My Beauty Routine

I've posted about my daily beauty routine before, but it's been agessss (like, a year and a half) so I thought I'd let you guys in on my most basic basics again. The things I'm always wearing, even if my outfit changes every day. I'm always curious about other people's beauty products, especially the non-flashy ones that don't change when some new trend appears: not the eye shadows and nail polishes, but the shampoos and the deodorants and the moisturizers. 

These are the products that really tell you something about the person using them: are you frugal or indulgent? Do you use only a handful of simple products, or do you have dozens of them lined up along your bathroom walls? Are you into conscious products or do you prefer not to worry? Do you want your potionz to be based on "natural" ingredients or do you own your own chemistry lab? (which is BS since nature is chemistry as well ya know)

You get my point. While I'm definitely interested in what you are using, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't show you my stash. So here you go!

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This is my face, prettified with the basics I put on mostly every single day. In this shot, I've used moisturizer, primer, under eye concealer, eyeshadow (brows) and a dab of lipgloss. No mascara, no foundation, no powder, even though I use them most days. Those are part of my beauty routine, but I consider this shot a good description of the base, the canvas I do my painting on. My meta-make up!

Ah, the base. I use L'Oreal's Revitalift because it is the only 20spf moisturizer they stock in my local grocery store. I like the pump dispenser that makes sure germs don't get into my cream, and I like how Revitalift has the perfect balance (for me) of richness and non-greasiness, if you get what I'm saying. I also use it around my eyes because I like the way it feels, which has allowed me to stop using a separate eye cream. For my night cream, I use a drugstore (Kruidvat) brand. It has vitamin E and I like the scent and thickness.

I have been using vaseline loyally since I was maybe 6 years old. I used to have the most horrid chapped, dry lips and I just couldn't get through the day without regularly moisturizing. My lips would actually start to hurt after a while without vaseline! And up to this day, I have a tub of the old pure petroleum jelly next to my bed. For my lips. Don't be gross!

For my visage (ah, sounds so fancy), these are my favorite beauty products. I have tried quite a few under eye concealers throughout my life because I have deep set eyes, but this Catrice Light Reflecting concealer is THE BEST. I recommend it to everyone: easy to use, not drying, not too thick but still providing good coverage. And cheap to boot! GET IT. 

My foundation, primer and mineral powder are all mega affordable too, from Hema. The powder and primer are just easy options that do the trick for a small cash fee, but my foundation is a temporary solution. I have a hard time finding an affordable, cool toned, fair foundation that is neither too greasy nor too drying, and Hema turned out to provide me with an OK solution. Only thing I dislike is that it doesn't have any SPF, but since my daily moisturizer has SPF20 I think I have it fairly covered.

If I had to go the rest of my life with only ONE make up item, it would be something to amp up my eyebrows with. I can.not. stress enough how important it is to fill in and shape your eyebrows if you want to get that made up, neat look. Eyebrows really frame your face, make your gaze more mesmerizing and give you sophistication. I find pencils hard to use and prefer eyeshadow (slightly lighter than my own haircolor), applied with a flat, small, rounded brush. Practically foolproof.

Using deodorant is a part of the whole ritual of becoming an adult, don't you agree? No kid uses it, but when you reach your teenage years you start sweating and having raging hormones and the accompanying smell, and since we mostly prefer smelling like weird, non human things, we counter that with some good old deodorant. I don't like deodorant sprays for several reasons (doesn't feel dry, mostly) so I use creamy stick deodorants. This is my faaave ever: it's a unisex deo stick by Rituals. My guy and me both use it, and it smells of soft, sweet spearmint. Love!

Ah, the hairz! I've recently grown tired of products loaded with silicones because they just fool you into thinking your hair is healthy while you're actually just coating it with plastic. I mean, I get why they put it in your conditioner, but if you check your hair oil and its contents are like, 95% silicones and 5% actual oil, I feel pretty ripped off. To explain it in a few words: oil nourishes your hair, actually making it more soft, smooth and healthy, while silicones coat your strands which makes them appear more silky while all of the damage is still there. Silicones don't actually dissolve in water, so if your shampoo contains silicones you will just be building them up each time you wash your hair, which will make it go dull and flat after a while.

I found these products at the Body Shop for about 8€ each, which I absolutely think is a fair price for the big bottles. I am definitely going to keep buying the Moroccan Coconut hair Oil (just need like 3 drops!) and the Rainforest Shine shampoo, but I'm not sold on the Rainforest Shine conditioner. Not rich enough, and the product is very hard to get out of the bottle. Will be looking for other options.

I love, love, LOVE dry shampoo. Seriously. No use for washing all of that hair, no use for letting it dry, no use for volumizing products, no use for ANYTHING! Just spritz it on, shake it out and BAM you have gorgeous, clean hair. I actually like my hair best after a few days of not washing and using dry shampoo because it makes my hair so voluminous and manageable! After trying several different brands of dry shampoo, I've found that the Syoss Volume Lift is your best bet. Not too expensive, smells nice (a bit like tea) and doesn't leave your hair with that awful grey-white film until you've used it like 3 days in a row.

Last but not least: my hairbrush. A simple, cheap bristle brush from Kruidvat. I much prefer having to spend a bit more time brushing knots out of my hair carefully rather than breaking my hair with every brushstroke because of the crappy, harsh plastic brush I use. If you love your hair and want it to be pretty, treat it well! Especially if it's longer/fine/colored/bleached. Mine is all of the above, so I am careful. I don't brush it too often and never, EVER when it's wet: I brush it before washing, and afterwards I comb through it with my fingers to get the worst knots out gently. Trust me!

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SO! I hope you enjoyed this little private peek into my basic beauty regiment. I guess the story these products tell you about me is that I try to find a balance between a low price and a nourishing, protective, no-nonsense effect. What are your priorities? Do you have products that define you or personal mottos to share? Please do! I'm curious.