Ladies (or men if it's your thing)- what are your favourite makeup brands, what products do you like best in their line and why?

Lancome for Mascara. I used to love their Intensils for thickening, but they have discountinued it, and nothing has measures up. Still, first coat with Definicils and then use a theckening mascara over top.

Chanel and Christian Dior have very pigmented eyeshadows, which I like. I want me eyeshadow to look on my eye as it does in the pot. Lancome and MAC are good also.

Lip gloss – I love MAC, Bobby Brown, and Chanel.

Foundation – Chanel is supreme for massive coverage.

Lancome Dual Finish for finishing powder.

Lip liners are good almost any brand.

Blush— I like Lancome. I used to like Chanel, but they seemed to have changed the formula and it is too pigmented now.

Lipstick – I would love to know what people like. Smashbox and MAC are ok. I actually have a lot of Lancome, but am not thrilled with the taste. Lauder is either too creamy or too dry, depending on which formula you buy.

Crabtree and Evelyn makes excellent cologne for men.

(edit: though cologne isn’t really makeup. But it’s as close as most men get to that realm.)

I like clinique a lot, its what i use for lip gloss, foundation, powder, and concealer. I use Covergirl Lashblast for my mascara. I’m not a huge makeup freak but I have no problems with Clinique though. been using it for years

I like MAC’s foundation and primers.
Powder from Clinique. They have other good products as well.
I get my false lashes from Sally’s
My black pencil is by Black Radiance. I like the richness of the color and the fact that it stays on throughout a hard workout
My “bronzer” is by Black Opal. It’s a mosaic pressed powder, and just the right shade.
The liquid liner is by some well-known, commercial brand (don’t remember). It’s a felt tip, which is great.
Lip glosses vary.

Yay for makeup! Keeps me presentable lol

@JLeslie I’ve also heard of many people speaking highly of Lancome’s mascaras!
I love love love, Chanel & CD’s eye-shadows also!
Want to know a little trick to get your eye-shadows to look like they do in the pot? Buy a white eye-liner/soft kohl pencil but makes sure it’s good quality and smudges easily. If you get one that you doesn’t apply to the skin easily then it’s too hard. Apply the pencil to your eyelid (roughly) and then get a makeup brush (whatever you have will do) and blend the pencil/kohl into your lid so it is smooth and even. Then apply your eye-shadow on top as you normally would! Voila! It works in two ways- a) Because the pencil is soft and a bit sticky/tacky the shadow will stick to your eyelid better and go on more smoothly and evenly than if it was applied straight to your lid or even a powdered lid. b) You are putting a vibrant colour on a neutral base which therefore illuminates this colour of your shadow. If you think about it- the colour is going to stand out a lot more on a white base than a flesh toned base! You can do the same for smokey eyes but use a dark colour pencil- same rules apply!

@aphilotus- I’ve heard that but have never smelt them before. I also love fragrances so will def. check theirs out!

@bright_eyes00 – Clinique make amazing lip glosses that actually LOOK glossey!

@Facade- I have never tried MAC products before but have heard great things and definately want to try their stuff out! I have also found that “Make Up For Ever Paris” have great waterproof eye-liners in pencil form. The most beautiful colours and THEY ACTUALLY STAY!! Nothing worse than having smudgey eye-liner all over the shop!

Thanks for your input so far everyone!!

@aphilotus dammit, its sold out.

I like Dove soap and Palmers Cocoa Butter Moisturizer.

@Courtybean MAC is great. It covers imperfections very well.

Also MAC has an incredible spectrum of colors.

I really like Maybelline Great Lash mascara—the retro pink and green tube. It works really well and is very inexpensive.

I recently opted into the Mark rep program, and for signing up, they sent me one of their Flip-For-Its that I like because it isn’t too pigment rich (I don’t look like a tramp—I’m super pale). I also like how compact it is.

I have yet to try their skin cremes and sunblock, but they’ve gotten excellent reviews and are on my wishlist.

Oh, and, for soap, I love Villainess, but for perfumes, there are too many I love. However, BPAL is one I always come back to.

Well I do not buy department store makeup. Unfortunately I grew up buying makeup from Walmart, Target, Fred Meyer Etc.. But I do have my favorite brands within that sphere.

I hate covergirl. Everytime I have used it I have got skin issues from it.

What I do enjoy is the newer “Naturals” brand (can’t remember quite specifically what it is called) and Loreal. I can always find something worth buying in their sections and have never had skin issues from either.

I rarely spend a lot of money on makeup. I do have Bare Minerals powder foundation that I use. My favorite lip color is a gloss from Bath and Bodyworks. Mascara and blush are just Cover Girl. Eyeshadow is Avon and I’ve had it for, if you believe it, like, 12 years. I know! Nobody scold me! I use it probably once a year and I haven’t gotten any diseases yet, so move on, nothing more to see here. A necessary hair smoother is Venetian blends Crystal D’oro shine serum from Sally’s. I get one bottle and it’ll last me a year (I only need it in the summer usually).

Bare Minerals, that’s what I meant but “naturals” up there ^^

@Facade & @JLeslie – I’ve always loved MAC’s range of colours! So vibrant!!

@evegrimm – I’m also very fair so I know how you feel! Also- I’ve always meant to try the Maybelline Great Lash mascara. A gf of mine wears it and her lashes always look fantastic!

@RedPowerLady- I think it’s a myth that only “department store” makeup products are worthy! I have found some of the most fantas shadows, shimmers, glosses etc. that have all been ridiculously cheap! Honestly, you would never know if it was $2 for the pot of shadow or $100! As long as it looks good on then no one will ever know! Do they sell ID Bare Escentuals at places like target?

I’m actually from Australia and have been to the US many times so I know what everyone is talking about. Plus I would kill to work in Sephora for a day!! You don’t know how lucky you all are! We don’t have anything like Sephora here- just department stores or individual brand makeup stores. Plus we get charged an arm and a leg for the products.

Last time I was in NYC I was trying to explain to one of the sales girls in Sephora that a Lancom Juicy Tube which to you guys is about $20USD (correct me if I’m wrong, it was about 3 or 4yrs ago now) sells in Australia in our stores for the equivalent for approx $80–90USD sometimes. No joke. Plus, we have 6 colours to choose from- you have 60!!

I spent $2000 last time i was over there! Every time I stepped into a Sephora store I almost cried with joy! lol- sad I know!! Our Bare Escentuals are sold in department stores over here. Plus it’s very rare to find them and the products are the equivilent of $90USD for a large pot of powder. Even though it’s expensive it’s a fabulous brand and it’s what I used during the day.

Does anyone want to swap lives with me?

I have the bare minerals which I only use occassionally. I’m not a big “foundation” person, only when I feel like putting in the extra time. They always feel heavy to me, and the color is never perfect. I really want to try an aerosol foundation, or that airbrush thing at Sephora. I do always have 2 shades of MAC pressed powder in my bag for when I look shiny. My bronzer and blushes are MAC as well.
Most of my eyeshadows/ liners are MAC also, but I also have some NARS and Urban Decay. I’m really into color so I probably have a good 40 shades of shadow and maybe 15 liners.
I have a hard time finding good mascara. The world went nuts for Dior Show, it made my lashes clumpy. I kind of like Clinique. I’m open to any suggestions….
Lip gloss or sometimes actual lipstick is usually MAC but I have a few Sephora brand I like. I love the cheap Soft Lips or Burts Bees.

@Courtybean Thanx. I agree that it isn’t necessary as well. One does have to be aware of the skin issues cheaper makeups can cause. But that is true in all makeups I would assume. There is Bare Essentials or Bare Minerals (i forget what it is called) here but I don’t know about ID Bare Escentuals, lol. Are they different? The Bare Essentials is sold in Target and such which is nice.

Now I don’t know what Sephora is. Is that horrible???

@RedPowerLady Sephora is a store originally from France and came to the states around 10 years ago. It carries department store brands (Clinique, Lancome, etc.) but self service. Not the full lines, but the fastest selling SKU’s. They also have their own line of make-up. Here is the link http://www.sephora.com/

@JLeslie Cool, im checking the link to see if they have one near me.

Aha, they don’t. Must be why I never been there.

I love Clinique’s liquid illuminator. I can often get by with just having that on. Best kept secret IMO.

I’ve seen every brand listed except the one I use: Guerlain.

Mostly, I use their brush concealer; I know many women use YSL simply because they’re brand loyal since YSL came out with the first of the liquid concealer tubes, but Guerlain’s colours are not as harsh against the skin…

I LOVE their mascara, and you can either choose the shorter brush or the larger brush—just ask the retailer, which would be more suitable for your needs.

I’m also a big fan of the Guerlain’s blemish cream. It’s basically a tinted concealer—works for any skin tone that has light acne ‘medication’ to do away with the blemishes.

I use NARS and MAC for eye-shadow because of the variety of colours and their lasting effects!

My make up routine is pretty minimal, I’m a more natural type, but..gotta have my Loreal light enhancing foundation, assorted lip pencils and glosses and my only real expensive product is the Bare Minerals powders.

I rarely wear mascara, only in the evenings for special occasions.

I am naturally golden blonde, ( a few highlights of course ) medium fair complexion and find I look best with less. lol

I do splurge on 30% bleaching solution for my pearly whites and have custom dental trays.

I also love the Hollister line of lip glosses and body sprays and am a pedicure addict. :-)