The first makeup product I ever used was a tube of L’Oreal Lash Paradise my mom got in a two pack from Costco. On my first day of eighth grade, she handed one to me like passing a baton. Like transferring a legacy of feeling naked without the mask of thick, spider lashes to the next generation.
I globbed it on enthusiastically in two distinct coats, while my twin sister did three beside me and discovered how to use it to do a smudgy liner. As we entered high school, coats of mascara became rituals that began at 5 a.m. for her, fully goth now and always sporting a neon color of liquid lipstick, and 5:30 a.m. for me, where I slowly added more steps to my routine. A little concealer, a little tinted Burt’s Bees chapstick.
Now, a decade later, I’ve rounded out my routine with many more steps, adding more and more every year, each one becoming a necessity to self-presentation. An armour built by my own hand and countless creams, powders, gels that cost too much. Parts of animals and bugs I try to avoid and chemicals I can’t pronounce.
Yet, I keep trying more products, and sometimes, I find products that I love. This hot, heat-wave-laden July, I find I like to focus most on a light-weight base and long-lasting lips and brows. Here are my top six makeup favorites lately that help me achieve that:
Rare Beauty Liquid Contour
Shade: Gentle
This summer, I’ve been loving using concealer in the center of my face and a mixture of cream and liquid products to blend it into my cheeks. This liquid contour blends seamlessly, doesn’t dry too quickly, and is the perfect shade for my pale, freckled skin. I like it for a top of the cheekbone base to mix my bronzer into and a below the chin contour that spreads thin enough to avoid a dark shadow.
Georgio Armani Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer
Shade 11
This product is subtle, adding a glow, bronze, and blush that catches in the light, but honestly, might easily be missed if it were used on its own. I like to use it to bridge my liquid contour and dewy powder blush. Without foundation, it helps the full base look more cohesive, less patchy, and more radiant.
Rare Beauty Powder Blush
Shade: Happy
I have gone through three of these powder blushes already. When the Rare Beauty liquid blush went viral, I immediately bought it, but I found this powder blush easier to apply and the shimmer in the pink is the best mix of color and glitter I’ve come across since a mysterious Wet & Wild blush I got in high school, lost, and never found again.
Many of my makeup products are warm, but I find the cool tone complements the typical brown shadows I use. It also lasts a long time and wears well for a powder product, especially when placed over my liquid contour and fluid sheer glow enhancer base. These three products are my holy trinity of cheeks.
Huda Beauty Lip Contour Stain
Shade: Cinnamon
I love this lip contour stain for a long lasting lip combo, and the shade is a perfect balance of red, brown, and pink when blended with different products as toppers. I learned quickly that you have to store it upside down to get any product out, and sometimes, it dries out before you’re quite done shaping and filling. This flaw is worth its staying power and the shade.
e.l.f. Hydrating Lip Core Shine
Shade: Lovely
Currently, this is one of my favorite toppers to mix with the lip contour stain, as it brings a lovely summer coral back into the center of the lips. This product also wears very lightly and brings back enough moisture without being overly sticky or gloopy. I love the Clinique Black Honey dupe, Ecstatic, they make as well.
NYX The Brow Glue
As someone who has moved away from their eyebrow shaper (my mom) not once but twice, I have a hard time keeping up with my natural brow shape, and for too long, I have lived with brow hairs that fall downwards. I used this brow gel once when I was visiting my sister, and I have used it every day since. It has the strongest hold, and I like that the clear tint blends but doesn’t smudge my brow pencil onto the skin around the brows.
July 30, 2026
Autumn Rose Bellan 