It’s been a while since my last favourites post here on the blog, so I’m pretty long overdue! Today's batch is mostly skincare, but I think that’s pretty fitting for this year -- my focus has definitely been more consistently on skincare than makeup since staying home these last many months. Also, while I’m calling this Fall Favourites, most of these are things I’ve been loving since at least the summer...
Consonant Maximum Glycolic Meta Serum
The Glycolic Meta Serum was my first introduction to glycolic acid almost three years ago, and, as I was reminded this month when I opened this new mini bottle, it remains one of my all-time favourite AHA products to this day. Consonant has included a strong concentration of 10% glycolic acid, as well as lactic, malic, and salicylic acids, but the acids are intelligently tempered with soothing botanical extracts and hydrating sodium PCA and niacinamide to counter any harshness and minimize the potential for irritation. I never experience any burning or irritation from the acids, but I do notice visibly smoother skin and clearer pores, so I still know it’s working!
MetaPora Simply Hydrating Light Moisturizer*
I have combo skin that can be very acne-prone, so lightweight, oil-balancing moisturizers always have a place in my skincare lineup, and the Light Moisturizer more than fills that need! Formulated to balance oily and combination skin, it offers lightweight moisture from aloe vera and sweet almond oil, alongside a gentle clarifying salicylic acid and enzyme blend derived from willow bark, licorice root, and pineapple.
The Light Moisturizer, which has a quick-to-absorb gel-cream consistency, worked beautifully on its own in the summer months, and I’m enjoying layering and combining it with other products now that my skin needs something a little weightier as the weather shifts towards winter. It smells fresh and citrusy thanks to a blend of orange, lime, bergamot, and juniper essential oils, which I also love, and it does a great job keeping my skin clear and breakout-free.
On the other end of the moisture scale, the Hydrating Day Cream is a uniquely thick and rich moisturizer. It's the opposite of greasy -- in fact, it dries to a satin-matte finish almost immediately on application. Made with hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, green tea, and vitamins A, C, and E, it imparts a serious dose of antioxidant-packed hydration, and does an excellent job plumping the skin. I can see a visible difference in my fine lines with this cream, though it seems to be just a temporary plumping effect that gradually dissipates if I use other products and skip the Day Cream for 3 or 4 days in a row. I’m loving having the combination of this and the lighter MetaPora moisturizer in my rotation, and am very curious to branch out into other products in Derma E’s Hydrating line now too!
For those of you who don’t keep up with me on Instagram, it’s worth mentioning that I griped a fair bit about the scent of this product when I first tried it -- to the point where I set it aside, completely untouched, for three or four months there -- but, whether it’s faded or just doesn’t bother me any longer, the scent is no longer an issue. I’d caution that it is pretty strong and somewhat perfumey, but my nose did end up getting used to it, so take that for what it is.
Young Living Bloom Brightening Essence
This has been my first experience using an essence, and I’m seriously loving it! On a basic texture level, essences generally fall somewhere midway between toners and serums, and I usually use the Brightening Essence in place of one or the other, rather than including all three steps in my routine. The essence has some nice brightening ingredients like lactic acid and licorice root and apple fruit extracts, but I’ve found the brightening effects very mild on my skin.
For me, where this product really shines is in terms of hydration. The essence is made with mineral-rich sea water and sodium hyaluronate, and it adds an additional layer (or 2 or 3, if you want) of lightweight, watery moisture that can be locked in with a cream or an oil. It leaves skin feeling quenched and bouncy, and serves as a perfect hydrating layer moving into winter. It also smells pretty, as you would expect from an essential oil line -- mildly floral from a blend of skin-loving essential oils that includes blue cypress, Hawaiian sandalwood, frankincense, geranium, carrot seed, and jasmine.
The product has a pretty pearlescent sparkle in the bottle, but I really don’t see it on the skin, so don’t let fear of glitter turn you off. It's also shaping up to be very cost-effective, despite a pricier initial spend. I only use about 4-6 drops at a time and am barely a third of the way through this bottle, using it twice a day since early August.
Sweet Leilani Purely Tinted Moisturizer*
Cream and liquid makeup often doesn’t agree with my skin on a regular basis, which is a large part of why I’ve always been a powder foundation girl, but the Purely Tinted Moisturizer may yet make a convert of me! Sweet Leilani’s products were developed for clients dealing with serious skin concerns like burns, eczema, allergies, rosacea, and the effects of cancer/radiation treatments, and the company’s gluten and fragrance-free formulas are gentle and lovely. The Tinted Moisturizer has very minimal ingredients and is a beautiful lightweight product that offers sheer, perfecting coverage with a radiant finish.
Naked, the lightest shade when I picked this out, is a smidge dark for my skin, but it blends in easily and just leaves me looking like I have a slight tan. Even with an imperfect colour match -- though the company has since come out with a lighter shade that I would opt for next time -- I’m super smitten with this product. The Tinted Moisturizer is lightweight and very comfortable on the skin, and it has the prettiest natural and skin-like finish.
Another rediscovered favourite! The Conditioning Detangler is a lightweight and watery leave-in conditioner that does a truly great job detangling knotty hair, and it's been a real saving grace while I’m trying to clear out less-loved hair products from my shower. It works well to compensate for more lackluster conditioners, and makes my hair much easier to comb through. The spray works equally well on wet and dry hair and, while I haven’t been doing much hairstyling recently, I also like it as a curl refresher on second-day hair when I feel so inclined.
Have you used any of these? What products have you been loving lately?
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