topbox.ca

If you are a beauty enthusiast like me, you probably have a lot of products in your makeup stash. There are different products you use for different occasions, and probably a few odd things that you barely ever touch. However, you most likely have a few things that you use every day and couldn’t live without! Today’s post is dedicated to those magical products that make your everyday routine what it is.

I am all about exfoliation! If you want to have beautiful, healthy and glowing skin, you need to make sure to incorporate exfoliation into your skin care routine. Exfoliating helps to combat acne, clogged pores, hyper pigmentation and dry skin. I highly suggest the use of a pore cleansing pad when you wash your face — I got mine at Sephora. Made of silicone, a pore cleansing pad is meant to invigorate the skin and cleanse pores while exfoliating and softening the skin. You can use it in or out of the shower. Mine is extremely gentle and soft, and would work for all skin types. If you crave a little more grit, my go-to facial exfoliator is Ocean Salt by LUSH. Best used in the shower, Ocean Salt is made of fine and coarse sea salt, with cleansing grapefruit and lime, moisturizing avocado butters, and antiseptic vodka. It smells limey and salty, and it is the best facial scrub I have ever used. It combats acne and moisturizes simultaneously, and a little goes a long way for getting rid of dry skin patches.

Nobody likes body odour? That is why LaVanila’s ‘Healthy Deodorant’ made my list of every day products I can’t live without. This natural deodorant does not have aluminum, which means it will not stop you from sweating. However, it smells amazing and gives great coverage to keep you smelling fresh all day long. I have used it at the gym with great results, but if you are experiencing a summer heat wave, you may need to apply this product more than once a day. LaVanila’s deodorant goes on clear, and will not mark up your clothing. If you are thinking of making the switch to an aluminum free deodorant, expect the first week or two to be difficult. It will take up to two weeks for your body to purge all of the aluminum from your skin, and you may smell a little funky. After two weeks, however, your body will have cleansed itself and you will find that your natural sweat does not have a strong odour.

I also love my dry shampoo! As shown above, next to my go-to natural deodorant is Cake Beauty’s Satin Sugar Hair & Body Refreshing Powder, which is made in three shades to suit all hair and skin colours. This dry shampoo soaks up excess oil and adds amazing volume to limp hair. If you don’t have time to wash your hair before going out after a long day, dry shampoo is a must-have! It will give you a refreshed look. Topbox gals may have received the Principessa dry shampoo for dark hair in their April Topbox — if you’ve been holding off on trying it out, what are you waiting for? It is a product that will tackle your bad hair days!

A great way to start off your makeup is with an excellent primer. CoverFX is another brand Topbox adores; I love the CoverFX BritePrepFX brightening primer which features a whopping 50 SPF to protect you throughout the day from the suns rays. It is a light weight, silky primer that’ll give you the perfect base for your other makeup products. This amazing Canadian brand is paraben, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil and talc free, but packed with vitamins, emollients and redness reducers!

Another of my every day products is Julep’s Essential Cuticle Oil (as shown in the first photo), which is a necessity for healthy nails and cuticles! Julep’s cuticle oil is an all-natural blend of essential oils and Vitamin E to hydrate and strengthen nails and cuticles. I love the packaging design of this product, and it smells lovely as well! Using a cuticle oil daily is a very easy way to keep up your manicure and ensure your nails look their very best.

Last on my list of every day things I cannot live without are the bare necessities in makeup. I could not live without concealer. If I had to pick one product on this entire list that I absolutely couldn’t go without, concealer would be it. Concealer helps mask dark under eye circles, blemishes and scars. A great concealer can really change the entire appearance of your face. I love boxx Cosmetics cream corrector because it is insanely creamy and blends very easily into the skin, giving great coverage to hide all imperfections without ever looking cakey or dry. Boxx Cosmetics is a Canadian owned company and all of their products are made right here in Canada, which is another reason why this brand is a favourite. They are eco-friendly and their packaging reflects that.

My final must-have item is a great mascara. I think that mascara really changes the look of the face — it makes you look more awake! Whenever I leave the house, I always put a quick bit of mascara on before popping out the door — it only takes a few seconds and really changes your appearance for the better. I love trying new mascaras (thank you Topbox for the stila Forever Your Curl in their June box!) but my absolute favourite mascara is benefit’s BADgal lash mascara (as shown in the first photo), which I find gives the best volume! It is a dramatic mascara that I absolutely love for its length and volume.

So there you have it, eight every day products I couldn’t live without.

Be sure to check out Stephanie’s beauty blog, Canadian Beauty Reviews, at www.canadianbeautyreviews.blogspot.ca.