The 5 Beauty Products I Can’t Live Without

When it comes to beauty products, I have things I like, love and then the things I can’t live without…

Here are those five things.

My five beauty must-haves that are always on my beauty cabinet, in my travel bag and available!  They’re kind of basic, but so essentials to my everyday routine. Most of these products I’ve used for years and a few are new to the lineup, like my hydrating serum.

Mascara 

As much as I love my lash extensions, I love my natural eye lashes and applying falsies if I need a little more length. I recently discovered the perfect combo for making my eyelashes look thick and voluminous.

This castor oil from Amazon has giving my lashes the conditioning it needs to keep my lashes growing after lash extensions. For years I’ve spent money on lash serum, but found this is the best bang for my buck. I also started to use my lash curler, this Tarte wand is my favorite. For years I stop using my lash curler and I honestly wonder why?! It’s such an essential in our beauty kit and makes a huge difference.

As for mascaras, Rimmel’s ScandalEyes RetroGlam has been #1 in my book for over two years. The mascara wand allows you to curl your lashes while applying the mascara. It gives you so much volume, it’s amazing! It also lasts for months, so you’re not running to Target every month to pick up a new mascara.

Next is the IT Cosmetic Tightline. I LOOOOOOVE this mascara. After I curl my top lashes, I use this little brush to prime my lashes, then I apply the Rimmel mascara. The Tightline mascara works wonders for my bottom lashes. Instead of using a larger wand, I use this smaller brush to coat my bottom lashes. This mascara is the absolute best, if there’s one thing that you decide to buy on your next trip to Sephora, make it this mascara.

SPF 

This is one of the most important steps in my beauty routine, Moisturizer with SPF! There are a few different products that I use with SPF. Since I rarely apply throughout the day, I try and apply a few layers before putting on my makeup. It’s probably not the most effective use of SPF, because it really should be applied every few hours, but it still keeps my skin from feeling the morning sunshine. The Glossier Invisible Shield SPF 35 is one product that I’ll continue to have in my beauty arsenal. I love the way it feels when I apply it over and under my other beauty products. It’s not thick or oily, and great for daily use.

As for my other SPF favorites, COOLA has a selection of products that are animal friendly and contain SPF, so I’m a huge advocate of their products. Their makeup primer and setting spray are two products I currently use and would recommend to anyone looking for ways to incorporate more SPF into their daily beauty routine. The setting spray tingles a little bit after you apply, so if you have sensative skin, I wouldn’t recommend this specific product for your skin type.

A few other favorites are the Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 and Garnier SkinActive Moisture Bomb Antioxidant Super Moisturizer SPF 30.

BeautyBlender 

Oh, my beloved BeautyBlender. Just a few short years ago I brought this into my beauty routine, prior to use the beauty blender I’d apply foundation with a foundation brush or my hands. What I’ve found after trying to contour with a brush, I was wipe away all my makeup. That’s when I decided to give the BeautyBlender a try and it was the best decision for my makeup routine!

Pros – say goodbye to wasting products on your brush. Although the beauty blender does soak up some of the product, I think it’s a lot less in comparison to a normal makeup brush. You’ll also not have to worry about makeup lines. I love blending all my makeup around my hairline and neck. Makes my makeup look more natural. 

Cons – this thing is always dirty. I try and wash it every few days, but I don’t always have the time to keep up the maintenance. If I had 10 of these in rotation, I’d be a lot happier with the upkeep for this product.

I started using the mirco BeautyBlenders, not as big of a fan as the original size, but it does help to blend my contour on my nose. I just don’t use it daily, at the most, weekly.

Tweezers

I cannot live without tweezers. I’ve been plucking my brows for years and I can’t imagine not having tweezers in my beauty routine. I always make sure I pack it in my beauty bag, especially when I’m traveling.

This is something I get this from my mom, she always had a mirror and tweezers in her purse or right next to her bed. ALWAYS.  These are crucial to keeping my brows being shaped and getting rid of any other stubborn facial hair.

Since I started using false lashes, I always use these to apply my lashes. One of my favorite beauty tools!

Hydrating Serum

Although I’m currently loving anything with oil in my beauty routine (here are all my favorite beauty oil products), hydrating serum has had a larger impact in my daily skin routine. Someone with extremely dry skin, I have to pay especially close attention to the types of products I use on my skin to keep it hydrated. The SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel locks in the moisture immediately after using.

One thing to know about this gel, is that is contains hyaluronic acid and tissue-repairing vitamin B5, and this is the formula that helps restore  and bind moisture to the skin. HA is something I’ve started adding to my day and night routine.

Hope this post was useful. Skincare and makeup is something I don’t share a lot of on the blog or social media, but it’s a huge part of my life, especially as I get older. What I use and put on my skin is important to maintain a healthy glow and long lasting radiance in your skin. 

What are some of your favorite products? Anyone have any amazing SPF products, I’m always on the lookout for new SPF goodies!

xo, Olivia

1 Comment

  1. Elle wrote:

    love you skincare posts. thanks olivia 🙂

    Posted 9.30.17 · Reply

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