of the most highly under-rated tinted moisturizers for the consistency and coverage, it’s lightweight, natural in coverage and blends easily, I use 24N
• Fenty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint – another staple I really like for a satin finish skin tint
• Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint – the best ultra sheer glowy hydrating formula I’ve tried
• It Cosmetics CC+ Nude Glow SPF40 – another staple I love and the best CC+ formula I’ve tried, I wear Medium Tan

Best Medium Coverage

• Armani Luminous Silk Foundation Shade 6.5 – This is a holy grail for life! My most repurchased foundation tied with Chanel formulas, love the LSF for that natural medium coverage with a subtle glow
• Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Foundation N8 – best new hydrating foundation formula of the year, see it in action here
• Makeup By Mario SurrealSkin Natural Finish Foundation – formula is on the thicker side but still easy to blend, love this medium to full coverage satin finish foundation, I mix 12O and 14N

Best Stick Foundations

• Dior Forever Skin Perfect Foundation Stick Shade 3N – This is the best foundation stick I’ve tried, glides on with absolute perfection, swatch comparisons here
• Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick V or VI – Another classic that I’ve used for years, I wear V right now
• Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint Foundation Stick – When this first came out I was very skeptical of using this because of how glowy it was. I did not think it could be used all over the face like a foundation. Thanks to so many of you who urged me to give it a try. I love it. You can use it almost like an all over primer or just in certain areas of the face, then top with concealer or regular foundation. I bought Shade 7.5 when I was tan, I will most likely pick up a lighter shade during the sale.

Best Concealers

• Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Brightening Concealer N9 – This is the best concealer I’ve tried. The formula wears well as a brightener, doesn’t crease and also works to spot conceal. I use several shades, right now I use either N8 or N9.
• YSL Touche Eclat Awakening Concealer Pen Shade 3 – This is the best brightening concealer for the under eye area.
• NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Ginger – Another lifetime favorite for under the eyes or anywhere you need to conceal redness. It’s creamy and so easy to blend.
• NARS Soft Matte Concealer Ginger (best for spot concealing) – I just rediscovered this formula and love it for spot concealing.

Best Setting Powders

I’ve split my favorites into pressed and loose versions. To this day I still prefer a pressed format for convenience, but I find that loose powder applied with a puff last longer.

Loose Powder Favorites

• Laura Mercier Ultra-Blur Talc Free Translucent Loose Setting Powder – This is the setting powder formula that gets me the most compliments. Anytime I use Translucent or Rose people always say that my skin looks flawless. It’s really not these days but this powder really does work to blur the skin beautifully. I use the Makeup by Mario Powder Puff with this one.
• YSL All Hours Hyper Blur Loose Setting Powder – I bought 02 Fair Medium back in April and really like it. It blurs, sets and doesn’t darken. I might try the Translucent formula since my skin tone is a bit lighter right now.

Pressed Setting Powders

• Dior Forever Nude Matte or Luminescent Pressed – I tried both the Nude Powder 02 Light and the Radiant Filter formulas and find myself reaching for these frequently. Luminescent in action here. However if you’re sensitive to fragrance I’d skip these as they are both heavily scented.
• Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Blurring Powder – Forever my holy grail pressed powder, I use Medium.
• Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Sublime Perfection Blurring Under Eye Powder – This is the best under eye setting powder. I love using it to set concealer as it blurs + sets without looking heavy or dry.

Setting Spray Loves

I don’t find myself using a setting spray very often these days, but the ones I have tried and like are from Charlotte Tilbury, Makeup by Mario and NARS. All of these are lightweight with an ultra fine mist.

• Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Hydrating Waterproof Setting Spray
• Makeup by Mario SurrealSkin Soft Setting Spray
• NARS Light Reflecting Hydrating Makeup Setting Mist

Best Bronzers

My bronzer favorites are still the same as they’ve been for years. I keep hoping for another new formulation to fall in love with, but I keep sticking with these for the tones and formula.

• Armani Luminous Silk Creamy Bronzing Powder – review + swatches here
• Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Crème Contour + Powder Duo – I love She’s Sculpted
• Gucci Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer – I love Shade 3, review + swatches here
• Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi – This is the best all over natural bronze tint for me, I know the Westman Atelier Suntone Drops are also very popular, but I have never really mastered the application, the Drunk Elephant blends a lot easier for me

Contour

I tend to use bronzer as a contour instead of a traditional contour, but three I really like because of the tones

• Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Cream Bronzer Stick – This one has the tones and format for me. Blends well without disappearing once you blend. I love the shade Happy Sol or Always Sunny.
• Westman Atelier Face Trace Cream Contour Stick – I use the middle shade Truffle for contouring.
• LYS No Limits Cream Bronzer + Contour Stick – Another stand out formula I think is highly under-rated, I like the shade Harmony.

Best Blushes

Also split my recommendations between powder and cream/liquid. I usually prefer a powder format for lasting power.

Favorite Powder Formulas

• YSL Make Me Blush – This is my favorite blush formula this year. 44 Nude Lavalliere is the best shade. Review here.
• Dior Rosy Glow Powder Blush – Love the new Dior blushes they launched this year. Review + swatches here.
• Patrick Ta Major Headlines Double Take Crème Powder Blush Duo – Rediscovered these recently and forgot how much I love the tones. I think Not Too Much is the best neutral, She Goes to the Gym is the best mauve, She’s That Girl is the best pink duo (also comes in a mini now).
  • The new Holiday Patrick’s Glow and Gloss Duos are STUNNING! You can See the Ice me Down Set in action here. QUICK TIP – if you see something sold out online, I highly recommend using the Buy Online Pick Up In Store option. It will help you locate items near you in case they are popular and sell out quickly.
• Valentino Eye2Cheek Eyeshadow + Blush – Another stunning win for that beautiful flushed glow. I think Shades 03 and 04 are the best ones.

Favorite Cream or Liquid Formats

• Armani Luminous Silk Cheek Tint – This is still the best formula for a liquid blush. It’s flawless and long lasting. The shine shades are nice too, but the matte formula is better for lasting power. Review + swatches here.
• Hourglass Unreal Liquid Blush wins for the best tones and formula. These are on the dewy side but this year my skin has been exceptionally dry so I’ve been loving them. Review + swatches here.
• Rhode Pocket Blush – I still really love these. Freckle is the best everyday neutral. Swatches + review here.

Highlighter Loves

• Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Highlighter Wand – I still don’t think it gets better than these for that classic liquid highlighter. They’re currently marked down at Sephora as an added bonus! Swatches here.
• Dior Forever Glow Maximizer – I also love these, I think Nude and Pink are the best colors. Swatches here.
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palettes – For a powder highlighter, most of my favorites have now been discontinued, but I’ve been loving the ones in the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palettes this year! Swatches of the 2025 palettes here.

Eyeshadow Palettes

• Natasha Denona wins for the best eyeshadow palettes still. If I could only have two palettes the rest of my life I would be 100% happy with I Need a Warm Eyeshadow Palette (review here) and her I Need a Nude Eyeshadow Palette (review here).
• Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Original – My holy grail matte eyeshadow palette for neutral warm mattes. I feel like this is my most reached for palette this year.
• Patrick Ta Major Dimension Essential Artistry Edit Eyeshadow Palettes – I absolutely LOVE these new ones from Patrick Ta. The mattes are exceptionally good. I wish his brand would reformulate all of the prior palettes to have this exact formula. They’re smooth, easy to blend and pigment is 10/10. I like Medium the best, but also love Deep.

Best Cream Eyeshadow

• Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize – This the best creamy eyeshadow formula. I love the Rose Gold shade.
• Armani Eye Tints – Also a great one and done kind of formula. I think the shade 44S Blush is the best rose gold and 22M Cashew is the best neutral matte tan.
• Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Cream Eyeshadow – I will have a lifelong love for these! I still wish they kept the color Copper, but I love these. Swatches + review of the new formula here.
• Makeup By Mario Master Mattes Long-Wearing Cream Shadow – These really surprised me since I don’t usually like matte cream shadows, but I think this formula is the best I’ve ever tried.
• Merit Solo Shadow Cream Eyeshadow – I really want to check out the shimmer shades! I tried a few of the original mattes and Vachetta is the best matte lid shade for me and still is. Just make sure you close the lids ALL THE WAY or else they will dry out.

Go-To Brow Products

My top four brow products are the:

• Glossier Boy Brow Arch 2-in-1-Longwear Pomade Brow Pencil
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz or the Brow Definer
• Benefit Precisely, My Brow

I recently bought the ABH MicroStroke Detailing Brow Pen and love it. I’m still trying to master the application but after trying several pens and hating them all (some of the colors looked straight up green on me) a friend recommended the ABH one and she was 100% right about the tones and formula.

Mascara Favorites

I feel like I need to expand my mascara rotation this year. I’ve been sticking to three tried and true formulas which I still really love, but I think I need to change things up a bit.

• Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara or the Tubing XL Lengthening formula
• YSL Lash Clash
• Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara (just ordered this Diorshow Volume Mascara and Primer Set with the primer and a different formula)

Favorite Lipsticks

I have so many lipstick loves. It’s hard to narrow down my favorites, but if I had to pick my top 5:

• Dior Rouge Dior On Stage in 120 Iconic Rose is the best neutral pink, review here, see it in action here.
• NARS Afterglow Sensual Shine Hydrating Lipstick – I love how this formula glides on seamlessly, has a hydrating feel and pigment is perfect. I really wish they would launch more shades in this formula. Swatches here and also here.
• Prada Monochrome Soft Matte Lipstick – The best matte lipstick formula I’ve tried! I think the best shade is B101 Tiepolo and P158 Meranti.
• Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix – These are on the thick side, but I love them. They made my favorites list several times and I love the colors and formula. Cream finish swatches here. Shimmer Glitter ones here.

Best Liquid Lipstick

I’m still not really into liquid lipsticks since most are matte and I prefer some kind of shine or gloss, but I do think Dior makes beautiful ones!

• Dior Rouge Dior Forever Liquid Lipstick
• Dior Rouge Dior Sequin Liquid Lip Duo – not all the shades are available at Sephora, but you can see them in action here
• Refy Lip Stick – this isn’t your traditional liquid lipstick, it’s more creamy and satin in finish, swatches here

Favorite Tinted Lip Balms/Oils

This is another favorite category of mine. I’ll link the swatches I’ve posted of each formula.

• YSL Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick (review here and holiday shades here)
• Guerlain Kiss Kiss Bee Glow Lip Oil – This is the best lip oil formula. Swatches + review here.
• Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Plump (but I really love any of the formulas) – Review + swatches here of the Shimmer Shades. More Juicy Plump swatches here.
• NARS Afterglow Lip Tinted Lip Balms – My favorite swipe and go tinted balm.
• Hourglass Phantom Volumizing Glossy Balm – Another favorite for the colors and formula. Swatches here and also here.

Lip Liner

• Tom Ford Runway Lip Liner Pencil – The best long wear pencil that glides on the lips easily. Swatches here.
• Fenty Trace’d Out Longwer Lip Liner – Another great long-wear formula! Swatches here.
• Dior Rouge Contour – Just rediscovered this and they have some really great tones. I like 100 and also 329.

Best Lip Gloss Formulas

The best gloss formulas ranked by how often I wear them:

• Dior Addict Lip Maximizer – The best for formula and colors. Swatches here.
• Fenty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer – A long time favorite, I feel like I’ve tried almost all the colors! Fu$$y and Sweet Mouth are my favorites.
• Pat McGrath LUST Gloss – The best smooth non-sticky gloss.
• Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Gloss – I don’t love all the shades in this formula, but I do like the cream ones like Cherry Vanilla and Velvet.
• Huda Faux Filler Shiny Lip Gloss – Another great smooth gloss formula, swatches here

Favorite Makeup Tools

Quick mention on some tools that I really love that are available at Sephora.

• Hourglass Travel Brush Set – I bought this several years ago during the Sephora Sale and it was 100% worth the splurge. This set includes the full-size options.
• Ilia Brushes – These are SO under-rated, I really hope they make a full line of brushes. I think every one I’ve tried is 10/10 incredible.
• Glossier Lip Pencil Sharpener – Not the most exciting tool, but this is the best sharpener I’ve found. The way they designed the container makes it perfect to carry in your makeup bag or for travel.
• Makeup By Mario Powder Puff – Not all puffs are the same. Many of my favorites seem to have changed texture but the Makeup By Mario one is ultra soft and I love the size and shape.
• Sephora Collection Brush Cleaner – This is the best cleaner to clean creams from your brushes (foundation, concealer, eyeshadow, blush etc.). Since it is spendy I recommend using the Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray first with a brush pad. For those stubborn creams I will then use the Sephora Brush Cleaner and it works wonders to remove cream products.
• Sephora Collection Cotton – Another staple I swear by. I do love the plush cotton from other brands, but this one is my most-repurchased one.

That wraps up my extensive makeup favorites roundup! Stay tuned for the roundup for other categories very soon! Use code EVERYTHING to save when shopping online, these are the details per tier:

• All Sephora Collection 30% off: 10/31 – 11/10
• Rouge members 20% off: 10/31 – 11/10
• VIBs 15% off: 11/4 – 11/10
• Insiders 10% off: 11/4 – 11/10