I sat down earlier to peruse the internet for various articles of cute clothing. And you know what I found?
Nothing.
I feel that a moment of silence is in order.
Maybe I’m just not in a clothes kind of mood right now. Or maybe there are only so many ruffled jackets and tunics that a girl can get excited about.
Or maybe I spent the afternoon taking Caroline to gymnastics and waiting in a lobby filled with toddlers who haven’t discovered their inside voice and then followed that up with an early dinner at Chick-fil-A and 278 other families that had the same idea. And coming home only to face the reality that Caroline had a folder full of homework and very little in the way of time management skills.
I may have said something along the lines of, “QUIT MAKING TURKEYS OUT OF THE CROSSED-OUT WORDS AND JUST WRITE THE SENTENCES” right before I blacked out from the frustration as she began to draw another turkey.
Whatever the case, I decided that today is not about clothes. Today, my friends, is about beauty products. Because as Wes from The Bachelor sang, “Love don’t come easy…” and neither does beauty.
Here are the products that are currently in rotation at my house:
1. Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer
I’ve never been a huge fan of foundation because it always ends up feeling too heavy on my face. I just need a little something to even out my skin tone and hide the ever-increasing imperfections. Which is why it was a happy day when I discovered the tinted moisturizer.
It provides just enough coverage, but still looks totally natural. It’s a better version of my normal face.
The Laura Mercier can be a little pricey, so I alternate it with Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Enhancer tinted moisturizer. It’s very inexpensive and I use it on days when I’m just going to HEB and leaving a trail of sugar down all the aisles.
I just bought this a few weeks ago and the verdict is still out. I like it a lot because it goes on light and easy, plus it helps my makeup stay on all day.
There are a ton of primers out there and, at first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side.
What was I talking about?
Oh. Primers. I was skeptical at first, but I have come to the conclusion that using a primer makes a big difference in the staying power of your makeup. And on another note, the salesgirl at Sephora told me not to use one with sunscreen in it when I knew I was going to be photographed because it can give your skin a weird tone in pictures.
I wish she would have told me a way to avoid having a totally fake smile and awkward-looking hair while being photographed.
3. Cetaphil
This is my old standby. I use Cetaphil at least once a day to wash my face. It’s gentle and it doesn’t dry out my already dry skin.
4. Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
I discovered this about six months ago and have used it every day since. And P even uses it now. Because as you get older, dead skin cells tend to accumulate on your face and make your skin look dull. Nobody wants that.
This scrub is gentle enough to use every day even with my sensitive skin. And I do think my skin looks brighter. Or maybe I just have higher wattage light bulbs in the bathroom right now.
5. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream for Night
Y’all don’t even want to know about the laugh lines/deep wrinkles I have around my mouth area. Especially on the left side. If I weren’t afraid of needles and/or long term side effects of botulism, I would check into Botox.
But I am a big chicken. So I use this Anti-Wrinkle cream with retinol instead. And it helps tremendously.
According to Gulley, I have no wrinkles on my forehead. She doesn’t either. Although one of her favorite things to do is lean across the table as we’re eating lunch and ask me if I can see all the wrinkles on her forehead while she makes a facial expression that would cause a newborn baby to have wrinkles.
6. Hummingbird Farms Lavender Lotion
This lotion is the only thing that keeps me from drying up completely during the winter. I honestly don’t know what I did before it came into my life. And even P is now addicted and when we run out I have to hear him talk incessantly about how his neck is SO ITCHY because it’s so dry.
Which is why I try to make sure we never run out.
7. L’Oreal Everstrong Bodifying Shampoo and Conditioner
Sophie is the one who told me about this. I went and bought it for two reasons: It smelled delicious and it’s inexpensive and I’m always a fan of the inexpensive.
I truly love it. Especially the conditioner because it really conditions my hair without making it too greasy or lifeless.
Originally I walked into Sephora last year to investigate the Nars blush with a name I’m not going to mention because I want to avoid the google searches. But it didn’t really work for my skin tone even though it’s supposed to work for almost everyone. I’m a bronzer anomaly.
So they suggested I try the Laguna bronzer and I adore it. I wear it instead of blush and it looks totally natural on my skin. I’ll buy this over and over again.
9. Covergirl Lipslicks in Daring
I have at least thirteen tubes of this scattered throughout the various purses in my closet because it’s so inexpensive and I seem to buy a tube “just in case” almost every time I go to the grocery store.
(Just in case of what? What exactly do I think is going to happen to cause a lipgloss shortage? I am an episode of Hoarders waiting to happen.)
It comes in other colors, but I like Daring. It looks dark, but when you put it on it’s just about the color of your lips when they’re chapped. I mean that in a good way.
Listen. If there’s a chance you’re going to find yourself in a tornado or a mild hurricane, this is the hairspray for you. I don’t know what is in it, but I can tell you that I have to wash the spray nozzle down with hot water at least once a week because it gets all clogged up. Which is the universal sign of a hair spray that isn’t playing around.
I don’t use this every day and I don’t recommend it for every day use unless you’re trying to replicate Loni Anderson’s hair from the early 1980’s. But when I want to tease my hair at the crown to give it a little height before I pull it back in a ponytail? This baby is the best.
And did you not see that you can get a two-pack from Walmart for under $12.00. If that doesn’t let you know it’s capable of eroding the ozone, I don’t know what does.
11. Amplify Thicklift Liquid Volumizer
This is another favorite. I put a big dollop of this all through my hair from the roots to the end before I blow dry it and it gives my hair the best volume, especially after I roll it with my giant set of hot rollers.
Yes. I live in Texas. Why do you ask?
12. Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara
I was a big fan of Covergirl Lash Blast up until I decided to try this about a month ago. I’ll admit that I am a sucker for marketing and the promise of a million lashes did me in. I was powerless to resist.
And while I don’t have a million lashes, it does provide great coverage with a mascara wand that is very similar to the Lash Blast. It definitely seems to make my lashes look thicker without any clumping.
So, now for some quid pro quo. What are your must-have beauty products right now? I must know. I will not rest until I know.
Actually, that’s not true because it’s late Thursday night for me right now and I am exhausted. But, still, you get the point.
Y’all have a great Friday.