Gift Guide 2019: Skincare, Makeup, And All the Moisturizers

Oh, y’all. Get ready. I asked the SBTB HQ team about what beauty products they’d most recommend after sharing an item I love and swear by, and it was incredible.

Next Wednesday is Christmas, so this will be our last gift guide for 2019. I hope you’ve enjoyed shopping with us, and found some fun, useful, and enjoyable items for your wish lists, and to send to those you like the mostest!

NB: Some of the links are affiliate coded, so if you use them, we may earn a commission – and if you don’t use them, that’s totally cool, too. Thanks! 

Sarah: So, what are your favorite cosmetics that you swear by?

Lara: My favourite treat is Colourpop Lippie Stix. They are matte, but not too matte and they are pretty good at sticking around.

If you want SHALL NEVER BE MOVED lipstick, then you want the Ultra matte:

A set of three lip gloss tubes with a holographic lid onthe box

Shana: I also cannot express how much I love Fenty Beauty’s Gloss Bomb lip gloss. I have it in the color Fenty Glow, which is a nude shade that

  • is actually nude on me
  • makes my lips look AH-MAZING.

I usually don’t wear lipstick because a) I’m lazy b) my lips are often chapped or sunburned…and I tend to get ready at dark-thirty in the morning and don’t want to the look like the Joker. It looks especially fab on video calls, for other work at home folks.

Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow a shiny rose beige
Fenty Gloss Bomb: Fenty Glow | $18 Fenty.com | Sephora

Sarah: Does it make your lips all sticky? Whenever I wear gloss I feel like I’m picking up lint, random bits of nature, dust etc with my lips.

Tara: A tiny bit, but it’s a SUPER nice lip gloss. I have whatever the colourless shimmery one is and I love it too.

Shana: Hmm, I don’t find it sticky but it’s definitely thicker than my other lip glosses.

Most of the treats I buy for myself are skincare related, b/c that allows me to pretend they’re practical.

A tub of whipped apple spice body butter on top of a pile of apples
Nuni Products Whipped Apple Spice Butter, $8

I got this moisturizing body butter in one of those monthly beauty boxes a few years ago and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It smells just like apple pie. It’s so yummy, and they only offer it in the fall/winter. It’s whipped shea and cocoa butter, so it’s super creamy but melts more easily into my skin than just regular shea butter.

And I’m currently obsessed with Grace Eleyae satin-lined knit caps, headbands, and hats for people with curly hair. They were invented by a black woman but it was my Ashkenazi Jewish friend that turned me on this magic.

A Black woman in side profile wearing a yellow patterned turban with a tie on the front
Grace Eleyae GE Knotted Turban | $45 Amazon | $50 Grace Eleyae

They keep your hair from getting tangled, frizzy, or dry while you sleep or are out in the cold. I’m giving a bunch of the headbands and turbans to folks this year.

Sarah: I have one ridiculous expensive product I use twice daily, and while one bottle lasts me 9-10 months, when I have to buy more I cringe and cringe and hem and haw and then buy myself the refill because my face loves it. If I put it on, I’m not dry and itchy, my face doesn’t feel tight, and I don’t break out.

Dr. Alkaitis Organic Nourishing Treatment Oil
Dr. Alkaitis Organic Treatment Oil, $92

It’s so stupid expensive. I freaking adore it. For other parts of skin care, I use things like Stridex and Aquaphor and Udder Cream and all this other stuff. The oil the big ticket item.

Charlotte B: I just picked up some Lanolips on my trip to Australia, and I’m obsessed. My lips have never been so smooth.

My other do or die products are LaRoche-Posay hyaluronic acid serum ($30) and Armani lipstick.

Armani Lipstick in a red case in a deep red color
Armani lipstick, $38 Amazon | $38 Sephora

Yes, it is $38 USD for lipstick and spending that makes me wince, but it’s so wonderfully creamy and stays on so well

Sarah: And lipsticks tend to last, too.

Charlotte B: I actually got a lipstick brush so I can get every last scrap out of the tube.

Sarah: Aw yeah!

Amanda: Makeup Eraser ($20)!

I also love the Cosrx zit stickers.

Coxrx Acne pimple patches in a white bag with a red square
Cosrx Acne Patches, $12 for 4 24-ct packages

ColourPop is my go to for regular lipsticks. Super affordable.

And my favorite liquid lipstick is Gingerbread Girl by Too Faced (eBay | Amazon $22).

Claudia: Oh, if your lipstick indeed runs out and the formula gets discontinued, I have a tip! This company can recreate your favorite but discontinued lippy.

They are also awesome for makeup in general, particularly their brow gel. I love their very basic, neutral lipstick shade called Simply Beautiful.

Kiki: This is my favorite mascara of all time:

Loreal Double extend beauty tubes mascara which has a white brush and a black brush on either end with a rose colored plastic housing
L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara | Amazon, $9

It comes off with just warm water but doesn’t run otherwise.

And this is my favorite face cleanser:

5 Elements Coconut derived glycolic acid cleanser
5 Elements Cleanser, $15

I have a skin condition that really limits what ingredients I can use on my face and this one has completely transformed the texture of my skin. Great mild exfoliation for sensitive skin!

Shana: I’m currently obsessed with Paula’s Choice Advanced Smoothing Treatment ($37) | Amz, $37. It’s this magical exfoliation serum that makes my face so soft and my skin color less uneven.

I found it through author Elizabeth Kingston’s amazing Husk Weekly newsletter, which I definitely recommend for skincare newbies (with the caveat that the sunscreen recs aren’t always dark skin friendly).

Kiki: Speaking of sunscreen, Unsun makes my favorite mineral-based one. I can’t wear chemical sunscreens and I spent ages trying to find a mineral one that didn’t make me look like a mime after a sweaty day at work. This one is fabulous: the Mineral Tinted Face Sunscreen in Medium/Dark. It blends into my skin completely. It’s also the rare skincare brand that made products for brown skin first, and then branched out to lighter tones.

Warning, it’s thicker than you’d guess, so a little goes a long way.

Sarah: “A mime after a sweaty day,” LOLOL

Claudia: I swore off chemical sunscreens as well, and I love the texture of MDSolarSciences BB cream.

MD Crème Mineral Beauty Balm SPF 50
MD Crème Mineral Beauty Balm SPF 50, $39

Goes on beautifully and it gives you a super light coverage, which I personally like. Pricey but lasts.

Amanda: I also love First Aid Beauty Hello Fab Coconut Water Cream ($34) | Sephora $34 for after night time cleansing for my oily skin.

Carrie: I don’t use make up, but I get very dry/oily/irritated skin in the winter and the only product that makes my skin happy is Eucerin lotion.

Sarah: I love Eucerin! I went through two courses of Accutane in my 20s, which cured me of cystic hell-acne, thank heaven. Now that I’m in my 40s, my skin is dry and I have no idea what to do with that sometimes. Dry? Dry is a thing?

A zit and a grey hair on the same day? That I understand. Dry skin on my face? TF?

Carrie: Having acne in my 40s seems unfair but here we are.

Susan: **takes intense notes**

I don’t wear a lot of make-up, but my sister and I both swear by the Maybelline Superstay lipsticks.

She wears “blood of her enemies” red, I wear “sex toy” purple, and this stuff will not shift through Christmas dinners or fancy Italian food.

And I love Essence nail varnishes, because they have some really fantastic colours and last for a couple of weeks even though I work in a library. It helps that they’re only about £2 a pop

Lara: If you’re based in the UK, Superdrug’s ‘own brands’ (Naturally Radiant and Vitamin E) are LIFECHANGING and so cheap.

I am convinced that this stuff is made of magic: Clinique Moisture Surge ($38). Very nourishing without feeling heavy.

I am also 100% Team Hot Cloth Cleanser. I use a warm, wet facecloth to remove my cleanser and the improvement in my skin’s texture is radical.

Susan: Lara, you are a life-saver, thank you!

Tara: This stuff is so inexpensive and putting it under my Cetaphil cream at night and under my primer in the morning is helping a lot with the stupid Calgary dry winter air:

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
Amazon $12 | The Ordinary Website, $7

That’s all for this week, and for the 2019 Gift Guides. I hope if you have gift ideas to share and suggest, you’ll drop them in the comments. Happy holidays, y’all! 

 

Add Your Comment →

  1. -m- says:

    I feel like ” It looks especially fab on video calls…” is the best sales pitch I have ever heard (read). I don’t wear lip gloss, I don’t do video calls, but I think I need it now.

  2. SB Sarah says:

    Right?? I am in the exact same boat – no video calls, rarely wear lipgloss – but that endorsement had me clicking so fast.

  3. harthad says:

    Essence makes a clear brow gel that’s only $3 at Ulta. If you have unruly eyebrows it’s the thing you need. I will put in a word for the lipsticks and glosses from Fierce Magenta, particularly if you like unusual vivid colors; they’re an indie outfit and sell on Etsy. Their gloss color Ariadne is a red-leaning purple with gold shimmer and one of my all time favorites.

  4. Kate says:

    I discovered The Ordinary this year and am a fan. The caffeine under eye stuff didn’t do a thing for me, but Buffet and the Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane have been great. I have rosacea so need to be careful with retinol/oids and also prefer products with no animal testing, etc. and these tick all those boxes. My new fave cleanser is Derma-E Gentle Hydrating.

  5. LauraL says:

    “Fab on video calls” also caught my eye as I have to be video call ready daily. (Hair and make-up done and a nice shirt with stretchy pants is my daily routine.) I’ve had good results with Neutrogena’s MoisureSmooth Color Stick in the more neutral shades. https://www.neutrogena.com/makeup/moisturesmooth-color-stick/6843769.html

    You really don’t want Joker Lips on a video call.

  6. Nagarajas says:

    So switched bc and my skin rioted. Plus super pale and naturally red (english rose?? More like english Kniphofia!!) Plus healing acne marks are dark purple and more obvious then red. So technically ive healed up my face it just looks worse. Uggh.

    Anti redness/irritation:
    Origins magic mushroom toner
    Silk Naturals oatmeal serum
    Dr. Jart tigergrass green bb stuff. Green neutralizes red in short term and other ingredients work long term.

    Zit killer:
    Origins spot treatment

    Moisture:
    Cetaphil. Classic. Basic. Perf.
    Fancy ass rosehip+tea tree oil to seal moisture in.

    Amazing ass red lip to distract from the rest of your face:
    Lip Bar Bawse Lady
    Notoriously Morbid Bloody Kisses

  7. Elise says:

    And I just ordered 2 Grace Eleyae caps. One for me and one for my mom. My curls are excited.

  8. Shana says:

    I’m an “outside whenever possible” exercise person, but the cold makes my eyes tear and my nose run, so I have to protect them. I highly recommend Aquaphor. A little goes a long way, but I don’t end up with tear-burned or snot-burned skin. 🙂

    The problem? Washing the Aquaphor off. Burt’s Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream takes it off like magic without having to ruin the protection by rubbing the skin raw. I’m very scent sensitive (unscented is my favorite smell!) and the scent of this Cream doesn’t bother me at all.

    In terms of dry skin, I can’t use water-based lotions on my hands. I have dyshidrotic eczema which is aggravated by wetness/water. I get itchy patches of blisters all over my fingers. Needless to say, finding a moisturizer for my hands involves a lot of reading lists of ingredients. Once again, I’ve ended up with Burt’s Bees. This time the Hand Salve (farmer’s friend). The scent is a bit strong, but it’s herbal oils and beeswax so it’s not fake smelling and is reminiscent of sitting in the middle of a herb garden. And a little of this stuff goes a long way.

    I’ve given up on lip gloss, as my lips are perpetually chapped and every one I’ve tried ends up looking a flaky and uneven. And I have yet to find a chapstick that works longer than 10 minutes. Suggestions for good chapstick that’s not Aquaphor or pure petroleum jelly are welcome. Please.

  9. Konst. says:

    @Kate: Oh yes, The Ordinary! I discovered them ~year ago and swear by the Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% (vit. C derivative that does all the work w/o irritating my skin!!) and HA+B5. My skin never looked better! 🙂

    I also recommend PAI natural cosmetics for all who struggle with difficult skin conditions – they list all of their ingredients, so you can check for any irritants. I use their gentle cleanser daily since years. My two friends with rosacea and very dry skin reported visible improvements after I gifted them with PAI test kits 🙂

  10. Juhi says:

    just wanted to thank you guys for putting together these gift guides. Mu husband and I want to put together a package for a 11 yr old we know, and its been a lot of fun going through your guides to get ideas (and actual items too!) of what we could include there! (I love the lacy tote from your 13th anniversary give away but unfortunately it won’t arrive in time! got to look for other totes that I think this 11 yr old will love!) anyway, THANK YOU!

  11. SB Sarah says:

    You are so welcome! What a lovely thing to do – I’m so happy we could help you out. Thank you and happy holidays!!

  12. Kris says:

    I went to the Toronto Christmas market this month and discovered the ordinary beauty line at their store in the distillery district. Im currently using the extreme hydration concentrate for my dry hands. I’m a nurse and need all the hand hydration help i can get. I’m very impressed with this beauty line. The prices of their products are incredibly low too.

  13. Lorenet says:

    I purchased Hyaluronic Acid Powder on Ammy and watched a YouTube video showing how to mix your own serum using the powder, distilled water & glycerin. I love the way it makes my face feel.

  14. Theresa says:

    I love the Fenty Gloss Bomb! I was avoiding Fenty when it first came out – another celebrity make up line was my thought but ended up getting a sample of this at Sephora and love it. I don’t like to wear lip stick but want a gloss that’s a little thicker and this is perfect. Its long lasting and it holds a ton – I put it on twice a day and am still on my original stick.

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