I’m a Beauty Editor Who Tried 68 Makeup Products Last Month, but These Are the 4 I Can’t Stop Using

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Including a highlighter from a Jennifer Garner-used brand.

I am not a hoarder, but I do have a hard time convincing anyone who sees my apartment or office desk of that. Both are always just littered with beauty products, but it’s part of my job as a beauty writer — and I really do try to test as many products as possible. (I even keep a spreadsheet to track my impressions of the things I test.) While I give many products a positive rating, the best are the ones I continue to reuse and reach for, despite how many other options I have at my disposal. In June, I tried 68 makeup products, but there are four I’ve been using repeatedly since.

• Urban Decay Hydromanic Liquid Blush, $22: amazon.com and ulta.com

• Mac Squirt Pumping Gloss Stick, $24; nordstrom.com and ulta.com

• Westman Atelier Liquid Super Loaded Illuminator, $58; credobeauty.com and westmanatelier.com

• Kosas Wet Stick Lip Shine, $24; kosas.com

Urban Decay Hydromanic Liquid Blush

$22

Buy on Amazon

$22

Buy Now

I will level with you: I have not thought about Urban Decay that often since the first few years of my makeup journey, when the brand’s popular Naked eyeshadow palettes were taking over the makeup world. However, I was recently sent its new Hydromaniac Liquid Blush, and it’s all I’ve been using for the last month or so.

The blush is like painting with watercolor. What I mean is, it’s so thin and easy to spread and blend — perfect even for beginners. I truly cannot imagine messing this up, which is very hard to say about blush. (One small misstep and you can wind up looking like Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?)

The color disperses so naturally over my cheeks and makes them look plump and full. Plus,  it’s almost stain-like, so it lasts through the sweat of summer. I’ve been using the shades Rebellious, a brown-ish red, and Wrecked, a mauve pink.

Mac Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick

$24

Buy on Nordstrom

$24

Buy Now

When’s the last time you liked a makeup product so much you needed it in every shade and iteration you can get your hands on? It’s a rare phenomenon, but it happened to me with Mac’s Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick. I own the green, clear, red, and green — and begrudgingly gave my sister the pink when she pointed out that I couldn’t possibly need five of the same product.

Despite how weird the color may seem (see: green), each of these provide a super sheer and natural tint that has a slight tingling sensation. My lips quickly look fuller and more hydrated after application; it’s a lip gloss and balm, without being too much of either.

Plus, the packaging is adorable and I swear it’s the ‘It’ product amongst beauty editors this summer. Every product launch, brand dinner, or party I go to, I see other beauty editors whip this out of their purses, too.

Westman Atelier Liquid Super Loaded Illuminator

$58

Buy Now

$58

Buy on westman-atelier.com

Westman Atelier is all hits, no skips. The Liquid Super Loaded Illuminator is the brand’s new version of its beloved powder tinted highlighter, and it is divine. I am famously snobby when it comes to highlighters, but the Jennifer Garner-used brand did something almost impossible: It created a dewy (but not oily) highlighter with a natural (yet noticeable), light-catching sheen — sans glitter.

I tilt the bottle and dispense the tiniest amount possible out of the dropper, then I blend it on my cheekbones, cupid’s bow, and tip of my nose.

Kosas Wet Stick Lip Shine

$24

Buy Now

There are so many products to try all the time that I almost put off Kosas’ new Wet Stick Lip Shine. Thank god I didn’t — it’s become my go-to lipstick of the summer. It feels light and nourishing like applying a balm, but with a thinner consistency and good pigment. It’s just a really easy and light product that is perfect for applying throughout the day without a mirror.

I’ve been particularly taken with the Tropical Bliss, Island High, and Sunset Simmer shades. They look like my lip color but brighter and more even toned. Despite having dozens (and I really do mean dozens) of lipsticks at my disposal, I won’t leave the house without making sure a Kosas Wet Stick is in my bag. 

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