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Confession time: despite being a beauty editor, I don’t really wear makeup. Most days, I wake up, slather on a few skincare products, and I’m out the door. And, on the rare occasion that I do wear makeup,it’s never a full face.
Instead, I tend to keep things pretty minimal. For me, this usually means some sort of brow product, a wash of eyeshadow over my lids, maybe some blush and something on my lips. But, what about foundation? Nope. Mascara? Not usually. Eyeliner? None.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I love products and enjoy testing them (it’s kind of a big part of my job!). However, it’s very hard to earn a spot in my makeup bag, let alone in my beauty routine. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to discover a few new beauty favorites after being introduced to a makeup brand called Alleyoop.
From their multifunctional products to their compact packaging, everything about this brand is centered around making your life (and makeup routine) just a little bit easier. If you’re a busy gal like I am, then you’ll definitely appreciate their dedication to efficiency. And, along with being multipurpose, all of their products are also vegan, cruelty-free and paraben-free, too. Best of all, Alleyoop even offers a short beauty quiz to match you with the perfect products to help simplify your beauty routine and they are totally spot on with their product recommendations, if I do say so myself.
Keep scrolling for my thoughts on a few of Alleyoop’s most popular products.
Pen Pal
You remember those super cool multi-colored retractable pens that pretty much every ’90s kid was obsessed with growing up? Well, consider this magic pen the makeup version of one of your favorite throwback accessories. Instead of housing and dispensing a rainbow of ballpoints, this easy-to-use pen allows you to switch between an eyeliner, a brow pencil, a highlighter and a lip liner with just a quick click.
As much as I love the concept behind this—one pen to handle it all, I didn’t find myself using this as much as I thought I would. I tend to favor a brow gel over a liner and I found the eyeliner tip on this to be a bit thicker than what I typically use, which made the application a little more difficult for me. However, I really liked the champagne highlighter and found it to be great for the inner corner of my eyes. And, the lip liner is just lovely. I have the shade “Berry” and it really compliments my deep skin tone. It’s definitely great for lining your lips but I also love to fill in my lips with it and wear it out on its own.
Shop: Pen Pal, $25.00
11th Hour
I’ve been going through a bit of palette fatigue lately, so I was very excited to try out these cream eyeshadow sticks. Though I love cream shadows, I struggle with the fact that most of them tend to crease or wear off very quickly. That was not the case with this shadow at all. First of all, the shadows glide on like an absolute dream. While the formula is very creamy at first, it does dry matte so it doesn’t transfer or crease. And, true to its name, these shadows really do stay on for a crazy long time (11+ hours!!).
As someone who loves a bit of shimmer and rosier tones, I’ve really taken a liking to their shade “Gotta Guava”—a gorgeous rose gold pink with the perfect amount of sparkle. But, I already have my eye on a few of their seven other shades that look equally as flattering. Truly, I think these sticks are the type of product that you’ll want to use every single day because they are so easy to apply. Simply swipe it all over your lid, blend it out with your fingers, and you’re good to go in just a matter of seconds.
Shop: 11th Hour, $24.00
Stack the Odds
This 3-in-1 compact—which features a blush, bronzer and a highlighter— couldn’t have come into my life at a better time because this summer I’ve been all about achieving a natural-looking glow. I love that all three products are super pigmented (a little goes a long way), super blendable and feel good on my skin thanks to nourishing ingredients like jojoba and sunflower seed oil. Hands down, my favorite of the bunch is the cream blush. I have the “Cocktail Hour” shade which features a beautiful berry blush that looks radiant on my darker skin tone. It’s become a staple in my makeup routine because it’s so easy to apply—I just dab it on with my fingertips.
Shop: Stack the Odds, $38.00
Multi Tasker
I don’t think that I have ever been as impressed with a makeup brush, as I am with this one. Whenever I do choose to wear makeup, I often spend so much time sifting through all of my makeup brushes to find the one that suits my needs. That’s why I really love that this multi-brush offers four of the most essential brushes: a concealer sponge, a blush, brow and eyeshadow brush. It’s so convenient and I love how easy it is to access the other brushes—just screw off the outer brushes on either end to reveal the smaller ones inside. Plus, all of the brushes are soft on the skin and are easy to clean off with a little bit of soapy water.
Shop: Multi Tasker, $28.00
Final Thoughts
In my opinion, it’s very hard to find truly good multifunctional beauty products. In most cases, I find that there is always something lacking, whether it be the formula or the packaging or the fact that it’s just not user-friendly. However, with Alleyoop that’s not the case at all. After testing a few of their products, it’s clear to me that so much thought was really given to developing products your makeup bag actually needs—particularly when it comes to saving you time and space. With that being said, I think the brand really offers something for everyone—even people who aren’t the biggest fan of wearing makeup, like myself.
To learn more about Alleyoop, be sure to visit meetalleyoop.com or follow @meetalleyoop on Instagram.
