(photo credit Essiebutton, one of my favorite makeup vloggers)

In my opinion, the only things you actually need as far as makeup goes are blush, lipstick,and concealer. Start there and you’ll be more than fine; you’ve added color to your cheeks and lips and covered up the most obvious problem for most women, which is under-eye shadow. 

Beyond that, here’s a whole host of other things, and it occurred to me today to sit down and actually make a list of the products for different parts of the face that contribute to a full makeup “look”. It’s bewildering for makeup newbies, all the references to what may seem like dozens of products – which do you actually need? What’s the full lineup?

But let me tell you first about my makeup philosophy. First, my top consideration for makeup is how. long it.stays.on. If a woman is going to spend the money and take the time to wear makeup (because believe me, that is a choice), I consider that the least we can expect is that it stay on all or most of the day. I have no patience for beauty products that instantly rub off – I consider lip glosses, for instance, to be a semi-laughable product marketed to us by the beauty industry that knows that millions of women will spend millions on a product that rubs off in a hour flat, and 5 seconds flat if you dare to eat or drink (we are all, after all, beauty automatons who never need sustenance, as the priority of our lives is looking good 24/7). 

Some of these I mentally mocked as completely useless when I first started wearing makeup – that attitude gradually changed over time, usually when I tried the product for the first time. After some thought, I’ve concluded there are 12 to be used to make up a full face. Have at least one of each of these, and you are prepped. 

The 12:

Eye primer

Face primer

Concealer

Brow pencil or powder

Foundation (liquid or mineral)

Blush

Lip liner

Lip primer

Lipstick/Lip balm/Lip gloss

Eyeshadow

Eyeliner

Mascara 

Tagged: basic makeup, basic makeup products, makeup, makeup list, makeup products