What ONE beauty product would you never be without?

[fromthevault]

I'm going to try and do a no-buy / low-buy 2025 and really pare down the products I buy / use in the future. I think I'm pretty low-maintenance anyway, but even I seem to have accumulated a ton of (probably mostly unnecessary) stuff.

Looking at my stash today I was trying to work out what my 'desert island' product would be and tbh I think it might just have to be a big old tub of Vaseline! Cheap, versatile, but not exactly exciting. So just out of interest, what's your 'if I can only buy one thing this year' product?

Any moisturiser with SPF 30 or above.

You need to lower your strength, if you're peeling like that, it's too high!

For me it's the ordinary matrixyl.

I had some peeling for the first few weeks! It's quite common. Assuming you are using 0.025% tret or lower and double layer with moisturiser? It could be another of the ingredients you may have like hydroquinone?

Tretinoin 0.05%/ Azelaic acid 15%/ Tranexamic acid 5%

That is what I have. I’ve used the other ingredients before. Maybe I need to double up more? Still so much peeling after 2 months and my skin doesn’t look any different!!!

Eucerin moisturiser. Very rich and doesn't irritate my sensitive skin!

That's quite strong! Ask them to lower your tret and tranexamic acid for a month or two and work up again? It can take 3-6 months to see results so stick with it if you can!

Silk night bonnet from Silke. I wake up every morning with perfect hair.

I have matrixyl, but tbh not found the right way to use it, can I ask how you use it and what it does for you?

Charlotte Tilbury multi miracle glow - my skin has been amazing since using it.

For hair try Kérastase magic night serum twice a week too, it gives exquisite shine and volume

Fenty soft and lit foundation

Dr Gross Dewy Deep Cream. A vitamin C cream that gives me “glass skin”. Although I’d be hard pushed to do without my Dermalogica cleansers.

Biotherm body lotion.

My absolute minimum would be some kind of cleanser, a moisturiser, a powder foundation and lip balm. My skin feels so tight with no moisturiser and I have some rosacea so am self-conscious about my red face if it's not covered. I think I would need a salicylic acid toner as well eventually to keep the menopausal acne at bay - so I wouldn't be very good at this!

However I've had years when I've used up as many odds and ends as possible and not bought much, so I could reduce my spending if I needed to.

And oh dear, some kind of clear nail polish too, as my nails split if I wear nothing 😳 I have a fair amount though so could possibly get through a year without purchasing!

La Roche posay cicaplast Baumé 5. I use it day and night, have done for 3 years and it's my only skin care. My skin has never looked better, I don't need foundation anymore! I worry they'll change the formula. Also maybelline fit me concealer, use it under my eyes and it's the best colour match I've had. Been using it a decade and it immediately brightens my eyes and covers the dark shadows. Bonus it's so cheap.

Concealer.

@Newhi have you tried buffering it?
So cleanse, apply moisturiser, wait a bit for that to sink in then apply the tret

If you do tret first eventually make sure it's on totally bone dry skin and moisturise after

Go every 3-4 days then up it to every 2-3

It took a while but I can throw it on damp skin every day now and I'm on a high strength. Peeled a bit at first but kept going and just backed off for a few days if it got bad

Tretinoin, and my prized bottle of Indult Tihota

Lipstick
I look dead without it.

Biore spf 5o

My tretinoin prescription from Klira.
Cerave daily moisturiser with SPF 50.
Mascara

Vaseline is a must for skin, nails and ends of hair.

Chanel sublimage le corrector yeux is a concealer for eyes but can be used all over and it's perfect of any redness or blemishes.

For me, the way I stopped my shopping habits was to refocus my thinking. I've identified the best things for my skin and hair (and clothes, footwear, accessories, etc.), and so I just buy these. For clothes, I stick to sales 4 times a year. With toiletries, I buy them in the biggest sizes and in sale times only, and then that it. It results in a once a year purchase. These habits keep me from browse-style shopping.

For me, my must haves are the Aveda botanical repair range for hair, Eve Lom cleanser, The Ordinary glycolic acid, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, Elizabeth Arden night time miracle balm (I use this morning and night), and Nivea blue tub for the rest of my body. I don't wear makeup fully, I pop on some Estee Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue foundation. I mix two colours so this is a once a year purchase for me too,

SPF. I use Beauty of Joseon.