So I figured since its the end of the year 2012 I'd blog about 12 products I absolutely cannot live without! I try a multitude of products every year but these are the ones I can't picture going a year or even a day for that matter without. So in no specific order here we go!
#1: Alpha Hydrox Enhanced Cream with 10% Glycolic Acid
This little miracle in a jar is a moisturizing lotion with a touch (10%) of glycolic acid which chemically exfoliates your skin by burning off that top layer of dead cells and revealing the new healthy ones that lie below.
I swear this stuff cleared up the mild to moderate (depending on what time of the month it was) acne I had. I swear I don't understand why this stuff isn't marketed as an acne miracle treatment! Although some acne treatments do have it (such as neutrogena healthy skin) it's listed as an inactive ingredient and I couldn't disagree more. Think about it if the acne products out there actually worked great you wouldn't keep buying new products and new treatments thusly spending more money. If this stuff was marketed as a treatment because it actually works you would only buy this item and you wouldn't be spreading the love! If you don't believe me go out and buy it. It's not going to cure your acne in a day but within a few weeks using it as directed you will see a drastic improvement in the appearance of your skins texture, moisture level and glow.
People this is the same exact stuff that is in the expensive chemical peels that the spas and dermatologists use, just at a much lower concentration. It's like giving yourself a very mild chemical peel every day! Who doesn't want that?
#2 Urban Decay eyeshadow Primer Potion
Now if you wear makeup & haven't heard of this stuff by now yoy need to get out from the rock you live under and start exploring the world around you! It's talked about in damn near every magazine, blog and video tutorial on YouTube!
This stuff literally changed my life! Yes it is expensive but it is well worth the money all day long! I never had such a huge problem with creasing but I did have a huge problem with my eyeliner running. I have year round allergies and my eyes are constantly watering. Plus I didn't realize how sheer my shadows were going on until I used this stuff. It will make your colors pop and stick like glue! Your eyeshadow and eyeliner will not fade and will stay put all day! I have even slept with my makeup on and woke up with almost perfect makeup the next day..just like they do on tv! It's amazing.
Now if it's the money you are worried about let me put it into perspective for you. You get a whole lot in the tube and only use about the size of one of those round plastic pin heads for each eye. I probably buy 2 tubes a year that's only $40 a year for perfect eyeshadow all 365 days of it! So worth it! Plus did I mention one of those times I buy it its during the holiday season and Ulta usually sells a gift pack with the original potion and sin (which has a shimmery tone to it) for $22? What a deal! Lol
Now there are cheaper alternatives out there that work (just not as good in my opinion) and those are NYX HD lid primer. This is the one that comes in the tube not the pot. The one in the pot is very creamy and doesn't ever really completely dry. Believe it or not there is a cheap one made by ELF that costs around a dollar that's pretty decent. also I read somewhere that a company called palladio which I have seen in Ulta, Sally beauty Supply and other drug stores and retail chains like bed bath and beyond sells one as well that works good. I personally have never tried that one.
Additional products mentioned:
#3 CND (creative nail design) Stickey nail polish base coat
Again yet another phenomenal product. I was wondering one day why nail salon manicures last so much longer then just painting your nails at home. What are they doing that's soooooo darn different from us? Even when you use the salon quality polish at home it still doesn't quite last as long. Then I realized the one step that was missing in my at home mani was the basecoat so I started researching the best base coat and this one wins by a land slide! It extends your polish to at least 10 days. It's amazing! If I run out I don't even bother painting my nails.
I have really put this stuff to the test as well. I work with my hands a lot at work making vinyl graphics which are like giant stickers and I am constantly peeling this stuff which has a very strong adhesive on it that gets stuck to your nails all the time and my polish still lasts and stays put so I can imagine what it does for people who don't use their hands all day at work! It's just unbelievable!
It could be found either on the web, or at many drug stores, retail chains and beauty supply stores.
while we are on the subject of nails...
#4 Seche Vite Clear top coat
This stuff too is a god send for anyone who likes to save themselves a few bucks and a trip to the nail salon. It's the best top coat I've ever used hands down. Pun intended there. You can paint it on almost immediately after your last coat and not only will your nails look like that new BMW in the showroom but they will dry literally in minutes. What sets this apart from other fast drying top coats is the fact that not only does it dry fast itself, it also cures and hardens the layers of polish underneath it. Obviously it takes some time to completely do that so you still should be a little carefull but within minutes you can use your hands lightly without worrying about huge smudges. Also if you're like me who mostly does my nails @ night you can say bye bye to those annoying sheet marks you get when you "think" you waited long enough for your nails to dry before going to bed only to wake up and find the sheet fairy had come and messed up your manicure!
#5 ELF cream eyeliner (black)
E.L.F which stands for eyes lips face is a cheapie brand sold at Target, Walmart and other stores for next to nothing. They have all sorts of goodies ranging from $1.00 for an eye shadow to $3.00 bronzers and even tools! It does have some buzz amongst makeup guru's on the web for being surprisingly good considering its affordabliliy. You've probably walked by it hundreds of times yourself and wrote it off thinking its too good to be true. Funny how cheap prices can actually sway us away from a purchase sometimes but they really do have some good stuff. I have recently read rave reviews about their loose powder comparing it to high end brand Makeup Forevers' and some even calling it better in some cases. Also their contouring blush / bronzer rivaling Nars! With the prices too you can't even be mad if you don't like what you purchased.
Well the cream liner is one of their products that I don't think gets enough attention from these people! I love it. It goes on nice and smooth and its very well pigmented and doesn't smudge or run. The only downside though is that even though it is offered in a few different colors the black is the only one I love. I have tried the Brown and plum color and don't care too much for them but the black is excellent and definitely deserves more attention.
There are actually 2 more in this category that I like a lot as well which are the maybelline gel liner and l'oreal infallible gel liner. Both are just as good as one another. These gel liners are a bit tricky to work with if you aren't experienced with liners but are well worth it with a little practice. I haven't touched a pencil in years! The only drawback is that they can dry very quickly in the container so make sure you only keep it open for the time you are using it and close it tightly when it's not being used,
Additional products mentioned:
#6 Urban Decay Original Naked palette
You always hear that question if you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring a few items from home what would they be? Well for me my Naked Palette would be #1 shit I'd still want too look good even if a volley ball was the only thing I had to talk to!
There are colors in this palette that can work for just about anyone with any skin tone and they are all just such rich and luxurious shadows that you can't help but feel like a movie star while wearing them. I know this is pricey and $50 is a crazy amount and trust me I was eyeing it up for about a year before I finally bit the bullet and purchased it! All I can say is if you really want it and can't afford it there are a few things you can do to get it...either wait for a birthday or Christmas and tell everyone that buys you a gift to get you a gift card to ulta or sephora, scrounge up all of that loose change you've been throwing in a jar and go to the coin star and cash it in or if worse comes to worst and this may require some time and some leg work go on the web and type "urban decay naked palette dupes" into google and you will turn up thousands of pages worth of people who actually went out and found the closet cheaper alternative or duplicate (hence dupes) for each and every shade in the palette. They even have pics and videos of side by side comparisons of the dupes in the packaging and on the skin! It's amazing!
#7 Am Lactin lotion with 12% lactic acid
Now for me this stuff is a godsend, must have. I have this disgustingly annoying skin condition known as keratosis Pilaris. What is that you ask? It's when your hair follicles ( all 9 bazillion of them) get clogged with excess keratin from your skin. No it's not the Keratin like the one we all lust after in our hair products, this is the annoying kind that causes these unsightly either skin colored or pinkish bumps on your legs that make you look like you have permanent goose bumps or the chills! It even has a funny non medical name and is referred to as "chicken skin". Not only are these bumps ugly and annoying but they feel like sandpaper when you run your hands up and down the affected area. Ugh! I HATE IT! They feel like that because if you look closely at the bumps there's a little hard white particle of keratin sticking out the very tip. It's gross. I have tried every lotion, oil and moisturizer out there to no avail! I finally decided to look it up one day on the Internet and I was lead to a lotion called AmLactin who's active igredient is Lactic Acid which getsmim those pores and dissolves that nasty crap!
Now I must warn this stuff does burn a bit especially after shaving your legs but with daily use you will grow accustomed to it and once you see the results you will actually welcome the burn because you know that means its working its magic! Like they say beauty is pain. After a few weeks my legs went from feeling like an alligator to a baby's buns! Now keep in mind KP can affect you anywhere and I think something crazy like 75% of the population has it. It can show up anywhere from the back of your legs, your butt, lower back and even behind your arms and on your face!
There are many many other lactic acid containing lotions out there on the market but this one is the best. It's the same one your dermatologist would prescribe it is a bit expensive and hard to find about $17 for a 6oz bottle but they sell it at Costco for around that price for a bottle almost double in size!
#8 Equate Facial premoistened facial wipes.
I live for these things! They are the Walmart brand alternative to the ponds facial wipes. They work just as we'll if not better at removing makeup and they are half the price. That or they sell a double bulk package for the same price. I use them daily to remove my makeup, even after showering to get the extra eye makeup off that my face wash didn't get.
They are also great to use while actually doing your makeup. Although this may sound gross I keep the gently used ones that I used to wipe off that excess eyeliner from the shower and let them dry. If thats too gross for you, you can just take one out and let it dry over night because They have a great texture to them that allows you to get that excess powder off your brushes between eye shadow color changes and such. I also use a wet one to clean off my eye liner and lip brushes between applications as well as my eyelash curler. They are also great for cleaning off your makeup containers and packaging. Especially if you're like me and use Bare Minerals foundation. That crap getS EVERYWHERE!
Note: there is one downside to these things and that is that when the package is first opened the wipes on the top seem to be a bit dry.. There are 2 solutions to this, firstly I usually store mine upside down so that the moisture from the bottom soaks all the way through the package. Also if you buy the smaller package they are usually moist all the way through.
Speaking of Bare Minerals....
#9 Bare Minerals foundation
Ahhhh Bare Minerals you either love it or like a makeup artist acquaintance of mine actively hate it and wishes Leslie whatever her name is the creator dies a slow painful death from choking on her own bare mineral dust cloud ! I however have a love hate relationship with it which leans more to the love side. I love the coverage, I love that it doesn't make my skin feel greasy, I love that it doesn't make me breakout like every liquid foundation out there but I absolutely can't take how friggin messy this crap is! No matter how careful you are and how hard you try it gets all over everything in a 5ft radius of where you use it and because of its fine mineral texture it really gets into things and doesn't simply wipe off with one sweep! It needs to be scrubbed off. My husband hates it too but until I grow the balls to rediscover liquid foundations I am sticking with it, hence the reason it's something I can't live without. It wins by default!
#10 Goody medium "claw" hair clips.
These things are an absolute must have for me. I use them In so many different ways. In fact I just broke the last one I had and I keep forgetting to grab them. Hello shopping list. I love these things for their quick and easy usability . When I get out of the shower after towel drying my hair I twist it up and throw one of these I while I do my makeup. Then I use it while blowing out my hair to hold it in sections just like the hairdressers do but probably my favorite thing about them is that they are my secret little weapon on days where I didn't wash my hair. I make a high pony tail at the top of my head and clip one of these around the base then I take the pony tail and either wrap it around the clip and secure it with some bobby pins. It gives your bun extra height and a little more volumes. If I'm going for a more undone, loose and messy look I do the same thing, clip it around the base of my ponytail, then fold my pony tail in half and pull the ends back through the clip so they are pointing towards my forehead. Then I take the looped pony that's left and pull the left and right sides around to the front forming a donut of sorts. I then start securing with bobby pins section by section. Until I'm satisfied with the results. You can tuck the loose ends end or wrap them around the front. The possibilities are endless. I just love the extra oomph they provide.
I think I will do a tutorial one day one this:)
#11 Tresemme Fresh Start Waterless Foam Shampoo
I am a huge huge fan of this stuff. I will admit I don't wash my hair every day! It's just too time consuming to blow it out every morning and I'm just not much of a morning person! If you do, god bless you I just can't make it happen on a daily basis. I'd rather spend the extra time in the morning perfecting my eyeshadow. Anyway this stuff is great if you're like me. I have very thin hair that really needs to be washed everyday. It gets greasy looking even a few hours after showering especially my bangs. Also I get terrible bed head when I sleep and I look like the bride of Frankenstein when I wake up. This stuff is a great fix for both of those things without having to re-wet or wash your hair on those lazy mornings . Just pump out a few pumps worth of the foam into your hands and run them over your scalp and roots. If you'd like you can wipe off the excess with a towel. Then you can restyle your bangs with a quick blast of the blow dryer and wallah freshly styled non greasy bangs! Love it! Takes all of about 5 minutes and blows away having to completely re wash your hair!
And finally
#12 Sally Hansen Airbrush legs
I have been eyeing this stuff up in the store for ages! It's a little pricey for one can at around $10 or so depending where you get it. I like to buy mine at Walmart personally because its much cheaper than everywhere else. It does last a good amount of time though.
Finally I bit the bullet and got it for my engagement party where I wore this gorgeous aqua blue BGBC mini dress that I am longing to fit in again after this baby is born. This dress demanded I have perfect tan and smooth looking legs. Since I am not over 65 and loathe panty hose with a passion I decided it was worth a shot to cover up my oddly dis colored blotchy looking legs but was skeptical of the results. I took a shower lathered my self up with my Am Lactin and let it soak in for a bit. Then I went to work. It's a little tricky at first and needs a little practice before you can spray it on right. I sprayed it a little too close and it was really thick and runny but don't worry you can rub it in and somehow it manages not to look streaky. Then you can just lightly mist and rub it into spots you missed. It dries fairly quick and once it dries that's it! It stays on and really doesn't transfer to y our clothes (which was a little concern of mine) your end result....smooth even toned legs with a slight hint of a very fine shimmer! You will realize how really good it stayed on too the next day when you are in the shower and you go to shave your legs and your shaving cream turns orange!
A few tips for using it though. First is make sure you apply a lotion or moisturizer before using it and let that soak into your skin. Also spray your legs about 20 minutes or so before you plan on getting dressed just to make extra sure it's dry. Also it can be a bit messy. I applied it outside the first few times I used it but if its too cold to do that make sure you apply it somewhere safe from staining anything important to you. Maybe step back in the shower or lay a few towels around on the floor and cover your furniture or any fabrics near by. It will wipe off most things however.
Well folks that's about it...my 12 things I can't live without. What are some of your beauty staples and go to items? I would love to hear! Maybe I can add them to my 2013 list!
