Today I’m sharing five recent beauty items that I cannot get enough of. It takes a lot to wow me on the beauty front, but these five definitely fit the bill. Ella Ora Mineral
Today I’m sharing five recent beauty items that I cannot get enough of. It takes a lot to wow me on the beauty front, but these five definitely fit the bill.
All I can say is… WOW and where has this product been all of my life? I have never looked so forward to putting on SPF as I do now. What I do is apply my moisturizer first, then follow with this, even though this product does help to moisturize the skin as well. One thin layer of this on my skin helps to smooth and even my tone. I love that it doesn’t have a sparkly radiance to it the way some products can end up making you look shimmery. What it does do is somehow make me look brighter and fresher. A tiny bit goes a long way, so don’t let the price deter you. I love this more than any foundation I’ve ever used, however I do usually prefer a little bit of coverage on top of this for when I’m going out.
If you have yellow undertones as I do, you might like Cameo Glow, which is the shade I wear. If you have more pinky or neutral undertones, then definitely try Natural Glow. If you’re lighter or darker than I am, then check out their other shades here.
This product is impressive. The way it glides on and makes my skin look a little airbrushed, yet still providing it with sun protection. I’m just very in love with it!
I was sent this magical product from top facialist Aida Bicaj, who for 20+ years has treated the skin of celebrities like Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Sienna Miller, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Carla Gugino, and Kyra Sedgwick to name a few.
This toner-like product has a whole list of benefits, which you can read about here, but in a nutshell, it helps to exfoliate and brighten dull and hyperpigmented complexions. Prior to this, I was using Lotion P50W from the same line and loved it but didn’t see any noticeable results that wowed me. That is not the case with this P50 PIGM 400 one. My skin is noticeably brighter since implementing it into my routine—and it keeps my skin smooth and dare I say luminous! It is a game changer.
I apply this lip mask every morning and night as the last step of my skincare routine. I can’t express how lovely it makes my lips feel, but smooth and hydrated is a start. It’s not sticky at all, but more so like a jelly that is infused with Japanese peach and olive-derived squalene to restore the health of the lips. It also makes my lips look more plump!
I talk about this product a lot—and for good reason—but I just realized I haven’t ever discussed it on my blog. Technically this may not be a beauty item, but it helps me to sleep better which ends up helping me on the beauty front—so there’s my justification! These CBD drops have truly become such an integral part of my daily routine. I put one dropper full under my tongue every night as I get into bed, then hold it there for 30 seconds before swallowing. Within 15 minutes, my racing mind and heart are quieted down and I feel as though my body is allowing me to relax. CBD does not contain THC, which is the part of cannabis that provides the “high.” So although CBD does help me relax, it is not in hallucinogenic way at all. It’s simply like my anxiety goes from overdrive down to low gear, which allows me to realize that I’m tired and easily fall asleep. It also helps me to stay asleep well throughout the night, so I wake up more refreshed.
CBD has a whole host of benefits, from helping with headaches, chronic pain, anxiety, and much more. I was super skeptical to try it but once I did, I signed my mom up for a monthly subscription as well! I highly suggest the Brilliance Box, as it comes with the daily drops as discussed here, the daily softgels, which are perfect for the morning because they are slowly released throughout the day, and also the relief cream, which is a game changer for sore muscles, tension headaches, and anything in between. (CBD helps to reduce inflammation in the body, so it will blow your typical icy-hot type of product out of the water.)
If you want to give Equilibria a try—and I personally would feel hesitant to try any other brand because I know Equilibria is incredibly stringent in their production since they monitor the product on their own farms from seeds all the way to being bottled, so I know it’s not filled with fillers and questionable ingredients. It’s very pure and because of that, potent as well. (Which is a good thing!)
But to my point, if you want to give it a try, I highly recommend the Brilliance Box so that you can try all three products and at a great value. Buying the three together in one box gives you a $14 discount vs. buying them individually. Then if you click “subscribe,” which I recommend for a multitude of reasons, then you’ll save an additional 20% off your order each month. Then, you can use my referral code “holycitychic” on first time orders to save 15% on top of that.
This sequence brings the total for the three items from $174 down to $107. And the good news is that moving forward, I highly doubt you would need the relief cream every month, so you could move down to the box that just contains the drops and the softgels after that.
I stopped wearing fragrance back in 2015 because it’s really bad for you. Of course I have exceptions, like my candles, but I definitely do not wear perfume. However, that is until I discovered The Nue Co. Functional Fragrance. It is a clean beauty product and the smell? It’s absolutely incredible. I get compliments all the time on this, as it’s fresh and warm all at the same time. I wish I could describe exactly how it smells, but to me it sort of reminds me of what you smell when you enter the lobby of a very swanky 5 star hotel in NYC. It could be feminine or masculine—I think it smells different on everyone.
Here are the ingredients—and remember they are all clean: Cardomom, Bergamot, Cilantro, Myrrh, Iris, Violet, Jasmine, Cedarwood, Musk, Palo Santo, Ambrox, Guaiacwood.
The best part of the Functional Fragrance is that these natural fragrance oils that are included help to rebalance your stress levels and help you unwind. I can’t speak to whether I feel that or not, but I do think it helps me to feel more centered‚—and of course, to smell delightful.
If the big bottle is scary to you to order over the internet, they do have a smaller bottle as well for significantly less. Might be a good place to start!
