I'm going to get right to it. Stick makeup is the perfect makeup, here's why: It's easy to use.
There are a host of other reasons too, but isn't that the most important one?
No seven steps to get on your blush, clattering around with brushes and lids and palettes and puffs – one swipe and you are done.
OK, OK, there are other good reasons to use stick makeup – it's easy to pack, fast, simple, and sensible.
Stick makeup doesn't take up a lot of room in your purse either — plus, you can pull it out and swipe it on and before anyone even notices, it's back in the bag. Or pocket. Stick makeup fits in the tiniest clutch purse.
Just about everything comes in a stick form now.
Joy sticks
Some favorite stick makeup:
Lip pencils are obvious, and infinitely preferable to the roll-up kind. All you need is a pencil sharpener, sometimes.
I love Tarte. Their chubby cheek stain might not be your classic "stick" but the ease is what makes it qualify. The solid gel formula melts into skin and looks like a natural flush. You barely even need to blend.
Tarte LipSurgence lip tints are perfect too – lip balm, stain, gloss. But other great stick format lip colors are pens – Revlon Just Bitten, CoverGirl Outlast, Maybelline … almost every drugstore company has them.
Chubby eye shadow pencils are really the best. They just make applying eye shadow so much easier. Because, really, who has time to futz with all this stuff anymore?!
I've been mourning the demise of my CoverGirl pale purple chubby shadow stick for a while now although the Intense ShadowBlast sometimes suffices; and I've found further solace in the newly discovered Pixi Lid Last Shadow Pens at Target – in 7 colors.
PixiGlow also has a fascinating crayon called Catching Shadows (above left)— excellent for lifting and brightening corners of eyes. (They have lip pens too (on right, see comments).)
Maybelline's age rewind eraser may not be a traditional stick, but if functions like one – rib on face, done. But lots of companies make foundation sticks – Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation is gluten-free ad organic (they have good eye shadow sticks too), PixiGlow Flawless Beauty Stick maximizes light for it's fast fix.
Stick it to yourself
Stick concealer is the perfect way to maneuver around the nose and naso-labial folds — Benefit's ItStick was super for that (gone!) and L'Oreal's Infallible concealer is getting harder to find. Thicker sticks just don't cut it but The Everything Pencil will do the trick.
I've just heard tell about Josie Maran's Magic Marker Lip & Cheek Stain, further simplifying the whole routine – I'm intrigued.
Stick perfume? Absolutely. I love Stephen Nilson's 5 o'clock at Belvoir Castle that I got at Anthropologie.
Did I mention there are teeth whitening pens, too?
Basically you should be able to fit your whole "face" in your fist. Think how much easier traveling can be, too! How sensible is that? Very.
More easy makeup solutions:
- Terms of Concealment
- Root Cover Stick
- For Eyelids - Keep It Creamy
- Drugstore Beauty: 5 Fast Hair, Makeup & Style Fixes
