beauty reviews 2019
René Furterer, Consonant Skincare, Charlotte Tilbury

5 New Products Our Beauty Director Can’t Stop Using

Wait until you hear about the serum that cleared her skin in days

Every day, new products land in The Kit’s beauty closet, and it’s my job to try them out. (Insert cheesy yet accurate hashtag conveying how blessed I am.) The good ones find their way into various roundups and stories across thekit.ca and the OMG-this-stuff-is-amazing ones go on to live right here, in my faves of the moment column. Behold, my latest loves.

beauty reviews 2019
Consonant SkincareConsonant Skincare Vitamin B3 + Zinc Serum, $49, consonantskincare.com

The skin-saving serum

Every fall, like clockwork, my pores suffer an existential crisis. (It’s like they’re philosophy majors, figuring out life and listening to a lot of Fiona Apple.) I’m not the only one—this time of year is synonymous with breakouts, as the temperature drop dries up our skin’s surface and oil gets stuck underneath. My usual response is to spread a spot treatment all over my face, which inevitably leaves me dry and red, but this serum is different. It blends decongesting vitamin B3 with sebum-regulating zinc to banish bumps, but it’s also got vitamin B5 to prevent moisture loss. After just a few days, my skin was not only clearer, but also plumper and more radiant. Crisis averted.

beauty reviews 2019
Charlotte TilburyCharlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette, $85, charlottetilbury.ca

The all-in-one palette

About four years ago, I was on a press trip in Costa Rica, riding a bus with some fellow beauty editors. To pass the time, we made up a very apropos “fantasy beauty” game where we took turns naming our dream makeup artist, hairstylist, facialist, etc. I can’t remember my answers for most of the categories, but I do know I picked Charlotte Tilbury for makeup and still would today. She just has a knack for making women look powerful and glamourous in a way that’s never overdone or gimmicky. I use a bunch of her products, but because I hate carrying around my makeup bag, this new palette just might be my favourite. I leave it at my desk and reach for it when I want to amp up my look before after-work drinks. With eyeshadows, blush, bronzer and highlighter, it’s got everything I need to get the Charlotte touch on the go.

 

beauty reviews 2019
René FurtererRené Furterer Absolue Kératine Repairing Beauty Cream, $49, salons

The skip-the-trim hair cream

You know when you’ve done the conditioning treatment, raked in the nourishing oil and taken the time to do a proper blowout, but your hair still looks janky? That’s me pretty much every day. And though I know part of it can be blamed on my reluctance to lose length, I’ve always felt that if I could just find the perfect finishing product, my straw ends could pass for healthy. Turns out I was right. All it takes is a pump or two of this repairing cream, which banks on plant-derived keratin to strengthen damaged strands and sinks right in so it never feels greasy. The result? Hair looks smoother and shinier, so you can hold off on snipping it a bit longer.

 

beauty reviews 2019
Maybelline New YorkMaybelline New York Superstay Ink Crayon, $9, maybelline.ca

The foolproof lipstick

Finding out a favourite beauty product has been discontinued feels a lot like getting dumped—you’re hurt, blindsided and desperate to know where it all went wrong. That’s what happened to me when Maybelline stopped producing my beloved Color Blur Lip Pencil a few years back. I went to about four drugstores before I finally accepted it was over and tried to move on. Fast-forward to today, and though I never thought it could happen, I’ve found love again. Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayon is quite similar to Color Blur Lip Pencil (I apparently have a type) in that the skinny format makes it super easy to apply, and the matte formula is packed with pigment but actually feels comfortable. Best of all, it never budges, so I can just slick it on and forget about it.

 

beauty reviews 2019
DermalogicaDermalogica Thermofoliant Body Scrub, $60, dermalogica.ca 

The body-buffing scrub

My mother is serious about body care. She and my dad moved to the countryside a few years back, and she routinely makes trips to the city solely to buy her favourite body cream (right now it’s Origin’s A Perfect World Intensely Hydrating Body Cream with White Tea). Because she basically taught me everything I know, I’m just as meticulous about my below-the-neck regimen, which of late includes this divine body scrub. Its exfoliating action is dual, combining lactic acid and papaya extract to dissolve dead cells with Indian bamboo stem to slough away rough bits. I massage it all over and find my skin feeling softer than my indoor cat’s belly (sorry, Neukölln). But my favourite part is the smell, an invigorating burst of grapefruit and white tea, a.k.a. Mom’s favourite.

 

 

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