4 Essential Morning Routine Products

There are a few things that I can not live without when it comes to my getting ready routine. No matter what time of day or event, I always always use these four products.  It’s taken me a few years to find my  favorite brands for each product, but for the past year I have been hooked on the following beauty go-to’s.

1- Dry Shampoo

I have fine hair, but I have a lot of it.  I mean, lion’s mane a lot. I also have very naturally wavy hair; the longer and heavier it is, the curlier those waves become (lesson learned the hard way when I chopped my hair off about ten years ago thinking it would stay curly – yikes!).  I’m not a wash-my-hair-everyday kind of person as that’s way too much effort for me when my hair is long, and I like they way my hair looks and holds a style when it is a day or two dirty. Enter the dry shampoo. I wasn’t an immediate fan of this product when it first blew up on the market a few years ago, mostly because I didn’t know how to use it without turning my hair into a giant greaseball.  Since then, not only have I learned how to use it, but the formulas have advanced a ton, making a few brands foolproof even for the most novice user.  One of my girlfriends swears by Cake Beauty’s dry shampoo but my fave is Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo.

2- Spray Deodorant

I fully bought the Dove Dry Spray from an Instagram ad (read more about products I bought because of good advertising here aka Kylie Jenner’s Lip Kits, lol) and will NOT be going back to stick deodorant unless I have to fly somewhere that I can’t take a carry-on bag.  *Please make a travel friendly size, Dove!**  Dry spray is such a worthy addition to my vanity kit – it keeps you dry, keeps your pits feeling soft, and has less white-stain moments compared to stick deodorant.  To be clear, you can still have white marks from dry spray if you don’t let it dry before putting on your clothes – so best to put it on afterwards.

3- Facial Sunscreen

I know I know, people have harped on you for years to include sunscreen in your beauty routine. But guess what? They’re right. SPF in foundations and powder makeup just doesn’t cut it for long wearing protection against the sun’s harmful rays. And not adding a facial sunscreen into your daily routine is just not worth it.  I didn’t wear it for years in my twenties (and hoping I won’t pay for that too much…) mostly because I was lazy, and another part because I couldn’t find one that was compatible with my makeup.  Well, two years ago when I was introduced to the Miracle 10 Skincare line, I was also introduced (by introduced I mean scolded by their premier esthetician for being so disrespectful to my skin) to their sunscreen which I now swear by.  It’s water and sweat resistant, and goes on under your moisturizer and makeup to create that barrier of protection you so desperately need.  It is the only sunscreen I have repurchased (4 times!!) after finishing a bottle and will not travel without it.

4- Makeup Primer

This has been a very trial and error product category for me. Unfortunately, cult favorite primers just don’t cut it for my skin (I’m talking to you Smashbox, Nars, and Laura Mercier). Those brands carry a silicone based primer which is initially awesome, but I found that my makeup tended to move or melt off a few hours after being set.  For a short event, they would be great. For an all-day look, not so much.  I’ve been using the Bare Minerals foundation primer as of late, because I use their powder foundation for a day-time natural look, but it tended to make my already large pores look massive – something I am not really going for.  So my latest adventure is with Shu Eumera’s POREraser Under Base Mousse. So far, so good. Because it’s a mousse, it’s a little tricky to apply at first until you learn how much to use. I’ve had the best results with a walnut size dab, and then applying it in a downward motion with my beauty blender, focusing on the t-zone first, and then the outer parts of the face.  I have already noticed that my pores appear tighter and my powder makeup doesn’t set into my skin creases as much.  Whoop whoop!  This product is pricy, though. So I will keep on the lookout for a less expensive brand to use in between.

Sunscreen, primer, and dry shampoo: check! (And deodorant…)

What are your go-to products in your morning routine?