iCiNG Infatuations: Five Fabulous Secret Beauty Weapons

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?

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.

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!

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!

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

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.