I go through phases where I don’t buy that many new beauty products and phases where I buy a ton. The past couple weeks have been the latter, and in my shopping adventures, I’ve found a handful of products I really like, covering everything from hair care to trendy lip color. I’ve enumerated the good stuff below, including mini-reviews of how the product worked for me.
Pick up anything new lately that you love? Let us know in the comments!
Amika Nourishing Hair Mask
$28 via Sephora
I picked this up for two reasons: First, because the bottom third of my curly, dryness-prone hair is bleached, which means I try and try again with a lot of hair masks. Second, because I had heard tons of friends rave about how good it is. I slathered some on my extremely parched ends overnight last night, and all of the positive things I had heard were correct. Even with the long application time (It’s intended as an in-shower deep conditioner, but I needed extra help.), it hydrated my hair without making it heavy or greasy and I was super pleased with the results when I washed this morning. Also, it smells great.
First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Intensive Peel
$40 via Sephora
After a friend who I consider something of a beauty guru told me she does only chemical, not physical, exfoliation on her face, I’ve been trying basically every peel I can get my hands on. This month it’s this one, which worked really well, really quickly. I love First Aid Beauty because I’m prone to sensitivity and dryness, and the brand’s products are formulated with those things in mind. Strong peels can exacerbate the specific problems I have with my skin, but this one was intense without making me feel dry or tight. The instructions say to spot test the mask and then leave it on for one to five minutes, but I didn’t spot test and lost track of time playing a game on my phone, so I had a slight burning sensation for a couple minutes after I washed it off, but no redness or other ill effects.
Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in Lolita
$20 via Sephora
Liquid lipsticks have huge upsides and huge downsides, as a product category. They provide enormous color payoff and very long wear, but many suck all the moisture straight out of your lips and feel heavy and chalky once they’ve set. A friend in the industry told me Lolita is Sephora’s most popular lip color right now, and I can see why–it’s the lightest, most comfortable liquid lipstick I’ve ever worn, and the pinky-brown color would flatter tons of different skin tones. I wore it all day and it only needed a quick touch-up at the corners after lunch.
Milk Makeup Holographic Highlighter Stick
$28 via Sephora
I’m not nearly as into makeup as I am into skincare, but after seeing a beauty editor friend get a pre-release tester of this product and demo it on Snapchat, I have been very impatiently awaiting its in-store arrival. It’s still not available at any brick-and-mortar locations near me, but I picked it up in a recent website order and it is so cool. While most highlighters are pink, gold or bronze, this one has a silver-lavender flash that’s unique without being difficult to wear.
Sephora Pearl Sheet Mask
$6 via Sephora
I used this mask after doing a peel and it did exactly as promised–my skin looked bright and even and it felt well-moisturized.
