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About Those Products in My Acrylic Organizer (Also Known As My Box of Everyday Makeup Basics)

by 19 Comments




OK, here we go. The makeup basics I keep in my acrylic organizer.

I know it seems like a lot, but I like to change things up all the time, so there’s a lot of variety. I like having options, depending on what I’m doing any given day, and also whether I’ll be taking pics.

Sometimes, I’ll add products to the organizer that I’m currently testing, but there are products in there that always stay the same, like MAC Face & Body, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Strobe Cream and the Shu Uemura Lash Curler.

Those are basically permanent members of Team Karen. 🙂

Brows

Lashes

Concealers/Eye Products

Bronzers and Facepowders

Foundations

Primers

That’s it! The contents of my acrylic organizer of makeup basics.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I switch my basics bag out seasonally or before vacations so it’s not nearly so extensive.

    Right now
    MAC face and body in N3
    MAC Select Coverup in NW 25
    Maybeline Fit Me Stick foundation
    Benefit That Gal primer
    Bobbi Brown Corrector and matching concealer kit
    Benefit Sunbeam
    MAC Strobe Cream
    Laura Mercier pressed powder

    MAC Full of Joy Blush
    Clinque Plum Pop blush
    Benefit Coralista Blush
    Benefit Dallas Blush
    Tarte Blushing Bride Cheek Stain
    MAC Perfect Topping MSF
    MAC Breath of Plum sheertone blush

    L’oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara
    Benefit They’re Real Mascara
    UD 24/7 liners in Black Velvet, Underground, and Flipside
    Maybeline Color Tattoos in some taupey shimmer and barely beige
    MAC Painterly
    UD Naked 3 palette
    Bobbi Brown Nude quad
    MAC Kelly Quad

    Stila Kitten Lip Glaze
    MAC Hot Tahiti, Up the Amp, Crosswires, Sweet Succulence, All Fired Up
    UD Rapture lipstick
    Bobbi Brown Valentine creamy matte lipstick
    Clinique Black Honey almost lipstick
    Lipstick Queen Perfect Wave hot pink sheer lipstick
    Some cheap clear lipgloss
    Covergirl lipstain marker in a rosey pink
    There’s a UD lipgloss too, one of the new ones.

    UD Optical Blurring Good Kharma brush
    MAC 217
    MAC 239
    MAC 219
    MAC 187
    ELF blush brush
    Ipsy blending eye brush (similar to a 224)
    Shishedo lash curler

    Ok maybe that’s more than i thought.

    Reply

  7. hey Karen, I love this post and we have many favourites in common. Just a question, do you mix the Stromboli Shee Glow with something? I am also NC40-40, but Becca Radiant Skin in Bamboo is much too dark for me (I mix two parts Olive with one part Bamboo) and Stromboli is too light for me in summer; I either mix 2 parts Stromboli with one part Syracuse or with Tinted Moisturiser in Cuba. Just wondering! I have such trouble matching my skintone but at least Nars gets the undertone right.

    Also, do you really enjoy that Becca duo bronzer/contour thingey? It seems to get mixed reviews on Sephora.com. When I saw it online I immediately wanted it, but when I read the reviews they totally put me off.

    Reply

  8. We stick to a lot of the same basics (NARS TM, a Becca foundation, NARS foundation, HG powders,) and I keep primers, powders, etc in my desk top too. But when it comes to color, I just can’t commit! For example, all week I wore light pink lipstick but every day was a different one. So fickle!

    Are you loving Becca Shadow & Light?
    Alison M recently posted … A Sonia Kashuk Down to Earth Face of the Day

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  11. Hi Karen, please please please at some point can you review the Mac Pro Longwear SPF20 Compact Foundation? How do you like it?

    Reply

  12. Hey there, Karen!!! I knew we had a ton in common. Haha. I see some things on list that I’ll be looking in to on my hunt for HG.

    My go tos…

    Face – Nars sheer glow and sheer matte foundations, HG immaculate foundation, Stila illuminating BB, bare minerals original foundations in fairly light and light, bare minerals concealer in well rested, maybelline dream Lumi in ivory and radiance,

    Powders/bronzers/highlighting – Anastasia contouring palette, MAC Aphrodite’s Shell, nars Paloma contouring palette, nars translusent crystal both loose and pressed, HG ambient lighting palette, MAC mineralized skin finish in light plus, nars illuminator in 413 blkr and Copacabana, MAC MSF in Lightscapade, HG mood lighting, benefit watts up, stila pink shimmer, Nars Albatross, and the little highlighting powder that comes in the Lorac mint edition palette from sephora.

    Primers and bases – HG mineral veil primer, nars radience primer, Nars pro-primer smudge proof eye primer, Laura mercier oil free foundation primer, rimmel soft kohl in white, Fyrinnae pixy epoxy, maybelline color tattoo in dramatic black.

    Color – I reach for Too Faced chocolate bar palette the most for nudes, I adore my Madd Style Cosmetic pigments. She has so many different options. They are all so beautiful. Urban decay electric palette. I just can’t pick, I love my milani blushes just as much as I love my Nars but my MAC Sharon and Kelly blushes as well as my baby Nars deep throat and the tiny peach blush from the lorac mint edition palette, heck, I love the Lorac mint edition palette!!!!!!, are in my top five.

    Mascara/liner/etc. – milani liquid eye pencil in black, lorac pro liquid liner in black, Smashbox full exposure mascara, rimmel scandleyes retro glam mascara, l’oreal infallible gel liners, Anastasia clear brow gel and pencil in medium brown, I need a lighter color because I bought these in a brows to go set.

    Phew. I think I’ll stop there. Haha.

    Thanks for doing this Karen!!!! For someone like me that also has an oily T-zone but normal/combo for the rest of her face this is super duper helpful.

    Reply

  13. So interesting! I love that you laid all this out and made the post 🙂 It’s awesome to see what’s in my fav bloggers’ ‘everyday essentials’ stashes!

    My own is much les impressive, LOL. It’s basically:

    YSL BB Cream/Powder foundation/Touche Eclat in 01
    Bloom Tangerine Lipstick
    Whatever mascara I have on the go (usually a sample).
    Lancome Tres Chocolate matte eyeshadow for eyebrows
    UD Naked 2 Palette.

    If we include tools, then it extends to the breathtaking total of:
    Chanel curlers
    My fingers.

    😀
    Sylirael recently posted … Operation Desert Rogue Part 3: A Peek at Some Duty Free and Travel Exclusive Makeup

    Reply

  14. There is a lot of overlap with what I have in mine mostly because we share the same skin tone!
    Mine isnt that elaborate though and I keep changing it every week! here is what I have right now on the table.
    Foundatons : Alter between Maestro, MAc face and body and Guerlain Lumiere
    Setting/Finishing Powder: Ambient Palette, NArs loose powder, Guerlain meteorites
    Blushes & bronzer/hghlighter: Right now Osbournes blushes, Seduced at sea, and Chanel Intonation, Guerlain terracotta bronzer #5, Cindy Lou-manizer, Armani Liquid highlighter
    Eyes: NARS smudgeproof,UD Primer potion, MAc Groundwork, NAked 3 palette, MAc custom palette
    Lips: Dodgy girl, MAc magenta lip liner, MAC lip erase, Jack black and MAc lip conditioners(but I do have all the lippies in acrylic 60 cases on the desk, so its going be a tough one)
    Vineetha recently posted … MAC Kelly Osbourne Cheeky Bugger Blush Review, Swatches

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  15. I loved seeing this! It’s so cool how you link back to reviews you posted years ago and a lot of those products are still your go-to’s. You put serious work into writing those posts and just because they were written awhile ago doesn’t make them obsolete- it’s nice to have a reason to go peruse some products that have stood the test of time! Usually all my attention (and dollas) go to what’s brand-spanking-new, but there is a world of products that are little legends I never knew existed! I had never heard of that MAC Grapefruit & Chamomile Oil, for instance. These secret peeks into Karen’s acrylic organizer are fun! I hope you do more of this!

    Reply

  16. Holy moley that’s a lot of foundations! My EZ-grab stash has like, a tube of bb cream, a couple eye palettes, and about 479 lipsticks. After seeing your stash I’ve decided that I must have unconsciously developed the strategy of having mediocre skin but distracting everyone with my ridiculously bright lipstick.

    Reply

  17. This was a great post to read! Makes me think about my go-to products that I absolutely love! I would like to document something like this as well 🙂

    Reply

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