What was the last product that shook up your routine?
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter–it’s now a staple in my routine!
— Christine
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I cannot think of much since I’m on a low buy and just using my stash but one that comes to mind is the ABH Brow Gel. I never thought to invest in brow gel but this stuff is truly impressive and tames my unruly brows. Got it as a point perk and it’s the first item in a long time that I plan on buying the full size after trying a deluxe sample!
I’m the same with ABH Brow Wiz; I have found many other good brow pencils (drugstore or high end), but I’d repurchase the Brow Wiz without regretting any penny. 😆
CT Hollywood Flawless filter for me as well!! and the Flower Beauty blush bombs! I’ve loved cream products ever since I got those beauties.
I’ve been thinking of picking this up multiple times but I’ve read so many mixes reviews about it. I was wondering if it’s full coverage and if it settles into pores and not so fine lines? My go to is the Dior Capture for a reference. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!!
I just ordered that in Fair yesterday from Sephora. Can’t wait to try it!
Not quite a makeup product, but still a beauty product: generic Latisse. My eyelashes were short and blonde, so I HAD to use mascara if I wanted my eyelashes to be visible — but deep-set eyes meant I had to use waterproof or else I’d end up with raccoon eyes within the hour. I hate the hassle of removing waterproof mascara, and all that rubbing was messing with my lashes and undereye wrinkles, so now I just use lash ‘roids and all is well. I go without mascara most days (the lash tips are still blonde, but the rest of it grows in dark).
Shiseido makes a truly great eyes and lips makeup remover. It’s on Christine’s 2018 list of products- down a couple of pages. The trick for me is to saturate a couple cotton rounds and hold them over my lashes top and bottom for a minute. Even waterproof will dissolve. Rinse your eyes out with DS saline if the product leaves a filmy residue. I don’t rub at all.
Thanks for the rec! I can’t afford a $30 eye makeup remover right now (especially since six months’ worth of generic bimat is ~$30 — cheaper than six months’ worth of mascara + eye makeup remover), but I’ll keep it in mind if I ever need one!
I completely understand. $30 is a lot for that type of product. Should you decide to get it someday, just know that it lasts forever — and a little goes a long, long way. I can’t even remember when I bought my last bottle, it’s been that long ago. But, I don’t wear mascara every day, either. Take care, Heather! I wish you well.
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum. I’ve been struggling lately with breakouts, a little dryness and other ‘things not going well’ skin issues, so I tried a sample of this, my first real foray into ‘serum’. Was impressed with smoother skin, breakouts eased, and even random feedback by an SA at a furniture store that my skin was ‘luminous’ so now I’m totally on a serum journey.
Not a new to me product, as I already owned it, but a rediscovery and a new slot in in my daytime skincare. Ling New York Dual Moisture Emulsion that I had received in a long past Ipsy bag. I’ve begun to use it again this past month. Using this just before applying Tata Harper Resurfacing Serum alleviates dryness and allows the Resurfacing Serum to stretch out more evenly with less product used. Considering how $’y that Tata Harper product is, this is a game changer! Now to find a retailer that sells the Ling product….anyone?
The new drunk elephant retinol product. I have not used retinol cream in a very long time. I’m going through that awful stage.. UGH.. My skin looks so textured after use, but I know it is a necessary process. I struggled with prescription retinol a number of years ago and it took me 3 or more months to get accustomed to use. I’ve been using a Vit A oil by Zelens on and off again, but it is ultra mild, very expensive, and frankly, doesn’t accomplish much. I initially stopped using prescr retinol because of autoimmune sun sensitivity. I do not seem to have the same problem with Vit C. This summer will definitely require aggressive sun protection.
Paula’s Choice also has many good retinol products, with various strengths, if you haven’t tried them yet. They have a retinol booster that can be mixed with a serum or moisturizer to make it less aggressive on the skin.
With retinol I find that one really needs to find the products that work for you and how often you can apply them.
Retinol does wonders for me! Although my skin is fairly sensitive, I have a strange very high tolerance to retinol. I apply retinol ~4 times a week at night (I could apply it everyday without issues) and I really need 1% retinol to feel results. My favorite is the 1% Clinical from Paula’s Choice, her other retinol products are good overall, but I don’t see as impressive results. The 1% Clinical is actually the first retinol I tried and I didn’t need time to get accustomed to it.
But I do want to try A-Passioni from Drunk Elephant, I’m actually sad I missed the mark to get it from Sephora when the mini was one of the offers.
Hi Ana Maria! Thanks for your reply. I too prefer the 1%, but it just takes my skin longer to get to the acceptance level and not overreact with dryness. I am currently mixing the Vit A passioni with the B-Hydra gel and applying my night cream on top to try and minimize dryness. I’m 55 years and have chronic health issues so any change I make in my skincare takes me ages to adapt. I was successful in the past with prescription vit A, it was just a matter of time. I will hopefully get to that point with the A-passioni, or I will just switch brands as you suggest. Enjoy your weekend.
An individual product doesn’t come to mind immediately… I discovered many great products in time, but `shook up` is a strong word for me.
In my make-up routine the `shook up` was years ago, when I first started using brow products (it might have been 7-8 years???); to this day, Benefit Gimme Brow is still my favorite (although I liked better the older packaging, I hate their current silver wand theme).
In my skin care routine the `shook ups` were definitely chemical exfoliants (BHA, AHA) and retinol, but there are many good products.
I have lately (past ~6 months) tried many great products (ELF hyaluronic acid booaster, Clinique night lip mask, Hourglass brow pencil, MILK brow set, Fenty eyeliner), but they were par with similar items. I guess what impressed me most was the Becca Ultimate Coverage foundation.
A couple of things: Physician’s Formula Argon Oil and Sukin’s Chia Seed oil – both have really moisturised my face.
La Roche Posay’s Ultra light sunscreen 50+ – it also doubles up as a primer – fantastic for summer.
A’kin’s Night cream – one of the best night creams I have used.
Clarin’s Everlasting foundation in Linen (now d/c) showed me what a good foundation was really all about. L’Oreal’s True Match is pretty good too.
ColourPop’s Lux lipsticks – really are A grade.
La Roche Posay has many great sunscreen, well formulated; and they always impress me how good they act as primer. My favorites is Anthelios Clear Skin Face Sunscreen for Oily Skin SPF 60 Oil-Free Dry Touch Sunscreen; I also like the Water Resistant version for hiking/running in the hot summer weather (there’s nothing as bad as a sunburn you get because you sweat out the SPF 😆 ).
The Anthelios 50 Mineral Tinted Ultra-Light Face Sunscreen Fluid is also great, but the tint doesn’t work for everyone.
Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff. It opened my eyes to how much a pop of color can bring an area forward. It’s seriously like a highlighter.
Rae Morris Mattifier – I got it in my Beautylish Lucky Bag and tried it a couple of times as as setting agent but didn’t really like the final finish over my foundation. Then I tried it as a primer and it was a total game changer for me!
Lancome Teint Idole 24H Long Wear Foundation. It’s so good at covering even bad cystic acne and holds up to the worst summer heat and humidity, which is a major issue for me and non-powder foundations. It doesn’t feel like a mask or look cakey. I do a lot less spot concealing since first trying it a year or so ago. Miraculous stuff.
Benefit’s Boing in n°3. It’s the best concealer that I use today that gives me just the right application and that I don’t have to use anything else but the foundation over it. It works with just about all of my foundations and really works wonders on my very , very dark circles. The only other one that “shook up” my routine years ago was Helena Rubinstein’s Magic Concealer. I have three other very good concealers, but Boing is the one I can count on to work well with my other products.