Three Makeup Items I Can't Live Without

Lately I find that I absolutely won't do my makeup without the following three things. I hate to use the word "obsessed" because, seriously, if you watch beauty bloggers on YouTube, you would swear that they get paid based on how many times they use that word. Let's just say that when I use these things, I am convinced that my makeup looks a thousand times better and that my face just looks "finished."

First - primers. Face primer and eye shadow primer are absolute musts for me. They make everything go on more smoothly and more pigmented and everything just lasts longer. I can't believe that I ever did my makeup without them. Honestly, they don't have to cost a fortune either. I use and love Too Faced's Shadow Insurance, but I also use and love Milani Eyeshadow Primer. Honestly, in terms of performance I can't tell the difference. As far as face primers go, I am in love with Mally's Perfect Prep Poreless Primer, but it's not something I'll repurchase - too expensive. Rimmel's primer does a great job at a fraction of the price.

Second - Too Faced's Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer. Honestly, six months ago, contouring my face is not something I would have remotely thought about doing. Now I pretty much do it every day. It takes two minutes. It adds such warmth to my face (pale people know that it is way too easy for your skin just to look completely dead. Yes, you can put on blush, but then you look dead with colored cheeks. It's not a good look) and, yes, it slims it a bit. I have an oval face. I can't even say round. It's not. It's actually a rectangle (keeping it real, people, keeping it real). Whatever it is, a few well placed brush strokes of an amazing bronzer brings my face to life while reshaping it just enough that it makes me very happy when I see myself in a mirror. Again, though, pale people know that finding the right bronzer can be almost impossible. Everyone else's holy grail bronzer is likely about ten times too dark. Milk Chocolate Soleil is so light that it works on the lightest skin (I'm NC15). It is impossible to overdo it (at least, I think you would have to work overtime and intentionally to overdo it). And then, of course, it does smell like chocolate...

Third - Mally's Evercolor Poreless Face Defender. Yes, this one is expensive. I honestly can't see ever running out, though. Do you remember Junior High when between every single class you would whip out your Cover Girl compact and powder your face? 13 year-old skin may be able to handle that kind of over-powdering, but 39 year-old skin can't. However, if you have done your makeup at 6:30 in the morning and it's 4:30 in the afternoon and your skin is a little shiny and things are starting to slip a little, what are you going to do? Piling on the powder is not going to help. Mally's silicony-wonder thing (my own term, ahem) will, though. One little press of the massively over-sized sponge into the clear, hard product and a few pats on the face will completely revive your makeup. It takes away shine, freshens foundation, and perks up blush. I don't know how and I seriously don't care. All I know is that I absolutely love it. When you read rave reviews, you're usually pretty skeptical, but in this case, those rave reviews are right. The people who write the negative reviews are just flat-out using this product wrong. I'm convinced of it. You only need a tiny, tiny bit, and you pat - you don't rub (why you would rub anything on a completed face of makeup mystifies me).

So - three things I use almost every day (some days I don't need the Face Defender because I don't need my makeup to "reset" or last as long). I will repurchase Milk Chocolate Soleil as long as I need to. Too Faced usually has some great deals on its website, but you can always wait for great holiday sets or for the annual Friends and Family Sale. I have a lot of bronzers (and highlighters - now they are a genuine obsession), but this is the one that I use every day because it does exactly what I need it to do and it is 100% foolproof. If I ever run out of the Face Defender, I will absolutely repurchase it (again, there is always QVC and Mally often has sales on her site, too).

Do you have any products you can't live without? The hoarder in me wants to know!