Top 5 Favourites in Beauty: What Made A Difference For Me
I've had this post in my drafts for far too long. Finally - my 5 all time favourites in the skin and beauty realm.
PREP/
In terms of keeping my skin healthy and hydrated, I rarely need to look further than the Moisture Surge range from Clinique. I've been a long term lover of this skincare brand - using their 3 step products for almost 5 years now. After receiving a tester, I fell head over heels and upgraded to the moisture surge range for my 3rd step. This Moisturising Hydrator has a gel like finish and soaks in immediately, leaving your skin feeling as soft and hydrated as ever. I'm currently in need of a 3rd bottle.
PRIME/
I tried a few primers early in the game and always had issues; it creating a film that balled off onto my fingers as I tried to rub it onto my face, the formula separating in the tube and I just didn't feel that it made much of a difference compared to when I wore makeup without it. That is until I finally tried the POREfessional products from Benefit. I first gave the regular Face Primer a go and loved the way it applied and the silky smooth feeling it gave my skin. It really helped my makeup go on smoothly and stay on in most areas so I used this for a few months. The real hero though is a combination of this on top of the Matte Rescue which I now apply to my nose and forehead. It keeps the oil from escaping and sending my makeup on a slip 'n' slide. So impressed with this combo and glad I gave it a go.
LIPS/
On the high end - the Kora Organics (by Miranda Kerr) Lip Balm I was given as a Christmas present a few years back. It was the first ever product that really worked for me and made a significant difference to the way my lips felt. On the low end - The Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocobutter Mini I picked this up for $2 in Vegas as an emergency lip balm after accidentally leaving mine behind. The smell and the effect were wonderful; almost as good as the Kora Organics balm. Unfortunately it's not available in Australia - so my next best low end alternative that has always worked for me has been the Burt's Bees Lip Balm.
EYES/
When I first began my beauty journey I longed for the perfect eyeshadow palette. I spent my money on the trending (at the time) Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette, followed by the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette. I quickly learned that the natural eyes palette had the perfect colours for white skin; whereas they just made me look tired. At first this convinced me that I was simply awful at doing makeup and couldn't follow a simple tutorial. Then I found the Subculture Palette where the warmer tones such as Fudge, All Star & Rowdy gave me the effect I was looking for from the former palette. Enter Huda Beauty... my entire experience of eye makeup changed. I now use a variation of the Rose Gold Textured Palette, the Obsession Palette in Warm Brown and my holy grail: the Desert Dusk Palette. If you have dark skin with a more yellow tone, I strongly recommend any of these 3 palettes or for something more affordable - any reddish browns, pinks and oranges will compliment your skin. Sometimes I even just use blush with an eye brush if I'm on the go.
REMOVe/
Last, but certainly not least is my newish favourite makeup removing method/ product: the Face Halo. I found this after watching a video by Chloe Morello who I generally trust when it comes to beauty and skincare. It allows you to remove makeup with water alone - no more agitated/ oily/ raw skin after attacking your face with multiple landfill topping makeup wipes. You need to wash the FH with soap after every use and they can be put in the washing machine after every few uses for an extra thorough wash but the effort is well worth the environmental benefit, skin benefits and dollar savings in my opinion. Re-usable is the way of the future!
If you have any feedback about these products or know of any that top them, I'd love to hear about it down in the comments!