The Ride Or Die Makeup Tag

A few months ago Jaclyn Hill started the Ride of Die Makeup Tag  (In case you haven't seen it, I'm attaching her original video to this post). I saw it, got super excited, decided I had to do it immediately... and then promptly forgot about it. Well, I recently saw Kathleen Lights doing this tag, and I was reminded that I wanted to do the tag. So, today I'm going to do the Ride or Die Makeup Tag...before I forget about it again. My tag is basically Jaclyn's tag, but I added and removed a couple of categories to more accurately reflect the sort of makeup I use on a day to day basis.

Note: some of the pictures in this blog are my own photos and some are photos from Sephora/Ulta/the manufacturer. I'm using the manufacturer photos because (a) I don't have all of these products in my collection at this exact moment or (b) I've used some these products so much that they're not "pretty" enough for photographs.

Primer - I had a lot of trouble picking a ride or die primer because I hardly ever repurchase primers. Usually, I just use primer samples or whatever is on sale. However, if I could only use one primer for the rest of my life, I would probably pick 'That Gal' Brightening Face Primer by Benefit. This is a great primer, it makes your skin look so glow-y and healthy, and it really makes your makeup apply very evenly and beautifully. Plus, in my opinion, it smells like strawberries. I'm not sure if it's supposed to smell like strawberries, but it does to me.

Foundation - I basically decided to combine foundation, face powder, and under eye setting powder into one category because I usually wear powder foundation. Thus, it doesn't really make sense to have separate categories for all these things. Hands down, my favorite powder foundation is the Celebration Foundation Illumination by It Cosmetics. It just makes my skin look otherworldly. (In a good way, not an alien way). It gives you a subtle, healthy glow, and it makes your skin just look absolutely perfect and natural. It has enough coverage to hide all your imperfections, but it isn't so heavy that it makes your skin look powdery or cakey. Instead, it just looks like you have perfect -- but natural -- flawless skin. Plus, I really appreciate that it's illuminating (it makes me look a little less vampiric, which is something you have to worry about when you're as pale as I am).

Concealer - I haven't been using it very long, but the Shape Tape Concealer by Tarte might be the best concealer currently in existence. I'm not even exaggerating. This is an amazing concealer. It's so full coverage, it blends so beautifully, it makes your skin look amazingly airbrushed and perfect. Am I using the word amazing too much? Maybe, but it's only because this concealer is AMAZING with a capital A.

Blush - I had a really difficult time choosing a ride or die blush because (a) I own a ton of blushes and (b) different blushes -- obviously -- go with different makeup looks. However, I chose the Melon Pop Cheek Pop blush by Clinique because it is my most used blush. Seriously, I need to repurchase this blush because all that's left is a little crust of blush around the edge of the packaging. For me, it's the perfect blush for any look because it's half way between coral and pink; it's sort of coral and sort of pink (if that makes sense). It's so universal it goes with almost any makeup look. This blush always looks gorgeous; I always pull it out when I'm not sure which blush to wear. 

Highlight - Without question, my ride or die highlight is the Solstice Highlighting Palette by Sleek. I don't want to harp on how perfect this palette is because I wrote an entire blog post about how wonderful it is a few days ago. Suffice it to say that this palette is as good as it gets. It will make you glow and shine like the sun. Enough said. 

Mascara - I struggled a bit to pick a Ride or Die mascara. I hardly ever repurchase mascaras because I have a ton of mascara samples that I'm slowly working my way through. However, if I had to repurchase a mascara, it would Perversion by Urban Decay. Perversion is the best of both worlds. Although the brush is nothing special, it's a great formula and it provides both volume and length. The formula is also super light weight and it also seems to be darker than other mascaras. 

Lipstick - I decided eliminate the category of liquid lipstick because I'm not really the biggest fan of liquid lipsticks in general. Instead, I'm just going to list two regular lipsticks: Captive by MAC and Secret Agent by Lorac. Secret Agent is like my perfect brown; it has just the perfect amount of pinky rose. Captive by MAC is a gorgeous deep fuchsia that's so pink it's almost red (well, it looks red on me). If I could only wear two lipsticks for the rest of my life, it would be those two lipsticks. Between the two of them, they go with everything and complete any makeup look.

Gloss - I'm not really a lip gloss person, but, if I wear lip gloss it's the Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss by BareMinerals in the shade Maverick (I've worn other shades, but Maverick is my favorite). This lip gloss has a wonderful formula. It's not sticky, it has just the right amount of pigment, and it smells like mint ice cream. Yum!

Eyeshadow Palette - I didn't even have to think about my ride or die eyeshadow palette. It's the Too Faced Chocolate Bar. Period. The end. No questions asked. I simply adore this palette. It's perfect. I can just open this palette and create a stunning eye look without even really thinking about it. I really think that Too Faced has almost a perfect formula for matte shadows; they're so creamy and easy to blend. Plus, they have almost no fallout. Not to mention that the Chocolate Bar packaging is adorable, and the shadows themselves smell like chocolate. I literally can't imagine anything better. In particular, my favorite shadows from this palette are Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Champagne Truffle, and Cherry Cordial.

Single Eye Shadow - This wasn't one of Jaclyn Hill's original categories, but I decided to add it because I use a lot of single shadows. Without a doubt, my ride or die single eye shadow is Fireball by Urban Decay. It's a reddish shadow with a pink flash and it's just so unique and so, so pretty. I use it in so many different eye looks, and I feel like my vanity would be incomplete if I didn't have it in my makeup collection.

 

Setting Spray - I don't always wear setting spray, but when I do, I prefer the All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray by Urban Decay. In general, I feel that my makeup usually lasts pretty well without a setting spray. However, if I wear the All Nighter spray, my makeup becomes bullet proof. Seriously, if this spray stops a bullet, I would not be surprised (I don't advise testing that though). 

Perfume - This category was a bit tough for me. When I first thought of my Ride or Die fragrance, I immediately thought of Miss Dior Eau de Parfum (by Dior, obviously). According to Dior "The beauty of Miss Dior stems from the harmonious blend of citrus, floral and woody notes, with chypre base notes." I have no idea what chypre is, but apparently it smells amazing. This is a really feminine, floral, and slightly musky scent. However, right after I thought of Miss Dior, I thought "but wait, I love CH by Carolina Herrera." However, I think I'm going to say that Miss Dior is my ride or die because I find that I use it a lot more often.

Eye Primer - This was another category that Jaclyn didn't have in her original tag. However, I'm very particular about my eye primers, so I decided to include it. My ride or die eye primer is the MAC paint pot, no questions asked. In particular, my favorite shades are Painterly and Soft Ochre. My eyeshadows lasts forever with the paint pot; it's like it glue the shadow to my lids. I have a friend who used to complain about how quickly her eyeshadow wore off. Most eyeshadow primers didn't do anything for her; then, she used the paint pot. Boom. Problem solved. Now her eyeshadow lasts all day. I hardly ever use any other eye primer.

Eye Liner - Eye liner is another category I'm adding to the tag. Honestly, I'm sort of surprised that Jaclyn didn't include it in her original tag because I think eyeliner is so important; it can really make or break a look. A few weeks ago, I wrote an entire blog post about my favorite eyeliner. My ride or die liner used to be the ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner by Rimmel London. The ScandalEyes liner is still a great liner, but I think my new ride or die liner is the Round The Clock Intense Cream-Glide Eyeliner by BareMinerals. It's so creamy, so long lasting, and so pigmented. I can't imagine what else you would want in an eyeliner. 

Nail Polish - Nail polish wasn't a category in Jaclyn Hill's original tag, but I'm a nail polish junkie, so I'm including it. Without question, my ride or die nail polish is Virgin Snow by Essie. Virgin Snow is a pale violet -- almost periwinkle -- shade with a touch of light blue. This is the only nail polish that I have back ups of. It has a fantastic formula, and it can be worn in any season. As soon as I put it on my nails, I want to take it off so that I can put it back on again. That's how much I love it. This shade originally came form the Essie Winter 2015 collection; however, you can still get it on Amazon and on websites like http://www.thebeautyclutch.com/ (which is a great place to pick up polishes from old Essie and OPI collections).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my tag. I tag everyone who reads this blog. Go.