Friday Favorites: Beauty edition

Happy Friday, friends! I just returned home from training for my new job and have the afternoon free before teaching BODYPUMP tonight. You may have noticed my posts have been coming later in the day than normal this week, and I’m going to get you back on a better schedule here soon. I promise.

It’s time for another edition of “Friday Favorites,” a regular feature here on A Lady Goes West, which gives me a chance to show off a few things that I enjoy, with no particular rhyme or reason.

Today’s edition is all about products in the beauty department that I can’t live without. I wouldn’t say I’m really into make-up or beauty like I am into fitness, but I do have some items that are absolutely essential in my book.

My favorite hair product: dry shampoo

If you’ve not yet tried dry shampoo, then you are missing out.

Everyone knows that you’re not supposed to wash your hair every day, so what are you supposed to do to clean it up on the off days? That’s what dry shampoo is for. It’s a spray-on powder that you apply to your roots, ruffle around a bit with a brush and go on your way. I’ve tried many brands of dry shampoo and recently settled on a favorite that is super fresh and doesn’t leave any residue.

Salon Grafix’s Invisible Dry Shampoo is definitely the best I’ve come across.

Especially for someone who gets sweaty a lot with exercising, (like me), dry shampoo is one of those things I rely on to keep my hair in check.

My favorite make-up: BB cream

In college, I was one of those people that only liked MAC foundation, which is the heavy stuff that really covers up your face. Nowadays, I like lighter creams. I switched to BB Cream or “Beauty Balm” more than a year ago and have never looked back. Basically, BB Cream is part lotion, part skin perfecter and part sunscreen for your face, which you can use in place of foundation or as a primer. It’s such a nice change to be able to get a little cover-up that still feels light and dewy on your skin.

I’m really enjoying Revlon Photo Ready BB Cream, which I use in the light shade.

I first tried BB Cream when my Florida girlfriends visited last March. Thanks, Melissa, Yolanda and Shannon for opening my eyes to a new product I now love.

My favorite skin treatment: sunless tanner

Let’s be real here. If I don’t get any sun, I’m one pasty and pale Lady. Even when I lived in Florida, I always used self-tanner to color my face, neck, chest and arms to look a little more alive. In San Francisco, I absolutely rely on it for color. I’ve tried several different kinds, including spray-ons, but seem to have more success with the lotion kind.

L’Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer is the best. It’s pretty easy to use too. After you shower, towel yourself off and apply to the areas you want to color. The lotion has a tint so you can see where you are putting it. Let it dry for a couple of minutes, then suit up. Your glow will last a couple of days.

I’ve made the mistake of putting on self tanner before teaching group fitness classes before and had the bronze color sweat off onto my towel. So make sure you wear dark clothes and use a dark towel if you are going to fit in a workout post tanning. Oh, and there is a faint bit of shimmer that gets left behind on your skin the first day of use, which Dave always notices on me and says it looks like I’m a vampire in the movie Twilight. I like it!

There you have it. Those are the essentials. Clean hair, perfected complexion and an overall sun-kissed hue … you can’t beat that with three products that are also super cheap.

And as always, thanks go out to Heather for hosting this link-up. In case you missed the last few “Friday Favorite” editions, check them out:

1. A snack, a purse and a ritual
2. A delivery, a bra and a guy
3. A sweet, a wine and a read
4. A drink, a gadget and a plan 
5. A time, a bottle and a powder
6. San Francisco edition

Questions of the day

What’s your favorite beauty product?

Is there anything you’ve been loving lately?