I worked at Sephora for years. Here are 10 beauty products that I swear by for flawless makeup.

It’s crucial to prepare and hydrate your skin so your makeup goes on smoothly.

I love a glowy look, and a few drops of the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops serum helps my skin look beautiful and moisturized. It also preps my face for makeup. 

The Ilia Super Serum skin tint, which contains SPF 40, is my favorite tinted moisturizer for beautiful, glowing skin.

It is so important to use SPF to protect your skin each day — plus, using products like this one that offer skincare benefits can help improve your skin’s appearance and even it out.

It contains ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, which can help hydrate skin and smooth its texture.

I use shades Balos ST3 and Bom Bom ST5.

It’s important to have a formula with good coverage that also looks natural, so I recommend the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD concealer. It gives the perfect amount of coverage, has a natural finish, and looks beautiful in photos and for everyday makeup.

Use your concealer in areas where you want a little more coverage than your skin tint or foundation can provide.

I use the shade 20 – Soft Sand.

I have fallen in love with the look and feel of cream contour and blush. The Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt shaping sticks and the Soft Pop blush sticks are my all-time favorite cream products.

Since they blend easily and melt into your skin, cream products like these can make your skin appear so flawless while keeping your makeup looking natural.

The formula blends like a dream, and you can layer powders on top for a longer-lasting effect. I use the shades Light Medium and Dusty Rose.

After using all of these glowy products, the last thing you want is to look greasy. After all, the goal is to achieve a natural, flawless look.

That’s why I love the Huda Beauty Easy Bake loose baking and setting powder to set my under-eyes and any areas I get oily, the center of my face.

This powder can help blur and smooth the appearance of your pores, create a flawless look, and set your makeup. I use the shade Cupcake.

My preference for eye makeup depends on how much time I have, where I’m going, and what I’m wearing, so I’ll often use a powder bronzer as a quick and easy eye shadow.

However, if I had to choose my favorite eye-shadow palette formula, it would be the one from Anastasia Beverly Hills.

The formula of the brand’s eye shadows is very pigmented and easy to blend, and there are so many different palettes with beautiful color stories for any makeup look.

Before applying shadow, I use an eye-shadow primer. If you don’t have one, try using your concealer and a little powder to prep the eyelids so the shadow applies even more smoothly.

Eyebrows help frame the face, but I know they can be difficult to get just right.

In my opinion, the Benefit Gimme Brow tinted volumizing eyebrow gel is one of the easiest eyebrow products to use.

This product can make your brows look fuller, is super user-friendly, and gives a natural look. I use shade 4.

A lip will help to complete any look, but I hate the feeling of a dry, thick, matte finish. When in doubt, a glossy lip will always make your lips appear plumper. 

My go-to lip gloss, the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in the shade FU$$Y, looks good on everyone and goes with every look.

It has the perfect hint of pink and the right amount of shine, and it doesn’t feel sticky, just hydrating.

Finishing off your look with a setting spray will make all the difference in how your makeup wears, and it can help melt powder products into the skin to create a flawless finish.

Milk Makeup’s Hydro Grip dewy long-lasting setting spray is one of my favorites for hydrating the skin while making my makeup last longer.

A little mascara to make your eyes pop goes a long way. I personally prefer a lengthening and lifting formula that won’t clump my lashes together.

One of my favorites is the Lancôme Lash Idôle lengthening and volumizing mascara because I love the brush.

The product makes my lashes look amazing — adding length and volume — and doesn’t smudge on me. 

This story was originally published on May 3, 2022, and most recently updated on July 31, 2026.

Sephora was not involved in the sourcing or writing of this story. The views contained within represent the author’s personal views.