When we think about getting ready and making ourselves beautiful we tend to credit the lipsticks, foundations and other colour cosmetics with the final result but give very little thought to the behind the scenes items that make getting to beautiful possible! Here are 3 that I now could never do without:
Jerdon First Class Deluxe Lighted Makeup Mirror JGL9W 5X - $29.99 - this tri-fold mirror has regular and 5x magnification; four light settings: day, office, evening and home; and a built-in outlet.!
I used to have one of these when I had a basement apartment with almost no natural light - it got lost or broken in a move and I never replaced it and I had forgotten until trying this one how handy it is to have those different light settings! The light in my bathroom is totally different from the lighting at the office so it makes much more sense to apply my makeup for where I will be rather than where I am. The outlet is very handy too for being able to plug in my flatiron closer to a mirror then I am normally able to as well!
Available at Amazon.com and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Cover FX #130 Foundation Brush - $38 - if my foundation doesn't look good then the rest of my makeup isn't going to look as good as it could and since I usually wear a liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer, I like to apply it with a brush. I have run the gauntlet of brushes and could never find just the right one until I happened on this Cover FX beauty - not too hard or too soft, it deposits just the right amount of foundation on my face without absorbing too much of it. As someone who used to use sponges to apply foundation, I never realized just how much of my foundation the sponge was sucking up and wasting until I started using a good brush which will absorb almost none!
Available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, Sephora and The Bay. Go to
www.coverfx.com to find a retailer near you
Shiseido Facial Cotton - 80g - $8 - I know that you're thinking - "$8 for cotton pads, are you out of your mind!" - I get it and used to say the same thing until I tried one and I swear, I will never use a cheapie one again! The difference between these and the store brand cotton pads I used to buy is how soft the Shiseido ones are - since I use them to take off eye makeup and apply toner, it makes sense that I would want to use something as soft as possible. Until I started using them I didn't realize how scratchy the store brand ones are! The only thing these aren't as good for is taking off nail polish, because they are so soft, bits of them tend to attach to the softened polish - so I've kept my rougher pads for that!
You can find them at Shoppers Drug Mart when they are in stock but they always seem to be sold out. I recently discovered that The Shopping Channel also carries them in bundles of 2 for $16 so they will be no new "go to" place for them!
What are your beauty tool "stars"?
- Lisamarie -
Soft cotton on my face, yes please...$8 doesn't seem that crazy to me. Maybe that doesn't speak well to my common sense thou ;)
ReplyDeleteI have the exact same mirror and love it! I got mine off of Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI totally use rough cotton pads for polish. For a while I just used felt from the fabric store, but I'm too lazy to go back.
ReplyDeleteFelt? Explain...!
ReplyDeleteBest, Lisamarie
I love those Shiseido pads too! I will never go back to using the other store brand kinds.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a good light up mirror for so long. Its like they don't exist in Australia. I think I'm going to have to get someone handy to help me assemble a wall one or something!
ReplyDeleteI am always so tempted to pick those Shiseido pads up too.. but I can never get myself to do it! lol
ReplyDeleteLondon Drugs carry the Shiseido cotton pads too :)
ReplyDeleteI need a good makeup mirror, haven't had one in years.
ReplyDeleteBeauty tools I can't live without? Thanks to a bent liner brush I've discovered the joy that is gel eyeliner :)