Another month, another super-reasonable and not at all embarrassing amount of money spent on skincare and makeup. Here’s what we bought, what we loved, and what we totally and completely hated.
Love This: SK-II Facial Treatment Mask
One might argue that I have absolutely nothing in common with Behati Prinsloo, Cate Blanchett, or Katie Bosworth. And before this month, they’d be absolutely right. But now I can safely say that me and my BFFs Hati, Blanche, and K-Boz (too soon?) all use these unscented, unapologetically expensive sheets masks by SK-II. After a 20-minute session of looking like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, these serum-soaked masks leave me looking like a million bucks – and sadly come with a price tag to match. K.J.
Love This: Vanicream
When I’ve tried one too many products and my skin is telling me to cut the shit, there’s one simple standard I know I can always fall back on. I first found out about Vanicream from my dermatologist after an unfortunate Drunk Elephant-induced eczema outbreak (a story for another time). Of course this no-nonsense drugstore buy is nothing special but that’s also kind of the point. It’s free from dyes, fragrance, parabens, formaldehyde – basically everything – so my temporary dumpster fire of a face can get the moisture it needs without the fear of another topical aftershock. K.J.
Love This: Becca Ultimate Coverage Concealer
Cool thing about me: I look like a dead person. This is mainly because I have eye bags that are the exact shade and size of the Heart of the Ocean. And these guys will not let go. I’ve had them to varying degrees since, what, third grade? While they do bolster my fuck-off persona, I don’t always love them. For those times when I leave the house, I do love Becca’s Ultimate Coverage Concealer. Super-thick and pale enough for my Wednesday Addams complexion (sup, banana shade), it doesn’t crease and it blends easily when you’re well moisturized. B.B.
Fuck That: Vintner’s Daughter
Beauty bloggers, Goop-enthusiasts, and essentially anyone who believes in giving up an arm and a leg for the sake of green beauty talk about Vintner’s Daughter like it’s the goddamned holy grail. And maybe it was the suspiciously positive reviews or the fact that I so desperately want to believe in face oils but this month I decided to finally give it a shot. Cut to me realizing I just spent $185 on what is basically the best smelling zit creator on the market. K.J.
Love This: RMS Lip2Cheek
I’ll say it first, I’m not good at cleaning my brushes. Obviously I know better than to put a dirty makeup brush on my sensitive AF face. So when time is short and laziness is high, I am now reaching for a glass pot of RMS Lip2Cheek. Cruelty free, noncomedogneic, and hypoallergenic, this finger-friendly blush cream carries the same pigment I expect from a powder while also saving me from basic adult responsibilities (e.g. brush washing). It’s easy to apply, buildable, and best of all doesn’t break me out. K.J.
Love This: Lavanila Sport Luxe Deodorant
On and off, I’ve embarked on a quest for deodorant that isn’t (allegedly) going to kill me. Results have been mixed, and usually I end up getting back together with Dove when my flings don’t compare. Here’s why. Natural deodorants tend to do one of two things to my armpits. Either they don’t work – like at all – or they do this thing where they make my armpit skin peel. Yes, peel. As if the sun scorched my underarms during a very specific tanning sesh, and I have entered the Goldmember stage of skin falling off. It’s gross. However, I recently found a third kind: Lavanila’s Sport Luxe Deodorant, an athletic-grade stench-blocker that works at the gym, at sweaty outdoor music festivals, and in dragging afternoon meetings. No touch-ups, no aluminum, no parabens. They don’t test on animals. And my armpit skin? It’s totally intact. B.B.
Fuck This: Cover FX Perfect Pencil
As a devoted practitioner of Lisa Eldridge’s pinpoint concealing technique, this twist-up stick concealer from a brand I trust seemed like a no-brainer. You can deposit the subtlest dot of highly concentrated, zit-masking makeup – in theory. In practice, not so much. I gave the Cover FX Perfect Pencil a shot with three different moisturizers of varying oiliness, creaminess, and sunscreeniness, and this wound up looking chalky (even on small spots!) with all of the above. B.B.
As I write this I have two cheeks-worth of congested pores, a cystic pimple buried so painfully deep within my chin that I can only assume it’s filled with government secrets -- plus $185 missing from my bank account. And I have no one to blame but myself.
But I’m getting ahead. Let’s rewind.
When I was a kid and I found out the Easter bunny wasn’t real. I accepted it right away. Same goes for Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. In all fairness, I had already had my suspicions. Like how was a giant rodent getting into our house? And why was everyone okay with all this paranormal B&E happening on the reg?
Point is I have always considered myself a realist. And while I can usually accept my false hope as... well, just that: false. There are some exceptions, namely my desire to believe in the power of face oils.
Much like Anthropologie rompers and a perfect top bun, expensive face oils are a low-key luxury that I have never been able to pull off. Not that’s it stopped me or my dwindling bank account from trying.
It started a few years ago with May Lindstrom’s Youth Dew. Just like other models before her, May Lindstrom used her experience as a professional beautiful person to launch a high-end skincare line. Maybe it was the beautiful black glass packaging, Lindstrom’s flawless complexion, or the $140 price tag, but something about this little vial had me convinced that this would be a turning point in my skincare regime. Or as Lindstrom calls it, “the ritual.” (Yeah.)
And while I did achieve a youthful glow – people even commented on it – sadly, this newfound love was not meant to last. In the right lighting I started to notice small, flesh-colored bumps appearing up and down my cheeks. Not pimples per say but definitely not the ideal flat surface I was used to. I bid adieu to the Dew, and in time the congestion cleared.
Onto the next affair: Peet Rivko’s Balancing Face Oil. With its cool minimalist packaging, “next-level natural” branding (a.k.a. green beauty for sensitive skin), and an endorsement from celebrity spirit animal Aubrey Plaza, I was certain that this oil would be different. But sadly, it was the same story all over again. Glowing skin followed by a series of sinister little bumps along the sides of my face. Frustrated, I dumped the bottle down the drain.
I’d like to say that this was end of my trial with face oils, but no. There were others. More than I care to mention really. And every single one went the exact same way: an initial glow followed by an onslaught of clogged pores.
“Maybe I’m just applying it wrong,” I thought as I ordered my most recent botte, a $185 botanical oil from Vintner’s Daughter. While I had just been rubbing past oils into my skin, Vintner’s Daughter claimed I needed to be using the six-step “push/press” method to really get the proper effect of the oil. And so I did. I pushed. I pressed. I waited for full effect.
But the only effect I got included a tapestry of clogged pores along my cheeks and jawline as well as a pimple -- so large I’m now half-convinced it’s a tumor -- buried in my chin. Vintner’s Daughter had done me wrong. But in the long run, they may have done me a favor.
I went to an aesthetician for a birthday facial and told her about my unsuccessful foray into face oils. “Face oils are great,” she said, examining my skin.
Oh look, another cosmetic blog. What's next? A true crime podcast? Look, we get it. As bona fide product junkies who are VIB Rouge AF, we know there's no shortage of skincare enthusiasts sharing their critiques of Korean sheet masks and Goop-endorsed stem cell serums.
But between green beauty trends and better living through chemistry concoctions, we've had to accept a painful reality:
We’re Becky and Katie. And our skin is sensitive as fuck.
While we'd love to peel our way to porelessness and get that ethereal glow only a cold-pressed oil can provide, the hard truth is we’re always one full moon away from an eczema outbreak or having our confidence bent over backwards by a bad case of acne (thanks stress!).
And we know we're not alone.
Chances are, if you’re a human person who's ever gambled away your good complexion on a sample-sized face cream from Nordstrom -- or worse, a DIY face mask that you saw on Pinterest -- you know what's it's like to look the mirror and mutter the words, "What the actual fuck."
We feel your pain. And yet here we are still buying products and hoping for Karadashin-esque results. Sure, sometimes we end up in the all too familiar dermatologist's office. But every so often we end up with a newfound favorite. And rather than keep the good, bad, and ugly to ourselves, we're sharing them with your here. Welcome to Sense & Sensitivity.
