A Few of My Favorite Beauty Products (Part 2)

Two years ago I shared some of my favorite beauty products in this post. I recently came across the post again and was surprised to see that I still love all the products I mentioned in it! Then I thought, “Hey! Why not do another beauty post?!” I do feel the need to point out that this isn’t my area of expertise (obviously!) and I’m no expert. But I do enjoy a good beauty product find. And the older I get, the more likely I am to invest in the ones that work for me!

So here goes:

1. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light
Okay, I was super hesitant to try this. I have really oily skin, and adding more oil to my face seemed like a nightmare scenario. But the moisturizer I was using just wasn’t cutting it. My skin was extremely dry after washing and moisturizing but then got super oily by the end of the day. So after reading some reviews about the Josie Maran argan oils I decided to give this one a try. That was almost 2 years ago, and I still love it! You sort of pat a few drops of the oil onto your skin then give it some time to absorb. There’s a regular version and a “light” one. I opted for the lighter one, because I was already freaked out about using oil and that seemed like a safer bet. But I think I could probably use the regular one during the winter when my skin is dryer. The bottle lasts a long time, because you only use a few drops at a time.

2. Living Proof Prime Style Extender
Honestly I was sold on this line as soon as I read that Jennifer Aniston was a co-owner and hair care spokesperson for the the products. I mean, she has THE BEST hair! Did anyone else proudly sport “The Rachel” haircut back in the 90s?! Yep. So I had high hopes for Living Proof. And the prime style extender has become one of my favorite products. I work a little bit of it into my hair before styling, and it holds the finished style really well! So well that if I style my hair in the afternoon/evening for a night out and then sleep on it, I don’t have to do anything to it the next morning. That’s my kind of product!

3. Aquaphor Healing Ointment
A blog reader turned me onto Aquaphor after I complained about extremely dry lips in a post back in 2014. At that point I felt like I had tried everything, but this stuff is the real deal! I put it on my lips before bed, and they’re never dry or chapped anymore! It’s great on cuticles too. And I use such a small amount that I still have the original tube I purchased at the grocery store way back then. But I do have to admit that another thing that helped my dry lips/skin was drinking a ton of water. After that same post another reader suggested that I might be dehydrated, and when I read her comment I realized that I wasn’t drinking much water at all! At the time I had a desk job where I was barely able to get my work finished most days and sometimes amidst the hustle didn’t take the time to drink anything at all during the day. Now I drink water all day long, and it’s made such a huge difference in my lips and skin overall. Check out this article about a woman’s incredible skin transformation after she started drinking water. Reading it gave me a kick in the butt to start, and I can see the difference too!

4. Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturing Sea Salt Spray
I’m not sure if anyone has been happier than me about “undone” hair being in style over the last few years. Not because I’m lazy or anything. 🙂 I have naturally wavy hair, so if I just let it air-dry it almost has that “I’m not trying too hard… I just came from the beach” look. Almost. But it also has a tiny bit of “I live in the most humid place in the world, and my hair hates it” look. But if I spray it with this sea salt spray when it’s about 75% dry it helps a lot with the frizz! I’ve tried a few beach sprays before, and this is by far my favorite drug store brand. It smells really good too!

5. L’Oreal Paris Visible Lift CC Eye Concealer – I’m not getting any younger. It’s just time to face the harsh reality. 🙂 And if I don’t get enough sleep these days (or eat too much salt) it shows up on my face in the form of puffy/dark rimmed eyes. Fun! So when I read about this L’Oreal eye concealer here, I went out and bought some at Target. I don’t use it everyday. Just when I need a little extra help in the tired eyes area. The concealer rolls on, and the roller ball (thing?) is cold, so it feels good on puffy eyes. The coverage is just right too. I use this method to apply it and just hope for the best. Ha! I really want to try the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat concealer that I’ve read about so much over the years. It’s supposedly AMAZING. And I’m afraid it might live up to the hype. Then I’ll be stuck buying overpriced concealer forever!

Honorable Mention: Birth Control – Is this a beauty product? Ha! Yes! I say. Yes it is! Last fall I started having major hormonal breakouts. They lasted for several months while I tried to figure out what was going on. I was eating an extremely clean diet (no dairy!), getting plenty of sleep, and had the lowest stress level that I remember having in the last few years. So there was no other explanation for my breakouts. It had to be hormones. First I tried some natural remedies and then went to see a dermatologist who confirmed that it was a hormone imbalance. That’s when I called my obgyn. The doctor agreed to let me switch to a new birth control and within about a week (maybe 10 days?) the breakouts were completely cleared up! I still have breakouts every now and then and will probably never have perfect skin, but if birth control can keep my hormones doing what they’re supposed to do, I’m in!

Okay, there ya have it! A few of my favorite beauty products.
Do you have any suggestions? Something I must try?! You all have turned me onto some of my favorite products, so don’t hold out on me!