Buying a puppy four days after starting this blog was not the smartest idea I’ve ever had. This face melts my heart and all I want to do is come home after work and spend my evenings falling more in love with him. His name is Pablo.
I hope to share video content really soon, but Pablo has consumed my life the past few days — can you blame me? In the meantime, I’ll keep the conversation going while I establish a routine that Pablo and I are happy with.
Because this project is in its early stages, I want to take this opportunity to cover my absolute essentials. I have certain wants/needs from my beauty regimen and makeup routine and a number of products that fulfill them. I have narrowed down to a favorite few in different categories that I stand by and have never let me down. You and I probably don’t have the same needs, but most of these selections should be useful for almost everyone. Please note these aren’t listed in any order of preference.
1. The Spoon
The spoon takes me back to the 8th grade. It has been with me since my very first beauty phase and set the stage for my life-long beauty obsession. While at 14 I had little experience with an eyelash curler, I knew after using a spoon that I would never own an actual curler again. The spoon is possibly life’s greatest beauty hack and was actually my grandmother’s preferred method for curling her eyelashes, too. And she was onto something because I personally think it gives better results than even the fanciest of eyelash curlers — let me clarify that I have used them, I have just never owned them. So now I always carry an extra spoon in my bag. A tutorial for this is coming soon!
2. Benefit’s POREfessional
I can’t go without primer if I’m doing a full face of makeup because I know I won’t get the most out of my foundation. This ironically makes me feel financially irresponsible. With most primers, foundation applies more smoothly and lasts much longer than without. But with the POREfessional, in particular, I can go an entire day at work or make it through any event (weddings, dancing, tears) and have flawless foundation, and visibly smaller pores, even 9 hours later. I also love that this can go under or over foundation. When I’m rushed in the morning before work, I tend to forget to apply the POREfessional before my foundation. I can easily apply after my base, blend and get the same results. I’m getting ready to buy my fourth tube and this time I’m investing in the limited-edition value size at 1.5 ounces.
3. Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat
My most uncontrollable beauty urge is to constantly paint my nails. These days I do so a normal 2 times a week. But there was a period in my life during which I changed polish 3 or more times weekly. I once changed color 6 times in a week — one of those times in a movie theater bathroom during trailers. But the frequency of my polish changes has just as much to do with desire as with my ability to do it so easily. It’s because of this top coat that I can touch up my nails in movie theater bathrooms, the backseat of a moving NYC cab, or 20 minutes before bed (no sheet marks!). It dries so quickly that I need no more than 3 minutes before I can use my hands again. That and my nails are just shiny, shiny, shiny. Do yourself the biggest favor and buy this…in bulk.
4. Too Faced Shadow Insurance
An esthetician I once went to, at 9 pm after a full-day’s work, was impressed that my eyeshadow was perfectly in place with no creases. She asked if I was wearing Urban Decay’s Primer Potion, and very much to her surprise I told her I was wearing Shadow Insurance. I LOVE Urban Decay, there’s no denying the quality of their products, but the Shadow Insurance blows me away every single day (because I wear it every day). My eyeshadow doesn’t just stay in place, but the color intensity is kicked up a notch and looks fresh even hours after I’ve applied it.
5. First Aid Beauty Anti-Redness Serum
This one’s for you sensitive-skinned ladies (and gentlemen). I read about First Aid Beauty’s benefits for sensitive skin and was instantly turned on to the brand. I suffer from redness (which I recently learned was rosacea) and when I learned about this product in particular I didn’t think twice about buying it. I read in reviews that some people experienced instant results with the serum, while some saw significant results after two weeks or longer. I have no patience so 5 minutes after applying for the first time, I ran back to my bathroom to assess my progress. I saw nothing. Five minutes later I was back at my mirror. I repeated this for about 20 minutes until I finally gave up and fell asleep. I awoke the following morning to skin that was more even in tone than I have seen on my face in years, and with significantly reduced redness. The red dots on my jawline and chin that I hated most actually shrunk overnight. Over the next few days, I applied twice daily (as the bottle says) and just grew happier and happier with the product. After a week, I reduced my applications to one per day and that alone has been enough. If I’m feeling brave soon, I’ll share before and after photos.
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