Time for a fun-fun-fun chat!
Today is all about BEAUTY! It’s our beauty show-and-tell day, which is putting the Fun in February Fun Series.
A few weeks ago, I went to a cabin for a long weekend with some friends. One of my favorite things we did on one of our lazy mornings together was getting out our makeup bags and doing a show-and-tell of our favorite makeup and beauty products over second and third cups of coffee. It was so fun. We tried each other’s products and talked about what we liked and influenced each other to buy some new things.
Sometimes I think all it takes to put a little pep in your step during the LONG COLD DAYS of February is just… fun things. And a new $10 tube of mascara or a fun new way to try doing your brows is honestly sometimes all it takes to inject a little joy into the mundane. So that’s my goal with this post – less of a “here’s what I use because everyone is asking” (no one is asking! lol) and more of a “here are some fun products I love that bring me joy every time I use them” kind of list.
Alright, yes, that’s my little makeup drawer pictured above, and it’s not particularly polished and there are little eyeshadow and bronzer crumbles all over my palettes and I’m wearing my Nordic socks yet again and we’re just going with it because this is a day to just be who we are.
My disclaimer for this post is that I’m not a makeup or beauty expert which, weirdly, makes me even more excited to share the things I love. This is beauty for regulars! Personally, the only things that qualify me to write this post are a) I’m a little picky about products, and b) I occasionally watch YouTube and Instagram videos to learn about these things.
We have not been paid by any of these companies to say these things. I personally bought all these products with my own money, many of them from Instagram ads because THOSE THINGS WORK.
The links marked with a star (*) are affiliate links, meaning we may make a small commission if you click and buy something. If you’d rather us not get a commission for some reason you can just go search the product on your own rather than using these links.
So here we go – just a person on the internet sharing her favorite beauty products! ♡
Skincare
WHAT I USE IN THE MORNING: PourMoi ClimateSmart Skincare
Elizabeth Ries (fellow Minnesotan and host of Twin Cities Live) recommended this in one of her Instagram stories a while back and I bought it immediately. I’ve only had it for about two months, but I use it every morning and I love that it’s like a 3-step skincare routine that I didn’t have to really know or understand, I just bought the set and there. Done. The concept of the ClimateSmart skincare is that there’s a balancer, serum, and day cream that are all targeted uniquely to your climate – which ours is, of course, the POLAR climate. Eye roll. But I like that this is protective against our frigid weather, and as someone who has very oily skin, I also really love that it doesn’t leave my skin greasy.
WHAT I USE FOR EXTRA MOISTURIZING: Honest Company Hydrogel Cream*
I absolutely love this face cream. It feels exactly like the description says – “quenches the skin like a tall glass of water.” It has two types of hyaluronic acid in it, which means it’s mega-moisture-holding which is amazing for winter skin. I use it right when I get out of the shower to kind of preserve my steamy shower skin, and I absolutely love this stuff. And I buy it at Target. 10/10 from me!
WHAT I USE TO WASH: Honest Company Gentle Gel Cleanser*
This is my standard cleanser! I use it with the Foreo (see next section) and it doesn’t dry out my skin or irritate my eyes, so yes, it’s very gentle. Also buy this at Target.
WHAT I USE AT NIGHT: Beautycounter Tetrapeptide Cream
Am I annoyed at myself for spending $80 on a jar of night cream? Yes. But this is my Treat Yourself night cream and it is very, very luxurious. I view this as a little splurge for my skin and I buy a jar maybe once, max twice per year (I just use it periodically). I love how it feels and smells, and it’s supposed to be good for wrinkles and aging-related skin things, and if you figure the cost for how many times you use it, it’s probably even less than one of my high maintenance drink orders from Starbucks but with feel-better results.
Skincare Tools
FACE MASSAGE IN THE MORNING: GuaSha Heart Stone*
I use this Gua Sha heart stone to do facial massage / de-puffing / shaping / lymphatic drainage (lol, me talking about this) and whatever else it’s supposed to do. I basically do whatever I see @beautyshamans doing on Instagram – Shelly does tons of tutorials for how to use this and other similar stones to firm, shape, lift, smooth, and every other good thing for your skin. I do it in the morning because I feel like it wakes my skin up a little bit, and also because I’m too tired and lazy at night. 🤪
FACE MASSAGE EVERY FEW NIGHTS: Foreo Luna 3 Smart Facial Cleansing and Massage Tool*
Charlotte from Clean Foodie Cravings turned me onto this thing a couple years ago. It’s like a little electric vibrating facial massager that supposedly does a lot of good things for your face, but the thing I really love about it is that I feel like it gives my skin a REALLY deep cleansing, like really getting all the makeup and dead / dry skin off. I swear my skin absorbs twice as much lotion or night cream or whatever after I’ve used it. It just feels so clean. The little massager runs for about a minute and I focus it mostly on my forehead (busting through those stressy elevens!) and chin (mega exfoliation necessary).
DERMAPLANING ONCE EVERY FEW WEEKS: Sima Spa Science Dermaplaning Tool*
I use this thing to just gently remove that top layer of dead skin cells and peach fuzz so that lotion and makeup can go smoothly on my skin. It’s like a little non-sharp, painless razor to just kind of unearth a fresh layer of skin. Bought this one at Target! I’ve had a couple brands of these things and this one is my favorite.
Makeup
FOR FUN / FANCY BROWS: Brow Trio
I have very sad overplucked-in-middle-school brows, and Instagram knows that. I bought this off an Instagram ad and it’s very, very fun. It’s basically stencils for your brows with a little sponge and brush to fill them in – giving the look of microblading or professionally done eyebrows without actually doing the professional eyebrow thing. It stays on super well, but (somehow) also wipes off easily if you make a mistake and need to redo, which I often do. I don’t wear these everyday because they take 3-4 minutes instead of 1 minute (lol) but they are definitely my most fun trick for brows right now. I have the soft brown color, but I feel like I could have also gone a shade lighter.
FOR MOISTURE-RICH SKIN COVERAGE: Beautycounter Skin Twin Foundation
I use this daily! It’s a must-have for me because my skin isn’t naturally super even or bright, so I just feel so much more confident with some skin coverage on. It almost wears like a lotion and it just makes my skin look nice and smooth.
FOR A FUN SHADOW: Thrive Causemetics Brilliant Eye Brightener
I bought this off of an Instagram ad and I have to admit, it’s pretty fun. It’s just like a big shimmery easy-to-use eyeshadow crayon and I really like the color (I have Muna).
FOR ANOTHER FUN SHADOW: Glossier Skywash*
This is a fun little wand of matte / super-stay eyeshadow – it’s not in the picture because I used all of mine up, but I buy multiple tubes of this at a time. I love the Pebble color for a really light, natural, bright-looking eye!
FOR A LIFE CHANGING MASCARA: Honest Company Mascara*
I’ve spoken about this one before, but truly this is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used. It comes with a primer (white) and a mascara (black), so it really pumps up your eyelashes and makes them look nice and long and natural. Love it.
FOR A LASH LIFT: Maybelline Falsies Mascara*
I have dry eye which gets a little aggressive in the winter (fun!), and one thing that I’ve found to be a trigger is mascara in my eyes. For whatever reason, my eyes do better when I switch up mascara periodically, so this is my go-to when I’m not using the Honest company stuff.
Hair
WHAT I USE EVERY DAY I DON’T WASH MY HAIR: Dry Bar Dry Shampoo*
This is my favorite dry shampoo. It smells good and it works so well for my hair. The end.
WHAT I USE TO STRAIGHTEN AND CURL MY HAIR: Tyme Iron*
Alright, listen. I was well into my 30s by the time I learned how to curl my hair, or maybe I should say, when I learned that my hair doesn’t want to be curled with a curling iron, it wants to be “curled” with a flatiron-style curler. Like this guy. If I use this to curl my hair, it still takes a bit of time (which, for me, means 15-20 minutes), but it will stay in all day and even a bit into the next day which is otherwise UNHEARD OF for my thick but fine hair. With a curling iron, my hair falls flat almost immediately. But my hair will obey this thing and stay curled for such a long time and I know the reviews can be mixed but for me, it’s really a godsend for the 3x per year that I want to actually curl my hair. I also use this to straighten my hair which isn’t really its intended use but it works well for me – two uses, one product, less things in the drawer. Win.
That’s it, friends!
Do you have any of these products? Do you have any must-try products you’d recommend to ME? I mean, this is a show-and-tell, so let me know what else I am missing.
More and more I’m feeling that beauty is less about looking good and more about feeling good, and these are the products that are getting me there lately. Wishing you lots of Feel Goods today! ♡
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