Attention, Please: 19 Beauty Products a Sephora Beauty Director Can't Be Without

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The Lineup is a monthly series where we're giving you an inside peek at the beauty lineups of cool fashion people, editors, makeup artists, hairstylists, and estheticians—all the people we trust the most. Get ready for a behind-the-scenes look at all the can't-live-without products that make their worlds go 'round.

Makeup or skincare? It's the question I find myself most eager to ask anyone working in the beauty industry. Some might call it cruel. Take Melinda Solares, one of Sephora's beauty directors, who says it's the equivalent of asking her to pick a favorite child. It just feels wrong. But with a little more probing, Solares offers up the perfect response: "Skincare is a form of self-care for me, and makeup is a form of self-expression. If I had to choose, I would pick skincare because what is art without a canvas?"

Solares's deep passion for skincare education came to be after her mom passed away from skin cancer. "I wanted to learn about how I could keep my skin safe," she tells me. "And as someone who struggled with acne for most of my life, I was already invested in learning everything there is to know."

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(Image credit: @ladyymelinda)

Aside from everyone needing a daily SPF—Solares's go-to is Supergoop! Glowscreen Sunscreen SPF 40 PA+++ ($36)—Solares says if you want to splurge on either a beauty treatment or product, invest in something that makes everything else you use work even better. "One of my not-so-secret skincare secrets is using a face steamer. Think of your skin as a sponge. When a sponge is damp, it absorbs much more than when it's dry. The same is true for your skin. The Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Pro Facial Steamer ($149) uses a micro-steam technology that helps open your pores, which not only promotes better absorption and effectiveness of the skincare products that follow but also offers an even deeper cleanse when used while washing. One of my favorite skincare tips is to use a steamer with your moisturizing face masks to boost results."

Clearly, Solares is a bundle of beauty knowledge (not to mention she has access to thousands of products), so I couldn't help but ask her to shed some light on her current lineup of skincare, makeup, and haircare. In addition to stealing her steamer-with-a-face-mask tip, I 100% plan to steal her staples, too. Keep scrolling for the 19 products Solares swears by.

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Group Executive Director, Branded Content and Beauty

Caitie Schlisserman is an L.A.-based executive director with over a decade of branded content and editorial experience. She joined Who What Wear in 2014 as the first branded content editor and has worked her way up to overseeing a team of talented branded content editors and the beauty department of the media revenue team. Before Who What Wear, Caitie helped launch FabFitFun's first subscription box and worked at a beauty startup where she assisted in successfully launching the editorial department.