iCiNG Infatuations: Five Fabulous Secret Beauty Weapons

Barbarella, baby!

Every girl needs an arsenal of top secret beauty weapons that she can whip out at a moment’s notice to improve her appearance! These are my current top 5 holy grail beauty products. What makes your cut?

Too Faced Snow Bunny Caribbean In A Compact Bronzing Powder

5. Too Faced Snow Bunny Caribbean In A Compact Bronzing Powder
I was introduced to this gorgeous glimmer by my amazing friend Bei, who swore up & down that it was the ultimate bronzer for pale-skinned beauties. I am pleased to report that it is every bit as beautiful as she made it sound. I have never thought of myself as a “bronzer” kind of gal, because I’m generally pretty happy with my pallor, but that’s the best part of it! Instead of turning you vaguely brown/orange, Snow Bunny works with your skin colour, not against it.

You sweep your brush across the top of the compact, combining shimmering white, light brown & two pink tones, & then swoop it upwards & outwards. The result? Fabulous, glowing, healthy-looking skin with a touch of colour. It makes you look like you’ve just come back from a wonderful holiday in the Swiss Alps with all your chums, where you all ate hearty but nutritious meals every night, nursed baby deer back to health & wore matching knitted sweaters as you laughed around the fire good-naturedly.

It’s amazing to me how much more polished I feel with a bit of Snow Bunny dusted across my cheeks! I am a happy (snow) bunny, oh yes.

MAC Cosmetics Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer

4. MAC Cosmetics Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer
This is hands down the best concealer I have ever used in my life. I love it. I am indebted to it. I will never use anything else! It’s creamy & lovely & covers all kinds of imperfections. You only need a tiny little bit & it goes a long way. It’s also the perfect size to put in your handbag. I like to use a brush to smooth it around my eyes on days when I look like the only place I should be is in bed!

As well as being non-acnegenic — meaning it doesn’t cause or promote spots — Studio Finish is enriched with antioxidants, contains silica to help absorb your skin’s natural oils (which helps keeps it on your face!) & has an SPF factor of 35! Bravo, MAC, bravo!

Pink CHI 1' Flat Iron

3. Pink CHI 1″ Flat Iron
You might have noticed that Misikko have been sponsoring iCiNG lately — a round of applause, please! As part of this, they also sent me a pink CHI 1″ flat iron. (See my disclaimer.)

It was a fabulous “coincidence” — not that I really believe in those — because a week before they got in touch with me, I was discussing with my hairdresser the fact that now that I had long hair, buying a flat iron seemed to make sense. Her recommendation was a CHI, & I thought about it as I walked home. You see, when I had short, very naturally straight hair, I never really had many problems (& plus, usually the messier & bigger it was, the better), but with long hair came new challenges! Weird kinks from wearing my hair in a chignon, crazy fly-away bits that wouldn’t sit straight, swirly twirly pieces that drove me to distraction… it was a whole new world of perplexing riddles!

Enter the pink CHI 1″ flat iron. Picture it in front of a blinding light, with a halo around the top & a chorus of angels singing its arrival! It is the holy grail of straightening irons & even better… it’s pink. I love that! (Simple things thrill me.) It heats up quickly, doesn’t pull or snag your hair, & a couple of quick swipes leave you with beautifully sleek, straight tresses. It gives you hair like a shampoo commercial… well, if they used girls with neon pink tresses to advertise shampoo. Which they totally should!

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock

2. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock
I am naughty about sunblock. I talk about it on here quite regularly but, well, you know, it’s one thing to talk about it & quite another to actually do it.

When I was in Australia, where there is no ozone layer, & the sun beats down upon you viciously, it actually wasn’t so much of a problem. Why? Well, because I never really left my apartment. But then I went to New York, you see, & Florida, where there are way too many amazing things going on to stay inside, & where the sun just happens to be about a gazillion degrees (though there is, thankfully, an ozone layer).

So I bit the bullet. I decided I needed to buy sunscreen. I left my apartment & went to Duane Reade to see what I could see. I stood in the sunscreen aisle. I made uncomfortable grimacing faces. There were way too many to choose from. I thought, ‘God, I should really have checked Make-Up Alley for their recommendations before I did this’. But then I decided I would have to get over it & just buy some & hope for the best. Lucky me, because I struck the holy grail with Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch. I really did!

Some of you are probably thinking, ‘Oh, whatever, sunblock is sunblock is sunblock’, but it’s not! Especially when you’re putting it on your face, & even more so when it’s going to sit underneath your make-up. Bad sunblock — the greasy, shiny, heavy, thick stuff — can be a total nightmare & would ruin even the sweetest visage.

Neutrogena have totally done themselves proud. It’s unscented. It goes on light & sheer, just like the name would imply. It dries down to nothing — you don’t get that awful feeling like you’ve cracked an egg over your face, which is a complete blessing. It doesn’t clog pores or leave you with a greasy build-up. Best of all, it is happy to act as the base for everything else you’re about to put on — which in my case usually consists of at least primer, foundation, concealer, setting powder & bronzer — & won’t turn into a slimy mess a few hours afterwards.

You should buy some. If nothing else, heed Coco’s words:

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” — Coco Chanel

Tweezerman tweezers

1. Tweezerman tweezers
I wasn’t sure what would take the number one spot, but now I know: Tweezerman tweezers. Why? Because I misplaced mine a couple of days ago & the ensuing chain of events was more than I would have ever expected! I was manic — I raced around the house asking everyone, “Have you seen my tweezers? They’re lavender & I love them & I NEED THEM!” But they didn’t turn up, so with a heavy heart I went to the mall (yes, really) to pick up another pair. Tweezerman brand was nowhere to be found, so I bought a cute-looking hot pink pair… But when I got them home, I realised they were totally useless. They didn’t grip fine hairs, & most of the time the hair snapped in half, instead of being pulled out from the root. It was a very sad state of affairs. I looked at my eyebrows in the mirror with a dejected expression & fantasised about going on a mad plucking spree.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. As I was tidying up my room, I found my tweezers wedged between two pages of a book. (Don’t ask.) I squealed with elation (yes, really), whipped out a magnifying mirror & got to work. Hoorah! They grasped every hair, no matter how fine! Hallelujah! I had complete control! Woohoo! The hairs came out cleanly in one go!

Thanks to Tweezerman, my eyebrows have been appropriately whipped into submission, & I look glamorous once more! I am so thankful.