While I am not affiliated with or sponsored by any of the beauty products I feature, I do receive a professional makeup artist discount on several of my favorite brands. There are a few items that I've found, though, on which I do not get a discount, and they are worth every penny.  And they cost a lot of pennies.  For me, the La Mer The Treatment Fluid Foundation, the YSL Rouge Volupte Silky Sensual Lipstick SPF 15, and the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum are are game-changers, and I'm so excited to share why I think they've earned their price tags.

La Mer The Treatment Foundation

At $85, one would expect this to be a miracle product.  It is...IF it's right for your skin.

Before you get mad at me, remember that the best foundations out there - the ones you continuously hear about being used on red carpets (like Armani Luminous Silk) - are very sheer.  Real talk?  If you want everything on your skin covered up, you must use a full-coverage foundation, and it will be very noticeable.  I always say that there's no such thing as good makeup without good skin, and if you want the best skin you can have, you MUST drink lots of water, keep sugar/dairy (which is sugar)/processed foods at a minimum, and have a proper skin care routine.  It's science.  Some people will have better skin than you, but some will have worse skin than you.  Embrace what you have because no amount of makeup will make wrinkles/pimples/dullness/uneven skin go away.  Only caring for your skin and a healthy diet will do that.

Also (and if you're still with me...thanks), this product needs swatched in person because the shade range is very limited and has yellow undertones.  But that's why it works for me - I have a hard time finding a *perfect* match since my skin has so much yellow in it.

I can justify this purchase because not only it is perfect match, but the stuff that directly touches your skin is the best area to spend your dollars.  If this sounds like it would work for you, know that it is the perfect lightweight, long-wearing foundation for every day wear that positively makes skin  G L O W  while protecting it with lots of good-for-you ingredients and SPF 15.  Just 1/2 of a pump covers my whole face and somehow transforms my skin into a bright, alive, awake base for the rest of my makeup (which you can see here and in the photo below - and remember that I'm still recovering from surgery where my skin really took a hit).  This is also an excellent product for mature skin as it is so light and hydrating that it won't settle into creases.

I've used it for five years, and it's still my favorite.

YSL Rouge Volupte Silky Sensual Lipstick SPF 15

This one took me a while to buy.  Years.  Because I absolutely could not justify the $37 price tag.  After reading and hearing and seeing so many success stories, I bit the bullet (no pun intended) and purchased this in the color 1 Nude Beige.  And after the first swipe, I sent one my BFFs a text talking about how life-changing this was. This color is magic.

At first glance, I was worried that I'd run out of product pretty quickly, but it is so pigmented that a quick swipe is all I needed for the next several hours.  I'm not going to claim this is super long-wearing - if you have lunch, it will mostly go away - but with properly prepped lips and no eating or drinking, you're golden.  Just like the beautiful packaging.

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum

Remember all that ranting about a great skincare routine above?  This is one of the best additions to that routine I've found.  I've used a vitamin C serum for some time thanks to its gazillions of amazing properties (Goggle it), but the one I was using, the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, wasn't perfect.  As soon as my bottle was empty, I decided to try this - it exceeded expectations.

Since we're talking about price tags, the SkinCeuticals  serum sells for...wait for it...$162.  This one retails for $80, so that made me really happy.  Other wins: it doesn't really have a scent while SkinCeuticals smelled like hot dogs (so awful), it soaks into my skin so much quicker, the ingredients are better, and my skin is clearer and brighter.  So basically, it does everything my old serum did but much better - on my skin and my wallet.

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I'm like Noah from The Notebook - when I love something, I reaaaaally love it.  These are three of my forever loves, but I'm completely aware you might hate them.  And that's okay.  Because skincare and makeup is such an individualized thing.  Snap me (ElectraLane) or let me know in the comments section of Instagram (@ElectraLane) what your makeup and skincare loves are, and have a great week.