Bargain hunters. Lazy folks who don’t fancy a 7-step skincare routine. Jet-setting beauty aficionados bogged down by baggage limitations. Everyone appreciates a handy multi-tasking product.
Save yourself a ton of money and time without compromising on looking fresh and feeling oh-so-pampered. Here are 10 “lazy” products you’ll definitely want in your beauty arsenal!
A bottle of highly flammable nail polish remover isn’t the best thing to have sloshing around in your bag. Do away with those pesky wads of loose cotton as well and buy nail polish removers in tub form!
Other than conventional polish removing wipes, there are also soak tubs where you simply jam your digits in and wriggle around. Exactly as fun as it sounds, the polish remover sponge will get your nails squeaky clean in seconds flat.
Before you picture submerging your fingers in a vat of acid, these acetone-free formulas are actually gentle even on the most sensitive skin types!
Try this: Watsons Nail Polish Remover Wipes
Where to get it: Watsons
OR
Try this: Sephora Express Nail Polish Remover
Where to get it: Sephora
Having a whole separate can of women’s shaving cream seems like a luxury. But that doesn’t mean my cheap and hairy self has to suffer nicks and cuts!
Fork out a couple more dollars for a shaver that has built-in gel bars. Simply wetting it in the shower activates the bars’ moisture protection. It’ll pave the way for you to shave all your parts to satin-like smoothness! Just like those commercials where they shave hairless legs, for some reason. Except this is real life.
Try this: Gillette’s Venus Spa Breeze
Where to get it: Pharmacies and supermarkets
If you haven’t discovered the wonders of cleansing butter, you’ll be praising the high heavens after this. No longer will a 100ml liquid cap control your life and appearance, this will be one makeup remover you won’t want to part with.
You won’t leave a trail of filthy used makeup wipes with this erasing balm. Simply work a pea amount into your skin, and watch even the heaviest of makeup slide right off – into the sink, no less.
Try this: The Body Shop’s Cleansing Butter
Where to get it: The Body Shop. Click here for list of outlets
The tiniest dash of colour in one’s lips and cheeks will do wonders to not look deceased. Free some space in your makeup pouch with one product that can be applied to two areas!
There’s a beauty hack floating around that calls for you to apply lipstick to your face as blusher, but the creamy formulations could clog your pores up with excess oil. To avoid becoming a pimple plantation, go for a proper multi-tasking product that does the job without upsetting the delicate balances of your skin!
Try this: The Body Shop’s Lip & Cheek Stain
Where to get it: The Body Shop. Click here for list of outlets
It provides moisturisation for your skin and lips without any artificial fuss, this we all know. But gently massaging your face with some petroleum jelly also removes makeup! Just rinse off with water afterwards, or wipe away with a tissue.
A tiny dab of it also goes a long way to keep unkempt eyebrows in check. While major cosmetic brands peddle “brow gels” that cost a small fortune, petroleum jelly is a dirt cheap alternative that’ll do the job just fine.
Try this: Vaseline Original Petroleum Jelly
Where to get it: Pharmacies and supermarkets
With thousands of different mascaras on the market, you’d reckon that just picking the right formulation will set you up for some glorious lash success. What’s equally – if not more important, is the type of wand or brush it comes with.
Avoid clumping and the nightmare-inducing “spider leg lashes” and get a mascara with a built-in comb. Brush those elongated and volumised lashes out when they’re still fresh from the first coat and voila!
Try this: Clinique “Brush Then Comb” Mascara
Where to get it: Sephora or TANGS
No longer just a fruit that gives the promise of a bigger bosom! Papaya is a key ingredient in this holy grail product that can be found in all Australian households as well as the makeup pouches of international celebrities alike.
Perfect to have with you on the go and overseas, because it provides relief for everyday emergencies such as splinters and insect bites. That’s in addition to the myriad of ways it can moisturise lips, soothe burns, cleanse wounds, the list goes on!
Try this: Lucas’ Papaw Ointment
Where to get it: Online. Or get your friends to tompang (help buy) you a whole crate from Down Under, where local prices are slashed by more than half!
It’s a wonder that I even cleanse my face at the end of some particularly exhausting days. To summon enough diligence to faithfully exfoliate and apply treatment for my skin? That’s another story.
The prayers of every lazy girl in the world were answered when someone jam-packed 3 benefits in a single product. Working as a facial wash, scrub and mask, it’s all you need to pack for your pores to be unclogged and face to stay mattified throughout the day. Thanks to the powers of tea tree, any zits you have will also be zapped. Now you can look flawless in your international selfies!
Try this: The Body Shop’s Tea Tree 3-in-1 Wash.Scrub.Mask
Where to get it: The Body Shop. Click here for list of outlets
Washing your hair can be an all-out time-consuming chore. It doesn’t make sense to factor it in while you’re trying to make the most of your overseas adventure!
Bring along some dry shampoo – don’t worry, they come in petite travel sizes – and restore freshness to your tresses in a jiffy. Just spray, whip your hair back and forth, and brush it all out!
Pssst…dry shampoo also makes for a great hair volumiser. Great news for us fine Asian hair types which sometimes fall flat.
Try this: Batiste Dry Shampoo
Where to get it: Pharmacies and supermarkets
Body wipes in lieu of a shower are a thing. And now, you can have an entire bathroom in your bag with all sorts of pocket-sized cleansing packs!
This nifty shampoo cap deeply cleanses your hair as well as all the icky impurities lurking in your scalp. With no rinsing required, this is great as a quick and easy freshener if you happen to be stuck somewhere dry and deserted. Either way, a little massage for your head does sounds good!
Try this: CleanLife No Rinse Shampoo Cap
Where to get it: Online
Rather than lugging your whole vanity collection with you when you travel, narrow it down to the bare essentials. On top of reducing the cosmetic baggage you bring overseas, one thing to look out for is using products from the same series to ensure your skin doesn’t break out. Especially if you’re travelling to a different climate and environment. Subjecting your face to an entire cocktail of artificial nasties is a no-no!
Go for a range with all-natural origins like The Body Shop’s range of tea tree products. 3 simple products – a 3-in-1 wash, daily solution, and tea tree oil – are all you need to enjoy the maximum effects of a cleanser, scrub, mask, serum and spot treatment, keeping your bag compact but packed with everything you’ll need.
This post was brought to you by The Body Shop.
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