Dior Iconic Mascara
Trends come and go, and there are few beauty products that make us panic more than the thought of this mascara being discontinued. Some formulas curl, some lengthen, others thicken, and Iconic manages all of these without clumps. The one beauty product we consistently gift to our dearest, we’re optimistic that Dior will make this a keeper.
Clinique Quickliner™ For Eyes Intense
An intensely pigmented yet gentle eyeliner is hard to find. The worst of the bunch migrated at the slightest breeze and caused our eyes to water. Others were too dry and pulled at our eyelids with the friction of a suitcase dragged without any wheels. And just when we thought we’d tried them all we returned to the first makeup brand we ever purchased. The Clinique Quickliner Intense is everything you want in a liner – it’s lushly pigmented, long-lasting, and perfectly secured with a base of eyeshadow primer and a smudge of black shadow on top.
Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer
Even with the most attentive routine, every beauty addict faces a periodic blemish outbreak requiring something close to a miracle. That miracle, which debuted in 2017, is the Nars Soft Matte Concealer. It works like the Photoshop clone tool to hide your problem spot under a blanket of seamless pigment. We recommend applying the product to the center of the blemish using the moistened tip of a beautyblender and then lightly blending the outer edges until even you are swindled by its flawlessness.
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
We are all too familiar with the typical lifespan of a foundation application. The first 1-2 hours are solid. But nature’s irrepressible functions kick in and, like slow moving lava, oily pores erupt and the very ground begins to migrate.
Rare is the primer that allows skin to breathe while providing a transfer proof base. Makeup setting sprays from Urban Decay made our face itch, while primers from Smashbox and Makeup For Ever left our skin as oxygen deprived as a climber atop Everest. It was a chance sample from Hourglass that changed our mind about what a good primer can do. The Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer extends the life of your foundation so that the first solid hour become 3 to 4, and the back 10 can be handled with blotting film. Oh, and we should mention it has SPF 15. Buy this one immediately and you’ll forget you ever lived without it.
Shiseido SPF 50+ Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion WetForce
Truly the best sunscreen to layer underneath makeup, the Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion has the requisite high SPF and a non-greasy consistency that skin absorbs quickly. Made for both face and body, this sunscreen claims 80 minutes of water resistance which we’ve successfully put to the test on Griffith Park hikes. Best of all, this sunscreen is gentle on oily skin with minimal interference from fragrance or white residue. We admit it’s pricier than any other sunblock we’ve purchased, but the 100 mL size will keep your face protected for the whole summer.
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment
Simply put, this scrub works. Deep green and densely textured like a pinch of moist sand, ExfoliKate® knocks out dead skin using a combination of tingling enzymes and natural particles massaged into the skin. It’s a total all star of a product that will keep your complexion cleaner and brighter for months at the cost of one spa facial.
Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
If you live in a dry climate and shower every day you may have never needed (much less tried) dry shampoo. And that would be us except when travel, sleeping in, or the occasional bit of exercise increase the time when hair needs a shower and when it gets one. For those grooming intervals there is Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo, the most effective and palatably fragranced dry shampoo that we’ve ever tried. No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, a few spritzes to the roots will instantly halt the ripening. This product restores hair to a vibrantly healthy state with loads of body and a clean scent. It’s downright the best shower we never had.