For some of us, beauty may be the last thing on our minds. The world is in an insane state of worry and uncertainty. Personally, I find comfort in my routines – routines that involve taking good care of my skin, and sometimes getting all dolled up with absolutely nowhere to go. Honestly, I’ve found that getting dressed and done up to work at home has helped me focus and be more productive, since it feels more like a normal work day.
For those of you who need a little more pampering, need something to look forward to, or are just curious about my favorite beauty products, this is for you.
Sephora graces the public with two sales a year- typically in April and in November. The sale started this week, and here are the necessary details:
These sales only come around twice a year, so it really is a great time to stock up on products you know you use regularly, as well as a chance to experiment with new products you’ve been to chicken to try or shell out the cash for.
My Favorite Skincare Items:
Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum – ($80 regular, $64 Rouge, $68 VIB, $72 BI) – This is one of my all-time favorite serums to date. I’m a big believer in regular use of vitamin C products to help brighten skin tone and boost collagen production. Unfortunately, a lot of skin care products don’t properly package their vitamin C products, causing them to lost their efficacy before you can actually finish them. This serum has great packaging and is wonderfully formulated!
Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream – ($64 regular, $51.20 Rouge, $54.40 VIB, $57.60 BI) – I’ve almost finished my second bottle of this stuff. I’ve never been a huge believe in eye creams, until this formulation. Hydrating, brightening, but lays well under make-up. If you’re in the market for an eye cream, this is a great one.
Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum – ($48 regular, $38.40 Rouge, $40.80 VIB, $43.20 BI) This product is great on its own, but I LOVE mixing a pump of the C-Firma Day Serum with a pump of this stuff to give my skin an extra boost of moisture before going in with my regular moisturizer. Honestly, in the summertime, I can sometimes get away with just using this for the day.
Dr. Jart Ceramidin Sheet Mask – ($6 regular, $4.80 Rouge, $5.10 VIB, $5.40 BI) – Hands-down my (and Chris’s) favorite sheet mask EVER. We don’t sheet mask all the time, but sometimes I can definitely feel my skin thirsting for a little extra moisture. I also love to use these in conjunction with any intense exfoliation treatment to show my skin a little extra love.
Drunk Elephant Slaii Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser – ($34 regular, $27.20 Rouge, $28.90 VIB, $30.60 BI) – This has become my ALL-TIME FAVORITE cleanser, hands down. It completely removes everything without being drying or stripping my skin. As usual, the packaging is completely genius, and has a magnetic little “scoop” on it to get the product out without having to stick your fingers in it. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a new oil-based cleanser.
Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment – ($105 regular, $84 Rouge, $89.25 VIB, $94.50 BI) – You can seriously find SO MUCH information out there on this product. After all, its a cult beauty favorite for a reason! I mention the multitude of benefits associated with regular use of an Alpha-hydroxy Acid in a recent blog post (here). I personally saw a noticeable improvement in my skin texture, as well as a plumping that seemed to reduce some of my fine lines. My husband absolutely swears by this product as well.
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream – ($68 regular, $54.40 Rouge, $57.80 VIB, $61.20 BI) – This is the second Drunk Elephant moisturizer I’ve ever tried, and easily one of my favorite moisturizers of all time. Its light enough to wear under make-up during the day without leaving a greasy finish, but also deeply hydrating. If you are insanely dry, you may want to add a drop or two of oil in the evenings, but you honestly might not even need it. As usual, Drunk Elephant nailed the formulation of this product! It’s packed with all kinds of good-for-your skin ingredients, and the packaging ensures that none of the good stuff is inactivated by exposure to light, air, or bacteria from dipping your hands into a jar to scoop out the product.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask – ($20 regular, $16 Rouge, $17 VIB, $18 BI) – Go ahead, roll your eyes. Yes, simply put, this is a $20 lip balm. But as a person who literally ALWAYS has chapped lips, its been a total game changer. I use it every night before bed, and then in the morning before I start doing my make-up so my lipstick goes on nice and smooth! It doesn’t leave any icky film, and its not super sticky either.
Clinique Pep-Start Daily UV Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 50 – ($19.50 regular, $15.60 Rouge, $16.58 VIB, $17.55 BI) – If you don’t use an SPF daily, this is the #1 piece of anti-aging advice I can give you- START NOW. There isn’t anything particularly special about this particular SPF, but I’ve been using it for over a year now, and I don’t have anything bad to say about it. It’s not too pricey, and its a peach color, so it doesn’t leave a white cast on your face.
Make-Up:
Estee Lauder Double-Wear Foundation – ($42 regular, $33.60 Rouge, $35.70 VIB, $37.80 BI) – My holy-grail foundation for a loooong time. And I’m SO PICKY about foundation. I’ve got more than a dozen other ones sitting in my make-up drawer right now, and this is the only one I’ve continued to repurchase over and over. It’s got great coverage, lasts all day, and has tons of colors, so you should be able to find your perfect shade easily.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation – ($44 regular, $35.20 Rouge, $37.40 VIB, $39.60 BI) – This is a relatively new staple for me. It’s FULL FULL coverage, so don’t even mess with it if it ain’t your thang. But it gives flawless, long lasting coverage for perfectly glowing skin. It takes a little more patience with blending than some other foundations I’ve tried (so it doesn’t look cakey), but the final product is worth the extra effort.
MILK Makeup Hydro Grip Primer– ($30 regular, $24 Rouge, $25.50 VIB, $27 BI) – This won an Allure Best of Beauty Award for a reason. I love the cool, refreshing feeling of putting this on. It feels a little sticky at first (which I hated- but got used to) but it really does help your foundation stay on all day.
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush– ($29 regular, $23.20 Rouge, $24.65 VIB, $26.10 BI)These blushes are gorgeous, pigmented but easy to apply/blend, and there’s such an excellent shade range, you really can’t go wrong. One of these will LITERALLY last you forever – I had a smaller size one that took close to a year to finish. I have the color “Exposed” and it is truly the perfect “go with everything” color for my skin tone.
BeautyBlender – ($20 regular, $16 Rouge, $17 VIB, $18 BI) – I know it sounds kind of boring, but sales are the best time to stock up on the essentials, as well as fun products you’ve been eyeing. Beautyblenders are such a classic staple for me. I use mine every single day to get the perfect natural finish on my foundation, and to apply concealer. I prefer to buy these in one of the holiday kits, where you get several blenders as well as their soaps to clean them. Combine the kits with the extra discount, and you get such a great deal! Click here for the value set I would recommend. Click here for a single blender/cleaner gift set (same price as the individual blender!).
Hair:
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo – ($25 regular, $20 Rouge, $21.25 VIB, $22.50 BI) – This is my favorite dry shampoo of all time, hands down. There are a few others I still like, but nothing has compared to this one. It’s the only I’ve tried that I feel like actually cleans my hair instead of just absorbing oil and hanging out on my scalp. Buy the jumbo size, you won’t regret it.
Other:
Cinema Secrets Brush Cleansing Kit -($25 regular, $20 Rouge, $21.25 VIB, $22.50 BI) – If you aren’t cleaning you make-up brushes regularly, you are running the risk of unwanted breakouts. After all, you’re smearing old make-up and bacteria that has been building up on the brush all over your face. Plus, clean brushes work better.
WOW that was a lot. Hopefully, you found some helpful product information though!
What are you getting? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Amanda Kennedy
Follow along on IG: @amandadev4
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Amanda Marie Kennedy 