I’m Maria Kristina or Tina. I’m an Investment Counselor by day and Graduate Student by night. On my days off, I like to watch movies, try different restaurants, travel and shop.

I don’t have a lot of makeup compared to others because I try to hand pick products that I will actually use day to day. Since I work for a bank where looking professional is business, most, if not all, of my makeup lean towards neutral colors. I don’t mind wearing smokey eyes or red lipstick but wild, trendy colors are a big no-no.

Since I also don’t have the luxury of time to fix myself in the morning, I bring with me products that I can apply in the car.

For my face, I alternate Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 – Oil Free in Nude and Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in Medium Beige depending on my skin condition. I love these because they even out my skin tone and give a dewy effect without looking thick on the face. They’re sheer to medium coverage so they don’t exactly coverup my eyebags, scars and blemishes.

I use K-Palette Zero Kuma Concealer to brighten up my eyes and to conceal my imperfections. Sometimes when I’m zit-free, I skip the foundation and just use this concealer on areas needed.

If I want a matte looking base, I set my foundation with the Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder in Medium Beige.

Since I wear neutral makeup a lot, I use Stila Prime Pot in Caramel and MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork as primer or base to my eyeshadow.

I love eyeshadows and palettes but I only have a few and all of them are in neutrals! Those are the only colors I can imagine me wear really. So for my everyday eye makeup, I use my ever reliable Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. It has 6 simple eyeshadows that you can mix and match. If I want to wear warmer and shimmery neutrals to work, I use Artdeco’s Duochrome and Glam Star Eyeshadows.

I’m very particular with my brows and I always make it a point to groom them. My makeup is incomplete if I don’t fill them in! I can wear very little makeup and still look put together as long as I have my brows on! I use MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering to shape them and I set them with MAC Brow Set in Beguile. They work really well for me. For a sharper eye makeup, I line my eyes with Prestige Black Eyeliner. I finish my eye makeup by coating my lashes with Maybelline The Hyper Curl Volum’ Eyes Mascara. It’s by far the best mascara I’ve ever used!

I like to contour my face and I use Nars Laguna Bronzer. To add glow on my cheeks, I use TheBalm’s Betty Lou-Manizer Bronzer, MAC Blush in Dame or ArtDeco blush in Romantic Rebel.

I tote 3 lipsticks in different shades: pink/coral, nude and red. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Make Me Pink is nice no-brainer pink lipstick. It instantly adds life to your face! MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Modesty is my favorite MLBB lipstick and YSL Fard A Levres Rouge Pur Pure Lipstick in Venetian Rose.

This Lucas’ Papaw Ointment is actually well-rounded, but I only use it as lip balm.

I don’t like lugging too much brushes so I’m very thankful for these double-ended and multi-tasking brushes. The Urban Decay Brush came from the UD Naked Palette 2. It has a shader and a crease brush that works okay for me. I use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to apply all of my face products from foundation to blush.

My favorite of all is this Marionnaud N38 Slanted Eyeline & Eyebrows Double Side Brush. It makes applying brow gel so easy! This brush is just amazing! Last but not the least, I curl my lashes with Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler. This has proven that my stubborn lashes can curl!

And that’s that for my What’s in my makeup kit ☺

As cliché as it may sound, my beauty philosophy is less is more. I only use makeup to accentuate my features and to give life to my face. Since I don’t like putting too much makeup to mask my imperfections, I also invest in skin care products and treatments. When I’m older, I’d like to have a beautiful skin with or without makeup on.

•

Thank you Tina for letting us nose around in your makeup bag and life. 🙂 Here’s a sneak peak of next week’s bag! Whose could it be?

Catch up and read about the first ten bags I’ve featured on Nosy Beauty by clicking here.