EACH WEEK, WE’LL be taking a peek into some of our faves’ makeup bags to see their must-have products, because we’re nosey. This week, it’s the turn of Vanity X student Cian Conroy. You can follow him on Instagram here.
His earliest makeup memories
“To be honest, growing up I never really had any makeup inspiration around me … I grew up being the youngest of three boys. And my mum was never the most talented makeup artist (no offence mum).
All she does is rub a drop of foundation between her fingers and smear it over her face. So it’s not as if growing up I could have taken my mum’s makeup and played around with it, because her makeup collection was, and still is, very minimalist.
“The reason I got into makeup is because I wanted to become a drag queen… One summer while in France, I was addicted to watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and I got soo much inspiration from those drag queens that I decided I wanted to be like them!
“So I headed to Claire’s with my best friend and I picked up a Claire’s palette which I still have to this day. (I also bought two lipsticks which were so awful they had to be thrown into the bin!) I got a glue stick (to cover my brows), some foundation, bronzer, highlighter and a few cheap makeup brushes. My passion for makeup grew from there!
“I started wanting to do makeup professionally when I won a €300 shopping spree and a 1-2-1 masterclass with Vanity X. I went up to Dublin and met up with the guys and gals up there and we went shopping! That is where my proper makeup collection started as it was the first time I was able to get top brand makeup products (and I didn’t even have to pay for them!)
“I loved the Vanity X team so much that I have dropped out of NUI Galway where I was studying General Science to follow my dream and study makeup at their academy this September!”
His makeup bag and what’s inside
“It doesn’t matter where I am going or what I am doing, if I am going to be wearing makeup, I will probably be wearing these products!
“To start off your face, a good moisturizer is needed, and my ride or die moisturizer is from Cien. It is super hydrating and feels so good on the skin, another plus is the cost! It’s super cheap and you can buy it in Lidl!
“My brows always take up the most time when doing my makeup as they are literally my pride and joy so they have to be perfect! I have started using the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow pomade in shade ‘Dark Brown’ . It is so creamy and pigmented! It literally takes no effort to shape and fill your brows! I always use the 31T brush from Inglot to apply it!
“For foundation I would typically use the Fenty Pro Filt’r Foundation in shade 160, as I love a full coverage, matte foundation! I use the Penneys version of the beauty blender to apply it, (because why pay for an actual beauty blender when you could just use the Penneys version which is cheaper and does the same job!)
“For concealer I always use the MAC Pro Longwear concealer (shade NC15). It is super lightweight but also very full coverage! It will cover anything! It is amazing! It is also incredible for carving out your brows after filling them in! I would also use it as an eyeshadow base (without setting it so the eyeshadow comes out more pigmented)
“To set my face the only powder I have ever bought is the Catrice Cosmetics Nude Illusions, and I absolutely love it! And even better, it is super affordable!
“I don’t really contour my face but instead I just bronze up my face a lot and focus a lot of the bronzer on the deeper contours of my face. For bronzer, I use Hoola by Benefit Cosmetics.
“For lips I always use Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in the shade ‘Gemini’ (my friend Jane got it for me and I have used it in every single look since!) and I top it off with a lip gloss from Maybelline!
“The one eyeshadow palette that I cannot live without is the 35B palette from Morphe. It has such a wide range of colours and you can create so many different looks with it! Morphe is also super affordable brand that has incredible products for makeup newbies but also professionals!
“I don’t really have a favourite highlighter, it changes all the time! Sometimes I use Jeffree Star, or Sleek, or Makeup Revolution etc… But for the minute I am LOVING the MAC highlighter. It is subtle if you want a natural look but it is easily buildable to create a very bright, blinding highlighter!
“The final step of looking good, is to smell good! The perfume I use when going out is the KKW Crystal Gardenia Perfume!”
