This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
Whether you’re spending your Spring Break this year by the shore or in your bed, you have to take care of yourself in order to feel hot inside and out. Here are the products worth splurging or investing in to make sure your spirit, body, and makeup bag are in tip-top shape!
Innisfree Intensive Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed ($24.20)
The Innisfree intensive hydrating serum with green tea seed is a great product to incorporate into your morning and/or night skin care routine. From the beloved K-Beauty brand Innisfree, this serum is perfect for someone who really wants to treat their skin with only the best ingredients. Made with green tea extract from Jeju Island, a South Korean province known for its luxurious beach resorts and riveting volcanic landscapes, your skin will feel absolutely pampered and revitalized after using this product. Besides Jeju green tea extract, the intensive hydrating serum will pamper your skin with ingredients such as green tea seed oil, prickly pear, camellia leaf, tangerine, and orchid extract. It is also free of parabens, synthetic colors, mineral oil, animal products, and imidazolidinyl urea.
I began incorporating this product into my daily routine as the weather continued to be brittle and cold on the Northeast coast. It goes on like a dream- truly making your skin feel dewey and nourished (look at all those lovely ingredients) and it smells even better. Like wow! If you’re looking for a product that is made of only the best or the best ingredients, look no further than the Innisfree intensive hydrating serum with green tea seed.
Clio Kill Brow Auto Hard Brow Pencil in 1 Natural Brown ($16.62)
One of my greatest frustrations in my makeup routine is filling in my eyebrows, so when I finally found the solution to my sparse eyebrow problems one weekday afternoon in New York this past summer, I thought I had ascended into heaven. The Kill Brow Eye Pencil is a double-ended K-Beauty brand Clio brow pencil- with the shorter end being a brow brush and the other end being a twist-up pencil. It’s a hard (not liquid) formula and the tip is shaped more like the end of a sword than a pencil (which may be why it’s called the Kill Brow). I prefer this type of brow pencil tip because my eyebrows are more full than thin in shape. I also like how buildable the formula is – depending on how much pressure you put as you apply the eyebrow liner you can obtain a truly natural or strikingly bold look.
I also appreciate the shade the eyebrow pencil is in. I can’t stress about the number of times I’ve gone into a drug store, perused the selection of eyebrow products, and found myself caught between black, brown, and blonde eyebrow pencil shades. I’m definitely not Susie Lou Who blonde, but I’m also not jet black or bright brown. Rather, I’m more of a dark brown. So, I appreciate that K-Beauty brands realize that there is a need for a spectrum of shades in between jet black and bright brown for eyebrows.
Journal
After a long conversation with a close friend about managing stress and frustration, I realized it was time for me to start jotting down how I felt in a journal of some sorts. The journal, which was gifted to me by a different close friend, is something that I have been turning to as much as possible when I am overwhelmed and upset, whether it be about personal issues, relationship concerns, or problems that arise in my academic or extracurricular responsibilities. While the thought of materializing the intangible can be somewhat daunting, I have found that in the grand scheme of things, writing things down and dating them has made it a lot more easier when it comes to reflecting and meditating on the past and how I can succeed in the present and eventually the future.
Since I started writing in my journal, which was maybe a little before 2019 began, I have found myself more at peace with myself. So much happens during your college years, you may think that you will never forget that one crazy time with your friends- but honestly, it might be best to just jot it down. Or not- it may or may not matter in the grand scheme of things two months from now if you’re graduating or four years from now if you’re just starting college. Either way, whether you want your journal to capture the moments you want to remember forever, or to use it to meditate on your thoughts and frustrations, you should just make it your own.
I’ve found some of my favorite journals to write in at T.J. Maxx. Not only are they affordable but also really cute and they offer a variety of different designs throughout the year. If there’s no seal over the notebook, make sure to flip through to make sure it’s not defaced in any way- such as scribbles or wrinkled or ripped pages. You want a steal, not junk.
Milani Color Statement Lip Liner in #04 All Natural ($3.62)
You don’t need to spend a lot on makeup in order to get high quality results. I’ve recently fallen in love with Milani’s Color Statement Lipliner in 04 All Natural. It’s creamy, long-lasting, and easy to apply! It’s my go-to lip liner that is the closest to natural I have ever gotten with my two-tone lips. I’ve used it to lightly accentuate my lips before applying a thin layer of gloss (usually a slightly darker shade) or to boldly outline my lips before applying a few layers of lipstick. Whether I was trying to pull off a more natural or bold look, it has yet to disappoint me.
Celestial Seasonings Chamomile Decaffeinated Tea
Nothing is better than coming home to a mug of piping hot tea, especially during weather that has (at least on the Northeast coast) been so up and down as of late. My favorite tea right now is Celestial Seasonings Chamomile Caffeine Free Herbal Tea (with a dollop of honey). It’s calming, relaxing, and exactly what I need in order to unwind while looking at some emails and making dinner. If you want to end the day on a right note, end it with Celestial Seasonings.
Buxom Full-On Lip Polish (Brandi) ($21.00)
My favorite lip gloss right now has to be Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Brand (without the plumping). As I have mentioned before, my lips are actually two-toned and I often find it difficult to find a lip gloss that has any impact on the color of my lips. This lip gloss, however, has just about everything I could ever want in a lip gloss. It’s pigmented and shimmery without having to sacrifice the gloss. The shade in particular I have, Brandi, makes my lips almost look naturally shimmery. If you don’t mind the refreshing minty sensation that is signature of Buxom lip products, I highly recommend the Buxom Full-On Lip Polish.
Heyday Wireless Earbuds ($9.99)
Why spend $30 or $50 dollars on wireless earbuds when you can get the same sound quality and convenience that the Heyday Wireless Earbuds can provide for you? I picked this up one day while I was shopping at Target, and now I have two sets of these earbuds- one in baby pink and another in teal! While their biggest downside is definitely their short battery life (I don’t think 5-6 hours is enough for me) and their inability to hold onto battery life (they will run out of juice even when they’re turned off, so you have to constantly have them charging if you’re not using them) I find that the pros outweigh the cons. Besides the variety of color options that are available, they’re easy to charge, easy to wirelessly connect to your devices, and are comfy enough. My biggest woe with earbuds are how easily they’ll slip out of my ears- but surprise, surprise, these ones don’t! Whether I’m on the treadmill or sprinting to catch a bus, they manage to stay safe, secure, and cute while I’m on the go.
It’s Skin Power 10 Formula VC Effector with Vitamin C Derivatives Serum ($10.76)
This K-Beauty skin serum is one of ten different types of clinically tested serums made available by top K-Beauty brand It’s Skin. My favorite is the VC Effector, pictured above, which has a high dosage of Vitamin C that aids in gently brightening the pigmentation of the skin, minimizes large pores, and also lightens dark under eyes. Ever since I started incorporating the face serum into my day and night skin routine, I have seen such a drastic change in the texture of my skin, the size of my pores (particularly on my nose), and the radiance of my skin. Even the dark circles around my eyes have drastically lightened. It’s so bright and so soft! I am literally begging my friends to touch my face because of how soft it is.
I started working this serum into my routine only about a month into the new year, so I was floored by how quickly positive results began to show. If you’ve never incorporated a serum into your skincare routine before, you should definitely try out a 30 ml bottle of one of the ten Power 10 Formulas from It’s Skin – they have serums for all types of skin needs such as dryness and uneven skin tone!
Bath & Body Works Black Chamomile Pillow Mist ($13.50)
When I first received this pillow mist from the Her Campus Fashion Week 2019 show, I thought I would never use it. Turns out- it’s something I seriously cannot live without, especially on a particularly stressful day. The Bath & Body Works Black Chamomile Pillow Mist is an aromatherapy spray that you spray onto your pillow 5 to 10 minutes before you actually go to sleep. It actually is really soothing and smells absolutely heavenly! If they ever made a cologne out of this, I promise you, this would have girls going crazy.
Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect Cleansing Oil ($21.00)
This Black Sugar Cleansing Oil by Skinfood (another amazing K-Beauty brand) is the one product I always use in both my morning and night routine. I purchased this after the insistence of one of my close friends who was shoulder-deep in the K-Beauty skincare world, and I promise you, it has been absolutely life-changing. I look forward to washing my face in the morning in order to prepare myself for a brand new exciting day where I will possibly bump into my enemies with absolutely radiant skin. I also look forward to washing away all of my sins from my face after a night of hardcore partying. I care so much about this product because it really transformed not only the look of my skin but also the texture of my skin. My skin has always been pretty soft, but now it feels baby butt-smooth. I’m amazed, astonished, and shocked by the power of K-Beauty.
Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm Red Dahlia ($4.99)
Last but not least is the Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Red Dahlia. It’s my go-to lip balm whether I’m on the go or I’m totally going to be late for class. It’s creamy, pigmented, and smells absolutely delicious. You can just throw it into your makeup bag if you’re heading out to the movies during Spring Break or catching up with your friends at your local coffee house. It’s a product that I’ve been using for the longest time and it has definitely been there for me when I’ve needed to moisturize my chapped lips the most, while still looking fabulous.
Spring Break is different for everyone. You’re either hopping on a cruise ship to five different islands or booking a five night stay in your childhood bed. Either way- you’re going to want to feel and look good wherever you go, because after a long spring semester of late night assignments and possibly some drama, you’re worth it.
All pictures are courtesy of Keoni Nguyen.