Last month, I did a fun #TBT to my favorite makeup from back in my high school days. A lot of my readers and friends enjoyed it, so I wanted to continue to do one for my college makeup! You’ll notice ALL of these items are still around today, easily accessible (hey, I didn’t graduate college THAT long ago) and definitely show the early signs of a more expensive makeup habit.
Keep reading to find out why I loved what I used back in the day and if I would still use these products now…
Let’s start with the face, because there’s one item in particular I miss dearly and had to add to my makeup wish list again! I clearly remember ordering BareMinerals online after watching it on some infomercial and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. I remember unboxing the package, watching some tutorial that came on a CD, and swirl-tap-buffing my way to better skin. It definitely lasted better than the cream/liquid foundation of my high school days – especially since I held a job throughout college, balanced a full course load and was in a sorority. I needed something that would keep my oily skin at bay but stay on all night, too. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to BareMinerals anymore though; it’s too drying on my combo skin and there’s better mineral foundations available now.
No college makeup would be complete without extra help in the under eye circle area and for that (or a bad breakout), I relied on the L’Oreal True Match Super Blendable concealer. This is still a great concealer from the drugstore and I frequently recommend it to friends who want a light/medium coverage every day concealer.
The gem of the face products lies in Cargo’s Echo Beach blush/bronzer combo. This gave the BEST tanned glowy look! The best way to describe this shade is ‘I-just-spent-a-day-in-Miami-sun.’ It gave a suntanned rosy hue with the perfect amount of shimmer to look healthy. Cargo used to be sold at Sephora, but I think it’s now only online (Ulta, Nordstrom) or at Kohl’s. I neeeeed this in my collection again.
Taking a peek at the eyes, I haven’t strayed far from my neutral bronze shimmer looks, have I? I discovered these two Lorac shades during a weekend trip to Sephora with my old roommate/sorority sister. We had a routine where we’d go out Friday night, sleep in, get Big Macs the next day and spend the afternoon at the mall playing with makeup we couldn’t afford at Sephora. Good times. Anyway, she was getting a mini-makeover and the artist used the Lorac Croc palette. They don’t sell this version of the croc palette anymore (except on eBay), but it was one of the first Lorac palettes I remember. I didn’t buy the whole palette, but I did pick up Garnet (reddish-brown shimmer; now only available in the Lorac Pro palette) and Serenity (peachy champagne shimmer; no longer available). I still have Garnet, but have long-finished the entire pan of Serenity. It was a more buttery version of MAC’s All That Glitters.
Eyeshadow primer was also a part of that day’s Sephora makeover. TooFaced Shadow Insurance was newly released and the first of its kind to Sephora. Combining the amazing texture of Lorac’s shadows with an eye primer = life changing. I loved using Serenity with some Revlon Colorstay black liner on my top and bottom lashes for every day and used Garnet in the crease for nights out.
For lips, I was fiercely loyal to NARS Orgasm lip gloss. A very pretty peachy pink with golden shimmer, Orgasm is still a top lip gloss for many. I would definitely buy this again, but I have a feeling MAC makes something very similar for about half the price in their Nymphette lip glass. See a crazy good comparison c/o The Beauty Look Book here.
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What were some of your go-to items for your college makeup look? Any you still adore? Did you buy-in to the mineral foundation craze or did you save your pennies for something more practical – like buying a bunch of $7 ‘going-out’ tops from Joyce Leslie and Wet Seal that lasted one night before they fell apart? 🙂
Let me know in the comments!
Happy Throwback Thursday,
-Steffanie
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