I’m constantly trying out new beauty products and so today I thought it would be fun to show you five products I’ve recently added to my beauty regimen and what I think of them so far, and five long-time favorites that I can’t get ready without!

Five Products I’m Testing

1. TULA Overnight Skin Rescue Treatment

You guys know my daily skincare routine is made up of almost solely TULA products.  I’ve been obsessed since day one and it hasn’t faded one bit in the past eight months.  Most lines or products I try, I like for a while (like 2-3 months) but after that I find myself looking for something new.  Not with TULA.

They recently came out with this Overnight Treatment and even though I don’t think you’re supposed to use it every night, I’ve been loving it so much that I have to force myself to use something else.  When you wake up in the morning, your skin is so plump and dewy it feels like you drank a gallon of water before bed!  The one thing I’ve noticed that I don’t care for as much as my other TULA products is the scent.  The other products don’t have much of a scent (clean if anything), but this sort of has a “yogurt” smell when you apply it.  This is due to the potent probiotics in the formula which give all the benefits that I love, so it’s totally something I’m willing to deal with (and the smell fades within 15-20 seconds).

Make sure you check out my whole daily skincare routine HERE.  And! Right now you can get 20% off all TULA products + free shipping with code ‘Darylann20’ at checkout!

2. La Mer Illuminating Eye Gel

A few months ago when I saw my dermatologist, she told me the best age to start preventing signs of aging was 25.  So needless to say I set out from her office that day and started researching anti-aging products and reviews.  This Illuminating Eye Gel had come highly recommended by a few friends and the reviews were good, so I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.

It’s only been about a month, and I really am not using it to “get rid” of anything so to say, but rather prevent, so I’m not sure how it works along those lines, but it does feel super hydrating and leaves my under eyes illuminated and soft.  I apply it morning (under my makeup) and night under my eye and to the outsides where wrinkles develop overtime.  The only negative I see to this is the price.  Honestly it’s much less expensive than some of the alternatives I was looking into, but it’s not cheap by any means.

3. Bare Minerals ‘Gen Nude’ Matte Liquid Lipstick (in shade ‘BOSS’)

I am a liquid lipstick junkie.  Seriously, if I see a YouTuber recommend one Daniel jokes that I have to go out that night and get it.  It’s ridiculous, and it’s exactly what happened with this one.  I can’t remember where I saw it, but when I heard about it I had to have it.  Everyday fall shades like this are totally my favorite, but this one is a giant NO for me.  Honestly the color is gorgeous, until it is on my face and then it’s way too dark.  So that being said, it definitely could just be that it doesn’t look good on me!  But, just note that if you have my skin tone, it might not be the best everyday color.

Sidetone: I so want to try out the shade XYZ, because in the photos on the product page that people have submitted, it’s insanely gorgeous!

4. Smashbox Iconic Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Before buying this I had actually never used a foundation primer.  I have always just applied my foundation directly on top of my moisturizer (not a makeup expert here, so I just figure one less product to buy 😉).  My dermatologist recommended that I start using a certain sunscreen, and I noticed after a couple of days that my foundation didn’t stick as well on top of the sunscreen.  I figured I’d give this primer a try to see if I could get my foundation to stay all day while still wearing sunscreen underneath.

It’s probably the most well known foundation primer, which is why I chose it, and it comes in a little travel/trial size for a lot less money if you aren’t sure that you will like it.  After a couple of weeks, honestly I don’t see a difference when I use it or when I don’t in terms of it making my makeup last longer.  It does feel great going on and makes your skin smooth, but that’s about it.  Probably won’t be purchasing it again.

5. BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter (in ‘Opal’)

If there’s an advocate for a matter make-up look, I’m your girl.  Honestly, the past few years I have tried to stay away from things with shimmer whether it be eyeshadow, highlighters, etc.  But with the huge highlighting trend going on I had to try it!  I first purchased this same pressed powder in ‘Champagne Pop,’ but I have a tendency to think things look very orange on my skin, and that’s exactly what happened with that color.  I exchanged it for the shade ‘Opal’ and I totally am learning why people love a good highlight so much!

If you are nervous to try out the highlighting trend, I would say stick with ‘Opal’ because it has just the right amount of highlight without being gold or glittery.

Five Products I Can’t Live Without

1. Too Faced Soleil Matte Bronzer

The first thing you have to know about this bronzer is that it smells like chocolate.  Not even kidding, and not at all in an obnoxious way.  Really you only can smell it when you’re putting it on, but its amazing!  It’s also the perfect matte bronzer with absolutely no shimmer.  It gives the perfect natural glow without looking at all orange.  I also use this as an eyeshadow for my crease almost every day because it gives the perfect contouring color.

Just a tip: I originally thought the lightest shade would be dark enough of a contrast to my skin, but my friend convinced me that the medium shade would not be too dark, and she was so right!  So if you’re a fair-medium skin tone, you can feel comfortable going with the middle shade.

2. Esteé Lauder Double Wear Foundation (in ‘1N2 Ecru’)

with MAC Pump

If I’m out of this foundation, I literally feel like there’s no point in doing my makeup that day…haha!  I’ve been using it for about a year and have no plans of switching, ever.  It lasts all day long without separating, flaking, or fading.  The one complaint I have is the way that it’s packaged: you have to “pour” it out, which I feel creates a lot of waste.  BUT, this MAC pump fits perfectly on it and completely solves that issue.  I use the pump through two bottles of foundation, and honestly I probably could use it longer, I just think it gets kind of gross.  They are both relatively inexpensive: the foundation is under $40 and the pump is only $10.

3. Bumble and Bumble Thickening Full Form Mousse

Unfortunately I was not blessed with crazy thick, gorgeous hair, so I’m constantly on the lookout for things to make my hair look fuller.  This mousse is a game changer for girls like me!  While my hair is still wet, I fill my hand with a good amount of it and apply it to my roots and work it down the strands, but honestly more concentrated and focused on the roots than anything else.  Then I blow-dry my hair upside down to add to the volume.  These two things make a huge difference in how my hair looks when it’s done!

Sidenote: I recently started using this hair dryer and so far I’m really liking it!

4. Dior Maximizer 3D Lash Primer

Okay, so I’m not going to bore you any more on my crazy love with this product.  If you haven’t bought it yet, just do it now!  I wrote really in-depth about it in this post about my mascara routine and how I make my lashes look longer, and really it is one of the biggest contributors to it.  I would choose to use this primer with a drugstore mascara to just a high-end mascara any day of the week.

5. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in ‘Original’)

This is one of those products I’ve been using since high school and haven’t stopped.  I don’t wear eyeshadow everyday (usually I just pop a little bit of the Too Face bronzer in my crease), but if I do I absolutely have to wear this underneath.  I apply it with my finger, let it dry, and it keeps any kind of eyeshadow from creasing or fading throughout the whole day.  Even the most stubborn cream eyeshadows won’t crease on top of this!

If you want to see my everyday makeup routine, check out this post HERE that I did a while back.  Honestly not much has changed, and it was super hard to pick only five things that I couldn’t live without.  But if it came down to it, these are the five I couldn’t replace with just any other product.

What products are you trying out right now?  What can’t you part with in your beauty regimen?

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