September 09, from the forum –

“As you may or may not know I am slowly building my stock for my box(es) and I would be interested to hear what people like and have in their boxes that they swear by, a staple product that they love. Powder, loose or compact and in what shades. Foundations, again type and colour..Any line any range not just NARS..Lip colours and glosses, tinted or otherwise and oooh oooh primers..

Mascara seems to be a bone of contention some go high end some say no point..sponges and staples for the MUA..where and what

In fact if you have a product you love…share it here and help me build my box..( and if that last line doesnt end up in the outrageous quotes thread I will be astounded)

Hugs and Maquillage to all..

Bal ”

I think the only way to write this is for me to think up what I’d do on a ‘classic’ face and what I’d reach for first!

Foundation – mix of Chanel, Dior, Lancome and MAC all in the 4 or 5 palest shades, then I have 2 different tones for very dark skin and I mix where needed.

Concealer – Laura Mercier and Ariane Poole (her off Telly!) in all shades

Eye base – Clinique touch base – nothing comes near it!

Powder – Benefit Bluff Dust and Clinique Blended Face Powder, though I’ve just recently fallen in love with clinique Superbalanced powder makeup. I always use loose, the benefit is a suit-all colour, the clinique is in shade 08 for the blended and 02 for the superbalanced

eyeshadow singles – Estee lauder first time, every time, all the creams, caramels and browns, with a smattering of pinks! MAC singles for colour variation, pure blacks, icey whites

eyeshadow duos – clinique and smashbox,

eyeshadow quads/quints/palettes – lancome quads – the best in the business!, Dior, Clinique, estee (I’ve got their new Christmas one – it’s to die for, all plums and golds and rich warm colours!!!) mix and match bright colours and soft colours with all of these!

cream liners – MAC fluidline in black, clinique brush on cream liner in black, smashbox creamliner for eyes, every conceivable colour!

pencil liners – I used to love Clarins WP in brun, but they’ve stopped making it and the Bronze one is too bronzy. My next loves are Dior WP and Lancome WP, but I’ve recently been using Estee doublewear pencil, which is up there too! all in blacks and browns. I do have some Urban Decay bright colours, but don’t use them all that often.

liquid liners – Barry M liquid liner in black, it’s like a pen nib, but the product is in the barrel so you get a fresh application each time, not like the other penstyles where the product is behind the brush IYKWIM! Also love MAC liquidlast, but it’s a bit sticky and gluey, so you have to make your model/client keep their eyes very still! loads of colours with these

brows – elizabeth arden brow powder, benefit brow powder, both in midtoned brown.

Mascara – lancome WP every time. doesn’t matter which one it is, it delivers. black every time

Cheeks – Benefit Dandelion, Smashbox fusion in Intermix, NARS orgasm, NARS laguna and Estee bronzing palette

Lip liners – clinique and dior, pinks, reds and neutrals

lipsticks – MAC the entire Viva Glam collection, you won’t regret it! Clinique, Estee Lauder. again, pinks, reds and neutrals. I rarely get asked for browns, though it’s worth having an almost nude colour

lipglosses – Clinique, Benefit (they’re bringing out new VIP glosses soon!), smashbox, dior (for colour though, not longevity!), elizabeth arden. go for bright and vibrant colours aswell as soft sheer ones.

fixing spray – MAC fix + but the current bottle is rubbish, it sprays a jet rather than a mist, so you’d need to decant into something better.

brushes – MAC, bobbi brown, smashbox, chanel, ruby and millie
disposable mascara wands etc – thepromakeupshop.com