Decoding Your Makeup Routine: Essentials and Recommendations
Makeup has never been more abundant, or less clear. Skin tints, blurring balms, four kinds of lip liner—amid an increasing bevy of products to choose between, choice paralysis begs the question of what a makeup routine actually requires. It comes up more than you’d think—from friends who are reimagining their wedding weekend glam, colleagues rebuilding their collection after a decade of using the same seven products, to anyone who’s felt anxiety building when entering their local Sephora for a restock.
The Core of a Complete Makeup Regimen
Fortunately, the answer is simpler than it looks: about a dozen categories cover a complete regimen, and on most days, half of those will do. Vogue’s Favorite Makeup Essentials include:
- The Serum Concealer: MAKE Beauty Skin Mimetic Concealer, $28
- The Blurring Foundation: Westman Atelier Supreme Bio Complex Liquid Foundation, $69
- The Buttery Bronzer: Rhode Pocket Bronzer, $25
- The Effortless Blush: Merit The Flush Balm, $30
- The Moisturizing Lip Gloss:Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil, $26
- The Tubing Mascara: Hourglass Unlocked Defining and Lengthening Mascara, $34
Consider this your makeup 101—whether you’re shopping for products for the very first time or taking a fresh look at a collection that no longer works for you.
The Corrective Concealer
If you buy a single complexion product, concealer is the one. It brightens under-eyes, calms redness, covers blemishes, and on a good skin day, can do the work of foundation entirely. For under-eyes, we suggest looking for one with skincare built in, like Haus Labs’s fermented arnica-infused version. If you want coverage that reads as invisible, try MAKE Beauty’s buildable, skin-mimicking formula—one of our favorite serum concealers. Whichever direction you go, check your shade in natural light for the skin tone closest match.
- Kosas Revealer Super Creamy + Brightening Concealer $32 (NORDSTROM)
- Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer $32 (HAUS LABS)
- Make Beauty Skin Mimetic Concealer $28 (AMAZON)
The Skin-Like Foundation
Foundation shopping starts with an honest assessment of how much coverage you’re looking for. A skincare-forward formula like Westman Atelier’s just-debuted foundation delivers a refined, breathable base that treats skin as it wears, while a water-based tint like Chanel’s gently covers in a lightweight, hydrating formula—sheer, cooling, and comfortable. In a routine, foundation creates an even canvas, smoothing out the look of uneven skin tone while adding the coverage you want. Test shades along the jawline; the right one should disappear into the skin in natural daylight. For application, use your fingers or a foundation brush, blending evenly across the face.