The Five Product Face

I feel like my makeup look as of late has been getting more and more minimal. Whenever I would see people post "five product face" looks, I could never pare down my routine that far. But lately I've been just using these five products to get a polished, pulled together, and minimal look in a flash - perfect for me because I've gotten into the habit of rolling out of bed only 10 minutes before I need to leave for work.

Product 1: Do-it-all Concealer

I love the look of perfected, glowy skin, but on a rushed day I don't have time for layers of primer, foundation, concealer, and powder. Luckily my skin has been behaving lately, so a creamy concealer that works well on redness, blemishes, and undereyes is the perfect amount of coverage for me and the only base product I need. My favorite is the Glossier Stretch Concealer - it's basically the tinted moisturizer of concealers. It evens everything out while still looking like skin, and it makes you look glowing and healthy.

Product 2: Brow Fluffer + Filler

I can't go anywhere without helping my brows out a little, and the Glossier Boy Brow is the most perfect all-in-one product for definition and hold. It gives me that fluffy, full brow look I'm always after without being crispy or crunchy. I don't even feel the need to use any pencils or pomades to fill my brows in - the Boy Brow does it perfectly.

Product 3: Fluttery Mascara

Another go-to product I can't go without is mascara. A little bit of mascara helps me look so much more awake. I haven't been able to shut up about the Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume & Curl Mascara lately, because it just might be the best one I've ever tried. I just recently bought a backup because I can't stand the thought of running out of it. It perfectly fans out my lashes and makes them ultra-fluttery. It keeps the curl all day long to keep me looking wide awake. If you're looking for a good everyday mascara, this is it.

Product 4: Cream Highlighter

I know some people wouldn't include a highlighter when forced to choose only five products to use, but they're just a necessity to me. I like to make sure my skin looks dewy and glowing at all times, so I'm never without my Glossier Haloscope in Quartz. Real crystal extracts and a solid oil core add a dewy glow to the skin that doesn't feel sticky or tacky. I stripe it on directly from the stick and blend it out with my fingers - it's super easy and oh so pretty.

Product 5: Lip + Cheek Product

Is this one cheating? I love to add a bit of color to my cheeks since I'm so pale - it really helps me look healthier and less like an extra from The Walking Dead. The Bite Beauty Multistick works well on both lips and cheeks, so it's a lipstick and blush in one here. It also performs well on the eyes if you'd want to use an eyeshadow, too. I've collected more of the Multisticks than one person probably needs, but my favorite of them all is Cashew. It's the perfect pinky brown that works on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. I use it underneath my cheekbones to add definition to my face, and I dab it on my lips for a soft, blotted color. The Multistick lasts such a long time, too.

What five products would you choose for a five-product face?

I mentioned a lot of Glossier in this post, and you can get 20% off your first order here! I do make a small commission on orders through my rep page, but that money gets invested back into this space on equipment and products to test!

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Skincare Technique to Try | The 7 Skin Method

A little over a week ago, I was letting YouTube play in the background when this video came on - I immediately dropped what I was doing and closely watched. One of my favorite YouTubers, Renee from Gothamista, collaborated with Sarah from Glow Recipe to demonstrate the 7-Skin Method, a skincare technique commonly used in Korea. The name comes from the process of patting on seven layers of your toner/essence ("skin" and "toner" are the same word in Korean, according to Glow Recipe). It seemed totally high-maintenance and a little unnecessary at first, but K-beauty has never steered me wrong, so I decided to try it.

The idea with this method is that you want to use a simple, hydrating toner. Acid toners and toners containing high levels (or any, really) of denatured alcohol or other actives should be off-limits, or at least limited to just a layer or two. You can use the same toner for all seven layers, or you can change it up depending on how your skin is feeling. It's said that it provides such an increase to the skin's moisture levels without having to use heavy or greasy creams. It's a great way to hydrate and firm the skin and should work for all skin types. It's of course always encouraged to find what's best for your skin - you might not need all seven layers, or you could need even more.

You want to use something watery in texture so that you're not overloading your skin. My favorites to use have been the Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner and the Mizon Intensive Skin Barrier Toner - they're fairly thin and watery, but have just a slightly higher viscosity that makes them perfect for this method. I take a dime size amount for my first layer and then 1-2 drops for all subsequent layers, patting them in until it feels like they've soaked in, but my skin isn't completely dry. It sounds like it will make a skincare routine last ages, but it hasn't added too much time to mine - maybe the five to seven minutes it normally takes gets bumped up to ten. 

Doing this almost every morning and night for the past week has legitimately changed my skin. I must have been experiencing much more intense dehydration than I thought, because patting in the extra layers on toner has left my skin feeling so healthy and nourished. My skin looks and feels firmer and bouncier and has a dewy, but not greasy, glow afterward. I haven't felt the need to slather my skin in heavy oils and creams before I go to bed either, and I still wake up with moisturized, glowing, and bright skin. Since my skin is dehydrated and I'm in quite a dry environment at the moment, I follow up with a hydrating serum (like this one from Glossier or this one from Klairs), and a cream (usually this one from Dr. Jart+ or this one from CosRX at night, and this one from Glossier in the morning). And this could be down to a few other changes I've been making, but I haven't had one breakout since I started using the 7-Skin Method.

I mentioned that I love using the Klairs and Mizon toners above, but here are some other products that have been working well with this method:

Saturday Skin Daily Dew Hydrating Essence Mist

Glossier Soothing Face Mist

MUN Skincare Anarose Hydrating Rose Toner

Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence & Mist

Cremorlab Mineral Treatment Essence

Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist

I always start with at least four layers of the original two toners mentioned and then will use these for the last three or so layers - for some reason I don't like using these products for all seven layers quite as much as using those other two toners - the Klairs and Mizon just have such a perfect consistency!

Have you tried the 7 Skin Method?

Renee from Gothamista also made a helpful video of her favorite hydrating toners as a followup to her video on this method here.

Sources: Glow Recipe, Gothamista

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Ouai Dry Shampoo Foam

I picked up the Ouai Dry Shampoo Foam a few weeks ago after hearing many mixed reviews, and after trying it for awhile, I'm finally ready to share my thoughts. I was initially drawn to this because I hate pretty much every dry shampoo I've tried. The typical sprays may make my hair look cleaner for a little while, but they just leave such a dirty, gritty feeling that I could never get down with. The only other product I've tried from Ouai is the Hair Oil, and it's an absolute favorite, so I had high hopes for this.

Ouai's new Dry Shampoo Foam is meant to refresh and revive your hair without water, making it possible to go longer between hair washes. As someone who went through a period of mild hair loss last year (new apartment + new job + car accident basically meant my whole body went haywire), washing my hair less often has definitely made a difference. So I was constantly on the lookout for a dry shampoo that would make my hair look presentable for one extra day but also not make my hair feel absolutely disgusting - and let me tell you, it was difficult. 

I think I've found the only dry shampoo I'll ever use from now on in this Dry Shampoo Foam. It manages to get my hair looking (and smelling!) clean, and it actually feels clean too. I take a ping pong ball sized amount in my hands and spread it over my roots and oily areas. Then I just work it into the hair and scalp - it's a weird experience at first, because it feels wet, like a mousse, but you'll know it's thoroughly worked in once your hair feels dry again. My hair tends to get weird waves at my roots and frizz when it gets wet, but once the foam is worked in, my hair looks just the same as it was before applying (but cleaner). If you have a really polished hairstyle, I'm sure working the foam vigorously into your scalp will kind of mess that up, but I'm always kind of going for a purposeful bedhead look, so this really helps me achieve that. 

Other dry shampoos I've tried have certainly given me more volume than this does, but the disgusting feeling they left in my hair made it totally not worth it. By the end of the day of having this in I do feel the need to wash my hair as soon as I get home, but that's still about an 8-10 hour improvement of the spray formulas. I'm always looking to get just one extra day with dry shampoo, so this is totally fine with me. This is just the perfect all-rounder to me - it makes my hair feel clean, it smells great, and it gives me some decent volume and body. I'm super happy with this, and I've already gotten rid of all of my other dry shampoo sprays.

What's your favorite dry shampoo? Have you tried the Ouai Dry Shampoo Foam?

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