College Makeup

[#1]

I'm going to be a freshman starting college this fall and want to start with fresh, new makeup that will last. What are the makeup essentials I can wear everyday and then dress up for night?

[#2]

hmm, well, I'm indicisive so I attend a lot of last minute professional/business casual events so I usually go for natural look, but anyways, here's what I learned in 4 yrs of college:

1. Concealer. Depends on how hard you work/play, you WILL get dark circles from lack of sleep or partying, and you WILL get occasional pimples from stress, junk food, or too tired to wash your face days. And as Murphy's Law dictated, they will happen when you need to give a presentation, go to a party, or go to some professional events. A liquid full coverage ish concealer works for both pimples and under eye and any redness (or red nose when you have a cold), so I highly recommend.

2. Sheer-medium coverage finishing powder. This is more for oily faced gals. People like to take pictures at random times, maybe not of you, but of general people and places, and lights flash when they do that. It's rather awkward when you get snapped lounging around or standing around with a group of friends....and you have a blinding cross of shining light on your T-zone that made all your skin defects look more noticeable and make you stand out in the photo that you really wish they didn't use in the yearbook. When you don't want to look too made up (c'mon, it's college), this gives you a natural look unlike some foundation.

3. A lipstick 2-3 shades closer or better than your lip color. It works for party as well as professional events, and function as a blush in a pinch. A noticeable lip instantly upgrade your look and make you look polished even if you've got no eye make up on, and it make you look healthy on days you are sick and pale and sallow and can't afford to be (or can't afford to look it, like on a last minute job interview/career fair). The only thing that can ruin this simple instant-glam is giant pimples (thus #1. concealer).

4. Cleansing towels. Maybe you are sharing bathrooms and a gang of people just came back from some roadtrip or sports event and it stink of sweat, perfumes, humidity/heat from all showers being taken or...err..... number twos. Maybe you just came back from some events rubbing elbow with sweaty/stinky people or someone drool/threw up on you. Maybe you are staying outdoor or too tired/lazy to go wash up in the bathroom. Cleansing towels, use them. Use them to wipe off make up before bed to prevent pimples etc, or use them to freshen up when bathroom is unavailable (in the dorm or at outdoor events).

5. SPF lotion or moisturizer. This sort of goes without saying. However, if you have to walk to places in a big campus or like reading/studying/impromptu outings in the sun, carry this with you. You will be too busy studying, sleeping, having a social life to tend to a sunburn, and nothing will make you look good when you have a sunburn.

Lastly, not beauty related but important. Depends on what field you go into, Dropbox is highly recommended. If you save your work on Dropbox, you can access it from any computer with an internet instead of panicking because you forgot important documents or your USB doesn't work with the computer you are going to give a presentation on. Since you can share folders for others to access, you don't need to spam everybody's email inbox with 588 edits of the documents you are working on (trust me, you will get more than enough spam from the university and various mailing list about events or things you don't want or care about). Yes, I know there's Google doc, but at some point you have to transfer everything over to actual Microsoft Office software and if your report/project is 20+ pages long, editing/formatting/styling is going to be a pain in the ***.

[#3]

beautytester had some great suggestions that i agree with also dropbox is extremely helpful and there are many other productivity apps and web apps that are great as well.

i'm not one for powder but yes some people do need it! Others also swear by setting sprays but i never went through the trouble of too many steps!

Is there a limit to the number of products/budget you are looking at? Here's what else i think would be good in addition to beautytester's items, especially if you do want to get a bit fancier for going out

Eyeshadow Palette - I honestly think Urban Decay's naked palettes are a great value, and they can do really any look (natural vs smoky etc) If you like color, then get the Urban Decay 15th anniversary palette instead. You can even use the dark shades as eyeliner, and then save the $ you would need to spend on eyeliner. Alot of people seem to like Stila and Too Faced eyeshadow palettes as well (which are cheaper) but I don't think the quality of shadow is as good. 

Optional - new eyeliner (in colors or different formulas), primer, mascara. (but i don't think you need new ones unless you're unhappy with the ones that you currently have?) I would recommend too faced perfect eyes or bobbi brown longwearing pencil eyeliners. For mascara, diorshow extase is awesome, but even more awesome is the diorshow maximizer that  makes all other mascaras look awesome too. Nars smudgeproof eyeshadow base is a huge favorite of mine and will be perfect for long days/late nights

Blush/Bronzer - I think a great blush and/or bronzer is great for brightening your skintone. I know in college i hardly slept and was sick a lot (catching the seasonal bugs and never getting rid of them!) so my face was kind of washed out and blah looking. If you like a bit of shimmer, you could go for a nars blush/bronzer duo, but my favorite bronzers are Guerlain and theBalm. (also like the cream chanel one and the newer Givenchy bonne mine) I'm really into cream blushes - very easy to throw on and natural looking - bobbi brown pot rouge, ysl & illamasqua, and no7 (from target) also look into nars multiples if you like shimmer! they're awesome multipurpose products

Tinted Moisturizer or Light Foundation - even if you don't wear it everyday, you'll definitely want something for the fancier occassions. I love Nars Tinted Moisturizer, and the drugstores are coming out with lots of BB Creams this summer (So far i like Maybelline's and Garnier's). Also, if you're looking for an all-inclusive kit, Laura Mercier's Flawless Face kit with the tinted moisturizer, concealer/powder, brushes etc is really great!  If you'd like a bit more coverage with a foundation, my favorite is guerlain parure aqua but nars sheer glow and lancome teint miracle are less expensive

Optional - Concealer Pen -  I like concealer pens bc they're easy, and I typically use these and not a regular one bc i don't need/want heavy coverage. (can you tell that i am a very lazy/short on time person? lol) Clinique airbrush concealer pen is great + affordable. Givenchy Mister Light is my current favorite, but Fresh Supernova Radiance is also a great alternative but has a bit of shimmer so i would only use that in the undereyes and not by my nose or anything. Benefit eye bright is a creamy pencil that is awesome in the corners of your eyes too 

Sorry I wrote you a novel! Hope that helps though and feel free to ask about any product suggestions!