Hey all, TGIF! This week has really flown by. Last night I had dinner with my mom to celebrate what would have been my Grandma’s 80th birthday. I was so lucky to have such a special lady as my grandmother. I remember being wee little and her sitting me on the bathroom counter so I could watch her put her makeup on. I was enthralled! I loved to dig through her makeup bag (I have that very bag to this day) and play with all of the products and contraptions. My love for beauty products was born right there on her bathroom counter!
As with all things makeup, I’m a sucker for some good beauty tools! It was very hard to narrow down my must haves to a manageable size (a post, rather than a novel), so these are the ones that you would have to pry out of my white-knuckled death grip to take them out of my life!
Clarisonic.
The Clarisonic is the beauty tool of all beauty tools, my friends. The thing is, until I got my Clarisonic, I thought I had ok skin. WRONG. My skin feels and looks infinitely better when using any cleanser with the Clarisonic than without. Not. Even. Close. This is how much I love my Clarisonic: I randomly met the inventor while at a work meeting in San Diego, and I geeked out like a was teenager at my 1st boy band concert. Embarrassing. But you see the point, yes?
Wet Brush
I got the Wet Brush from my PopSugar Must Have monthly subscription box. Silly little plastic (plastic and yellow!) brush, but I love it! I don’t know how this petite little thing manages to brush through my thick wet hair without a single pull, but it’s the truth. No More Tears shampoo will become obsolete with this arrival.
Sephora Pencil Cap Sharpener
I already expressed my undying love for my Sephora pencil cap sharpener in my makeup bag essentials. I’ll spare you the redundancy. Heart it. That’s all. (Btw, I know we’re only talking tools, but perfectly sharpened inside of this baby is my fave lip pencil 🙂 ).
Brow Scissors
Tweezerman brow scissors and brush Anyone else have brows that could pass for permed if you didn’t trim them? No? Uhh… yeah, me neither. 😉 The flat bottom allows me to line the scissors up perfectly with my brow line to ensure a precise, polished trim.
Hair Elastics
Goody hair elastics. The eternal hair elastic mystery…. WHERE do they go?!?! I find them everywhere… the bathroom, makeup bag, car, makeup bag, nightstand, kitchen, in the air (after having been flown from Tootie’s mouth, she thinks they’re toys), around my wrist… I still go through them like water! These ones don’t pull and rip my hair out when I take it up and down multiple times a day.
Nail Sanding Block
Sally Beauty mini sanding block. Isn’t it the worst when after you file your nails, there’s that jagged part that tucks under the nail and won’t come off with just scraping? Not quite fingernail, but not skin. Do you know what I mean? Problem solved with 19 cents. Thanks Sally.
Sephora Multitasker Brush
Sephora Professional Multitasker Powder Brush # 45 is technically for powder )as the latter part of the name suggests), however I use it for many products (as the former part of the name would imply). It buffs liquid foundation to an airbrush finish, just as flawlessly as it does my mineral powder foundation.
MAC Blending Sponge
If this were a must have makeup product post, BB Cream would likely be vying for the top spot. What a brilliant multitasker of a product! I adore the finish I get when applying it with this MAC blending sponge; it doesn’t absorb the product the way that so many sponges do. I’m always surprised that I have leftover BB on my hand once I’m done applying and blending with this little latex-free wonder.
Refillable Perfume Spray Bottle
Travalo Refillable Spray Bottle. I love these little ditties! Due to TSA compliance and a previous broken perfume bottle in my luggage situation, these are the only way I travel with fragrance anymore. It’s so clever, you just pop the sprayer top off of any perfume bottle, and hold the bottom of the Travalo onto the top of the perfume bottle and pump the sprayer down (see below), and it magically fills it up with just enough perfume to last through your travels (I take 2 for a week or more)!
Schick Intuition
Here’s the thing… some gals like to put makeup on, some don’t. Some ladies like to style their hair, some don’t. I don’t know ANY one, male or female, who likes to shave! So although a razor may not be the most glamorous of beauty tools, the Intuition is a must have nonetheless because of all of the time it doesn’t take me to shave! A few swipes of this no shave-cream needed razor and I’m done. Love this genius invention!
Whew! That was tough; like trying to pick a favorite kid! I feel confident in my choices though.
What are your favorite beauty tools? It literally makes my day when I hear of something new to try!
Elaine Parisi says
I was just at Sephora yesterday and picked up the pencil sharpener. I have wanted one since I read the first post you mentioned it in. I didn’t know you can use a brush to blend liquid foundation! Next on my list! How often do you clean your brushes … especially if using for blending foundation? Thanks!
Nikki says
Love this post p!! Ok so I was just talking to the girls at work about buying a clarsonic from Kelly our laser hair removal girl who sells them and swears by it as well. You have such great skin so I guess that will be my next purchase 😉
Lydia Nordhoff says
Aww thank Nikki! You won’t be sorry! 🙂
Jesse says
Love the Clarisonic too. Have you tried No No hair remover? Probably my favorite beauty tool.
Lydia Nordhoff says
No, I haven’t, but Ive always been curious as to whether it works. I take it you’re a believer?!
anon says
interesting and informative with a personal touch. thanks