Laura's Top Beauty Faves

By Laura K. Jackson

My Top Beauty Products

If beauty truly is “in the eye of the beholder”, then it only makes sense that each woman has her own make-up and beauty routine. If you’re like many women, then you’ve probably tried a half million products -- some worked, some didn’t. The process can be frustrating, and that’s where I step in. I’m going to break down my top beauty products and why I give them the proverbial thumbs up.

1) Skin - Lancome’s High Resolution Refill-3X
This moisturizer not only protects your skin from the sun’s harmful rays with SPF 15, but it also helps “boost” your skin with “natural fillers”--collagen, hyaluronic acid and elastin (hence the “3X” in the name). I discovered this product with a trial size and fell in love. You only need to use a little bit and it’ll go a long way. Within days you’ll see pleasing visible results!

2) Foundation - Urban Decay’s Surreal Skin Mineral Powder
I swear by this stuff every single day. It evens out skin tone, offers minimum to maximum coverage (you decide), and it even acts as a bronzer. An Urban Decay rep at Sephora told me that going with a one shade darker than you naturally would use helps give skin that sun-kissed look...so it’s like a 2-for-1 deal! Oh, and it also works great all year!

3) Eyes - Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer
I’m sure many of you are familiar with this product, but I simply must rave about it. Prior to my discovery of the product, I could not wear eye shadow to save my life. I loved the stuff, but I constantly had eye shadow creases and some flaking. Not pretty! I’m not sure how I stumbled upon it (perhaps reading about it in a magazine?), but I tried it and voilà! I was a fan! Eye shadow stays in place beautifully even after a night out with friends and (accidentally) sleeping in my makeup (a major no-no).

4) Hair - Agadir Argan Oil
Argan oil is one of the hottest topics now in beauty, and there’s plenty of reasons why. It’s the one product every person must own, if you had to own only one (or ten). That said, Agadir’s website claims that the oil “hydrates, conditions, smooths and shines” hair also while cutting drying time in half and protecting hair from heat damage. I can surely attest that this product does all of the above.

5) Brows - Benefit’s Brow Zings
I don’t know any woman that has naturally perfect looking brows as soon as she steps out of the shower, unless she’s a goddess or something. Most of us mere mortals need a little help in the brow department, whether it be sparse or unruly hairs. Cosmetic giant Benefit has created the ultimate brow solution -- the Brow Zings kit. The product not only comes in three shades, but it comes packed with two travel brushes, a wax to keep hairs in place, and a powder to fill in tiny gaps. The wax and powder both stay in place beautifully and make your brows look natural and gorgeous.