2004

I second the suggestion for Maybelline BB cream. It’s so good and looks so natural and skin-like. Also, the most natural looking blush I’ve ever found is Elf putty blush. It blends in so seamlessly! I’m very muted, so it’s easy for blush to look clownish on me. The Elf one is like “I’m not wearing blush, I’m just blushing.” It’s amazing. Also I find CoverGirl Lash Blast mascaras (I like the original, but they’re all good IMO) to look very subtle and “my lashes but better.” It makes me look like I’m not wearing makeup, I just have really good lashes.

I have this problem too and I just dust a light bronzer under my eyes. I know we’re not “supposed” to add any shadows underneath our eyes according to conventional makeup advice, but it helps me look more like an alive person so that’s what I do. It helps!

Oh, it’s good to know they stack up against the higher-end ones too! Glad you’re having a good experience with them! I think they’re great.

Came here to say Elf! They’re great for beginners. Seeing all the positive comments about Real Techniques makes me want to try them now that I’ve gotten more comfortable using my Elf brushes, but if you’re just starting out and want to learn how to use brushes without spending a ton of money, Elf is a great choice. They also wash and dry really easily, which I think is really important. (TBH I’m not sure if there are any makeup brushes that don’t wash and dry easily, but it is something I like lol.)

Mario Badescu, because a while back they were caught putting unlabelled steroids in their skin care products. I believe it was the South Korean FDA that busted them. It absolutely destroyed (literally atrophied) people’s skin. The company said they would stop doing it, but I’ll never trust them again.

My 13yo cousin loves the Burt’s Bees balms. Also, I hear Trader Joe’s has some exciting new lip products out now so if you have one near you, that could be a fun (and affordable) option! I plan on getting it for my cousin. Also, Bath and Body Works has some fun lip products too! My cousin also really loves the Laneige lip masks. I personally think they cost too much money for what they are, but fwiw, she does really like them.

I stopped consuming that stuff when everyone started using all the filters. Like I can’t see what your makeup looks like under all that blur, and what ends up happening is that the person will look the exact same in every video. One particularly bad offender (who still produces content today) ostensibly swatches all these foundations and other products, and ends up looking exactly the same in every video because of all the filters. It bores me.