As a new(ish) grad living in New York City, I too often find myself battling between supporting my beauty habit and purchasing basic necessities such as groceries or metro cards (prioritizing – still working on it). While my practical self generally is able to keep me out of Sephora, there are a few bits in my beauty collection that I can always seems to find room in the budget for.
Here’s a selection of the tried-and-true beauty products that I’ve decided must be accessible to me at all times. The products that, should they run out, I immediately run out and repurchase.
- Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle – I’ve professed my love for this leave-in conditioner multiple times already on Full Coverage, but I just can’t get enough. This product leaves my hair hydrated, shiny, protected, and super soft. Oh, and it also smells amazeballs. I make sure to have another bottle on its way before I’ve even finished the last one. Full review here.
- Bobbi Brown Brow Pencil (Grey) – I’m not sure where I would be without this brow pencil. Well, actually, I do have some deeply repressed memories of barely-there brows that were apparently filled using completely the wrong color. The worst thing about the whole debacle is that I did this for years and no one said a thing. It wasn’t until a good samaritan at the Bobbi Brown counter convinced me to make the switch that all three friends I was with fell over themselves to assure me I was currently making a tragedy of my eyebrows – which has to be some sort of girl code violation. Either way, this cool-toned taupe pencil is a perfect match and I’ve been hoarding back-ups for years. I personally find it difficult to find a good, cool-toned brow pencil for blondes. Brow pencils on the whole seem to skew warm but generally there’s only one option for blondes and it’s always too golden. I will say this pencil has mixed reviews online, mostly due to the soft formula and propensity of the pencil to crumble under pressure of sharpening; however, the finish is soft enough to seem natural and with a little extra caution, the sharpening issue is mostly avoidable. While I wouldn’t recommend everyone make the switch, if you’re a fellow blonde having issues matching your eyebrows to the rest of ya, give this baby a shot. P.s. this also comes with a pencil sharpener which is absurdly useful.
- Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial – this is another Full Coverage all-star, and oddly, my most popular review to date. This cream is absolute luxury in a pot, it’s one of the few products I’ve tried that makes an immediate and glorious difference in the appearance of my skin. While this definitely comes in at the high end price-wise on the run & repurchase list, it’s one of those luxuries I can always justify and would recommend to anyone. Full review here.
- Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (Vanilla) – This is another product that’s earned its very own review, linked here. This is my go-to concealer for under-eye darkness and around the nose redness. The formula is creamy and blendable without being remotely heavy. It’s also an excellent product for highlighting given the inherent radiance (think down the nose or along the cupid’s bow). I do have to mention that I switch to a different concealer when it comes to concealing blemishes. Given the aforementioned brightening element, this tends to draw attention where it’s applied, not good when dealing with spots, especially raised ones.
- Clinique Almost Lipstick (Black Honey) – I mentioned in my 2013 Year End Favorites post that I was ready to declare this little wonder my favorite lip product of all time and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find it holding the same title next year. While this lipstick looks downright alarming in the tube, it’s actually a gorgeous sheer cranberry on the lips that can either be worn as a tinted lip balm or built up to full-on red lip drama. Did I mention this also suits everyone? Think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but, you know, with lipstick. (..Gross?) Either way, Clinique’s created an absolute winner here, the texture is smooth, hydrating, and totally non-sticky and the slim silver tube fits easily into even the most minimalist of clutches.
I decided to leave this first list at 5 products, but rest assured there’s a lot more where that came from. Keep your eyes out for more repurchase essentials to come!
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