6 Daytime Essentials for your Spring Routine

All these robins and still no Batman?! 

Happy *Insert an appropriate adjective* Monday, folks! As I write this today it is a glorious 70 degree evening in northern Virginia! It FINALLY feels like Spring is here to stay!

Still whether rain or shine you have to wake up in the morning. It’s a fact. If you’re like most women in the DMV area, that’s usually to rush off to work on the sweaty/stinky/smokey metro, or maybe to a fitness class before work or if you’re lucky, to walk/ride the couple blocks or miles to your office or your designated coffee/coworking place.

Is there really time in that equation for millions of fancy products that don’t actually DO anything? heck no.

These products are multitaskers, they’re totally small enough to throw in your gym bag….and many of them you can use with or without makeup because makeup IS optional no matter what the patriarchy tells you.

1. Origins GinZing 

This stuff is basically glow in a jar. Birchbox describes it as an “morning-after eye cream” which I think aptly sums up the efficiency of this stuff. Originally sampled in one of my boxes, I fell in LOVE! The little jar is actually HUGE in the eye cream world and lasts me several months. Plus this stuff brightens up my under eye area without even putting on makeup. It has a very subtle pinkish highlight that makes your whole face glow. If I’m being honest, sometimes I use it for more than just my eyes. While it is on the pricer side of what I usually share on this blog, just know that it’s worth it. If you’re hesitant, ask for a sample at your local Sephora (-:

Originally sampled from Birchbox monthly beauty box, $10. Consistently great samples (they basically INVENTED beauty boxes), and a killer review-for-points-program. Check it out!

2. Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo

I recently discovered this in my Sephora Play box (click on the link below for more info on their $10 boxes!) and LOVE it! Not only is it a really good size, it also doesn’t have any of that weird white residue that most dry shampoos have. In fact, this made my hair actually look BETTER. No wonder Jen Aniston has been plugging this brand for years! #hairgoals

Sephora Playbox, $10 a month, dope samples PLUS you get a card for 50 points with any purchase at Sephora which, if you’re a Beauty Insider is worth $50 worth of points! Highly recommend.

3. La Roche-Posay Anthelios Daily Anti-aging Primer with Sunscreen SPF 50

Full disclosure, I picked up this guy when I was desperately trying to spend off the tax-free dollars I put aside into my FSA/HSA at the end of the year. Nevertheless…I fell in love with the efficiency of this product. I’m quite a pale lady-human and I wear sunscreen EVERY DANG DAY (thanks Baz…). In case you haven’t noticed from so many of my daytime products, I like a good solid 30+ sunscreen AT LEAST. If I could, I’d probably wear sunscreen at night! HA!

This product is not only a really solid makeup primer, it also serves as an enviable 50+ primer and has anti-aging ingredients. Not shabby! I wear this without makeup sometimes to cut down on shine on my face, and to make my pores look teensy.

4 and 5. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil + Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47

I got these two as a little set from Sephora. Sadly, it’s not available anymore, but you can still pick up these two individually or in one of their other sets. I have a process for using these two together, so that’s why I’ve combined them. Argan oil is one of the rarest oils on earth and is basically made of magic (that’s the scientific term, guys). Really you can use it for whatever…your hair, taking off makeup, moisturizing your body…anything.

First, pump out three pumps of the sunscreen into the back of your hand. Then drop two to three drops of the argan oil into the sunscreen and mix. The sunscreen is too thick to spread easily across the face so I follow this process to both moisturize AND protect in one step. If you haven’t used face oils before, don’t be afraid! They’re natural (no preservatives needed in natural oils!) and they don’t make your face breakout. If you’re really worried about this, Josie Maran also offers a light argan oil.  The oils are light, and absorb easily into the skin but moisturize deeply without being greasy.

6. Davines OI All-in-One Milk

If I could spray this on my entire body, I would. Do you want to smell like a beautiful ninja-princess? Then get this all up in your hair. This stuff has all the things (as the name purports): leave in treatment, promotes hair growth, protects from UV radiation (sunscreen for HAIR!?!), and has provitamin B5 for moisture and conditioning during heat styling…oh AND it fights frizz and smells like the most amazing angel farts you could ever bottle. So yeah, mildly obsessed with this.

 

Another find originally sampled from Birchbox monthly beauty box, $10. Consistently great samples (they basically INVENTED beauty boxes), and a killer review-for-points-program. Check it out!

 

What are your favorite morning multitaskers? Do you find yourself coming back to the same products, or do you like to try new things every month? Tell me in the comments below!