GET FREE SAMPLES

sign up for our newsletter to get free sample alerts

The #ProductEmpties We Loved to the Last Drop

From new finds to longtime favorites, these are beauty products that our editors use until the bitter end (of the tube)
Photo 86/255
The Lip & Cheek Stain Every Girl Needs in Her Handbag
I have no fewer than four lip balms in my purse at any given moment (and don't even ask me to count my lipsticks). But no matter how many lip products crowd my leather satchel, there's only one that I reach for multiple times every day: Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain, $25, in Forever Peach. I'm so attached to it, I own two -- just in case one gets misplaced.

Despite its balmy appearance, the slim stick packs a wallop of pigment that brightens up lips while keeping them hydrated. The stain, which you can also use on your cheeks, sticks around for hours for an easy, no-fuss, weekend look.

Nourishing botanical ingredients like avocado oil, pumpkin seed oil and olive fruit oil keep lips feeling lush, making it the perfect chapped-lip-season accompaniment. --Jill Provost



Photo 87/255
The Mascara That Makes My Lashes Look Like Falsies
I am such a stickler when it comes to mascara -- my list of criteria is pretty steep. My motto would be, "go big or go home." For me, a mascara needs to give dramatic length and volume, without being clumpy. I like the consistency to be not too thick and not too thin. It needs to stay put all day but not be impossible to wash off. So many mascaras that I've tried possess some, but not all of these traits and tbh, it's pretty frustrating.

Recently a friend of mine recommended Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara, $15, and I've been wearing it since.

From the moment I first started applying the mascara, I knew it was special. The formula is superdark (just the way I like) and the perfect consistency to coat my lashes without forming any clumps. After applying two to three coats, my lashes explode in volume and length while managing to stay separate and clean. (Can I get an amen?) The shape of the brush even lends itself to catching those hard-to-reach, tiny lashes to coat them with product too.

Also, the formula doesn't irritate my sensitive eyes. But best of all, I can go all day without flaking or needing a touchup and when I'm ready to wash it off, my face wash and warm water do the job.

I figure, if I'm going to wear mascara, it better be special -- and Mary Kay Lash Love creates the big, notice-me lashes that all of us crave.

To see more of my beauty favorites, follow me on Instagram @hannah_savin

Photo 88/255
The Face Oil That Makes Me Glow, Baby, Glow
I'm pretty ride-or-die when it comes to products that work for me. Case in point: I've been using Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil, $46 for almost two years now. Sure, I've strayed a few times -- but I always find my way back.

Just about everything about it is perfect, from its cheery bright pink bottle, to its ultra-moisturizing formula. It absorbs into my combination skin quite quickly, which means it works well for day and night. Antioxidant-rich rice bran helps protect against UV- and free-radical damage, so I feel good about layering it with my daily SPF. (Read more about why you need an antioxidant here.) And best of all, it imparts a subtle glow unlike any product I've ever encountered -- it's the kind of product that will have you itching to ditch your foundation, so you can show off your complexion.

Now, at $46, it may seem like an indulgent luxury -- but even using it twice a day, every day, one bottle lasts me well over a year. It's a multi-tasking workhorse, and one of the pillars of my skin care routine. --Rosie Narasaki

To see more of my beauty faves, follow me on Instagram @rosienarasaki

Photo 89/255
The Multipurpose Dry Shampoo That Gives Me Model-Worthy Hair
Plug "effortless hair" into a search engine and you'll find many images of gorgeous hair that very clearly requires a crap ton of effort. I don't know about you, but I've stopped waiting for the day that I'll wake up in the morning to find my hair in gently rumpled, voluminous waves and float out the door to work. Instead, I use Sachajuan Dry Powder Shampoo.

This is not my everyday, utilitarian dry shampoo -- the one that costs $6 a can in bulk on Amazon. No, at $35, this is one of my special-occasion products, one that lives under my sink so I remember not to use it on something as dull as a workday or lazy Sunday. It does more to hair than just soak up oil and add body -- it makes my hair practically double in size. And it gives that fluffy, texturized, pseudo-effortless look that always seemed to belong exclusively to Mélanie Laurent and Forever 21 models. --Katie McCarthy

Photo 90/255
The Vitamin C Treatment That Brightens Lightning-Fast
I am diligent (OK, obsessive) about wearing sunscreen, but to really protect skin, we all know that's not enough. So, I'm crazy-obsessive about antioxidants, too. And I've interviewed enough derms over the years to know that vitamin C is one of the very best ones for protection -- and for brightening. Which is good because I have some brown spots and blotchiness that I am just not cool with. The big catch with vitamin C though is that it's unstable AF, so the key is finding one that won't degrade soon after you take it home.

For this reason, I was superpsyched to try No7 Youthful Vitamin C Fresh Radiance Essence, $24.99. It's an intensive two-week treatment with 5 percent pure vitamin C, but because it's designed to work in a short period of time, you use it all up before the formula has a chance to go bad. I also love that the vitamin C powder comes separate from the liquid base. When you open up the package, you push a button to release the vitamin C powder into the liquid, which activates it. Then the clock starts. You apply it twice a day and wait for the magic to happen.

And two weeks later, my report: I loved the feel of the product (superlight/barely there), it was beyond easy to use, and after finishing it up, my face looked noticeably brighter -- like someone had switched a light on. --Alyssa Hertzig

To see more of my favorite beauty products follow me on Instagram @alyssahertzig

Ever had a beauty product you love so much that you shook, hacked, scraped or squeezed its container until you were absolutely positive you had expended all of its precious contents? Rare indeed is the product that elicits that deliciously desperate feeling, especially in beauty editors. So when our team of beauty mavens encounters a rave-worthy product, you know it's the real deal. Herewith, our editors rattle off their "beauty empties," aka the best beauty products that they can't help but use until the last drop. Read on for their best nail polishes, hair products, skin care products and makeup now.
MAR 13, 2020 | SHARES
VIEW COMMENTS
Full Site | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
TotalBeauty is a property of Evolve Media Holdings, LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved. | Affiliate Disclosure: Evolve Media Holdings, LLC, and its owned and operated subsidiaries may receive a small commission from the proceeds of any product(s) sold through affiliate and direct partner links.