It’s Time To Clean Out Your Makeup Drawer
Plus picks from summer’s best beauty sale
Shitters. Before we get into it, I feel it is my duty to alert you to the Dermstore sale. It’s a big one with lots of skincare/beauty at 25% off (code is CHEERS), and I for one am taking advantage! In my cart is this new-to-me toner (will I wake up with Girlwithaslickback’s skin? I can only pray), a restock of my favorite cleansing balm by Furtuna, and a box of the best face masks that money can buy (my version of a revenge dress is my skin the day after I wear one of these).
Other highlights include this $50 eye cream (now $37.50) that works better than so much of the expensive stuff and this one way ticket to a good hair day.
Ok, back to business! People always talk about cleaning out their closets, but when was the last time you cleaned out your makeup drawer??? (If your makeup fits neatly into one tiny bag, this is perhaps not for you…)
For me, this is one area where shit really tends to accumulate. Up until recently, I had at least four lipsticks that were basically the same shade (this would be more acceptable for lip liners, which I actually wear, but I never reach for lipstick in the first place), a number of things that had been in my stash since COVID (if your products are old enough for pre-K, it’s past time to say goodbye), and a few that I had impulse bought online or under the harsh Sephora lighting, but were never quite right at home. If you haven’t in a minute, consider this your push to clean out your drawer!
Obviously clearing the clutter felt good, but I didn’t expect that it would become a fun activity too! What started as a manic cleaning episode turned into rediscovering makeup that I (a person with a minimal everyday routine) didn’t pick up as often. Swatching turned into testing things out, and the next thing you know I was following along with TikTok tutorials and working out how exactly to position concealer vs. blush vs. bronzer once and for all.
It made sense that I had fun with this—I loved to play with makeup as a teenager too. But it was also low stakes. Most of the time, when we’re getting ourselves done up, it’s because we’re heading out to a party or an event. And when was the last time you found yourself in a situation like that with time to spare? If you try something different and it looks crazy, you don’t have time for a do over—the shuttle to the venue leaves the lobby in 15 and you’ve gotta be on it!!!
But playing around with makeup on a Monday night in is different. You can compare the products you’ve picked up over the years (hopefully they’re not too old), experiment with different shades and placements, follow as many tutorials as your heart desires, and wash it all off/restart whenever you want. The time flew by, but after just an hour in front of my mirror, I felt way more equipped for the next wedding on my calendar (and inspired to have a little more fun with my makeup the next time I go out!).
Three Makeup Discoveries I’m Loving:
These aren’t all new products, but they are relatively new to me!
Make Beauty Concealer: IMO, finding a good undereye concealer is one of the hardest parts of building a makeup routine. Shade matching is less straightforward than with foundation, the formulas can be heavy duty/cakey, and it’s so easy to get it wrong while you’re actually doing your makeup. I struggled for years to find one that I liked, but this has quickly become a favorite. The formula is thin, which sounds like it might be a bad thing, but as a person who’d rather look like they have great skin than great makeup, it’s exactly what I wanted. It blends easily, brightens subtly, and still looks like skin while giving you coverage. I love that it pulls double duty for casual days or for an event, plus it has the Hailey Bieber stamp of approval, and you know she doesn’t walk around looking crazy! This one is tougher to find in-person, but I used the tool on their site to find my shade—mine is 10 (medium tan neutral).
Jillian Dempsey Kohl Eyeliner: Apologies to my queen Victoria Beckham, but these beat out her liners in my book (and at $20 a pop, they’re considerably less expensive too). They’re super creamy and easy to apply, last all night without moving around or melting off, and come with a little smudger on the end too. I try to err on the side of caution with products I’m putting near my eyes, but the Credo stamp of approval makes me feel good about this one!
Saie Blush in Hottie: Hear me out before you click on that and freak out about the color. Up until recently, I wasn’t much of a blush girl. And full disclosure, I only found this one because the brand sent me a few of their shades to try—it’s a bright coral/papaya color that I can confidently say I would have never picked up on my own. But when I was playing around with it, I found that I actually loved it on my skin tone?? The formula blends out really nicely into a tanned pinky flush (who would’ve thought?!), and it looks great on top of bronzed summer skin. If you’re curious, give it a shot the next time you’re in a Sephora. It might surprise you!! (Shoutout to
on this one!)
Also In the Rotation Lately:
Mario Soft Sculpt. The TikTok makeup girls weren’t lying—this is bronzer for people who don’t know what to do with bronzer. Use this brush to buff it in a “3” shape across your temple, cheekbone, and jaw. Voila—subtly sculpted (I use shade medium as more of an everyday option). Between that brush and this blush version, I can tackle literally any cream or liquid product, past, present, or future. If I put all my foundations in an Abby Lee Miller-style pyramid, this one would live at the top (mixed with Rhode, ofc). And in the biggest blast from the past, I rediscovered this eyeshadow palette in my drawer. Honestly, I forgot about eyeshadow, but the right shades look SO good—get ready to see me in more of it!!