The 3 beauty products I'm loving right now

Well, well, well, looks like the Mamamia beauty writer has finally started.

In a statistic scientists are calling “exciting,” “game-changing” and “delicious on pancakes,” women use less than 10% of the beauty products they purchase because they’re not sure how to use them, or they use them incorrectly once and never touch them again.

Now, despite the fact that 100% of that statistic is made up, I think you’ll agree this information is scandalous, and definitely needs to be addressed.

And here I am! Scrawled pen on an envelope; ready to address.

First, let me introduce myself: I am your new beauty rascal, armed with (usually not even made up!) beauty facts and tip and tricks to make you feel confident and capable when it comes to your skin and hair and nails and even your ears, which need sunscreen and foundation too, you know.

I was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan and Harper’s BAZAAR magazines, and most recently, held a tyrannical editor-in-chief position at PRIMPED. I have never worked at Golfer’s Digest, despite those hurtful rumours.

I also wrote a beauty book called Amazing Face, which, to be honest, thieved all of my best tips and tricks, leaving me with only the following beauty tips to share with you here at Mamamia:

–       Take a shower daily for less body odour!

–       How to brush your hair!

–       Don’t lick your lips because it will make them dry!

I’m kidding, you gorgeous, bright-eyed butternuts! I have literally thimbles full of exciting beauty tidbits that I will share with you weekly, like how to sneak into new season trends without spending a lot of money, or how to fool everyone into thinking you’re excellent at self-tanning, or how to make your hair look good when you have neither the time nor inclination to indulge it with attention.

I will also be posting weekly videos answering your beauty questions, which you can ask here, but not here.

But it seems somehow (“definitely is”) wasteful and dull to spend my inaugural post talking about myself, so allow me to swiftly sashay to some important beauty business, just to get the taste in our mouths.

Three Terrific Prodz I Swear I Have Not Written About, Ever:

DermaQuest Delicate Skin Cleanser, $55 for a BIG bottle

Sweet cheeses is this marvellous. It’s S U P E R gentle, (kitten playing with wool, gentle) in part because of the soothing Argan oil and lavender and shea butter, but also because it was created, made, intended for poor lambs with ouchy skin because of acne or laser or skin-needling procedures like Fraxel. (I had some to remove some pigmentation, which is how I get the cleanser.) It removes makeup beautifully, it feels delicious and creamy, probably because it is, (which is great for those of us over thirty who probably shouldn’t utilise the foaming glory of, say Clean and Clear anymore). And it lasts for roughly 769969 years, because the bottle is so stinkin’ big. It is a clinic only brand but you can find stockists here.

Clinique Lid Smoothie Antioxidant 8-Hour Eye Colour in Cashew Later, $42

Anyone whose read my previous beauty writing (Dad! That’s you!) knows I have had a long and gratifying relationship with Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Muffin (it got 4.9 – FOUR POINT NINE! – on Makeup Alley) because it is the perfect, superfast, cream shadow, either by itself, or under powder shadow. Also, the particular shade I use, Muffin, is the most outstanding blend of bronze and brown and lilac. It makes green and blue eyes criminally alluring. So, imagine my heartbreak and aggressive glass-smashing when I went to purchase it in NYC recently to find it had been discontinued. I can honestly say I’ve never fallen so hard for a makeup item. I’ve been through maybe six tubes. And now it’s gone.

A minutes silence please.

Thank you.

Anyway, so turns out Clinique replaced Quick Eyes Cream Shadow with their new Lid Smoothies. And look, they ARE a better formula, and they DO smooth the skin on the eyelid perfectly and prep it amazingly for powder eye shadow, and they do NOT crease, ever, and sure, everything’s “technically” better, but they didn’t bring back my beloved muffin shade. So I bought the browny-taupe looking shade, Cashew Later. It’s a little lighter than I wanted, but it has a lovely sheen and really makes my eyes look devilishly awake, and I seem to be wearing it every day underneath all my other eye shadows, so I guess you could say we’re seeing each other. Buy it here.

Maybelline NY EyeStudio MONO in Silken Taupe, $12.95

What a use-everyday-gem-of-a-bobbydazzler this guy is. The taupe-latte-neutral shades are wonderful on every eye colour, and perfect with mascara for polished daytime makeup in about three seconds, and should be a staple for all of you, let’s get that straight. BUT. Did you even KNOW that this is a terrific base shade (over the lid up to the crease) for any nude/brown/smoky eye shadow work, and that, if you get it onto a stiff angled shadow brush, it doubles as a universal brow filler-er-in-er-er-er powder? It does! Just ask me, I know. Just be sure to buy the MATTE version, not the shimmer one. Here’s where to buy.

Yes, I really called you butternuts,

Zoe

Zoe is an author and columnist. She has previously been the beauty director for both Cosmopolitan and Harper’s BAZAAR magazines, and the Editor at Large of Primped.com.au. Zoe has published four books; Air Kisses, Textbook Romance (which she wrote with Hamish Blake), Playing The Field and Amazing Face. You can follow Zoe’s tumblr here and her Twitter here.

Come back on Thursday to watch Zoe’s first reader question video!