As we head into October (and it’s officially fall), here’s a quick look at the products I found myself falling in love with — for the first time, or all over again — during the month of September:
1. L’Oréal Paris MagicSmooth Soufflé Makeup
I have been on a long, long search for the perfect foundation. I used to swear by Clinique Superfit, which is now discontinued. I’d started using Superfit after Clinique discontinued another foundation I adored. (Lesson: Don’t fall in love with a Clinique foundation.) Since I’ve stopped being able to get my hands on my beloved Superfit, I’ve bounced around from makeup to makeup, trying just about anything and everything. There was an unfortunate Korres experiment (apparently now also discontinued; in this case, it was for the best), a massive waste of money on Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation (for $42 yes that’s right I said forty-two dollars I expect a foundation to actually cover my skin evenly), and of course, my dalliance with the Collier Strong-recommended L’Oréal paint roller, which I knew on some level was doomed from the start. I was in like with L’Oréal True Match for a while, but I my skin fell exactly between two shades and I got tired of mixing all the time, and then it started to make my face too greasy. I was hesitant to try any more high-end brands after being burned by Korres and Laura Mercier, but after seeing MagicSmooth Soufflé demoed in a YouTube video I figured I could risk 14 bucks.
You guys, this is The Foundation. I’m serious. Perfect coverage — no, really, perfect — perfect color, perfect finish. I love, love, love my skin in this makeup. It’s blendable to a fault and looks so incredibly natural I could swear my skin became even and perfect overnight. Except that I know I just applied the perfection with a foundation brush. (Yeah, that’s the only downside — this is definitely a makeup that demands brush application. There have been a couple of mornings when, crunched for time, I’ve had to resort to my slap-it-on-with-fingers-and-go Sephora Collection backup foundation, and while it’s not a terrible option, it’s just not the same.) This is my new bestie. Which, with my track record, means it will probably be discontinued in a month or two… so if it does, I’m going to have to stock up.
2. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Roller
I mentioned this product in my workplace essentials post, but at that point it was a pretty new item for me and the jury was still out. The jury has returned a verdict, though, and the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Roller is guilty of being totally effective and satisfying to use. Consequently, it has been handed a lifetime sentence of hard labor in my daily makeup routine. I have very pale Northern European skin, so if I don’t get enough sleep (and adjusting to a new earlier schedule has meant my sleep patterns have been all messed up lately) I have very dark, very pronounced purple bags under my eyes. Not sexy. This roller conceals underneath my eyes beautifully — seriously, more smoothly than any undereye concealer I’ve ever used, including my beloved standby Benefit LemonAid — and feels nice and cool as I roll it on. More than that, though, I’m honestly convinced that my undereye area has looked smoother and younger in the month since I started using this product daily. I’m sold.
3. Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel
I know, I know, every beauty blogger in the whole world has written about what a wonder product this is, how it’s the same formula as Smashbox Photo Finish, etc. I used to swear by this as a face primer — went through several tubes of it — and then I started using some samples I’d accumulated from Sephora orders, and then I started foregoing primer at all, and then I pretty much forgot about Monistat. I picked up a new tube in September, though, and I’ve been using it every day. I’d forgotten how nice and smooth it makes my face and how satisfying it is to apply foundation over the top of that silky layer of primed skin. Bonus use: I developed a bad case of wedding ring rash recently (due, I’m fairly certain, to Boston humidity and then a long flight home, both of which caused my fingers to swell), and since my skin has started to heal and I’ve been wearing my rings again I’ve been putting this on my finger first to discourage irritation. (It turns out the only way to really cure wedding ring rash when it’s not caused by a metal allergy is to leave your rings off for a while and let the skin heal… which has been a real drag. I hate not wearing my rings.)
Downside: It’s not really a beauty product I want to leave lying around. Even if he knew I’m putting it on my face (or maybe especially because?), I think my husband would be a little weirded out by this one.
4. Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer
I know anti-bacterial stuff is controversial (don’t ever get my mother started about how we humans are wearing down our resistance to microorganisms through our newfound cultural germophobia), but I like to keep some in my handbag because… well, sometimes you just want to kill some germs, you know? There was a little bottle of Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer in this month’s Birchbox, and I’m loving it. It smells like an Aveda product, and it doesn’t leave my hands feeling dry or raw. Love.
What favorite products did you discover — or rediscover — in September?
