I’ve Been a Beauty Editor for 18 Years and I’m Never Without These Products
Sarah Tarca is a beauty journalist, writer and co-founder of Australia’s first dedicated beauty newsletter, gloss etc. Her skills involve applying lipstick without a mirror, bullying people to wear sunscreen and procrastinating washing her hair. She loves her kids, skincare and potatoes in equal measure — almost as much as she loves SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. Almost. Find her on socials @tarca
Hi! If you’re new to my face, and wondering what gives me the right to beslinging beauty recs your way, let’s get acquainted.
I’m a beauty editor who worked for a loooonnnggg time in women’s magazines (remember them?) before starting my own weekly, dedicated beauty newsletter called gloss etc.
For 18 years I’ve dived headfirst into new treatments and innovations, been a guinea pig for every new-to-market product with crazy ingredients you’ve never heard of, and slapped a few (hundred?) thousand things on my face.
And while I still get excited about all the newness, there are some products that I continually come back to when I just want my skin to be excellent (which preferably means to have glow, bounce, luminous clarity and do my tax).
These are those products...
1. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Serum.
I’m starting, predictably with the GOAT vitamin C and the product I will literally never share with friends. Ever.
It is no ordinary vitamin C, and not just because of the distinct hammy smell (that’s the ferulic).
This is actually one of those products that even skin professionals – and skin sceptics – will tell you is worth the investment.
There are a few reasons why, but the footnotes are that it uses an optimal level of L-ascorbic acid (the active in vitamin C, and the most widely researched), at an optimal pH so it can penetrate the skins surface, and actually do the good work.
I’ve been a devotee to SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum for over a decade, much to my wallet’s dismay, but the glow it gives skin is addictive.
It’s the clarity, and the “health” of it where people stop and tell you how great your skin is.
Bury me in this, and I will die happy.
2. Ultra Violette Supreme Screen SPF 50+
I would have my beauty editor license revoked if I didn’t have a sunscreen in this list, because as you all know, is it the only true anti-ageing product.
If you don’t wear sunscreen every single day (yep, even in winter) literally all other beauty products are redundant. I’m not even being cute or funny, it’s just a fact.
And another fact: Ultra Violette are the Queens of sunscreen – they reinvented the category with their sophisticated formulations and sexy branding and made everyone want to wear it.
To be honest, I use the entire range and there is not a dud in it, the Ultra Violette Supreme Screen is just the one I reach for the most because of its hydrating ingredients and nourishing skin feel.
3. Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen - Original.
Although ingestible collagen supplements have been around for a long time, it was only three years ago that convincing research emerged of its positive benefits on the skin (luminosity, elasticity, hydration).
But not all collagens are made equal and having tested, roughly 20 or more on the market, Vida Glow is the one I stand by (and take religiously every.single.day).
This is not only because of the superior quality, or the clinical research and results (which they have in spades) — it’s for purely selfish reasons: I see results.
My nails have never been stronger or faster growing, and my hair, which previously grew at 1cm a decade, is now an absolute weed.
I also took it through my post-partum period and had no hair loss, which could’ve been a coincidence, but I’ll take it.
4. The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser.
I’m of the belief that you don’t need to spend a lot of a cleanser (it does, literally, go down the drain).
However, I still want it to be a complete A-type overachiever and do all the things including taking my makeup off, cleansing, and leaving my skin feeling like it’s been kissed by angels.
This balm-like cleanser ticks all those boxes and the squalane leaves skin soft and nourished.
The only problem is that I constantly have to fight my partner for it because he feels similarly passionate.
5. DIOR Addict Lip Glow Balm.
Being a beauty editor is a privileged gig – it means I rarely have to buy a product.
So I know I really love something when I pay for it out of my own wallet.
And I have done that countless times with DIOR Lip Glow buying almost half of their shade range (though my favourites are definitely 001, pink and 015, cherry).
For me, it’s the perfect balm-tint hybrid.
Nourishing enough (that’s the shea butter and cherry oil) to offer comfort to the lips, but with just enough subtle colour that you can whip it out when you want to feel a bit “done” and it will have them looking like just a better version of your lips.
6. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream.
In my skin routine I lean on my serums to do all the hard work/give me the big results, and with moisturiser, I just want one that’s reliable and does its job (you know, the actual “moisturising” part).
This one from Kiehl’s is an icon for a reason, punching well above its weight by moisturising (for 24 hours, no less) and hydrating (adding water) but still feeling lightweight on the skin.
It’s also got squalane (which I clearly have a thing for) which is great for reducing water loss, strengthening the skin barrier, and that supple skin feel.
I haven’t met a skin that doesn’t love it.
7. Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara.
I’m mad for an affordable mascara.
Even though I have access to all the luxury ones, Maybelline has always been my go-to because a) they invented the category (true story), b) that’s where their R+D goes and c) they are damn excellent.
I’ve been a diehard Maybelline The Falsies Lash Lift Volumising Mascara - Blackest Black wearer for years, but when this came on the market, I cheated, and I feel zero guilt (soz Falsies).
That’s primarily because it’s a tubular and I’ve gravitated towards these since I’ve had kids because I can’t check my face 40 times a day so I need something that lasts, looks good and can withstand food being squished into my face.
Also, unlike other tubulars it actually offers some volume (fat lashes are my preferred) alongside the insane levels of length.
Well played Maybelline, well played.
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