7 Life-Changing Beauty Products You Need To Try ASAP

Tried, tested, and loved by BuzzFeed editors!

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This post features a mix of items that we purchased with our own money and those that were provided to us at no cost for the sake of review. (But! We’re under no obligation to write a review of those things, let alone a positive review.)

1. Yes to Tomatoes Blemish Clearing Facial Wipes are the soft, non-irritating, and salicylic-acid-formulated wipes you need as your first line of defense when a suspicious pimple comes into town looking to cause a ruckus.

Treye Green / BuzzFeed

In my constant battle against pimples, I have held tight to one pretty effective weapon: my Yes to Tomatoes Blemish Clearing Facial Wipes. I use them every night after washing my face to cleanse my skin. Coupled with my Clean & Clear Persa-Gel and CVS Health Acne Spot Treatment, I’ve experienced fewer breakouts while using these beauties, which include breakout-fighting salicylic acid. And they are so much easier to handle and travel with than a liquid toner or even wipes that come in a jar.

The wipes themselves are very soft, so I don't feel like I'm damaging or irritating my skin when using them. But I still make sure to use light wiping motions so I don’t cause any premature wrinkles or other skin damage. I have been using these wipes for months now, and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to combat the occasional blemish. —Treye Green

Get a 30-pack of Yes To Tomatoes Wipes from Amazon for $3.22, Walmart for $4.27, or Jet for $6.52.

Get the Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10 Acne Spot Treatment from Walmart for $4.97, Jet for $5.94, or a four-pack from Amazon for $19.88.

Get the CVS Health Acne Spot Treatment from CVS for $4.61.

2. InStyler Glossie Brush is a ceramic-straightener-hot-brush-tool extraordinaire that makes achieving a whole head of smooth, straight strands a total breeze in just 15 minutes.

Maitland Quitmeyer / BuzzFeed

Hi. If you're familiar with me and my posts on BuzzFeed, you already know I have a lot of frizzy-curly-coarse hair. I may have written about it before. It took a long time to learn how to wrangle, but I really never ever mastered the art of straightening it. Using a flat iron was never easy for me — it just seemed to smush down my hair without making it actually smooth and sleek, no matter how many products I added. And frankly, learning how to blow it out with a round brush and hair dryer was just never going to happen. I like my curls, so if that was the only way I could wear my hair, so be it. My flat iron has been gathering dust in my closet for years, and I always treated hot brushes with a big old skeptical side-eye. So when I saw this Glossie hot brush made by Instyler, I just had to try it.

I had already washed and dried my hair as usual (with my favorite diffuser) the day before, but all of my curls got destroyed by a long walk through some particularly windy NYC weather, which made the decision to straighten it very easy. I just sprayed in some of this L’Oreal Sleek It Heat-Protecting Spray, ran my fingers through my hair for a quick detangle, and started brushing. Holy shit, you guys, with just one pass over my hair, it was almost entirely straight. My jaw lit'rally dropped. Two more passes and it was pin-straight, not fried-looking, and just a joy to run my fingers through. I did my whole head of hair in about 15 minutes. I really can't describe how shocked I was by the results.

The brush bristles have 65 ceramic-heated plates that glide through your hair, straightening as you go from root to tip, and the styling arm helps you smooth evenly and even create a nice flip at the bottom. On the second or third day to touch it up, you can lock the styling arm in place and just use it like a regular heated brush! It truly could not be easier to use. Or faster! There are four temperature settings too, from 300°–450°, so you can customize the heat for your hair type. (I tried it on both the hottest and second hottest settings, and both worked for my very coarse hair — just make sure you protect your hair from the heat!)

Maitland Quitmeyer / BuzzFeed

And while I still prefer wearing my hair big and curly for most days, it's *really* nice to have options. Especially when that other option takes 15 MINUTES. The second time I straightened it, I popped in some hot rollers afterwards, and 15 minutes later had some nice voluminous (but smooooooooth) vintagey waves. Totally boomerang-worthy. Whether your hair is waywardly straight, or has tons of crazy frizzy texture like mine, this brush'll do the trick. My dusty flat iron is going out the door on my next trip to Goodwill. —Maitland Quitmeyer

Get it from Amazon or Target for $69.99.

3. Vernal Beauty skincare products know how to tame sensitive, tantrum-throwing skin and unearth the soft, supple, and clear skin we all know is lurking underneath — and it's organic and cruelty-free!

Elena Garcia / BuzzFeed

My skin is the worst. Like sometimes I just look at it and go, "WHY? Why are you doing this to me?? Why do you hate me so much? Have I not hydrated you, spoiled you with expensive creams, and treated you to trips to the dermatologist?" My skin is acne-prone, it's sensitive, and it doesn’t give a fuck! But when I started using Vernal products, everything changed. All of a sudden my skin went from throwing daily tantrums to showing me its soft, supple side. This shit is legit! I use it day and night and it’s straight heavenly.

After I wash my face I apply a small dollop of the serum and let that soak in for just a couple seconds. Then I apply the oil, which is my absolute favorite. It’s oil, but it doesn’t make my skin feel greasy or shiny. Once that gets absorbed — which isn’t long because my skin loves that shit and drinks it right up — I apply a thin layer of the moisturizer all over my face and neck. Lastly, I put a really small dab of the eye cream on my left ring finger and dab, dab, dab. BAM! My skin is soft and fresh! It straight looks like I just got a facial. Best part is it’s all totally organic, cruelty-free, and made with awesome ingredients like high-grade hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, Indian gooseberry, and other super antioxidants to help hydrate my skin and minimize ‘dem wrinkles! I mean, could it get any better? —Elena Garcia

Get the serum, oil (currently sold out on Amazon, but available on Vernal's website), moisturizer, and eye cream from Amazon for $17.65+.

4. Tocca Perfumes — Florence and Bianca, specifically — enchant both longtime fragrance lovers and newbies with their subtle but incredibly enticing scents and luxe packaging.

Sarah Han / BuzzFeed, AnaMaria Glavan / BuzzFeed

Apart from a few spritzes of a fancy perfume I snagged from my brother years ago, I’ve never worn a fragrance more than a few times a year. But then I was introduced to Tocca and immediately wanted to douse my entire body in all of their fragrances. Of course I’d end up liking a Parisian-themed scent, Florence, the most. I’m infatuated with anything to do with Paris (I also studied abroad there), so obviously a product description that includes something like "Whether having a café au lait on the right bank, or perusing the Louvre gardens, Florence evokes classic elegance" would instantly woo me. 💕

Wearing this scent is like getting a whiff from a fresh and citrusy, but slightly earthy bouquet of flowers — all the notes of gardenia, bergamot, and blonde wood actually come through in equal parts and create a scent that's much more subtle and complex than most floral perfumes. I'm obsessed. The packaging is breathtaking and so incredibly luxe and makes you feel like a real-life princess every time you reach for it. So even though Prince Harry is officially taken, Florence will elevate me to pretend royalty status. —Sarah Han

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I’ve been obsessed with Tocca perfume since I was a young child — my mother wears Cleopatra, and I grew up staring at that beautiful bottle on her vanity for as long as I could remember. Anyway, I’ve decided to finally become an adult — and by that I mean I’ve decided to get my own signature scent. Out of principle, I wanted to copy my mother and wear something from Tocca as well.

I almost immediately fell in love with Bianca, a fresh, clean scent inspired by the Amalfi Coast. The perfume combines notes of green tea, rose, sugar, and lemon that lasts all day, for a scent that's not overwhelming at all! I’m currently using the travel-sized bottle, but even that packaging is gorgeous. It resembles a sort of vintage storybook, and I feel extremely fancy every time I pick it up. This is honestly the perfect gift. —AnaMaria Glavan

Get them from Sephora: Florence for $25+ (available in three sizes) and Bianca for $46+ (available in two sizes).

Each "Tocca Girl" is also available as a hand cream, body wash, body lotion, hair fragrance, reed diffuser, candle, and laundry wash — check out the full collections at Sephora and Dermstore.

5. Fenty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation truly lives up to the hype and lets you bask in the glory of finding a shade that's totally on point for you.

@sephorafrance / Via instagram.com, Ignacia Fulcher / BuzzFeed

So I’ve been wanting to try out Rih Rih’s foundation since it dropped sometime in September, but like a thousand other (slower) black girls, I had to wait until my shade was in stock. After searching every Sephora in NYC and Long Island, I only happened upon it during a trip to California in a random JCPenny, where one sole shade 430 was available. Basically it was a JOURNEY, but it was absolutely worth it.

When I got back home to New York I opened up the package, which is fantasmic, amazing, and supersonic. I applied the foundation on my face and wow, it matched exactly. I’m one of those girls who is very much in between shades, so having found a foundation that actually matched me makes me wanna dab in appreciation or something. The formula is really buildable, so even though it says it’s medium-full coverage, you can do a full-on club look if you decide to apply multiple layers on your beautiful face. I will say that it covers up my hyperpigmentation really well without me even trying, and it doesn’t feel cakey or dry even after you’ve had it on throughout the whole day. This foundation is a gift for all black girls everywhere, but of course it would be: Rihanna wouldn’t dare let me down, and Viola Davis swears by it, so that should be reason enough to at least try it! Bless Rihanna and no one else this holiday season. —Ignacia Fulcher

Get it from Sephora for $34 (available in 40 shades).

6. Winky Lux Kitten Palette delights all cat lovers with its quirky packaging and paw-somely named shades for subtly gorgeous eye looks that are nothing short of ~purrfect~.

winkylux.com, Chloe Effron / BuzzFeed

It's not every day you see a palette with cats on it. Sure, there are some interesting themed palettes to choose from — like BH Cosmetics' glittery galaxy option or Kat Von D's cathedral of color — but honest-to-god, fluffy felines? Everyone knows packaging is half the fun of makeup (or at least it is for me), and it's about time everybody stepped up and started giving the people (me) what they want. Enter the Winky Lux Kitten Palette. It has a matte, finished case covered in cats and floral designs, and the eyeshadow colors also rock some adorable cat-themed names like Duchess, Purr, and Cheshire.

As for the important part — the eyeshadows themselves — I have to say I'm super impressed. For the price, you get some solid, nicely pigmented colors that blend really well. You can brush the colors onto your skin without a primer and they still show up well. A little goes a long way, so you can treasure the case for a while. All the colors are natural tones so it's perfect to use on casual days. I pretty much exclusively use natural tones because I'm a coward and also not that good at makeup, so it's perfect for everyday wear. My favorite color is Holographic, which doesn't have the most feline of names, but does have an incredible iridescent shimmer that I can't stop staring at. —Bek O'Connell

Get it from Winky Lux (right meow) for $25.

7. & Other Stories Moroccan Tea Body Scrub ups the satisfaction factor of an already-relaxing bath with soothing ingredients that scrub all your dead skin cells away, leaving behind baby-soft skin!

Mallory Mcinnis / BuzzFeed

I've always loved a bath. I'll fill one up, read until the water loses all its warmth, add some super-hot water back in to stop myself from shivering, use some body scrub, shave my legs, and exit the tub a happier and more relaxed person than I was before I went in. This process usually occurs right before bed. Now you may think that the most relaxing part is just the warm water and the reading, but a lot of it is actually the body scrub! I just find using body scrub to be so satisfying. Is that weird? If so, I embrace the weirdness.

For ages, I was 100% devoted to C. Booth's Sea Salt Scrub — but over the last couple of weeks I've strayed to & Other Stories' Moroccan Tea Body Scrub, made with soothing meadowfoam seed oil, crisp spearmint, lemon, cardamom, and orange flower. I don't think it necessarily does its job *better* (if you want to slough away some dead skin cells, they'll both do the job), and they both smell wonderful (truly)....but, bringing it back to the satisfying thing, it's somehow a *bit* more ~fulfilling~ to use. Part of it is the specific sensation of dipping your fingers into the container, but it's also just the way the sugar feels as you rub it against your skin in the water.

In short, if you get what I'm saying with all this rambling about a satisfying scrub in the tub, you should try some. —Mallory McInnis

Get it from & Other Stories for $15.

*deep sigh*

Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions

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Allison Krausman / BuzzFeed