Desert Island Beauty: Five Products I Can't Live Without




I like to chop and change with my beauty products. With makeup such as foundation, mascara and primer I try a different one each time and rarely stay with the same one. But with other products, I'm a creature of habit. I will buy them again and again until they get discontinued, which is when I get in a massive sulk and complain at any available opportunity (still not over Soap & Glory's lipstick redesign and No7 discontinuing their auburn eyebrow pencil).

If I was told I was only allowed to use five beauty products, I'd probably prioritise things like deodorant and mascara. However, this post is five products I refuse to give up. Deodorants and mascaras may come and go, but these products are forever...

First up is V05 Nourish My Shine Bedazzling Heat Protection Spray. This product featured in my first proper blog post way back when, which happened to be a monthly favourites post. It perhaps isn't the best for dealing with flyaways (probably due to my impatience when drying my hair) but it leaves it feeling silky smooth and soft. It took me years to find a heat protection spray that I liked, and since finding this I just keep repurchasing. I can actually feel the difference when I have to use a different spray.

Next is a classic: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder. This featured in my Products That I'll Always Repurchase post (along with the Natural Collection Clear Mascara) and since then I've used up the two ones pictured and am part way through another (featured in the above photo). I use this stuff like crazy (and only sometimes drop them and end up with a smashed pan). I've recently enjoyed using NYX HD Studio loose powder (seen here), but if I'm buying pressed powder it's very rare that I choose anything else!

For me, MAC Brave is more than just a lipstick. When I first started working full time, I really struggled with the adjustment because of my anxiety. I kept telling myself I had to be brave. And then I saw this lipstick and wanted to buy it, but put it off for a while. I had to wait until I was 'brave' enough to deserve it. I waited until I was sufficiently pleased with myself and my train travel progress, then I bought it. And now I use it as a way to motivate myself, thinking that if I wear this lipstick I can be brave. Seems like a load of crap, and I have a hard time convincing myself that lipstick can help me with my anxiety, but it doesn't really matter. This lipstick is important to me.

I have been using Natural Collection Lash Care Mascara in Clear for years and years. Back when I wasn't allowed to wear makeup at school (having naturally blonde eyelashes kind of gives it away if you have mascara on), I'd use this to give my lashes a bit of a lift. But for the past five years or so I've used it to tame my eyebrows. It's so great for keeping brow products in place! I just don't feel the need to try any other brow gel...

Last up is Lush Silky Underwear Dusting Powder. I don't really consider myself to be a 'Lushie'; I have a few products that I love but Lush can be quite expensive for everyday use (and seems a little over-hyped). I remember seeing people on Tumblr raving about Lush's dusting powders as saviours of chub-rub. They weren't wrong. This stuff is absolutely great for summer, when us larger-legged folk tend to suffer. However, I also use this on a day-to-day basis after I've had a shower - it leaves your skin smelling lovely and feeling soft. And the talc element not only alleviates chub rub, but also helps you to quickly dry those 'hard to dry' areas - in between toes, under boobs, behind your knees, your back, your back rolls (bonus points if you read that in an Alyssa Edwards voice), and anywhere else you're too lazy to towel off. Plus, it lasts ages as well.

What're your five products that you can't live without?

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