The Sephora Holiday Savings Event is back with early access for Rouge Members starting on 11/5. You can shop the Holiday Savings Event with code YAYHOLIDAY online (also available in stores). Code is multi-use and for Rouge Members you can bring in a friend to shop in store and they will also receive 20% off as long as they are a Beauty Insider. Access dates and savings per tier this year are as follows:
- Rouge Members: Save 20% off purchase from 11/5 – 11/15
- VIB Members: Save 15% off purchases from 11/9 – 11/15
- Insider Tier: Save 10% 11/11 – 11/15
Sephora Collection items are 30% off. (Some exclusions and limits apply.) I’ll have a few roundups and reviews throughout the savings event. For today’s roundup I’ve included my Top 3 in every makeup category. (A few categories I couldn’t narrow it down to just 3, but I’ve still kept it edited.) If you’re looking for my recommendations of the best keep reading!
Foundation
Best Matte Foundations
- Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation – the best long-wear matte foundation that looks natural, doesn’t oxidize, smooths out skin and gives me airbrushed looking skin (I wear Buff)
- Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Foundation – another great lightweight semi-matte finish foundation with good coverage, long lasting power (I wear Natural 6.0)
- Lancome Teint Idole 24H Long Wear Foundation – best full coverage true matte finish foundation, long wearing and opaque
Best Glow Foundation
- Armani Luminous Silk – a classic everyday foundation that has a natural glow with medium coverage (I wear Shade 6.5 or 7, review here)
- Laura Mercier Flawless Lumiere – beautiful hydrating formula with a dewy glow and medium coverage (I wear Latte)
- Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation – medium buildable coverage, evens out imperfections, good shade range and various undertone options (does oxidize slightly, I wear 2.5N or 3N)
Best Satin Finish Foundation
- Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Foundation – best classic in between finish, not too dewy or matte, good coverage, good shade range, looks natural and makes skin look healthier (I wear 14 or 15, reviewed here)
- Fenty Eaze Drops Blurring Skin Tint – nice lightweight tint but still offers decent coverage for a natural finish blurring tint (I wear Shade 10)
- Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick – a nice foundation stick, pricey but offers natural medium coverage, blends well and looks nice on the skin (I wear Shade VI, on the face here)
Best Sheer Tints
- Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer – a classic no-fuss dewy sheer tint to add a bit of color and tiny bit of coverage, for the no-makeup-makeup kind of person (I wear 3N1 or 3W1, on the face here)
- YSL Nu Bare Look – my favorite dewy base (I wear Shade 8 or 9)
- Tower28 SunnyDays Tinted Sunscreen Foundation – a nice SPF + tint in one with sheer coverage to even out the skin (I wear 35 Point Dume)
Shop My Favorite Bases
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Concealer + Powders
Concealers
I prefer creamy concealers so they are easier to blend and melt into the skin, favorites + my must-have setting powder:
- Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer – probably my favorite right now, makes me look more alive, brightens under the eye area and covers any red spots well (swatches here)
- Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Concealer – another great super creamy opaque formula, blends well even though it’s on the pigmented side (review + swatches here)
- YSL Touche Eclat Concealer – best brightening concealer to add radiance (I wear Shade 3)
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer – a classic everyone should try, especially for under eyes
- Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Blurring Under-Eye Setting Powder – hands down best setting powder for under eyes/concealer area (swatches here)
Powders
- Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder – best blurring powder ever, I wear Medium
- Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder Loose – best loose setting powder, I like either the Translucent Shade or Honey
- Dior Backstage Face and Body Powder-No-Powder – another excellent blurring powder (I wear 2N)
Shop My Favorites
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Highlighter
There are so many great highlighters, it was a challenge to narrow it down to just three, especially with the holiday launches, but if I had to just pick three:
- Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter is a must have for everyone to give the skin that beautiful lit from within glow (swatches here)
- Westman Atelier Super Loaded Tint in Peau de Peche – the most beautiful unique highlighter I’ve tried with a champagne almost bronzey undertone (review here with Peau de Rose reviewed here)
- Natasha Denona I Need a Nude Glow Highlighter – best option for that glass-like shine and glow (review here)
Blush
For cream blushes, I’ve really enjoyed:
- Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks for an effortless wash of color (also love the Petite Stick Clean Glow Trios)
- Rare Beauty Stay Vunerable Melting Cream Blush for a fun pop of color (review here)
Powder blush favorites:
- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic – best natural glow blushes
- Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Blush Duos – best new blush formula I’ve tried and I love the colors (swatches here)
- Laura Mercier Blush Color Infusion – powder blush I reach for the most (including Ginger, Fresco and Peach)
Favorite Cheek Products
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Face Palettes
My top three new face palettes of the year:
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Palette Universe (review here)
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Universe Unlocked (review here)
- Charlotte Tilbury Super Nudes Nudegasm (swatches here)
Bronzer
- Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Bronzing Drops – these are more subtle on me, but I love mixing this with moisturizer or foundation to give me a healthy glow
- Dior Forever Natural Powder Bronzer – best natural satin/matte bronzer (I like Shade 3 or 5)
- Huda Beauty GloWish Soft Radiance Bronzing Powder – pretty impressed with these for a nice glow (I like Medium for my skin tone)
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Eyeshadows
Another category I couldn’t narrow down to just three, but my Top 5 favorites:
- Pat McGrath Mothership IX Huetopian Dream – best unique mix of colors (review here)
- Makeup by Mario Master Mattes – best matte palette (swatches here)
- Patrick Ta Major Dimension Eyeshadow Palette – best bronze-brown neutral everyday palette (review here)
- Too Faced Born This Way Natural Nudes – another great everyday neutral with a good range of undertones including brown, pink and plums (swatches here)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam – really any of her eyeshadow palettes are great, especially for the texture and pigment
Mascara
- Dior Iconic Overcurl – best to hold the curl and add volume
- Lancome Monsieur Big – best classic mascara (recommend the Double The Trouble Holiday Duo if you’re looking at stocking up)
- NARS Climax Extreme – another great option for me to add volume and drama
Liners/Brow
- Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil – I wear Shade 3 or 3.5
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz – I wear the Shade Caramel or Medium Brown
- Kosas Air Brow Tinted Clean Volumizing Eyebrow Gel – best brow gel I’ve tried this year!
- Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen Liquid – best liquid liner
- Fenty Beauty Flypencil in Space Cookie or Puppy Eyez – love these for the brown/bronze tone + sparkle
- Urban Decay 24/7 – classic glide on eyeliner in a wide range of colors (recommend the Major Upgrade 24/7 Eyeliner Gift Set)
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Lipstick
Matte
- Pat McGrath Matte Trance – best matte lipstick formula of all time, my favorite shade is Divine Rose
- Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution – another great luminous matte, I like her best-selling shade Pillow Talk the most!
- Rouge Dior in 100 Nude Look – another great classic rose pink shade I love
Shine/Creamy
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine – best shine lipstick formula (review here)
- Huda Beauty Power Bullet Cream Glow Hydrating Lipstick – love the creamy feel, soft shine and neutrals!
- Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2 – a great classic creamy lipstick (swatches here)
Tinted Balms
- Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lips – best tinted lip balm buy this year! Definitely get the Bow and Go Set!
- NARS Afterglow Lip Shine – another great swipe and go balm + tint in one, love every single color (swatches here)
- Kosas Wet Lip Oil – love the formula, shine + feel! (Swatches here and new neutrals here)
Lip Liners
- Huda Beauty Lip Contour 2.0 – love the twist up format, creamy opaque coverage, great neutrals! (swatches here)
- Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat – my two most-worn lip pencils are Iconic Nude and Pillow Talk
- Pat McGrath Permagel Ultra Lip Pencil – also love the neutrals in this formula, in particular love Buff, Structure, Contour (swatches here)
Lip Gloss
- Fenty Gloss Bomb and Fenty Gloss Bomb Cream tied – love love love so much, really like this year’s Glossy Posse (on the lips here)! Still adore Fussy and Fenty Glow (worn in this older post here)
- Dior Lip Maximizer – best plumping + shine gloss without the sting
- Pat McGrath LUST Gloss – love all things Pat McGrath (swatches here and here)
- Charlotte Tilbury Collagen Lip Bath – another must-have that always gets me compliments! (swatched here)
My Lip Favorites
That wraps up my best-of list! Stay tuned for another roundup coming tomorrow with a look at some of the best sets! To recap, the Sephora Holiday Savings Event access dates and savings per tier this year are as follows:
- Rouge Members: Save 20% off purchase from 11/5 – 11/15
- VIB Members: Save 15% off purchases from 11/9 – 11/15
- Insider Tier: Save 10% 11/11 – 11/15
What’s on your wishlist?
