As a Beauty Director, I Only Use the Best Products—Here Are 8 I Just Emptied
Welcome to The Empties Edit, a roundup of the products our beauty director Shannon Lawlor finishes to the last drop every month. Shannon tests hundreds of products every year, so only the ones she really adores reach “empty” status. Consider The Empties Edit your definitive shopping list of the best beauty products money can buy.
As a beauty director, I spend a lot of my time writing about the best new beauty products out there. From cleansers and moisturisers to mascaras and perfumes, I have dedicated my career to ensuring I’m advising people to only part with their money for the very best products around. And, in order to be qualified to do this, I have to test them all. I scrub my skin, I mask my hair, I coat my lashes and I douse my neck in every fragrance that I come across—and I do these things all day long.
This means I try everything—from affordable shampoos to the most luxurious skincare around. All I have to do is send an email, and my desired product will land on my desk in one to three business days. And whilst price, user experience and customer service are things I very much take into consideration when it comes to my review process, in my own beauty routine, this rather unique setup means that every new product I try starts on a level playing field.
Price? I’m not paying. Packaging? Most things are in lab bottles, anyway. Delivery process? PRs are my beauty concierge service. Therefore, the products I use day in, day out are simply the ones that I adore for their formulas alone. If money is no object and you want to know which beauty products are the best ever made, all you have to do is look inside a beauty director’s empties bin.
And so, for those who are nosy (or just in the market for some new beauty products), I present to you The Empties Edit. These are the eight products I finished last month, down to every last drop.
The Empties Edit: October
1. Merit Great Skin Double Cleanse
Merit Beauty
Great Skin Double Cleanse
It’s no secret that I’m Merit Beauty‘s number-one fan. The brand’s products were basically made for lazy girls like me, and I use at least three Merit products every day. While Flush Balm, Signature Lip Liners and a spritz of Retrospect are my current core trio, this cleanser is fast becoming one of my most adored skincare products. A couple of weeks ago, I finished what I think was my third bottle of Great Skin Double Cleanse, and let me tell you why.
This does-it-all cleanser is like liquid gold. The bi-phase formula melts away dirt, grime and makeup in a matter of seconds and doesn’t leave skin feeling remotely tight or dry. I use it first thing in the morning and often as a second cleanse in the evening (my only gripe is that it’s a bit of a stinger if you use it to remove eye makeup). If you find yourself confused by the abundance of cleansers out there, just save yourself some time and go for this one because you can’t go wrong.
2. Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension
Lancôme
Lash Idôle Flutter Mascara
This isn’t my opinion, it’s a fact: Lancôme mascaras are the best in the world. I often yo-yo between the lengthening wonders of Hypnôse and the volumising joys of Mr. Big, but last month it was this one that took my fancy. Lash Idôle Flutter Extension is, in my opinion, the ultimate everyday lengthening mascara. It has a super-fine, narrow wand that holds each lash strand in its grip and coats it in the most natural-looking and lengthening pigment. It’s the ultimate no-makeup-makeup mascara for those who still want to prioritise length.
3. Diptyque Tubéreuse Classic Candle
Diptyque
Tubéreuse Classic Candle
I’ll be honest now: I finished three Diptyque candles in October. I pride myself on my life smelling great—it’s sort of become my thing—and Diptyque candles are the single chicest way of scenting my home. I cleared two limited-edition scents in the form of Amande (a subtly sweet and milky but undeniably fresh take on almond) and Citrouille (a nutty pumpkin with ribbons of spice), both equally divine autumn candles.
But the most recent candle I finished is Tubéreuse, a scent I keep stashed away en masse due to the fact that it is the single best smell in the world. It’s as though the silky white petals of tuberose have dropped from their stem, been melted into a velvety cream and run through a flurry of baby powder. It just smells rich.
4. Color Wow Texas Hold ‘Em Big Hold Hairspray
Color Wow
Texas Hold ‘Em Big Hold Hairspray
I’m not exactly the sort of person who styles her hair every day (or even every week, for that matter), but a recent cut-and-colour refresh has left me feeling somewhat inspired. So much so, in fact, that I spent a lot of time with a curling wand in my hand throughout October. And the only thing that kept my usually fine, flat and poker-straight hair in place? This hairspray. It means business. Seriously, I’ve never encountered hold quite like it.
5. Sisley Stylo Correct
Sisley Paris
Stylo Correct
I could write a thousand love letters to this concealer. Is it expensive? Yes. Would I buy it with my own hard-earned cash? Without a doubt. The handy stylo means you can just scribble it on and blend it into skin with a few dabs of your ring finger. It really is that easy. Most days I avoid foundation, and this super-creamy, medium-coverage concealer just does exactly what I need it to: cover up my dark circles, spots and scars in approximately three minutes. It doesn’t turn cakey, it doesn’t settle in fine lines and it doesn’t go patchy. It’s the only stick concealer I’ve ever tried with a finish that actually looks like skin.
Birkenstock
Nourishing Foot Balm
Foot cream might not be the sexiest of topics, but we all need it. And if you don’t use it, do everyone around you a favour and buy this stuff, please. From the same people who bring us Birkenstocks, the most skin-drying shoe the world has ever known, this foot balm works to counteract it all. And if a foot cream is good enough to reverse that level of dry skin, it’s good enough for me. Seriously, though, I’m an avid Birkenstock-wearer in the summer, and this is the only stuff that has actually managed to reverse my summer foot situation. It’s rich, nourishing and unctuous, sinks in super quickly and doesn’t leave a hint of grease. It’s a total win.
7. Susanne Kaufmann Bath for the Senses
Susanne Kaufmann
Bath for the Senses
Just in case you don’t know anything about me, if we’re going to be friends, it’s important that you know I’ve never met a bath I haven’t almost immediately plunged into. I have an hour-long soak every single night, without fail. As a result, my knowledge of bath soaks is pretty much world-class at this stage. And Susanne Kaufmann bath products are, hands down, the best of the best. (For proof that I don’t discriminate, by the way, my other favourite is Radox.)
This stuff doesn’t just look like a work of art on the shelf (the little sprig that floats inside is hand-cut from the Alpine forests of Bezau, the town which Susanne Kaufmann hails from), it also smells like a 5-star spa and creates a milky, skin-nourishing foam to please both limbs and soul.
8. Orveda The Omnipotent Concentrate
Orveda
The Omnipotent Concentrate
I’m sorry to say that the price tag is not a typo—this face serum really will set you back £405 should you wish to buy it. I started testing Orveda’s Omnipotent Concentrate when I read about the brand’s seriously impressive biotech research, and I wanted to see if this serum really was the best thing since sliced bread. And, considering the fact I’ve finished the whole bottle, I’m willing to say it’s very good indeed.
It isn’t going to grant you a whole new face, of course, but I did find that after a couple of months of use, my skin looks generally healthier, bouncier, brighter and more full of life. It is also just a total luxurious joy to use, thanks to its almost unbelievably silky texture and spa-like scent. It’s divine. Would I drop £405 on it? If I could do so without fearing for my mortgage repayment, perhaps.
