August 21, 2020

Mask-proof lip color, the best Odacité cleansers and using bathroom organization to soothe my soul

Excerpts:

Found: Lip color that won’t rub off on your mask

Before COVID, I had a short checklist that I would follow before leaving the house for any reason. It involved selecting a pair of sunglasses, filling up my water bottle and swiping on some lip color. Then, of course, lockdown happened and I didn’t go anywhere for quite some time. Once I did start heading out again (which is still limited to doctor’s appointments, getting prescriptions once a month, curb-side pick-ups and my weekly tennis lesson), I can’t tell you how many times I put on lip gloss forgetting that I was going to have to put on a mask. More than just annoying and uncomfortable, I always got home with color well beyond the borders of my mouth (which certainly can’t help the maskne situation).

Then I received the latest collection of lip stains from Anastasia Beverly Hills, and I’m happy to report that I can leave the house with lip color again (even though no one can see it since I’m obviously wearing a mask). I’ve always had an on-again, off-again relationship with lip stains, but I’m really into four of Anastasia’s six new colors—and the no-transfer formula that doesn’t leave your lips looking dry or flaky.

The first one I tried was the “Bright Pink” (because I love a hot-pink lip—and no joke, this color hangs around for almost 24 hours). I wouldn’t have ordinarily reached for the “Dusty Rose,” but after seeing it semi-IRL on an informational Zoom with Anastasia and her daughter Claudia Soare (and trying it myself), I discovered it’s a winner. I’m also into the “Black Cherry” (which is less brick-y than the tube suggests), but the real surprise was “Orchid.” Purple lip color isn’t my jam, but it actually dries down to a lovely berry-like hue. (The swatches below are in this order, top to bottom). So I suppose you can say I’m all set-in the mask-resistant lip color department! 

Among other big Anastasia news, the brand launched their first new brow product in two years, the Brow Pen. With an ultra-fine tip and liquid-based formula, this pen allows you to create the Illusion of individual hairs for brow enhancement that looks natural—not like you filled your brows in. And since there are nine shades to choose from, you’re virtually guaranteed to find an almost-perfect match.

As if all this wasn’t enough, there are now two new shades of Brow Wiz and Brow Definer (“Strawburn” and “Ash Brown”), so even more of us can get in on the fun!

It’s official: Odacité is my favorite brand for cleansers

Of all the products I use on a daily basis, I’m actually quite particular about my cleansers. I have my foaming one for the morning (right now it’s Acure’s Resurfacing Glycolic & Unicorn Root Cleanser—amazing!), and my trifecta of Shu Uemura Blanc:Chroma Lightening & Polishing Cleansing Oil, Odacité Green Ceremony Cleanser and Bioderma Micellar Water for the evening, you can definitely say my skin is clean!

But I have to say, I truly look forward to the three or so minutes I spend with Odacité every evening. I love anything matcha—and I love the “experience” of scooping out a bit of powder into my wet hands and feeling it lather up as I massage my face. It’s smells divine, provides an exfoliating boost and leave my skin looking and feeling incredible. (And with ingredients like chlorophyll and spirulina I think of it as a green juice for my face.)

I had to search my site to see if I had written about this already (I’m on my second jar)—and that’s when my review of Odacité’s Black Mint Cleanser popped up—hence the brand receiving the designation as my favorite source for cleansers. This is yet another reason I can’t wait to try the Blue Aura Cleansing Water—which is celebrating its first anniversary with three beautiful limited-edition bottles. Better yet, Odacité is planting 10 trees for every bottle sold, which is all the more reason to stock up.

P.S. When searching for an image of the Green Ceremony Cleanser, I found it half off at Bloomingdale’s!

I gave my bathroom vanity a major makeover

I pride myself on my organization and neatness, yet my job poses a constant challenge. As a beauty writer, there’s an endless stream of incoming products (both purchased and sent to me for review)—and last week I realized that they had gotten out of control. This did not sit well with me so I needed a solution ASAP, and thanks to curb-side pickup at The Container Store, the makeover was underway within a few hours.

For once, I actually remembered to take a “before” video, and you can see that my attempts to corral everything created more of a cluttered mess. There was no rhyme or reason to my medicine cabinet, and my blow dryer would fall out of the cabinet every damn time I opened the door. As much as I love perfume, I haven’t wanted to waste the good stuff over the past few months, so my tray was basically a dust magnet. But perhaps the biggest issue was that I had to move everything to my husband’s sink whenever I deep-cleaned the bathroom (now that I’m the housekeeper, too). 

This actually wasn’t as much of an undertaking as I thought it would be. The first step was taking everything off of my rotating storage shelves and out of my medicine cabinet. I divided the products by those I use every day or several times a week, and those that are “occasional use.” I reserved one tray for the products I want easy access to and put my cleansers and oral-care products in the medicine cabinet.

Everything else went into these handy-dandy drawers. One holds my devices (like my ZIIP), one has extra deodorants and miscellaneous body tools, one is for my makeup brush cleaning supplies, one has all of my perfumes that I didn’t want to display, one has those special products I turn to when my skin is freaking out, and lastly, the bottom drawers has all of my hairstyling tools and brushes.

I am absolutely obsessed with the final result. My bathroom feels so much lighter and airier, and I love that I still have everything I need for my morning and evening skincare regimens within arm’s reach. But the best part is, I’m saving myself a major cleaning step, which will make the work just a little more bearable.