The Unsung Heroes

December 10, 2015

Do you ever start using a product that just slots so perfectly into your routine that you forget to talk about it? I’ve noticed lately I’ve got a few “unsung heroes” floating around my collection that I haven’t mentioned much on the blog. So today, I’m here to change that.

Let’s start with skincare. I used to be a dedicated user of the Body Shop cleansing butter, but it isn’t exactly easy to come by around here. I got tired of ordering it online and instead went for the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm - it came in a bigger tub and it was available in my local Sephora. I think I’ve forgotten to speak about this one because it’s just such a basic product. Basic, but amazing. It’s quite thick and hard in texture, but once melted over the skin it turns into a silky oil that really dissolves away any and all makeup, including the waterproof mascaras I love so dearly. I found that the Body Shop one often left my skin feeling tight, but the Clinique offering doesn’t do this at all. It’s also scentless, which is great if your skin is sensitive.

The other skincare bit I’ve forgotten to mention is the Herbivore Botanicals Rose Hibiscus Hydrating Face Mist. Face mists aren’t really all that exciting to begin with I guess (though I'm obsessed with them), and I’ve got a large group of them already. But what makes this one special is that it contains coconut water so it really does feel unique to my other face mists. It actually feels like I’m giving my skin a drink of water and it feels ultra-refreshing.

I mentioned in my most recent Makeup Lately post how I’ve been using the Glossier Boy Brow every day, and then I completely forgot to mention it in my November Favorites (realizing I had forgotten it was what gave me the idea for this post). It’s the best brow gel I’ve ever used - it actually does make my brows look fuller. My eyebrows are quite thick in shape but sparse so I never feel comfortable leaving the house without filling them in, but a quick slick of the Boy Brow is fine for me on minimal/no-makeup days. It’s modeled after old fashioned mustache wax, so it really fluffs up the hairs, keeping them in place without ever getting shiny or crispy.

I’ve got yet another neutral lip love that I haven’t mentioned because I was afraid you were all getting sick of me harping on about them, but I just can’t get enough of the Nudestix Lip & Cheek Pencil in Mystic. It’s got such a creamy formula that’s so easy to apply, but it sets down to a matte (but not dry) finish that lasts ages. The color Mystic is a lovely brown-y mauve shade that looks perfect on the lips and adds just a hint of definition to the cheeks without making things look too rosy. And I love the little case it comes with - it’s been living in my bag ever since I got it.

Lastly is another thing I mentioned in my Makeup Lately - the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light. I guess I haven’t mentioned it much because I’m just not used to talking about powders. This is the only one, except for a few little samples of loose ones, that I own. I was always careful about powder because my skin gets dried out so easily, but this one has the perfect amount of creaminess and luminosity to not go all cakey. I’ve been using it to set my makeup every day and it keeps the glow going without getting shiny, and it really does help my makeup last longer.

Do you have any products that just fit into your routine so perfectly that you forget to even mention them?

Winter Skin Essentials

December 08, 2015 in Makeup, Skincare

You may remember a couple months back I told you about my Autumn Skin Essentials. Those dealt more specifically with my face, as that's really all that was being affected by the change in weather, but now that it's been cold pretty much every single day, the rest of my body is feeling it as well. I've still got a couple masks and such to share because I'm such a skincare junkie, but I thought it was necessary to include some body care as well.

Exfoliants | Once the season of dry skin rolls around, I find it super important to always keep up with exfoliating my skin, or else I find it can get really dull and congested. For my face, I've got both a heavy duty and a gentle option. When my skin is really needing a good ol' sloughing, I look no further than the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel. I have the sensitive version, but it still gets the job done. It's a thin watery fluid that I like to paint on my face with a flat foundation brush and leave to dry for about 10 minutes. When I wash the mask off it leaves my skin feeling amazingly smooth and cleared up. When I'm wanting a more gentle exfoliation, I go for the Mizon Special Care Apple Smoothie Peeling Gel. This is a super intriguing product - it's got a bit of a gel-like consistency that you apply to your face and leave for about a minute. After that minute is up, you start massaging it over your face, and it starts to ball up - as it's balling up, it's actually taking away all the dirt and dead skin with it! This one would be great for more sensitive-skinned people as it doesn't have any scrubby bits or strong acids in it. For my body, I like a more abrasive scrub. My favorite is the Lush Ocean Salt Scrub - the salt makes it a little more hardcore than your typical sugar scrubs, and it's got avocado butter and coconut oil in it to hydrate and soothe the skin afterwards.

Hydrating Masks | Like I mentioned in my autumn skin essentials, in the cold weather it's really important to keep the skin hydrated. My skin is typically dehydrated and dry anyway, so the cold can make it start to feel a bit unbearable. I love hydrating masks that aim to both nourish and soothe. My favorites are the Fresh Rose Face Mask (review) and the Belif First Aid Anti-Hangover Soothing Mask (review). They both actually feel similar, with very cooling, jelly-like textures. Although you'd think a cooling sensation wouldn't be welcomed when it's cold, I love it as my skin gets quite flushed from the heating being turned on. Both leave my skin feeling so much better, and I definitely know I wouldn't be able to handle the winter without them.

Lip Balms | I'm completely addicted to lip balm year-round, but it's most important in the winter. If I'm not careful my lips can get so chapped that I'll end up with a hideous and painful rash all around my mouth. I love slathering on the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask every night - it's so thick and rich that you can really feel it nourishing your lips, and it sticks around till morning. During the day I like to layer on the Glossier Balm Dotcom. This one has more of a slippy Vaseline-like texture, but it's actually full of good ingredients that will help your lips, like lanolin, beeswax, and castor seed oil. I've now got multiples of it in different bags and purses so I will never get stuck without it.

Hand Creams | I mentioned in my November Favorites my newfound love of the Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. I get the worst dry and cracked hands during the winter, so I'm really taking steps now to hopefully prevent it this year. This has been the best hand cream I've tried, as it really makes the skin soft but sinks in quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film behind. Plus it smells divine, which is always a win.

Body Butters | I'm not the best at keeping on top of body moisturization, but if I get too lax with it my skin certainly starts letting me know. I love the body butters from The Body Shop, particularly the Olive one (I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but I have the giant tub of it). These feel so rich and really beneficial to the skin, and they keep on moisturizing for a full day. Please let me know in the comments if you have a favorite Body Shop Body Butter, because I pretty much can't stray from the olive one!

What are your winter skin essentials?

Early Morning Beauty

December 05, 2015 in Makeup, Skincare

I wrote a post similar to this almost a year ago (it's called the "Bright Eyed, Bushy Tailed Edit" if you want to go have a laugh), but since posting that one my work schedule has been changed again and I have to get up even earlier every day. The early and cold mornings have been doing no good for my complexion, so I need to pull together a few natural glow-inducing products to keep me from looking like an extra from The Walking Dead.

When I wake up looking particularly dull and gray, I reach for the REN Flash Rinse 1-Minute Facial right away. It's so effective and really only takes one minute, so it's perfect for mornings when you may be a little rushed. It's a fast-acting exfoliant that uses water-activated Vitamin C to slough away that layer of dead skin. The instant results are truly remarkable - brighter, glowing skin as soon as you wash it away.

Once I've got the dead layer off, I like to continue with the rest of my skincare routine. The best brand for a nice, dewy complexion is Glossier - I'd recommend their whole Phase 1 Set, but the most important product here is the Priming Moisturizer. This is seriously some kind of magic - it instantly plumps the skin and eliminates a lot of redness. It's my first choice for moisturizer if my skin is feeling especially tired and lackluster. Another great option, or maybe one to mix with the Glossier moisturizer, is the MAC Strobe Cream (which I've forgotten to include in the picture!). It really amps up the glow in your skin without looking shimmery or too shiny. Both products just give the skin a really healthy looking sheen, like you're perfectly hydrated and rested.

I don't always reach for eye cream in the mornings, but if I'm looking particularly zombie-like I'll reach for the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. It's a salmon pink-toned cream so it helps to counteract the blue tones in the dark circles, and it has a bit of luminescence in it as well to really brighten the area.

The Priming Moisturizer really makes it possible for me to only wear a light base as it eliminates so much redness for me. Glossier's Perfecting Skin Tint is a favorite, but any glowy and light base will do. My other favorites are the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream and the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer. Despite being super lightweight, they both give a good amount of coverage (the NARS has slightly more). Like the moisturizers mentioned, they also leave the skin with a nice sheen that doesn't look or feel greasy, and the NARS Tinted Moisturizer especially has great lasting power.

Going back to those undereyes, if I'm wanting to look really awake I'll always reach for the Estee Lauder Double Wear Brush-On Glow BB Highlighter. It's similar to the YSL Touche Eclat, but it actually has excellent coverage. I have the lightest shade (0N), and it's quite brightening even on my super pale skin. It covers up the rest of the dark circles that the eye cream didn't take care of and brings a lot of light to my undereyes.

I wear highlighter everyday, but when I wake up feeling extra tired and dull I'll always reach for a cream over a powder. They're usually not as intense, but they really help in adding a healthy glow back to the skin. My favorites are the rms beauty Living Luminizer and the Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight. The Living Luminizer is just amazing and is definitely the one to go for if you're looking for a healthy glow. It gives the most beautiful and natural looking sheen to the skin, and it lasts a really long time. The Clinique one is a little more intense but still lovely. I love that it has more of a pink tone to it - as my skin is quite pink-toned, it looks believable as a real dewy glow.

I've finally gotten into the habit of setting my makeup - I used to never do it because I didn't want to cake powder onto my already dehydrated face, but not doing so was ensuring my skin would drink up all my makeup within a couple hours. Now I always finish every look with a dusting of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light on my face, concentrating on my T-zone and chin. It's the perfect powder to use in a healthy, glowing look like this because it doesn't dull down the luminosity you've spent so much time building up. This powder is just gorgeous and deserves all the hype - it's so soft and doesn't look shimmery or glittery on the skin (or even in a swatch). I love the Diffused Light shade as well, because as it's a pale yellow color, it's excellent at hiding any redness that may start to pop back up throughout the day.

What are your go-to products when you're feeling tired and lackluster?