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It’s not about being cheap or flat-out lazy. Multipurpose makeup products are incredibly handy when you’re in a hurry, on vacation, or simply can’t take your gigantic tote makeup bag to your date night. By grabbing a multi-use makeup stick or a multi-tasking pencil, you can create a perfectly decent base makeup, enhance your eye makeup, or even freshen up your look.
Sure, you can get resourceful and try to create a monochromatic look with your red lipstick or fill in your brows with a tight liner, but not all makeup products are that forgiving and multitasking. So find below some of the best tried-and-true multipurpose makeup products that’ll save you space, time, and money.
1. Wander Beauty On-The-Glow Blush And Illuminator
This cream illuminator and blush is an on-the-go staple. The multi-stick freshens up the cheeks and lips with cheerful roses and pinks. But it can also work as an elegantly natural eyeshadow. And it brightens the complexion with the illuminator. Use it to enhance cheekbones, and browbones, and to brighten up the inner corner of the eyes. Go ahead and use it on your shoulders and decolletage area for an overall glow.
Uses: Highlighter, luminizer, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow
Shades: 5
Size: 0.4 oz
Good To Know: Cruelty-free, vegan
2. NudeStix Magnetic Nude Glimmer Highlighter
This one is a multipurpose highlighter to bring the glow all over your complexion. Besides highlighting the usual spots like cheekbones, the nose, and the cupid’s bow, the waterproof formula also works as a shimmery eyeshadow. You can use it alone or you can turn your matte eyeshadow into a shimmery one by coating it with this. The cream highlighter can also be used on your lips to gloss up the lipstick.
Uses: Highlighter, eyeshadow, lip gloss, skin luminizer
Shades: 3
Size: 0.34 oz
Good To Know: Fragrance-free, cruelty-free, vegan
3. Make Up For Ever HD Skin All-In-One Palette
This is a cream all-in-one palette you can use for complexion and eye makeup. All shades are in cream form, which makes it easier to create both detailed looks and natural, dewy looks. The palette contains darker shades you can use as a foundation or cream bronzer. And there are peachy tones you can use to conceal and color correct. You can also use the palette for blushing, and for creating dimensions by highlighting and contouring.
Uses: Foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, highlighter, contour, color corrector
Shades: 2
Size: 0.9 oz
4. RMS Beauty Living Luminizer Glow Quad Mini
If you’re more into creamy formulas than powder ones, you’re going to love this palette that melts into the skin. It has the best cream luminizers to get that glass skin. The palette has 1 bronzer and 3 luminizers in shades ranging from rose to silver. Nothing’s off limits because all shades can be comfortably used all over the complexion to blush, bronze, highlight, and tint the lips and the lids. The mini palette is a minimalist makeup staple and a summer must-have to create natural and dewy looks.
Uses: Highlighter, bronzer, blush
Size: 0.08 oz
Good To Know: Cruelty-free
5. Shiseido Kajal Ink Artist Shadow, Liner, Brow
This one has a multi-use pencil on one side and a pointy sponge on the other. Even though there are colorful shades, deeper shades will give you more functionality. The pencil works as an eyeliner as well as an eyeshadow. You can smoke it out with the sponge. You can also fill in the brows and even get a decent contour to define the cheeks, the nose, and the lips. The water-proof formula can literally be used anywhere on the face.
Uses: Eyeliner, eye pencil, eyeshadow, brow pencil
Shades: 10
Size: 0.02 oz
Good To Know: Oil-free, fragrance-free, waterproof
6. Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek Cream Blush Stick
A good lip and cheek tint like this one can change your whole look just like that. The emollient stick brings a soft pop of color to the cheeks, eyelids, and lips. The shimmery finish leaves the skin looking dewy and youthful. The travel-friendly sticks can also be mixed and matched to create a more playful look.
Uses: Blush, lipstick
Shades: 11
Size: 0.21 oz
Good To Know: Cruelty-free, vegan
7. Chanel Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick
This multipurpose stick in the shade ‘Golden Stick’ looks good anywhere on your skin! It has a very subtle glow. And besides the obvious use for highlighting the complexion, it also works as a shimmery bronzer. Not surprisingly, it looks great on bare skin for no-makeup makeup days. You can use it as a primer and apply a light coverage tinted moisturizer over it. It’ll give you that natural dewy finish. What’s more is that you can use it all over the lids as a creamy eyeshadow, on the lips as a tinted lip balm, and on the body for a sun-kissed look.
Uses: Eyeshadow, highlighter, lip balm, bronzer, body shimmer
Shades: 4
Size: 0.28 oz
8. Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick
The long-lasting foundation stick blends seamlessly into the skin and comes in a ton of shades. So you can select your base shade and pick up other shades to perfectly sculpt the face and create the most natural shadows. Swipe a darker shade for contouring and use a lighter shade to conceal and highlight. The triangular stick is also ideal for precise applications as well as covering the very inner corners of the eyes. It’s full coverage and has a natural finish.
Uses: Foundation, concealer, contour & highlight
Shades: 33
Size: 0.25 oz
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
Read Next: How To Change Your Look With Makeup