Memorial Day Weekend = the signal that summer is coming! Time to bust out the rosé, sunglasses, sandals, & mini dresses. The perfect place to start is by freshening up that beauty arsenal! Here are this month’s 9 beauty finds you should try out & 1 you should skip… (click the underlined product names in the post to buy)
- NAILS: LeChat Perfect Match Nail Polish & Gel Polish Set in “Angel from Above” – $11.54: I’m obsessed with this light denim nail color! It is a perfect spring-to-summer transition shade… a light blue with a tinge of lavender. If you are familiar with Deborah Lippmann’s “Blue Orchid”, this is a very close dupe. What puts this ahead of the DL polish is that this is a set that includes a gel polish for your manicure and a regular matching nail polish for your toes.
- MAKEUP: Clinique Almost Lipstick in “Black Honey” – $17: Don’t let its name fool you! This sheer light berry cult classic that looks black in its packaging is magic! Similar to the Givenchy lipstick I reviewed in my March beauty post, it looks slightly different on each person based on your natural lip color. When I really want to amp it up, I like adding a coat of MAC Lipglass in Ample Pink on top.
- SKIN: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel – $16-$148: My beautiful Mama actually turned me on to this daily peel recently. She swore by it so I decided to test it out. I love that this 2-part peel, which is gentle enough to be used twice a day, serves triple duty by targeting uneven skin tone, wrinkles and pores. Even better, it comes in the form of 2 individually sealed pre-treated towelettes making this ideal for travel! Officially added to my travel toiletry kit ✅
- SKIN: Lancôme Visionnaire Nuit Beauty Sleep Perfector – $89: Nothing makes me happier than an overnight treatment that works its magic while I am sleeping and my skin is taking a breather from all the products. Lately, I have been switching off between this fab hydrating overnight moisturizer and this Dior Hydralife Jelly Sleeping Mask that I reviewed in a previous post. Both are great for travel too! I scoop out a little and put it in a small travel container & my skin is thanking me for fighting that travel dehydration.
- SKIN: Peter Thomas Roth 24k Gold Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Prism Cream – $42: This is an all-over self-adjusting illuminator & targeted highlighter. Get that beautiful summer glow by wearing this under your foundation or by itself for the perfect natural beach look!
- MAKEUP: KKW by Kylie Cosmetics Creme Liquid Lipstick Set – $45 (sold out): Creme finish lipgloss set (not a long lasting matte like most of the liquid lipsticks I have & love). *Kiki = baby pink (this one is my fave on my skin tone as it looks closest to my natural lip color & doesn’t wash me out). Kim = light pink with slight peachy undertones and a little more pigmented than Kiki. Kimmie = slightly deeper coral pink. Kimberly = beige nude (this is my least favorite of the 4 in the set because it looks more like concealer on my lips/skin tone). While I love the idea of what this nude set was trying to accomplish, as a whole, it fell short in my opinion on texture and colors. I wasn’t fan of the creme consistency and would really only wear 1 of the 4 colors. Honestly, not worth the $45. Anyhow, they are currently sold out so don’t worry about hunting this down.
- SKIN: Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes – $4.49: I have sensitive skin and have tried a handful of face wipes over the years, some of which I have had allergic reactions to. This is the face wipe I use every night to take off all my makeup before lathering up my face. They have never irritated my skin and do a great job removing all the mascara & liner. I always carry a small pack with me on the plane when I travel also, which comes in especially handy when not wanting to fumble with the teeny airplane restroom sink.
- SKIN: St. Tropez Gradual Tan Classic Everyday Body Lotion in “Medium/Dark” – $25: I have had the worst results trying a different variety of self-tanners – from orange skin to transfer on clothing to streaks of tanner to barely-there color. So when I found this St. Tropez lotion, I was pretty easily impressed despite being a tough critic. The color does build up pretty quickly over a few days but it is best to very gently exfoliate your skin in the shower every other day especially around the ankles, inner wrists and knees to ensure that it doesn’t build up too much in those delicate areas. I use this daily in the summer months or for several days before I have an event & love it!
- SKIN: Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Facial Wash – $28-$60: I have had this on one of my past Beauty Obsession lists but they just recently changed the formula and made it even better, if you can believe that. It has more exfoliating power and has also added vitamin C to the new formulation. Total win all the way around!🙌🏼
- MAKEUP: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in “Dragon Girl” – $27: my absolute favorite red lipstick of all time! Red can be tricky for two reasons… First, you have to make sure it stands up to the transfer test and doesn’t get all over your pearly whites or come off when you’re chowing down. Second, you have to find the right shade of red for your skin tone. For my skin color, I always prefer cooler blue-based reds like this one. While this definitely isn’t a new find for me, it is my all-time favorite red lipstick – ultra-matte and drop dead gorgeous! It pairs perfectly with MAC Liner in Cherry.
