Occasionally, I’ll mention some of the beauty products I love in posts but I wanted to compile my current must-haves here for you. Everyone has a routine and these are the products I constantly reach for day after day.
1. Kate Spade Pouch: A fews weeks back, I was waiting in line at my favorite place to shop these days, Buffalo Exchange and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this Kate Spade iPad case. Since I never seem to actually carry my iPad around, I’ve been using it to hold my basic beauty products.
2. Make Up Forever High Definition Foundation: I am pretty foundation phobic. The thought of smearing flesh-toned liquid all over my face completely grossed me out for years. I didn’t feel like I needed it so I just stayed away completely and stuck with concealer and powder. Then, when I was gearing up to film my first video segments with The Blogcademy back in February, thinking about being on camera with less than perfect skin gave me a reality check. I walked into Sephora the night before my flight and asked for a recommendation. What would look natural yet amazing on video? Their immediate answer: Make Up Forever High Definition Foundation. It worked and now I’m a convert. Unless I’m going out or getting my photo taken, I still skip the foundation on most days. But when I do need it, this is it.
3. Beauty Blender: I was a bit hesitant to spend close to 20 bucks on a makeup sponge (what?! really.) but after traveling with Gala and Kat and listening to their nonstop rave reviews, I began to give in. All I have to say is that the Beauty Blender works. The edgeless shape allows you to really get into those tricky areas around your eyes, lips and nose and blend, blend, blend.
4. Coqui Coqui Perfume: I’m still smitten with this scent. Coqui Coqui smells like vacation and is hand-blended in Tulum, Mexico. My idea of heaven in a bottle.
5. Astier de Villatte Lotion: Creme Suisse is what I reach for when I’m chained to my desk all day, feeling stressed and in need of a calming scent. This Swiss-made hand cream is clove scented and very light — it soaks in immediately. It smells like nothing else I’ve ever owned and everyone who stops by to try it falls in love with its unique scent. The minimal label is great, too.
6. The Dragontree Scrubs and Lotions: When I’m not drinking coffee, I’m probably drinking chai. So when my friend Meredith at The Dragontree sent me a bundle of products to try, I immediately gravitated towards the Chai Sugar Scrub (yes, it smells like a chai tea latte in the shower!) and the Balance Lotion which is a blend of vanilla, black pepper and cardamom. Both remind me of a crisp Fall day.
7. The Fay Farm Body Butter: When I was hanging out at Sugarbox in Vancouver, B.C. I spotted this lotion that’s handmade on Whidby Island by The Fay Farm. It’s labeled as a “body butter†because it’s so thick. I pack this when I’m traveling and use it on my hands, elbows and knees — it’s heavy so you need to use it sparingly. The coconut vanilla scent is outrageously good and I love that it’s organic and made in small batches.
8. Maybelline Mascara: I like nice department store mascara on occasion but most of the time, when I’m running out I just grab a tube from the drugstore. My pick lately has been Maybelline Pumped Up! Colossal Mascara (say that five times fast!) because it gives me mega lashes with very little effort. Someday, I’ll master applying falsies but until then, this does the trick!
9. MAC Eyeshadows: Over the last year, I’ve been streamlining my makeup arsenal big time. Really, how many eyeshadows does one woman need?! After years of experimenting, I’ve settled on two colors that I reach for every single day: MAC Amber Lights and MAC Antiqued. I use Amber Lights, a warm bronze in my crease and Antiqued, a deep bronze on the outer edge. Depending on my lip color, I can easily take this smoky bronze eye from day to night.
10. Make Up Forever Blush Powder: A girl’s gotta have a little fun, though. When I really want to make those bronze-hued eyes pop, I add a dash of Make Up Forever Blush Powder in No. 58 to the very outside crease of my eyes and a dash underneath, too. It’s a bright, saturated fuchsia and somehow works with the bronze hues. Spoiler: I can’t find it online any longer but since it’s in the photo, I wanted to make sure to mention it.
11. Diptyque Solid Perfume: When I’m traveling, I tend to leave my glass perfume bottles at home. There’s nothing worse than opening your suitcase to something that’s shattered and soaked your worldly possessions! Because of this, I keep a solid perfume in my purse. I love the Diptyue Philosykos scent which smells like fig. The scent is clean, simple and fresh and the weighty container means that it’s easier to find in the abyss of my purse.
12. AcquaCures Face Cream: I’ll admit it: I’ve never had much of a skincare routine. I keep really random hours and go from being home for a few months to being on the road for weeks at a time. It’s hard for me to stick to anything long-term. I’ve tried fancy face creams but the heavy, perfumed scents burned my eyes. Then, I discovered AcquaCures, an organic skincare line thanks to Mariah, one of its founders who came to our San Francisco Blogcademy. I’m now using the AcquaRose face cream every day and have converted both my mom and husband to the line. It smells good, works great and is reasonably priced!
13. Rodin Lip Balm: Okay, so this is a bit of a splurge but I love the Rodin lip balm. Linda Rodin has a cult following and after reading oodles of glowing reviews about her line, I took the leap with this lip balm which contains jasmine, orange flower oil, shea butter, beeswax, and castor seed oil all housed in a chic lucite container. It’s lightweight and has barely any scent so I like to use it as a base before I apply lipstick.
14. Olivine Atelier Lotion: Amongst The Waves lotion smells like a day at the beach. With mostly organic ingredients and a scent inspired by Hawaii, this intoxicating scent features a mix of ocean salt, black coconut, a variety of lilies, tonka bean and Arabian sandalwood (yum). If you love vanilla but prefer something more complex, this is for you. Full disclosure: my studio designed this product!
15. Sugarpill Brushes: I have some animal hair makeup brushes from a decade ago that I still use but as I need new brushes, I’m moving towards synthetics. I love the Sugarpill brushes because they’re completely vegan but still work amazingly well.
16. MAC Lipstick: I love a good coral or tangerine-hued lipstick when I’m going out to an event but for most days, I prefer to keep things low key. I probably own a dozen nude-toned lipsticks from MAC but the best of the bunch is Kinda Sexy — it’s a bit rosy but not too pink, not too brown and not too pale. It’s just the right amount of color, super flattering and never looks overdone.
Your turn: What are some of your current favorite beauty products? Anything you’d recommend giving a try?
and it was love at first snap. For the last four months, nearly every photo featured on this blog was taken with the Sony. It does everything I need and it’s super duper compact — I carry it in my purse everywhere, every single day with absolutely no chance of back pain creeping up.
