My Desert Island Makeup

Disclosure: Affiliate links.

A tropical backdrop would be more appropriate, but slow unpackers can't be choosers.

I moved to a new apartment last week, and I still haven't found unpacked most of my makeup. I also haven't unpacked my camera, so please accept this shitty photo that I took with my phone.

In the meantime, I've been subsisting on a makeup diet limited mainly to the few things I shoved in my dufflebag to get me through the first few days. Those days have extended to over a week, and here we still are. So I guess these are my desert island makeup essentials: not the most exciting things I own, but the things I can use day after day and be totally satisfied.

I'll go through the items in the photo clockwise starting at the upper left corner. Swatches and more detail are available at the previous posts I've linked below if you're curious. I've reviewed most of them--they made it to the island for a reason!

Wet N Wild ColorIcon Blush in Pearlescent Pink (reviewed briefly here, compared to Nars Orgasm here). I have the old version of this blush, which I've heard has been reformulated in the new line and is no longer as perfect. Can anyone confirm? (This old one is still available on Amazon for under $5, but apparently only 2 left!) I can use this everyday and it's always flattering on me. Just pigmented enough that it's easy to apply without layering, but not so pigmented that I risk clown-face. The only flaw is that in direct sunlight it's a little sparklier than I'd like, but it's not too obnoxious.

Paula's Choice Endless Lash Mascara. This is a decent mascara, but overpriced. It's what I'm using now, but if I were actually headed to a desert island I'd prefer to have a tube of Covergirl LashBlast Volume with me (reviewed here).

Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer in Fondant (reviewed here). Still the best undereye concealer I've used. I recently bought a new tube in the shade Butter Cream to see if it's a better match. I'll open that when I'm getting closer to finishing this one. The yellow undertones in Fondant do a good job of canceling out the purple under my eyes, but it's not ideal elsewhere on my face.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze (reviewed here). It's quick to smear on eyelids with my finger in the morning and it always looks pretty. I just recently hit pan on this jar that I've had for a couple of years, but I think I have at least a year to go. Amazon has it on sale for less than $4 (with coupon) right now.

TheBalm Stainiac. This is one thing that I've loved for years and never reviewed, because it photographs terribly. In a closeup shot of my lips it just looks patchy. In real life, it adds a nice pink flush--probably the slight unevenness helps it look more natural. (I can see how it might not look great on lips that are lighter than mine, though.) It's comfortable and longlasting. I can apply lip balm right over top without affecting the stain. I don't use it on my cheeks, because I find it hard to blend smoothly.

Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in Ash Blond (swatched here). I am using this sample I got from Choix, because I finished up my last Avon Ultra Luxury pencil (reviewed here). I have another one somewhere, but I haven't dug it out. I prefer the Avon pencil slightly, but in general I find pencils to be the easiest and quickest eyebrow product to use, provided they are hard enough that they don't deposit a ton of product and make a mess.

PUR Cosmetics 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Powder Foundation. I haven't completely made up my mind about this stuff. I like how it applies and how it looks on my face, but it picks up sunscreen from my brush and forms a hard film on the surface. That might be a problem worth dealing with. I really like combining base and powder into one step. Any recommendations for other pressed powder foundations? I don't really like messing around with BareMinerals loose powder, and I find it looks heavier than I like, anyway.

Black Radiance Eyeshadow Primer (reviewed here). Without this stuff, my eyeshadow would melt right off in 15 minutes in this heat. I've also found that eyeshadow primer works well to keep concealer attached to ugly chin zits, fyi.

So that's been my #FOTD for a lot of days now. Soon I will pull out all of my other shit and be more creative, but this works in a pinch.

What makeup would you want to have with you on a desert island? Basics like this or something more exciting? (Let's all pretend that we would actually wear makeup on a desert island for some reason instead of just eating leaves and crying.)