Hi chicas! I hope you guys are having a happy Friday! The weather lately has been driving me bananas! It’s like summer wants to leave us a little early this year.  Some days it’s cloudy and cold (even sprinkling!) in the morning but the sun still manages to pull through mid day and bring on that heat.

Heat is an oily girls worse nightmare I think.  At least for me, it always has been. It gets my oils up and going, so in order to combat that I’m always on the hunt for good matte products. I have combination to oily skin. I’m pretty oily in my T-Zone but still get some dry patches around my mouth area. The products I’ll be talking about are some of my holy grail, can’t live without, matte must haves. Not all are labeled as matte but they contribute to giving me the matte finish I love. If you have trouble with oily skin like me, then you might really love these.

Because I always use heavy duty matte products I still want to make sure my skin is well hydrated. Don’t miss that hydration step ladies, it’s very important. My favorite pre make up moisturizer is the First Aid Beauty coconut skin smoothie priming moisturizer. I started using this about a month ago and I love it. It makes my skin feel and look so hydrated and healthy, and it smells so delicious.

For primer, I actually have a few that I just can’t love without. Let’s talk about two, a high end and an affordable one. The Becca Ever Matte poreless priming perfector is some good (pricier) matte shiz my friends.  You can instantly feel this mattifying your skin as you’re applying it. It has pretty high claims, such as blurring pores, 12 hour wear, and  obviously it controls your oils, which I have to agree with. If you can splurge, I would highly recommend it.

Soap and Glory has some stinken’ cute packaging guys. Which is what made me stop and look at their stand when I was at Target the other day. I picked up their One Heck Of A Blot primer,  which interestingly enough has similar claims as the one from Becca, for less than half of the prize! I’ve tried it for a few weeks now and I really enjoy it. I do blot a little more often than when I use the Becca one but for the price, I feel like it does a pretty good darn job.

Current fave foundation is hands down the L’Oréal pro matte. For all of you ladies in need of a matte, full coverage foundation, don’t walk, but run to the store and get this one!  This is so good that it will stay put against oils and sweat. And yes, I actually have  put this to the test- over and over  again and it hasn’t let me down. Earlier this month I did a photo shoot for my daughter during mid afternoon (which I find is the hottest time) and girrrl, I was out there sweating my sins away. This foundation stayed put after me sweating like crazy. I had to retouch with powder only in certain areas and that was it. This not going anywhere and will keep you looking #flawless.

Tarte Shape Tape. Good lord this good stuff! It’s heavy duty, non creasing, and have I mentioned it’s perfection? If you haven’t tried this, I’m not sure where you’ve been but you have to try it like now. If you’re in the market for mind blowing concealer, look no further.

Since we’re all about mattes and full coverage, the Double Duty Beauty Confidence Creamy Powder Foundation by Tarte is my favorite to set my face. This gives you that perfect porcelain look and helps blur those pores. This works great not only to set the foundation but also wear it on its own. It sinks so well in to the skin and really helps control those oils.

To set the under eyes, I’ve been using this banana setting powder by Bella Pierre that I received in my July Ipsy bag and it is just phenomenal. I’m one of those ride or die for the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder, but ever since I’ve been using this one for the past month or so, I haven’t felt the need to reach for the Laura Mercier. This not only brightens the eyes but it doesn’t crease, it’s very finely mild, and it just stays put all day. Watch out Laura!

For blush, I cannot stop using Wet and Wild’s Mellow Wine.  I don’t think I’ve ever hit pan on a blush, until this one came along. It’s the perfect terracotta shade that I feel compliments several skin tones so well. This just gives me the perfect flush on the cheeks.

I go through these phases where sometimes I just wear bronzer and other times all I want to do is contour. I’m not a make up artist by any means, but I find that I can’t do both at the same time, or maybe I’m just not doing it right.  But anywho, for bronzer, I love the Chocolate Soleil Matte bronzer in the shade deep from Too Faced (stickin’ with the mattes) it not only smells amazing but it gives such a beautiful bronze to the skin.

For contour, I am obsessed with the IT Cosmetics You Sculpted contour pallette. This is one of those pricier items but well worth every penny.  I mean you can’t go wrong with IT cosmetics in my opinion, but I also think you get your money’s worth. There’s six shades for you to perfectly contour, sculpt,  and highlight your face. Here’s a little tip, if you’re looking for IT Cosmetics products, QVC has amazing deals. That’s actually where I purchased mine from and it came with a little bonus (wink wink) for an unbelievable price. I got you girl.

At first anything “glowey” intimidated me due to the fact that I already have oily skin. However, since I use mostly matte products and that helps control those oils, I find that I can add a little glow here and there. The Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator Pallete from Laura Geller is hands down my favorite. All of the shades in this pallete give me that “glow from with in” but are still very buildable. I cannot put this down. It’s so good! And, this is the perfect trio for any skin type.

Brows are the most important part of my entire make up routine. #browsarelife. I don’t ever see myself letting go of the L’Oréal Brow Stylist definer. I know through out this entire blog post  I’ve said that I love every product, and you guys are probably like ‘duh we get it.’ Well this is no exception. I’m not going to brag about this forever, you’ll just have to go out and try it for yourself ( if you haven’t already). Oh, and to set the brows, Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer is the bomb.com. Seriously, look no further, these two are the perfect combination. Those brows will stay put against anything.

Xo, Guadalupe