College Makeup Essentials

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When it comes to college, whether or not you live in a dorm, space and money are precious assets that should be used wisely. So, when starting a new semester, you really don’t want to blow all your money on new makeup or bring your entire collection to school. Here are a couple essential items that you should invest in and should definitely find their way into your suitcase/makeup bag.

1. A basic, versatile eye shadow palette
     - Aim for something that has light, medium and darker shadows that you could use every day. I like the Coastal Scents Revealed Palettes, the NYX Natural palette and the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palettes. L'Oreal and NYX have some really good palettes for a cheaper price.

2. Face Primer & Eye Primer
     - If you are like me and on the go from the moment you wake up until you get home, you want something to help your makeup stay on all day.
     - ELF and Milani have incredible eye primers that are comparable to Urban Decay and Too Faced.
     - For face primers I would recommend L’Oreal or Maybelline.

3. Reliable concealer.
     - This is an absolute must! Especially when you are in college and stress and lack of sleep become everyday things.
     - I like the Maybelline Fit Me or Instant Age Rewind as well as the NYX concealers.

4. Mascara.
     - Well um, of course. Mascara helps open up your eyes and make you look just that much more awake. The drugstore has some amazing mascara’s and this is one item I really don’t think you need to spend a lot of money on.
     - My favorites are Maybelline’s Pillow Plush and Cover Girl’s Outlast (an oldie but a goodie!)

5. Foundation and/or tinted moisturizer.
     - This one is based on personal preference, skin type, how much coverage you want. Personally, I like to have both on hand so I can have a choice of what I want on my face that day, plus, tinted moisturizers or BB creams make decent primers/bases.
     - When it comes to foundation I have come to like the Maybelline Fit Me (can tell I like this line?), Revlon Color Stay (awesome because it has a formula for normal to oily or normal to dry), or Cover Girl 3 in 1. On the high end side, I love Cover FX, Kat Von D and Smashbox HD.
     - BB’s/CC’s/Tinted Moisturizers have boomed lately. Maybelline, Physician’s Formula, L’Oreal are all amazing, and high end brands like Cover FX, Laura Mercier and Stila all have amazing ones.

6. Nude Eyeliner.
     - This is a life hack I use on a daily basis. Replace the black eyeliner on your waterline with a nude pencil and it will instantly make you look more awake and alert! Especially amazing for when you have to be at work early in the morning or have a 7 or 8am class!
     - Rimmel has the best nude eyeliner I have ever used, and it is waterproof!

7. Everyday blush
     - For this you want to try and find something non-shimmery. You want to aim for something that is just going to give you a nice healthy glow.

8. Bronzer.
     - Aim for something that is matte. I prefer matte bronzers because you can contour with them, or just use it to add some warmth to your face.
     - Absolute best two bronzers I can recommend are NYC’s Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny (THIS THING IS ONLY $2 AND AMAZING!) and Benefit’s Hoolah. If you haven’t heard about these two I think you may have been living under a rock! Another good one I would recommend from the drugstore is the Rimmel Natural Bronze bronzer in Sun Bronze. (That’s a lot of bronze…)

9. Powder.
     - Even if you don’t use powder all over your face, you should definitely use it to set your concealer, particularly under your eyes, otherwise it can just slip and slide off. This really helps hold your makeup in place.
     - For me, powder is powder, especially if you are going translucent powder. But the ones I like the most that I have tried are Maybelline Fit Me powder or L'Oreal TruMatch and Physician’s Formula have good powders

10. Lip Stuff!
     - I say “stuff” because I feel like this category can change like the wind. I would definitely recommend having one or two lip products that you love and are your “go-to”.
     - For me, my “Go-To” lip products are the Revlon Velvet Rose, Maybelline Color Sensational in Summer Sunset and Peachy Scene, and Wet N’ Wild Bare it All. (My daily lip liner is Maybelline Lip Pencil in 25 Toast).

Additional: I love the Elf Mist and Set for setting my makeup and it is only $3!

Hope this helped :)
<3 Kimmie