Shazia’s Makeup Must-Haves

Dear Diary,

After years of purchasing makeup, and splurging hundreds of dollars on it, I have managed to narrow down my absolute favourite makeup products that I can’t find elsewhere. These are products that I believe EVERYONE should have, whether they are beginners or experts, this stuff is a part of all of my makeup looks! They range from drugstore to high end products, but I can assure you each penny spent on them is sooo worth it.

Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette 

 

This is my first ever contour palette and I couldn’t be happier with the quality. They are all powder, and pigmented, so a little goes a long way! What I love most about the palette are the colours- they compliment the south Asian skin tone really nicely, giving that natural cheekbone look.

I’ve hit pan with one of the contour shades and I’ve been using this for over a year now! I usually use the middle brown colour for my contour and a light stroke of the darker shade of brown on the right to give it more definition- both I use light handed and it pigments really nicely.

For highlight I use the shade on the top left and centre near my eye bags, cheekbones, nose, forehead etc. Again with a light hand especially in my T-zone as I’m super oily there and I don’t want it to cake up. All the colours are matte which I LOVE cause it gives a balance look when I add a shimmer highlight.

This can be purchased from Sephora for $55. A bit pricey, but definitely worth the investment!

BH Cosmetics 120 Eye Shadow Palette Second Edition 

The BH cosmetics eyeshadow palette is to die for! There are 120 different colours- some matte, some shimmer and all of them are insanely pigmented! Especially if you use an eyeshadow primer or a base under the eyeshadows, the colour pops out really nicely.

I’ve noticed that some high end eye shadow palettes have fall out, especially for their shimmers. But this palette has barely any fall out at all, I’ve often left the house without having to clean up under my eyes because I didn’t spot anything- one extra step taken out! I’ve had this palette for over 3 years now and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

Contrary to many other low end/drug store brand BH cosmetics is definitely worth the hype. It can be purchased from their website for only $16 USD! There are third party websites that sell BH cosmetics products as well so you can check there.

My MakeupBrushSet 

The biggest dilemma everyone has is finding the right brushes and wallet friendly brushes! I had the same dilemma for years as well, until I stumbled upon mymakeupbrushset. I was a bit skeptical at first cause it sounded too good to be true, 24 brushes for $30? But after having read the reviews I decided to place an order. Once they came in I was shocked and happy to see how amazing the quality of the brushes were! I’ve had them for a little over a year now, I wash them every week, and do spot cleaning and not a single brissle is out of place!

Anyone who is looking for cheap and quality brushes definitely check out mymakeupbrushset they sell individual brushes as well as sets, and if you purchase a set, they give you a brush belt with it! The most convenient thing when you are restricted on space.

L.A. Girl Concealers 

Okay, so where do I begin with these concealers?! They are AMAZING! And they are a dupe for the Mac Prolong Wear concealers for a fraction of the cost! After watching several makeup artists use this for conceal, contour and highlight I decided to give it a try, and I am so happy I did. I don’t think I’ll ever be going back to Mac again!

For concealing I use the shade: Pure Beige

For Highlight I use: Creamy Beige

For Contour: I have Beautiful Bronze, but I don’t know if I like it on my skin for contour (too dark) so I will be scouting for a lighter shade!

Orange concealer: If you are South Asian, you most likely have some form of dark circles, its a part of our genetics. Some people have them darker than others, including me. While I was ordering the concealers I decided to give the orange one a try as well (I was previously using NYX cream concealer) and again, I am so happy I did. I loved the results this corrector gave me over the NYX one, full coverage and even toned!

You can purchase the concealers from their website, however my Canadian readers I know the shipping prices are insane, so I found a Canadian website that also sells LA girl concealers and they have a shop in downtown Toronto.

Sephora Solid Brush Cleaner 

I am super picky about cleaning my brushes, I want them to look new after every wash, and this brush cleaner does just that!

I’ve tried other cleaners, and even tried the home method of soaping and scrubbing them, but nothing gave me results like this one.

It comes with a soap bar and a little scrub cleaner. This goes a really long way I purchased this last year from Sephora and have been using it every week to clean a whole lot of brushes and its doing me well! It can be purchased from Sephora for under $20!

I will keep updating the list, because of course I will keep on purchasing makeup and testing it all out, and I want to give you guys the best in my opinion.

Leave your comments below on what you think are the best makeup products you’ve ever tried!

Until next time,

Xoxo

Shazia Arif