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BEAUTY, STYLE AND LIFE OVER 50

Spring

Grab These Classics at Sephora’s Spring Sale

BeautyLiza Herz10 Comments

Former Vogue Germany editor Christiane Arp epitomizes cool, minimalist elegance.

The Sephora spring sale is in full swing (until April 11th) and rather than strolling the (digital) aisles with no game plan, it’s time to restock for spring. And get that 10-20% off, depending on your Sephora standing.

Here are some personal favorites both new and old. Left to right, from top:

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector, $59, Sephora, gently evens out skin tone, provides a hefty dose of moisture and protects skin from environmental aggressors. Reformulated three years ago with boosted hydration and skin-loving ingredients, this classic is all you need for a dewy, natural finish. And its wide colour range includes everyone.

Canada’s own Ilia is a clean beauty line with great formulas and sophisticated textures. Lightweight Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm, $37, Sephora, comes in a reassuringly heavy, metal lipstick case so you don’t have to muck about with pots and the shade Wanderlust is a universally wearable and buildable cool berry for a ‘Your Lips But Better’ flush.

Dermalogica Prisma Protect, $90, Sephora, is either a lightweight moisturizer with SPF 30 or it’s a sheer spf 30 sunscreen with added hydration. Either way it’s a truly stellar formula with a great texture, so applying and reapplying it will not be a chore. Did you know that compliance is 90% of sunscreen success (I just made that number up, but compliance is essential. Sunscreen doesn’t work if it never leaves your medicine chest.) One caveat: this one is pricey, so get it on sale!

Dior 5 Couleurs Couture Eyeshadow Palette in Soft Cashmere, $75, Sephora, is a finely milled collection of the most natural intuitive, subtly variegated shades from an eye-brightening soft peach highlight to elegant taupes and two rich browns to apply as a soft liner.

Westman Atelier’s Superloaded Highlighter in Peau de Peche, $100, Sephora, is the product you never knew you needed. One sweep up and out along your cheekbones gives dimension and warmth and makes you look instantly better. Not gonna lie, the price is a shocker, and the blender brush is another $166, but there’s no dupe for that brush (believe me, I’ve looked) and it’s made by Japan’s oldest brush maker. If you buy just one thing (well, two things) from this list, make it this duo.

Oh I still shudder thinking of early 90s matte skin. Tarte Cheek Stains burst onto the scene in 1999 and became best selling antidotes to chalky and deadening powder blushes. And the revolutionary gel formula in what looked like a men’s deodorant stick made the transparent colour so easy to apply for a natural looking flush. After being cruelly discontinued they are back with antioxidants, a higher percentage of water and a wonderful sheer finish. The shade Flush is the best. Trust. $40, Sephora.

Despite certain newer, splashy rose entrants into the field, Chloé Roses de Chloé, 75 ml, $130, Sephora, is still the choice of rose scent junkies. This classic from 2013 elevates roses with litchi and lemon for a spring-into-summer blossoming rose scent that is simultaneously mood-elevating and quietly elegant.

Spray Every Room Like a Lunatic With The Body Shop French Lavender Pillow Mist

BeautyLiza Herz2 Comments
The Body Shop Spa of the World Lavender Pillow Mist is sunlight in a bottle

The Body Shop Spa of the World Lavender Pillow Mist is sunlight in a bottle

Lavender suffers from such bad PR. Long associated with dusty sachets forgotten in lingerie drawers, some brands tart up their lavenders by adding notes of vanilla (shudder) and chamomile, making them even dustier. Thank god that The Body Shop's Spa of the World French Lavender Pillow Mist is pure, uncut Provençal lavender. Intensely herbal and brightly floral, it is literally sunlight in a handy spray format.

Lately, I’ve been going overboard and spraying not just pillows, but every room. ‘Cozy’ feels oppressive now and we’re all ready for winter to take a hike. But no matter how much I open windows and wash floors, I still need the actual smell of spring.

Sprayed throughout the house, The Body Shop's Spa of the World French Lavender Pillow Mist creates the sensation that someone (not me) vacuumed every piece of furniture, deep-cleaned the oven, scrubbed the baseboards and (be still my heart) did all the laundry and aired it outdoors in some parallel-universe lavender field.

Sadly, drenching the house in the Body Shop’s Lavender Pillow Mist is not a substitute for actually cleaning. That still needs doing. But if the thought of getting down on your hands and knees to scrub baseboards puts you in a funk, then read this wonderful story by Rani Sheen for the Kit: Let’s All Angry-Clean Our Houses, Shall we? and you will feel like a member of a heretofore unnamed sisterhood of raging women.

And, in the meantime, pillow spray.