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We Tried 6 New Beauty Products To See What's Worth Your Money

There's literally something for everyone.

Gyan Yankovich
by Gyan Yankovich

Lifestyle Editor, Australia

All prices in this post are listed in Australian dollars.

Caitlin Jinks / BuzzFeed

Because I have little-to-no makeup knowledge, I've been known to just walk into a store and buy whatever looks like it ~might~ match my skin tone. That’s how I ended up with a foundation that’s way too dark for me.

These shade adjusting drops are $19.95 and come in lightening and darkening formulas. The lightening drops are super thick and white but they don’t have any kind of scent and blended perfectly with my foundation. They worked! Now I can turn all of my poorly chosen foundations into colours that actually match.

–Caitlin

Michelle Rennex / BuzzFeed

As someone whose face is pretty much an exact replica of the moon emoji, I NEED contouring in my life. Normally when I contour, I use a concealer that's a few shades darker than my skin colour, and on special occasions I might whip out a contouring palette.

I often find contouring powders hard to blend. A lot of the time they end up looking muddy on my skin. This $24.95 palette, which was co-developed with blogger Chloe Morello, was surprisingly easy to blend. The banana powder was brightening and the highlight was subtle but still gave a really nice glow.

–Michelle

3. Lush Sleepy Body Lotion

Gyan Yankovich / BuzzFeed

Next to my bed I have a small vial of lavender oil. Most nights I will add a few drops of oil to a tissue, which I slide into my pillowcase. It smells great and helps me sleep.

As soon as I saw this product, I knew I would love it, especially when I saw cocoa butter and jojoba oil joining lavender oil on the ingredients list. Like all Lush products, this $16.50 lotion has a strong smell. It's super buttery and melts into the skin, so it's a perfect thick lotion to apply to dry skin before bed. Really, the soothing scent is just an added bonus.

–Gyan

Michelle Rennex / BuzzFeed

My natural hair is weird. Some days it dries semi-straight, other days it’s super curly, but unfortunately the one thing it always is: frizzy. I’ve heard a lot of things about hair straightening brushes but reviews always seem to be hit or miss, so I didn’t know what to think.

This brush costs $99.95 and the instructions suggest that you use it when your hair is dry and clean. To my surprise, the brush actually worked! And the best part of all was that it only took six minutes to get my hair straight, which is perfect for someone like me who is late to literally everything.

–Michelle

Jemima Skelley / BuzzFeed

As someone who is lazy and tries to only wash my hair once or twice a week, I’m a big, big fan of dry shampoo. It’s especially good in summer when 50% of the time I’m a sweaty mess. Usually I just go for the original scent because nothing beats the OG, right? Well, after trying this floral version, I might be converted. It's $9.95 and cleans my hair just as well as the original one, but also adds a really nice smell to it. While having flower-scented hair mightn’t be my number one priority, it’s a very nice touch. This would be good to use in the morning if I’m going straight from the gym to work and don’t want to carry around perfume AND dry shampoo.

–Jemima

Gyan Yankovich / BuzzFeed

My sun-protection routine is one of the most concrete aspects of my day-to-day life. Each morning I apply SPF50 to my face, neck, and hands, plus my arms if they're exposed. For years (I am not even kidding) I've been wishing for a spray sunscreen I could apply over my makeup. I'd heard whispers that such products were available overseas but until recently, nothing like this has been available in Australia.

I've heard great things about Mecca sunscreens from so many people. At $42, this costs more than I would normally spend on sunscreen but I won't go through this product as much as I do my normal SPF. I plan on keeping this spray at my desk for pre-lunch break touch ups. I was a little nervous that the spray would leave my face very shiny, but would you believe that it doesn't at all?! It also smells great. My dreams have well and truly been answered.

–Gyan

Some of the products in this post were provided to BuzzFeed free of charge for review.