Louise McSharry: ‘When Billie Eilish posted a video of her using this eyeliner, I ordered it immediately’

With the change in season, you may find yourself reaching for clothes you haven’t worn in a while or adding something new to your make-up bag. With that in mind, this week I’m sharing some current favourites.

1. Milk Hydro Grip Gel Tint (€40 via spacenk.com) — I love a skin tint or tinted moisturiser as the weather warms up, and this new one from Milk make-up is excellent. The brand is well known for its Hydro Grip Primer, which helps make-up last, so it’s no surprise that this product (built around the same formula) is long-wearing. What I didn’t expect was how comfortable it would be, and how hydrated and dewy it leaves the skin.

2. LH Cosmetics Artistick (€36.50 via beautybay.com) — I’m consistently impressed by the products from make-up artist Linda Hallberg’s range. They’re all multi-use, and I find popping this dinky colour stick in my handbag super handy as it’s gorgeous on cheeks and lips. It’s also chunky enough that it doesn’t get lost in the chaos of my bag, which is tragically a real selling point for this messy individual. Muse is a rosy pink, perfect for spring, but all five shades in the range are wearable and gorgeous.

3. NYX Lip IV Hydrating Gloss Stain (€13.99 via boots.ie) — I adore these lip products which start as a highly pigmented gloss and leave the lips stained once they’ve worn off (or you could wipe the gloss off after five or 10 minutes and simply use the stain). They’re super comfortable and inexpensive, and I’ve had one in my handbag at all times for the last month. These are available in 16 colours, but it’s worth noticing that while the glosses each look different, the stains are very similar, no matter the shade.

4. SimiHaze Eclipse Lip Balm in Neo (€27.12 via cultbeauty.com) — I’ve long found the cute plastic packaging of SimiHaze’s beauty range seductive, and lately I succumbed to purchasing this guy. Featuring fine blue glitter suspended in clear brown balm, Neo is a grungey dream on fair skin, and a gorgeous neutral on dark skin, whether on its own or over lipstick.

5. Maybelline Tattoo Liner Gel Pencil (€6.99 via boots.ie) — Like many beauty fans, when Billie Eilish posted a video of her pre-show make-up routine, I was glued to it. She uses this brown liner in her waterline to emphasis her big blue eyes, and I ordered it immediately. It is excellent. If you struggle to find a liner that lasts in the waterline and doesn’t gather excessively in your eye’s inner corner, try this one. It’s now a staple of my make-up routine.

6. Prada Beauty Skin Optimising Foundation (€59 via brownthomas.com) — I’ve been struggling a little with foundation as I get older and my skin changes, and despite trying new products regularly, it had been ages since I’d found one I adored. Then this came along. The medium-coverage formula builds beautifully without ever feeling cakey, and leaves a soft-matte finish which looks like skin. Beautiful skin. I love this formula, and the beautiful, refillable bottle.

Buying Irish

Skin flooding is a phrase I’m seeing frequently these days, and essentially it just means to intensely hydrate the skin. Usually, it entails the use of a humectant (something that attracts and retains water, eg hyaluronic acid) before richer creams to lock in the moisture and prevent its loss. This is a similar practice to slugging.

Something old…

Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty broke the mould with its Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes (€28 via spacenk.com). Since their launch in 2022, they’ve featured in make-up bags across the world, and countless brands have launched similar products in an effort to get a piece of the pie. What people love about these products is how packed with pigment they are (a little goes a long way, to such an extent that I genuinely can’t imagine ever finishing one), how beautifully they blend, and how well they last on the skin. They layer brilliantly over make-up without disturbing your base, and leave the skin looking flushed and healthy. Available in 13 shades, in a mix of dewy and matte finishes, they can be easily applied with a brush or your fingers, making them a handy addition to your collection. I like Believe, a true mauve, and Happy, a cool pink, but if you feel like doing something a little more exciting, Grateful, a true red, is more wearable than you’d think.

... Something new

For a while there, it felt like MAC was a little out of the loop. The brand was the absolute coolest around when I was a teenager and I have been loyal to ever since, but recently seemed somewhat lost in a world full of new brands grappling for attention. Lately, though, with the launch of its Nudes collection, the truly excellent Hyper Real skincare collection and the gorgeous Studio Radiance foundation, it feels like MAC is back where it belongs. The latest launch, Strobe Beam Liquid Blush (€27.25 via beautybay.com), is a hydrating liquid blush. Available in 10 shades, this product delivers pigment alongside the iridescent glow of the brand’s iconic Strobe Cream. Strobe Beam is easy to use thanks to its sheer formula — it’s difficult to apply too much, which is easily done with more heavily pigmented options, and blends easily.