There are a few products that I recommend grabbing during your “Back to School” shopping. Brushes, current foundation, sturdy lip product, and quality mascara.
Brushes play a key role in your makeup application. Brush sets are always a good deal because it’s a quick buy, cheap purchase, and convenient in your makeup kit. When shopping, be sure to choose a good brush set that will work with the type of makeup you will be doing. A good brush set will include a Foundation brush, blush brush, eyeshadow brush, and eyeliner brush. Foundation brushes are for your entire face and for products such as your liquid or powder foundation. You can also purchase a sponge separately if this should accommodate your foundation needs. Blush brushes are great because not only can you use them for your cheeks, but they are small enough to be used for bronzers and highlighters as well (Double Duty! $$$). “Eyeshadow brushes” is a very vague label; there are so many types! You want something that can place product on your lid, but also be soft and loose enough to blend if needed. Last, a firm angled brush for eyebrows and eyeliners. Just make sure if you’re using these brushes across multiple products, they are free from pigment of your last product application; for instance you don’t want to use black eyeliner with your angled brush then try to shape your brows with a light brown- Big no no! Unless you’re going for the Elvira look… which is totally ok in my book 😉 Here are some cost-friendly beginner brush sets from Ulta and Sephora:
High End Brushes
If you want really good quality brushes that are handmade, you can look at Kevyn Aucoin’s products, Marc Jacobs, and also MAC Cosmetics. I use mostly MAC brushes. These brushes are going to be generally more expensive because they are hand made and last longer. Once you use these brushes you can really notice the difference while applying the makeup and blending, but for a back to school or traveling set, the cheaper brushes may suffice for the beginning.
If you need guidance for which brushes are best for certain products, just message me and I’ll be more than happy to help you out. You can also schedule a lesson appointment with me and I can show you how to use them with your current product you have.

Foundation
Make sure to get a good match of your foundation of your skin now. Do not try and guess what your skin color will be during the winter and buy ahead- wait until it is needed, then match and purchase when the season changes. Don’t forget the product you touch up with throughout the day though; whether it be blotting sheets or powders.
With your lip products you want to have something that carries well in your backpack, so get something with good packaging. I like to get lip conditioners and lipsticks in tightly sealed packaging. I hate using lip conditioners or glosses that require me to use my finger to reapply- yuck! Between classes its quicker to just glide it on, close it up, and put it away cleanly! That’s what those little pockets are for anyways- right next to your pencils 😉
Mascara
You want something that lasts all day that doesn’t smear around lunch time. My favorite right now is Haute & Naughty by MAC Cosmetics. It’s water resistant and there are two options where you can put a lot of product for a chunky heavy lash or minimal product for long separated lashes. Probably the best product for me since I’m indecisive and can stare at 5 choices of mascaras for 5 hours considering the pros and cons of each product. This one has the best of both worlds. 🙂
Hope this helps your shopping! Message or comment with any questions!