Best in beauty: Pros weigh in on their favorite hair, makeup products

How many times have you heard the claim that a beauty product is “recommended by pros”–and wondered if the endorsement was actually just for the money?

We wanted to know what real life professionals in different areas of the beauty industry really recommend and use, no strings attached.
Here are the real favorite beauty products of the pros:

Celebrity stylist Jessica Licata

Licata likes the MAC Pro Longwear concealer, $20, nordstrom.com, and MAC StudioFix powder plus foundation, $27, nordstrom.com, applied with a fluffy brush. “I like a lighter application with a brush versus a heavy application with a sponge,” she says.

For hair, Licata recommends Pureology’s moisturizing shampoo, $64 at ulta.com, and conditioner, if you live in an arid climate. She says everyone can benefit from some Pssst! dry shampoo from the good ol’ drugstore, $5.79, Walgreens.com, for days when you’re a little oily but don’t have time to do your hair start to finish, she says. And if you must wear hairspray, go with Sebastian Shaper Plus, $18.95, ulta.com, for good control without looking and feeling stiff and sticky. Finally, treat your skin with Tilvee Sea Buckthorn Age-Defying Cream, $35, truthinaging.com, in the winter and Embryolisse Lait-creme, $28, sephora.com (pictured above), or Hydra-Mat, $40, sephora.com, the rest of the year.

Professional burlesque dancer Roxy Star

“Makeup is God’s gift to women,” Star says. Her must-haves:

• Revlon Colorstay lipstick in top tomato, $10.99, ulta.com
• Smashbox green makeup primer (pictured above) to reduce redness and blotches, $39, sephora.com
• Benetint by Benefit rose-tinted cheek and lip stain, $30, sephora.com
• Too Faced eyeshadow and eyeshadow primer, $20, sephora.com
• And for the quintessential burlesque look (or a night on the town)–with lots of sparkle–Ben Nye Fast Fix makeup setter, glitter and glitter glue, which you can find at costume and face-paint shops.

Want more recommendations?

Pin-up model “Feisty Cupcake” says she has fallen in love with everything she’s tried by NYX Cosmetics. (Try the NYX matte lipstick, $5.99, ulta.com, pictured above). Colorado hair stylist Sarah Bankovich says she loves Big Sexy Hair and Healthy Sexy—any of the soy paraben-free products (find them at JCPenney: one to try is Sexy Hair Healthy Soy Renewal Oil, $22.95, jcpenney.com. Finally, hair stylist Erica Hausman Hash, at Eclips Salon in Loveland, Colo., says she uses the Enjoy line (try the luxury shampoo, $36.92, rakuten.com).