Y’all know I’m #notaninfluencer, I’m a makeup artist bringing you the best techniques and products that will work for you and make you feel amazing.
Influencers are not only paid to advertise (that’s an old-school word for influence…) products, but because of their following, they’re also sent free stuff in the hopes they’ll share it on their platforms. It’s a sweet gig but does require a lot of work!
My goal here is showing you how to make makeup work for you, not the other way around, by learning to think like a makeup artist. In other words, how to use exactly what you need for specific events.
With all that in mind, I’m starting this monthly post to share my favorite beauty item/items of the month. These might be new products or just items I’ve reached for all month long. I won’t go into this big description each month, but I did want to let you know where my head’s at since this is the first post of the series.
January 2021 Products of the Month
Calming Mask
Went for a run on a sub-freezing day with 20mph winds. Despite wearing a gaiter, my nose and cheeks got all sorts of windburn action. While my beloved La Mer always heals my skin quickly, I needed an extra dose of calming hydration, so I combed my masks and found THIS ONE.
Although I’ve used it before, I’d never tried it with skin this inflamed. To my surprise, not only did this, in fact, calm my skin as the name suggests, it took down the redness - like Visine for your face - AND healed it so I could use my normal, weekly alpha/beta peel the next day.
Big fan, huge.
Yummy Deo
Many “clean” deodorants don’t work for me, or they smell really “off” once they’re in my pits. I’d heard good things about THIS ONE and, while it might not stand up to a long run, it does last throughout the day.
Extra points that it smells like a soft version of Santal 33.
Mask-Proof Lips
While most people who see me do so while I’m in a mask, if I’m wearing makeup, I just don’t feel “done” without something on my lips.
Gloss is a no-go unless I feel like wearing a mask with the spacer, and if I’m just running errands I don’t want to waste my ‘spensive lip sticks. Enter this lip crayon.
I’ve raved about it before, but it’s really become a staple in my mask-included routine. This lip stick/cream hybrid is comfortable and long-wearing, and doesn’t smudge all over. It’s available in several colors, my favorite is Tres Sweet.
Microfiber Pull Cloth
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is the Makeup Eraser towels are really great at taking off your makeup with just water. The bad news is that they’re the exact same thing as these MUCH more affordable microfiber face cloths.
I did an experiment one night. I removed half my makeup with one of these, half with the Makeup Eraser, then used micellular water on a cotton pad to see how much makeup was leftover. Dare I say these cloths got more makeup, but the Makeup Eraser was a little softer.
The way microfiber cloths work is that they “pull” the junk off your face, then all the junk is released when rinsed/washed in hot water. You can actually rinse in the sink after removing makeup and see it wash down the drain (very satisfying).
Even with this revelation, I still prefer to remove my makeup with Bioderma, then use my Drunk Elephant Slaai cleanser to melt off everything else, then remove that with a microfiber cloth.
Until next month…
Photos c/o Sephora.com, Target.com and Amazon.com
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