I’m not sure when, but at some point during the pandemic I stopped wearing makeup. I pivoted and spent a lot more time and energy (and money) on skincare instead.

When my sister’s wedding was approaching and I knew I’d have to do my own glam, I had no idea what to do or where to go for makeup. I didn’t know brands, and I wasn’t really interested in spending a lot of time on YouTube watching people’s “GRWM” videos.

I asked around, and got a list of ‘must haves’. The nice thing with a lot of these products is that there are travel size options. This was great for me seeing that I’d rarely use any of these products regularly again once the wedding was over.

Everything I bought and an honest review on the products

Step 1: Sunday Riley’s CEO Vitamin C Moisturizer + SuperGoop’s Glow Screen

I picked this serum up a few months ago and I love it. It gives your skin a glow and is so hydrating. I pair it with the SuperGoop Glow Screen which protects my skin from the sun and creates a great base for applying makeup.

Step 2: Tarte’s Tape Shape Concealer

This has a cult following with 37K reviews. I won’t lie, this took many tries to learn how much to apply and how to blend it under my eye. There were several times I put way too much on, and then the next time not nearly enough. It was a learning process, but once I got it I really did learn to love this product. Tarte’s products are always on sale so I was able to get this for just over 20 bucks which is awesome.

Step 3: Urban Decay Primer + Eyeshadow

It’s hilarious to me that 10 years ago when I got married I was using the same products for eyeshadow on my wedding day. I guess that says something about this brand and their products if I’m reaching for them a decade later. This primer is awesome and keeps the eyeshadow in place through sweat and tears. I applied it with these brushes.

Step 4: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze + Brow Powder

Right before we left for Texas for the wedding, I went in to my salon I always go to for hair removal / shaping etc. to have my brows laminated. Unfortunately, I was never told I could not be on a retinol and was unable to have the procedure done. I was super bummed, but my esthetician told me about the brow freeze product. I actually had this at home and ran home to try it and was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked. I paired this with some of brow powder which worked well. I use the color “dark brown”.

Step 5: Beautycounter’s Cheeky Cream Blush

I love this stuff and have been using it for a year. It’s hands down my favorite makeup product I own. It gives your skin a slight glow that I love. Tip: dap a slight amount on the end of your nose for a full sun-kissed look. I use the color “Truffle – Warm Terracotta”.

Step 6: Ilia’s Mascara + Lip Balm

This mascara is the real deal. It does have a bit of a stinky smell when your first apply it. But it works really well and I LOVE the brush. We all ended up putting on fake lashes the day of the wedding, but I used this for all of the other wedding festivities and loved it. The lip balm is the perfect amount of color without feeling like you’re wearing actual lipstick (which I hate wearing). And it never got on my teeth! The color I used was called “hold me”.

Step 7: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

This product is everywhere! It gives your face a matte finished look. I really liked it, however I think I had the wrong brush. My brush wasn’t soft enough, and my chin (which is very dry right now due to the season) would start to flake because my brush essentially irritated my skin and dried it out. It was very weird. The rest of my face looked great though, lol. I recommend this powder, just get a nice brush that is soft since it’s applying makeup over your entire face. Also, this one can come in a travel size which is awesome!