Perfect 10: Beauty Must-Haves

Perfect 10

 

I love those forced moments of downtime in the dentist’s office waiting room, when I can breeze through the latest selection of trashy celebrity magazines. I don’t really care who is the alleged cellulite-plagued, alcoholic husband stealer of the week, but I adore the old tabloid journalist stand-by question: “If you were stuck on a deserted island, what’s the item you couldn’t live without?” The answers inevitably range from practical (I agree that an IPod would be indispensable) to impractical (Just who are these women who wander deserted islands flicking a 450-degree flat iron through their hair?) to just plain weird (“My green algae colon cleanser”), and I’m equally intrigued by each category.  Equally guilty pleasures are the “What’s In Your Handbag?” features, but the best of the breed are the celebutante Beauty Must-Have Lists. Whether I’m a fan of the woman’s look or not, I must know which self-tanner Jennifer Lopez marinates herself in and what blush gives Mandy Moore those glowy cheekbones.

 

As a beauty writer, friends often ask me what beauty item I can’t live without, and it’s impossible for me to narrow it down to just one product. What good is the perfect nude lip if your skin is a blotchy mess or your under-eye baggage needs its own luggage cart? It’s the complete look that counts, right? Besides, if I ever was stranded on a deserted island, my reasoning is that if I had one magic beautifier clenched in my hand when I washed up on shore, I could just as easily have held my whole waterproof, disaster-proof makeup clutch with the following prized primpers:

 

The Beauty Must-Haves You’d Have to Pry Out Of My Limp, Prune-Wrinkled Fist:

1.     Benefit Erase Paste brightening concealer in Fair, $26; www.benefitcosmetics.com.

2.     Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, $58; www.giorgioarmanibeauty.com.

3.     Make Up For Ever MD Microfinish Powder, $30; and Hourglass Finishing Brush, $65; www.sephora.com.

4.     Bobbi Brown Blush in Apricot, $22; www.bobbibrown.com and Hourglass Blush Brush, $58; www.sephora.com.

5.     Givenchy Prisme Eyeshadow Quartet in Brown Caress, $50; www.sephora.com.

6.     Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Espresso Ink, $21, and Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush, $26; www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com.

7.     Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara in Extreme Black, $7.99; drugstores.

8.     Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar, $29; www.sephora.com.

9.     Stila Sheer Lipstick in Miranda, $17; www.stilacosmetics.com.

10.  Chanel Glossimer in Seashell, $27; www.nordstrom.com.

 

 

So there you have it: the ten magnificent beauty-makers that combine for my favorite makeup look, the best-of-the-best in my unwieldy and overflowing makeup arsenal that I would fish out of the depths of the ocean, if necessary, to prepare for my slew of “Woman Lost At Sea Found Alive and Perfectly Groomed!” tabloid cover stories.