It’s crazy how time passes. Slowly at first, then all at once.
My hotel only has a few channels, and last night, the movie of choice was 10 Things I Hate About You. Release 25 years ago this week (it’s okay, breathe through the pain), this modern take on Taming of the Shrew really holds up. It was nice to take a breath for 90-minutes and remember singing along to the soundtrack on my drive to school. Which, by the way, also holds up. And this little trip down memory lane got me thinking about the products that really hold up.
The favorites that are still in my makeup bag, my medicine cabinet and my purse. So here is the list of the products that have been emptied and restocked again and again.
- Face Wash // Prequel Gleanser
- Mask // Dr. Jart Micro Jet Clearing Mask
- Eye Gels // Topicals Under Eye Masks
- Eyebrow Serum // Grande Lash (I buy this instead of the brow serum.)
- Nail Polish // Barefoot in Barcelona (neutral, but pretty)
- Mascara // Caliray Tubing Mascara (buy the minis)
- Eyebrow Pencil // Micro-Fine NYX Eyebrow Pencil
- UnderEye Corrector // Bobbi Brown in Bisque
- Redness Correcting Cream // Erborian CC Creme
- Lipstick // Clinique Black Honey and Gucci Call it a Day
- Highlighter // Hourglass Ambient Light Powder
- Hot Rollers // Conair Flocked Rollers
- Conditioner // dpHue Color Gloss
If you have a product that you’ve bought over and over again, with no regrets, and no desire to replace it with a new option, leave the name of your beloved in the comments.
{this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author}
I am now obsessed with Caliray Tubing Mascara – thank you so much!!
same!
Caudalie’s nail and cuticle cream. it’s like $12, lasts forever, and is perfectly effective.
Beautycounter’s countertime oil cleanser until it shut down *cries*
tom’s wild lavender deodorant.
Nuxe huile prodigieuse hair oil.
The revlon hair dryer/round brush combo.
The Merit Great Skin face oil is amazing for my extremely dry skin, and at age 48, it has also visibly helped my complexion (and four different women have asked what I am using, so it must be noticeable).
Co-sign! I buy this in the fall sephora sale every year and use it all winter. Perfect base layer, plays well with makeup and primer, gives such a glow.
The CC Creme you referenced is something I will buy over and over. Nothing comes close – I tried Dr. Jart’s and liked the coverage, but it separated in the jar and stirring it didn’t help. Lolavie’s Hair Glossing Spray has been on repeat buy in my house, as has Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – I just love its light fragrance. Still struggling to find the right glossy tinted lip balm – my lips are dark and I want them brighter but glossy in a no-fuss balm that doesn’t look like I’m trying to hard when I reapply at the park with my kids!
Agree the dr. jarts is a good product minus the packaging — erborian is soooo much easier to use! I was annoyed Ulta didn’t include the green correcting one in their sale this month.
Ole Henricksen C Rush Brightening Gel Creme. On my 3rd jar. Such a treat to wear daily underneath moisturizer.
Fool Proof Benefit eyebrow pencil.
-Supergoop unseen sunscreen and glowscreen in sunrise
-Supergoop Tinted Moisturizer
-Kosas Revealer foundation
-MAC Costa Riche kohl eyeliner
-MAC paint pot in Bare Study
-MAC Thanks It’s MAC lipstick
-Tarte tubing mascara
-Pureology Hydrate shampoo and conditioner
-Ole Henriksen lip peptibe balm (the cocoa one and the beige one)
Abra, do you still like the Merit makeup you tried? I prefer the no makeup look for daily wear, especially if I can achieve it with minimal products in three minutes or less (while hiding in a closet so my four year old doesn’t steal my products), so they’ve caught my eye.
I do. I’ve begin to wonder if I need a lighter foundation though.
Love that movie and soundtrack!
Glossier’s Boy Brow in Gray. Perfect color for fair cool (blue) toned skin. Reddish tones in brow colors look so fake on this color skin tone.
France’s Typology green toned Color Corrector for Redness. So sheer and light, yet so effective for cancelling out red areas, I can even use it dotted in the undereye area blended out it looks natural. And skin texture shows thru. Dr. Jart’s anti-redness product leaves me looking like Frankenstein’s Bride in comparison. Typology has a USA online site. Wonderful skincare products.
I am obsessed with how my skin looks using only a few Typology products on total. Great line!
DRMTOLOGY tinted moisturizer. No notes.
Cerave Hydrating Facial Cleanser (for my “normal,” slightly dry skin)
Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (for removing makeup or sunscreen; it replaced micellar water for me)
Aquaphor for lips…I’ve tried so many other lip balms for nighttime hydration, and nothing is as effective, especially for the price
I was a devotee of Skinceuticals CE Ferulic, but I think it might be replaced now by Poems from the Lab Future Focus Vitamin C…super shelf stable, just as effective for me, and cheaper!
Perfect Hair Day’s dry shampoo. Needs to be shaken very well, FYI.
Dieux’s serum, Deliverance. It’s on auto-replenish from the brand.
Also, their moisturizers.
I’ve been using Cerave PM facial moisturizer (just the PM after my morning shower, I hate the AM version) since college, and I still repurchase as soon as I run out. It’s cheap, non-irritating, fragrance-free; what’s not to love. In the winter I sometimes switch it up with a heavier moisturizer but I always come back to it when my need for intense moisture ends.
On the makeup side, I wear it so infrequently that I tend to throw out rather than use up most items after a few years. But I have repurchased the Laura Mercier eyeshadow sticks because they are SO much easier to manage than pan eyeshadow. And Armani Lip Maestro is my go-to lipstick, because I realized a few years back that I always got chapped lips after wearing (the most moisturizing, high-end) lipstick because I’m sensitive to both fragrance and natural extracts in lip products. Which rules out a lot of options, but explains why an old-school liquid lipstick with few ingredients always felt so moisturizing to me. Perhaps because of the high-end branding and price, it’s got a lovely slippery silicone-y feel, not drying-matte like many old-school liquid lips.
Hand cream – Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream. It has literally taken my dry, chapped hands and immediately replaced them with normal, smooth and soft hands. Derm recommended and it is amazing.