Beauty First Aid Kit
Every home and every car should be equipped with a First Aid kit for medication emergencies. Bandaids, antiseptic, paracetamol and aloe vera are staples in ours (unless someone takes them and doesn't replace them), but that's a rant for another time.
But, if you're a beauty junkie like myself, every bathroom should be equipped with similar products and I have some favourites for when a beauty emergency arises. Such as today. When I'm tired and have been overindulging from being on holidays and celebrating birthdays, our wedding anniversary, Easter and any excuse to drink champagne and eat cheese. (Note: dairy clogs your skin and makes it dull. Bad, bad skin food).
So, I thought some of you may benefit from some of these little emergency products if you're anything like me.
1. Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift
You know those before & after images that you see and think "that is soooo fake and photoshopped"? Well, a lot of them are, but when it comes to this product, they're probably not. This really is an eyelift in a tube and truly works.
While I rarely suffer from under-eye bags, I actually usually get them when I get too much sleep (weird) and this is the only product I've ever used that works. In fact, I'm considering adding this to my makeup kit for my Brides (after testing it at their trial) for those Brides with pre-wedding sleep deprivation.
The applicator is stainless steel and for a really cool feeling when applied, I sometimes keep it in the fridge. It does tingle when you use it, but you don't need the feeling to know it's working, you can watch it dissolve those bags away. It's amazing.
2. Skinceuticals Hyaluronic Acid Intensifier
Hylauronic Acid is a molecule that helps to bind water in the dermis (the middle or "live" layer of the skin) and when used in skin care products it binds water to the skin surface.
When choosing your skin care products, search for products that contact this miracle molecule and your moisture levels will be replenished dramatically.
This Skinceuticals serum is like a big drink of electrolyte rich water for the skin. This serum is pink in colour which is derived from purple rice extract, but the magic touch comes from the addition of Licorice extract. Licorice extract is super rich in antioxidants, helps with under-eye circles, age spots & pigmentation, as well as containing licochalcone which also helps balance oil in the skin.
This serum visibly plumps the skin on contact. It's divine!
The downside is, it's currently not available in Australia, so I do have to ship this in from the States, but it is really worth the cost and the wait.
3. Manicare Nail Polish Remover Pads
Nothing ruins your perfectly polished appearance than chipped nail polish and when you don't have the time to mess around with cotton pads and a bottle, this is a gift from beauty heaven.
Keep them handy with some disposable gloves and you can do a quick removal of that chipped nail polish without destroying the polish on your other fingers. A speedy re-application to the one nail + a rapid dry top coat and you're ready!
4. Clarins Instant Concealer
I am still amazed that it took me so long to discover this product and I know that go on and on and on and on and on and on about it, but I truly, truly love it!
The pigment is off the dial, so you only need to use the tiniest amount and it's formula is so incredibly creamy and rich that you just want to cover your entire face with it!
Not only is it perfectly tinted to balance the discolouration of under-eye circles, but it's three shades are virtually guaranteed to match every skin tone, aside from incredibly dark African or Indian skins.
It's deliciously rich in Aloe Vera, which is full of film-forming, combined lipids (polysaccharides) that help preserve moisture and soothe the skin, helping protect it from environmental damage.
And for a real bonus, buy directly from Clarins and receive a minimum of three free samples with your order!
5. Clinique Even Better Hand Cream
The fact that I don't currently have any of this shows on my hands, so I need to practice what I preach and start using this again.
Women (myself included) often neglect the care of our hands, even if we visit the nail spa every fortnight (myself included), and we may lather skin care products and sunscreen on our faces, but totally forget our hands. The fact that we ignore them eventually sneaks up on us and I saw my hands in a video recently and almost didn't recognise them. Whilst I've always been freckled, age spots are starting to appear and I'll be honest ... I do not like that at all!
When I was using this cream regularly, my hands were soft, less lined and I had the peace of mind that I had sunscreen on them at all times. When you also consider the latest research that the UV lamps used in nail salons increase our risk of skin damage (possibly even skin cancer), a hand cream with sunscreen in a must.
I now apply a 50+ sunscreen before I hit the nail spa and don't wash my hands when they ask me to.
Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen girls!
These are my top five go-to products, but I really have so many more that I reach for depending on my beauty emergency.Honestly, if I could inject Botox and fillers into myself I would, but as an alternative, you'll find these are a helpful (and more affordable) option.
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement, my fellow beauty lovers and remember that you are already beautiful. Makeup is just a frame to the masterpiece and beauty ingredients are just God's way of helping us stay that way.
