Hello! If you’re a returning reader, then thanks for coming back!
If you’re new, then welcome! My name is Stefanie, I’m a 23-year-old writer and aspiring journalist from Canada. This is my second blog post and I’m very excited to share it. If you’d like to learn more about me, then click here for my introductory post.
Makeup is one of the topics I will explore a lot in my blogs. I also plan to cover mental health, fitness, lifestyle, and anything else that I find worth discussing.
Today I’m going to share my favourite high end makeup products. I organized them by when you put each product on your face, so my favourites aren’t in any particular order. I also provided links to each item which you can access by clicking on the hyperlink in the name (I used Sephora Canada only, my apologies if this is inconvenient for you).
I've been wearing makeup since elementary school but got really passionate about it during university. I'm very frugal and loooove my drugstore products but I've also been a VIB at Sephora for the past three years (I usually renew my status in December but this year I hit renewal in September and I immediately felt shamed by my bank account).
For reference, I have a light-medium skin with a neutral undertone. My skin is extremely dry all year round, so the products that I buy are catered towards dry skin and have mostly worked for me.
Disclaimer: I obviously have not tried every single item on the market for each category. This is just a list of things I have tried in the last five-ish years that I either still use or that have left a lasting impact on me. Everyone’s skin is different so what worked for me may not work for you, but everything I list is definitely worth a try!
This post is meant to appeal to people in the beauty community and I’m assuming most of these high end cult favorites are familiar to you. In that case, my review will just be a reiteration of what beauty gurus have already raved about. I’d love to hear about any products you hadn’t heard of and were persuaded by my review to purchase!
Enjoy and happy shopping ☺
a. Primer (liquid)
Smashbox Primer Water ($18-$36):
I’m going to start off completely honest and say that I rarely use a primer. But if I don’t use a primer then I definitely use a setting spray. I feel like most girls also do this? Using both when I’m just going to work or school is such a waste of product to me because I don’t care for my makeup to last long on days like that.
Anyways, when I DO wear primer, and I need it to count I always always always reach for my Smashbox Primer Water. I was introduced to this by a friend last year and I’m still on the same bottle! (That literally goes to show how often I use primer). At first I was like “……so it’s water,” but then I tried it on my dry af skin and I fell in love. It adds the perfect amount of moisture to make my foundation go on flawlessly and stay on longer. I trust this primer water with my life. And no, it’s not just water. It’s amazing. If you have normal to dry skin, this is a must have product.
b. Primer (cream)
Benefit POREfessional ($16-$64):
I can’t even tell you the last time I used a cream face primer because primer water changed my life. I have a weird relationship with the POREfessional. I first bought it a few Christmas’ ago when I had Sephora gift cards. I used it a few times then never touched it again. Over a year later I found it lying in my makeup drawer and took it to Sephora hoping to get store credit for it. Since I had it for so long they said I couldn’t return it. So I did the next best thing….I used it. And I liked it. I didn’t find it did anything special but it was good from what I remember. Would I repurchase? No. Would I use it if I was gifted it? Yes. It does the job and it’s a beauty community favourite so it’s worth a try. This is probably better suited for people with oily skin and/or large pores, but it still worked for my dry skin.
c. Eyeshadow Primer
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion ($16-$28):
This is the only high end eyeshadow primer I’ve tried so it’s the only one I have an official review on. I have very oily eyelids which is surprising considering the rest of my face is dry, so I need a good eyeshadow primer to prep my lids. I don’t know if I got a bad tube or something but I hated it…. I’M SORRY. The formula was too watery and didn’t blend out well, I ended up losing half of the product on the sponge I used to blend it in. It did make my shadows last longer when I used it but the application was too frustrating. I bought it in April and rarely use it and it’s already almost finished. Since this is so popular in the beauty community, I’d say it’s still worth trying and forming your own opinion about. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with me, or if you think I really did get a bad batch!
d. Liquid Eyeliner
This is probably one of the products that I have the MOST experience with. I’ve gone through countless tubes of liquid eyeliner. Side note: I rarely use pencil eyeliner so I don’t have a firm opinion on those products.
I used to swear by this eyeliner back in university. I probably went through five or six tubes because I loved it so much. I also used to get a lot of compliments on it (mostly that it’s a super matte and bold black). To be honest, I haven’t received compliments on my eyeliner since I stopped using it. I don’t use it anymore for two reasons: 1. it is NOT at all waterproof (aka any time I teared up or fully cried, it just smeared around my eyes or down my face), and 2. the price was a little steep, which is why I switched to drugstore liner. It’s not technically a “high end” brand. The other high end liquid liners I tried, which I will not name here, were absolute garbage so this takes the cake for me. The application was pretty easy too, so I'd say it's a good starter liquid liner.
e. Eyebrow Mascara
Okay. I just bought this in August and I FELL IN LOVE on the first use. LOVE IT. I love it more than I’ll ever love any man. This is the first product I’ve ever found that fills in my brows and ACTUALLY acts as a filler. Does that make sense? Normally eyebrow mascaras just basically add a touch of colour and keep each hair in place. But this amazing product actually adds fullness in the base AND length to the tip. I actually stopped using brow powder because when I use this, it completes my entire eyebrow. It’s like magic, I don’t know how they do it. I had to wait weeks for this to come back into stock and it was completely worth the wait. I will definitely repurchase this and honestly twenty bucks is pretty cheap, as long as it lasts me a while. I got the colour Grind, which is dark brown and still works with my very blonde balayage hair. Buy this. Now.
f. Eyebrow Powder
I bought this product as part of a binge shop at Sephora a few Christmas’ ago. I still have it in my drawer but I stopped using it because I realized it was old af and I got grossed out. But in its prime, this stuff was amazing. I even bought the matching brow brush (#12) and I still use that with the drugstore powder that I’m currently using. I never tried the brow pomade because I think that’s way too strong of a look for my face but I chose the powder and I do not regret it. I bought dark brown which was surprisingly too light for me, but I still kept it and made it work. With the right shade this is worth every cent.
g. Eyeshadow Palette
I bought this palette in April 2017 during the Sephora semi-annual sale and the girl who cashed me out said, “you’re so late to this,” to which I awkwardly smiled and laughed. I used it once immediately fell in love and I’ve managed to do some bomb eye looks with it. My only quibble (as so many other people have said) is that it’s super powdery and makes a huge mess if you’re not careful. I know that ABH has come out with a few more palettes after this one, but I have no interest in purchasing them because this one has everything I need. To be fair, I’m not huge into eyeshadow and only wear it when I go out so this palette should last me years. I never considered using reds, pinks, and oranges on my very dark brown eyes, but they really worked for me. And orange on blue or green eyes would look amazing as well. Two thumbs up from me.
h. Foundation
As of right now, as we are floating on this giant rock in space on the 7thday of November in the year 2018, this is my all time favourite foundation. I fully expect that to change once I try more foundations, especially high end ones. However, it’s the best one that I’ve found so far. My only issue is that the shade range kind of sucks. I originally bought Light Beige because the description (light with neutral undertones) matched the shade I normally buy. But once I tried it on, I found it was totally off and way too dark. I actually had to go two shades down and I ended up with the shade Nude, which according to the description has pink undertones. It was my closest match when I tried it in store. I do not have pink undertones. I still think it’s off but it’s the best I’ve found. So yeah, if you can find your perfect shade in this foundation AND you like a matte, lightweight foundation, then I definitely recommend getting this one. The matte finish works for even my dry skin and never accentuates any dry patches. It would be great to control oily skin as well. Pair this with a good primer (primer water) and setting spray (will mention in a bit) and you’re golden for hours and hours. It smells nice too.
i. Concealer
Back when I had no bills to pay and money to spend, I used to wear this concealer daily. I went through two or three tubes and bowed down to it. I haven’t used it in years for two reasons: 1. I was going through it too quickly and wanted to switch to a cheaper drugstore concealer, 2. I noticed that it wasn’t full coverage enough for the black holes that are my under eye bags. If I still had the energy to colour correct my under eye bags with orange concealer, I would definitely try this concealer again. But alas, that too I stopped doing because it was just adding extra layers to my skin and time to my makeup routine that wasn’t really worth it. My colour is light neutral and as far as I can remember, it was a great colour match. I actually used to wear this before I even set my under eyes with powder! And it never creased. I doubt that will be the case today because my under eye wrinkles have gotten progressively worse with age. But this is a very good concealer and it was my holy grail at one point. I recommend this as a high end concealer to try. As long as you pair this with a moisturizing under eye cream, this could work for any skin type.
j. Setting Powder
This stuff is a favourite in the beauty community for a reason. It’s darn good. I bought the mini size because I was desperate for something to control my under eye concealer from creasing (around the same time I stopped using the urban decay concealer and switched to drugstore). The small container lasted me months but when it was time to repurchase it, I decided against it and once again went to a drugstore version. (Yes there is a dupe which I will reveal in my next drugstore favourites post). One of the last times I used this powder was in the summertime. I had very tanned skin and I went to a party and took some pictures. I looked back at the pictures the next day and noticed I had the worst flashback! I think it was because my skin was darker than usual so there was a big contrast difference. I stopped using it for the rest of the summer, but it was good in its prime. Laura Mercier recently (I think) came out with a medium/deep version of this powder which is great for darker skinned people. I know this isn’t supposed to have flashback but that was my experience. It was a little bit drying for my skin, but I prefer a matte under eye look anyway. Otherwise I really did love it. What’s your experience with this product?
k. Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara ($15-$31):
There is a reason this mascara is the #1 on Sephora’s best selling mascaras page. I’ve gone through a couple of tubes of this and I always take advantage of a free sample or a rewards sized tube. I haven’t used it in a few years, but I did try the drugstore dupe that was recently released (you must know exactly what I’m talking about so I won’t name it) and it was pretty darn comparable. This mascara is still worth trying. It can make your lashes clumpy if you’re not careful but I kind of like that look. It’s more focused on volume than length too. 10/10 recommend.
l. Bronzer
Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Bronzer ($20-$38):
I have a confession to make. I have no idea how to put on bronzer. I’ve tried everything. Regardless of how I apply it, it looks patchy and unblended and doesn’t give me the bronzed beauty look, I just look like a child who got into her mom’s makeup drawer. For that reason, I rarely wear bronzer. The only high end bronzer I’ve tried is the Hoola one and I did like it when I was using it. I stopped using it only because I realized it was years old, and I happened to get a drugstore one for Christmas. The Hoola is worth buying because it is a light pigment and if I happen to mess it up (aka every time), it’s easy to buff out and fix. I got the mini size and never hit pan so it lasts a long time. The only downside is that the box is a square so you can’t swirl your brush in a circular motion but I still managed. The formula would work for any skin type and I recommend trying it.
m. Highlighter
When I die I want to be buried with the Becca Champagne Pop highlighter. That is a formal request. This stuff is good. This is another holy grail product for a reason. It’s just so good. So buttery, so smooth, so subtle but still noticeable, and so easy to use. I could probably dust my whole face with this highlighter and still look like a beautiful glowing goddess. I recently hit pan on this product and I’m sad but I know I still have months to go until it’s completely gone. And guess what? When it’s finished, I’m for sure going to repurchase it. The first shade I tried was Opal, which I got in mini size but I found it was too dark for my skin. I actually had an old coworker ask me if my face was bruised because of the way it reflected on my skin. After that, I steered away from using it. (Also because I dropped it on the floor and it shattered and when I did the old rubbing alcohol trick, it totally changed the consistency of the powder). This is worth every cent, regardless of which size you go for. I want to try the Rose Quartz shade next. That is, if my Champagne Pop ever finishes because it has lasted for almost two years now. Amazing.
n. Setting Spray
All hail the All Nighter. I’m on my third bottle and I will never stop loving this. Of course I am frugal so I always buy the mini size and make it last as long as possible because I use it sparingly and only on nights out (which are rare when you’re an introvert like me). This makes any look last for at least twelve hours. I’ve never done the makeup cry test with this, but there are reviews that say this can last through anything. And I believe them. It’s so good. The price is a little high and I feel like every spritz costs like a dollar but it’s worth it for those occasions when you need your makeup to last. This is excellent on my dry skin, but I think it may be too shiny for those with oily skin. Anyone with oily skin have experience with this product? It's still worth a try and I'm hoping Santa will buy me the full size version of this for Christmas.
I have another large confession to make. I don’t wear lipstick. Like, ever. But I have a good reason. I was blessed with white people lips which basically means I have no lips. When I wear lipstick, I look like a clown. If I wear a dark shade of red, it makes my lips look even smaller because dark colours are slimming. If I wear a matte pink, I look washed out. I cannot win with lipstick. But the Buxom lip gloss is what I always reach for if I feel like my makeup look needs that finishing touch. It may come as no surprise that it’s a plumping lipstick as well. I have the shade White Russian and it is probably flattering for any skin tone. Does it plump? Barely. But it’s pretty and shiny and creates the "illusion" that your lips are fuller, so it’s one of my favourites. I recommend trying it, just don’t expect to look like you just walked out of a lip plumping session.
If you’re a hardcore makeup guru, you will have probably noticed that there is one makeup product that is completely missing from this list: blush. That is because when I do wear it, I look like a blushing rag doll. So I do not use it. In lieu of my opinion on blush, I decided to share two other high end products that I recommend.
Shiseido Eyelash Curler ($24):
I bought this earlier this year and wow. For years and years, I used a crappy drugstore eyelash curler that I always managed to clip my eyelid with. I just accepted the fact that eyelash curlers are supposed to hurt. Then I bought the Shiseido one. And realized I was wrong. Eyelash curlers are NOT supposed to hurt! I actually curl my lashes often now because it’s so easy and quick and makes a world of a difference to the length of my lashes. It’s a really good price considering it will last you years. This is the #1 best seller in eyelash curlers from Sephora for a reason. If you’re in the market, I recommend that you try this one. It’s also a good stocking stuffer too!
Viktor&Rolk BONBON Perfume ($95-$195):
I wanted to share this perfume because it smells really good. That is all. I recently finished the bottle (wah) but it lasted me a year and a half! The smell is very very sweet, so if that’s not your cup of tea then I wouldn’t recommend this. It literally does smell like a bag of candy. It never made me feel nauseous, but of course like most perfumes after a few hours the smell almost completely disappeared. I got a lot of compliments when I wore this perfume and I do plan on repurchasing this one day when I’m in the mood for something sweet again. I’d definitely ask for a sample of this before you purchase it, because it’s not for everyone. But this is a good perfume and worth a sniff.
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If you’ve made it this far then thanks for reading this very long post! I hope you enjoyed and agreed with some of the top makeup products I mentioned.
If you’ve made it this far then thanks for reading this very long post! I hope you enjoyed and agreed with some of the top makeup products I mentioned.
I’d love to hear your experience with high end make up products. Are there items I mentioned that I loved and you personally hated? Any products you have questions about? Recommendations you have that you think others would like? Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation about high-end beauty products.
In my next blog, I am going to do the same concept but focus on my drugstore beauty faves!
Stay tuned for my next post!
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