I'm back for the final installment of my current favorite Beauty Essentials posts. What's the subject du jour? Your face! Americans are totally obsessed with beating their mugs, and I've gathered what I believe to be the best and easiest-to-use products on the market right now.
You always want to start off with a clean palette, so let's start with cleanser, toner, and moisturizer.
I've just recently started using this new M Lab Anti-aging Cleanser, and I have to say, it's changed my life. Very rarely do you find a product that changes your skin immediately, but this stuff really does! M Lab's claim to fame is it's unprecedentedly high percentage of active ingredients. The cleanser packs a whopping 45% active ingredients, which means you have to use very little for every wash--the instructions say a dab 2mm in diameter. That's a ridiculously small amount of product, considering the bottle is a full 6 ounces. Should you be interested, the science of this wonder in a bottle can be found here.
Large pores are the devil, followed closely by oil shine. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. So let's do something about it. This Nars Balancing Toning Lotion gently balances and moisturizes your skin, controls oil, and actually visibly reduces your pores. Hot.
Typically, I wouldn't go to Dior for skincare, but this moisturizer really works quite well for me. Since I've moved to the city, My skin gets extremely dry, and if I use this every time I cleanse, I don't have to worry about it anymore!
Now, admittedly, I don't have a very intensive makeup routine, but I do have two products that will provide you with a quick way to sharpen up your look with absolutely minimal effort.
This stuff saves my life. I absolutely hate getting up early, and when I'm forced to, I come up looking as pale as an albino dropped in white paint. For those instances, I find myself struggling through sleep-crusted eyes and the stupor of an interrupted REM cycle to apply Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer. It gives just that little bit of color I need to really glow and, um, not look like a corpse. So that's nice. Also, there's one with oil, but I don't really know what the point of that is.
So I loooove me some eyeliner, and I've gone through my share of them, but this tops them all. I love the Stila Smudge Pot because you can apply it as lightly or as heavily as you like with the sponge tip applicator. I also find that this just lasts longer than your typical stick liner.
This is the black dress of lip balms. Kiehl's Lip Balm goes on smooth and sheer and you can actually feel it soak into your lips in about a minute or two. Plus there's an SPF of 15, and you can't go wrong there.
So, those are my recommendations for now, but check back often, because you know this is one of the fastest cycling industries in the world, and fabulous new things come every day!
Until then,
Alexander
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