by The best makeup bags the Red beauty team has seen aren’t overstuffed with product. Quite the opposite, actually; they are minimalistic. Thoughtful. Carefully placed. Each product was chosen for its ability to look expertly drawn together.
We’ve taken a leaf out of our favorite makeup artist books and put together the ultimate list of beauty products for a capsule makeup bag. Here, the purchases we recommend to your family, friends, and now you. Starting to look more polished now…
The primer
The right primer will help any base you put on top go the distance, enabling it to look fresher for longer. The skin type you need in a primer is mostly what you need, so think about this before choosing the one you have.
If you have dry skin that eats up foundation, try a hydrating foundation, like this one from Bobbi Brown; It floods skin with moisture and plumps up any parched areas. Oily skin will benefit from Elf Power Grip, which, yes, is sticky, but it means foundation stays on all day. Try the NARS version if you don’t like stickiness; It has a soft matte finish and blurs large pores. If your skin looks a little dull, choose a radiance-boosting primer; Clinique’s is beautifully light-reflective and boosts glow in a very natural way.
Read more about your favorite primers here.
The foundation
No makeup look is as good as your foundation. There is a full spectrum of coverage to discover; we will start at the lightest. Tinted moisturisers, serums and foundations, like our picks from NARS and Anastasia Beverly Hills, provide just a whisper of coverage; just enough to cover mild redness and even skin tone. If you want to look fresh and natural, this is just the ticket.
Medium coverage foundations, such as Shiseido’s, will create a canvas that is sheer enough to hide most blemishes, but allows the freckles to show through. At the end of the spectrum – on the fuller cover side – it can be hard to find a tire that doesn’t look flat. Although Sisley’s is expensive, it does a good job of knocking out any loud colors, concealing brows and providing a perfect overall canvas. It’s great when you want to wear bold lipstick, and don’t want any other face color competing with it.
Read more about our favorite foundations here.
The concealer
Get it right, and you can skip the basics entirely. Any of these concealers do light work to hide blemishes, but also to make the face brighter, fresher and fairer. As a general rule, concealer for the undereye area should be one shade lighter than your skin tone, and concealer for skin blemishes should be the right tone.
Read more about our favorite concealers here.
The blusher
A good blusher is your way to healthier skin. Adding one over any type of foundation you wear will always make skin look smaller, more dimensional, and more like your own. Use your fingers to apply cream: rub the product on the tips of your fingers and apply directly from fingers to cheeks. Using your fingers – and a light touch – will not disturb the foundation below. A good powder blusher can be applied to the top of the cheekbones with a fluffy tapered brush.
Read more about our favorite blushers here.
The bronzer
Bad bronzer memories? You wouldn’t be the only one. Not many moons ago the shade ranges were narrow and bleak, often just generic terracotta. These days, there are cream and powder options that cater to all skin tones and types. Using it on the cheeks and temples is the fastest way we know to add warmth to skin that looks flat.
Read more about our favorite bronzers here.
The eyeliner
Eyeliner? Capsule makeup product? When they’re as amazing as the ones in our edit, yes. The kohl offering from Lisa Eldridge and Victoria Beckham is sublime; buttery soft, deliciously smudgy, stay buried when dry down. We like to trace along the upper waterline for subtle definition.
When it comes to creating a wing, liquid eyeliner takes the crown. Makeup The Mario pen style has a firmer tip, so it’s great for unsteady hands, but Elf offers a tiny, flexible brush to get a super sharp point.
The mascara
A dessert island product of most women, a good mascara is a surefire way to make you look more awake. Try Glossier’s Lash Slick for makeup-free days, Lisa Eldridge or NARS for volume and length, and Maybelline for curl and lift. All options are pitch black and non-clumping.
Read more about your favorite mascara here.
The brow product
The scaffolding on the face, it pays dividends to pay some attention to your brows. It doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to overdraw them or do anything drastic to make a difference.
For thin brows that need filling in, brow gel or a micro-fine pencil are good options. Milk Makeup has a tube formula, and when combed through the brow, the hairs look thicker and fuller. To mimic the appearance of individual hairs, the UKBrow pencil has such a fine nib; use upward strokes in any area where there are gaps and watch the magic happen. Try wax and powder à la Chanel for subtle definition, and seal the deal with Anastasia Beverly Hills wax, which makes hairs sit upright all day.
Read more about your favorite brow products here.
Lip color
No look is complete without one. Matte textures have come a long way, and Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution range is a great example, in all its comfortable, soft glory. Look to Rare Beauty for full-bodied color; its soufflé texture is light as a feather and not budge.
For a classic satin option, Hourglass is always a safe bet for its estimated shade ranges and sublime texture. Anyone with an Instagram account would have seen the beauty of Dior’s cult lip oils too – they add so much shine, without stickiness.
Read more about your favorite lipsticks here.
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