Hey guys! Regular readers have surely noticed that favorites posts here on the blog have been... a little bit sparse, but I know people love them and I know that they can be really helpful, so I wanted to change up the format a little bit. I want to start doing these FEATURED FIVE posts without any schedule or obligation, so that whenever I have a handful of products that are really, really working for me I can share them without feeling like I have to choose a bunch of stuff to share. Obligation tends to be the enemy of productivity for me. Know what I mean? I also sort of want to throw in non-beauty things that I love whenever I feel inspired to, but for this first one I wanted the share my Current Everyday Makeup Favorites - products I've been reaching for every single day recently - because these ones are downright staples for me lately. 

Keep reading for more!

Summer beauty is in full force for me and what that tends to mean is softer, shimmery eye looks, glowing skin, and a sort of... easy going but still put together kind of look. I didn't include foundation, concealer or eyeshadows in this post because I am, admittedly, sort of all over the place with what I reach for in those categories from day to day. I really wanted to grab the products that I've literally been using every single day for this post. 

Laura Geller Baked Basics Palette

Though this isn't available anymore, I happened to see it Winners and I picked it up because I've been a long time fan of Laura Geller Baked face products and this had pretty much everything I could have wanted in it. Seriously, if you see this at a Winners, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, etc. it's very much worth picking up. I've basically been dipping into all of the face products in this palette for my every day looks. 

Tahitian Glow is a perfect luminous bronzer for my skin tone, adding a really natural, neutral looking warmth to my skin with a glow that isn't shimmer or over the top. The highlighter shades in French Vanilla and Portofino offer versatility for whether I want a really soft, natural highlight or a more intense glow. And the blush shades in Pink Buttercream and Honeysuckle also give me some versatility whether I'm looking for a fresh pop of berry or a more neutral, glowy cheek. 

The only thing I don't like in this palette are the eyeshadows, which are almost certain going to go mostly untouched, but I feel like I love the face products enough that I don't even care. Honestly, guys, I don't know how this palette didn't cause a stir when it was released, and I highly recommend grabbing it if you get a chance. It's a perfect summer face palette. 

e.l.f. Mineral Face Primer

In general, I don't usually wear primer, but lately since I've really been going for luminous face products and looking for a glowy complexion I've been reaching for primer to help smooth out my pores and give me a more smooth canvas. While this probably isn't my ultimate favorite ever primer for this, I had it in my collection and it's been doing the job. 

When I apply this, I really just press it with my fingertips into the apples of my cheeks and the center of my forehead since that's where I feel like I need the most smoothing. It doesn't take much - and I would actually caution you to use a light touch so that you don't risk your makeup sliding off your face in the heat - but a little bit really does help my skin to look smoother after I've applied luminous foundation and cheek products. 

If you're not a huge primer person and are looking for a budget friendly option to use underneath glowy products for summer, I'd definitely say this is an option worth looking into. 

I have two brow products that I use every day together to get a sort of bushy, full brow. I feel like summer brows look really, really good when they're not too precious and have instead a sort of maintained but unfussy kind of look, and these two products have been doing it for me. 

Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer

This is hands down my all time favorite brow gel, I think. It legitimately beats out every high end one that I've tried. I love the paddle applicator, which I personally find even more precise and easy to use than any tiny spoolie, and the formula gives definition but adds fullness and texture for a natural looking brow. Seriously, I need this to be forever in the drugstore.

Wet N Wild Retractable Brow Pencil

I slept on this one. Literally, I picked it up, used it once, wasn't impressed, and then didn't reach for it until I used up some others and randomly picked it up again. And seriously... I really, really love it now, especially for summer brows. I feel like the tip can be a little bit intimidating and initially feel a little awkward if you're used to those more teeny tiny precise brow pencils, but it's actually really easy to use. I can get a sharp line with this, even at the tail, but quickly fill in the rest of my brows. Don't know how I didn't get into this one sooner.

I used all of the products listed here to put together this super simple, natural looking makeup look. For the base, I started with the e.l.f. Mineral Face Primer on my cheeks and the center of my forehead and followed with Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation and CoverGirl TruBlend Undercover Concealer. I set my face using a little bit of the Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Loose Powder. 

For the rest of the colour on my face I used the Laura Geller Baked Basics Palette. I used French Vanilla all over the lid and then fluffed Medium bronzer into the crease. I used Tahitian Glow for my bronzer and I ended up skipping highlighters because I used Pink Buttercream as a glowy blush. 

For my brows I started with the Wet N Wild Retractable Brow Pencil and just kind of quickly filled them in without worrying too much about keeping it precise and then set them and added some texture using the Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer. Finally, to the lashes I did a generous coat of the Marc Jacobs Velvet Epic Lash Primer* and finished with a coat of L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara. 

It sounds like a lot... but this really is a sort of slap it on and go, super simple summer makeup look perfect for a hot day!

I feel like I've always gotten more excited when it comes to beautiful foundations, eyeshadow palettes or lip colours, but at the moment I feel like I'm really getting excited about these basics and keeping everything kind of simple. Seriously, though, guys, if you can get your hands on this Laura Geller palette (and you have anywhere from a fair to maybe a medium deep complexion) it's a phenomenal buy!

I'd love to hear what you're loving in your summer makeup routine down in the comments!

Thanks for reading!