Summer’s Best Beauty Looks Are All About The Art Of The Scribble

By Alison McGill

It takes a lot for me to get out a makeup brush these days. A powder and a blush brush are really the only tools I’m using and that’s because makeup has become much more tactile with so many brands moving towards stick formulas designed to scribble on, blend with your fingers, and go. It’s the easiest form of makeup artistry there is. 

Foundation, concealor, blush, and eyeshadow sticks are gamechangers. You can create a perfect face under five minutes, applying only as much product as you need, building as you go, then scribbling on a little more and blending where you need it. 

Here’s are seven of our favourite products to scribble on this summer. A few new picks, a few classics, all of them guaranteed to create a gorgeous glow up in record time.

The Longwear Eyeshadow Stick 

The latest beauty innovation from Charlotte Tilbury are these slick, long wear eyeshadow sticks that delivers the perfect eye look in seconds. Available in nine shades which are a mix of satin and matte finish you can sculpt; they are perfect for highlighting and line your eyes with a scribble and a smudge.

TRY: Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-Eyes Waterproof Eyeshadow Stick, $43 each, charlottetilbury.com

The Dream Foundation Stick

Merit is one of our choice clean beauty brands. We love the simplicity of the packaging and how products are designed to be used: easy and effectively. This foundation and concealor stick has been on repeat since launching a few years ago and it delivers natural coverage it delivers, melts into skin, and is available in inclusive lineup of 30 shades.

TRY: Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Formula and Concealer Stick, $52, sephora.com

The Artful Blush Wand

Victoria Beckham just launched another instant beauty classic with her five-shade Blush Stylus collection. The streamlined packing is so Posh-perfect allowing you to apply with precision and sketch on hint of colour exactly where you want it. The product has a buildable, balmy texture that delivers a dewy, buttery finish.

TRY: Victoria Beckham Blush Stylus, $57, victoriabechkam.com

The Fun Jumbo Pencil

Elate is a Canadian founded and made beauty brand that we are big fans of not just for its cool product lineup but its commitment to mindful consumption and sustainability. Our new go-to is the Elate EyeShade Pencil which you can creatively scribble across eyes, and depending on the shade, use as a highlighter and lip shade too.

TRY: Elate EyeShade Pencil, $24, elatebeauty.com

The Dual Action Highlighter

Smashbox fully understands the assignment of no-brainer beauty and effortless application in 2026 and the new limited edition Lit Stx Blushlighter—available in four summery shades—is the perfect 2-1 essential. This cream blush-meets-highlighter hybrid gives you a rosy flush and a light-catching skin shimmer with just one swipe.

TRY: Smashbox Lit Stx Blushlighter, $32, shoppersdrugmart.ca

The Multitasking Cream Liner

19/99 Beauty has been all about the art of the beauty scribble from day one. Every product is cleverly designed to be a multi-use, and one of the cleverest is the Precision Colour Pencil which at first glance looks like a standard eyeliner or lipliner, but the beauty of this luxe, creamy pencil is designed to be used anywhere on the face. 

TRy: 19/99 Precision Colour Pencil, $28, 1999beauty.com

The Bieber-Beautiful Bronzer

Rhode summer has arrived, and Hailey Bieber has blessed us with Pocket Bronze, a riff on her highly obsessible Pocket Blush. There are eight sun-soaked shades in this lineup of cream bronzes with you swipe and dabble on skin to create an alluring sun-kissed finish. 

TRY: Rhode Pocket Bronze, $38, rhodeskin.com

(Feature photo credit courtesy of Elate)