Disclosure: Thank you to Nordstrom and Collective Voice for sponsoring this post. All products were selected and tested by yours truly, all opinions are my own!
I find myself to be a major creature of habit when it comes to beauty products. Maybe it’s the fact that reordering what I’ve always used is easier than trying something new. Maybe it’s because I often feel decision fatigue by the time I’m done with work, kids, husband, house stuff, what to make for dinner (let’s be honest, this is the real culprit!), etc. and I just can’t fathom trying to figure out what beauty products I want to try from ALL THE OPTIONS and crossing my fingers hoping that I like them.
Steph here! Director of Operations on the Living in Yellow team, wife, mom of three, 36 year old with extremely dry skin, and hair that isn’t totally sure it wants to be curly – but knows for sure it doesn’t want to be straight and sleek like I want it to. I tried out 10 new beauty products and these were my favorites!
Elemis Superfood Facial Oil & Kiehl’s Buttermask for Lips
Elemis Superfood Facial Oil / Kiehl’s Buttermask for Lips / Caslon V-Neck Ruffle Sleeve Top [TTS, wearing in M in Rust Spice] / Liverpool Exposed Button Fly Cutoff Shorts [Size down, wearing in 8]
The impact this dynamic duo has had on how hydrated my skin feels has been insane! Elemis Superfood Facial Oil is lightweight, and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and oh so soft! I use it morning and night after washing my face and have zero issues with feeling greasy. I genuinely look forward to washing my makeup off at the end of the day so I can put this on!
Kiehl’s Buttermask for Lips is the best lip mask I’ve tried! It’s light enough to apply morning and night, but powerful enough that I’m not applying additional lip balm throughout the day – which is a feat in itself given my lifelong obsession with reapplying every hour or so.
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30 [wearing in 2N1 Nude] / Caslon V-Neck Ruffle Sleeve Top [TTS, wearing in M in Rust Spice]
This tinted moisturizer has honestly shocked me. I’m typically a bareMinerals loose powder foundation wearer. While I do still like my bareMinerals, I simply ran out and was ready to give another product type a try. I’ve never had luck with tinted moisturizers in the past because I find them to be either too light with zero coverage, or too thick like traditional foundation. This one is the perfect amount of buildable coverage, while also offering protection of 30 SPF, which I’m finding so important as I get a little older [It’s amazing how 36 year old skin doesn’t bounce back from a day unprotected in the sun the way my 18 year old skin did!].
Clinique Makeup Remover & Too Faced Damn Girl Mascara
Clinique Makeup Remover / Too Faced Damn Girl Mascara / Caslon V-Neck Ruffle Sleeve Top [TTS, wearing in M in Rust Spice] / Liverpool Exposed Button Fly Cutoff Shorts [Size down, wearing in 8]
WOW WOW WOW I love this mascara!!! I’ve tried a lot of mascaras over the years, I mean… A. LOT. This is by far the best I’ve come across that truly lengthens and thickens my lashes – WITHOUT flaking into my eyes by the end of the day. Try it, you won’t be sorry!
Since the mascara isn’t flaking off, it genuinely requires makeup remover, not just washing my face. I can’t even tell you how many years I was using my previous brand and just assumed it was the best, but Clinique has been a very pleasant surprise! No tugging, no excessive wiping, just a few swipes and my lashes are clean!
Shop all of the products I tested, below!
As our Director of Operations, Steph is single-handedly responsible for any structure that exists here at LIY. Between communicating with our amazing brand partners, organizing blog content, managing the team, Steph loves organization *almost* as much as she does the latest cookie recipe she came up with from scratch. Give her a puzzle to be put together, a candle to burn and new sprigs of green growing out of her garden, and you’ve just explained the perfect day in Steph’s world.
