Editor's Picks: Five products that are on my auto-purchase list through the years

Do you have products that you always just buy without fail every time you run out? These are your ol’ reliables, the ones that you can’t quite live properly without. They’re more than just holy grails at this point; they’re already sewn into the fabric of your life! Beauty products come and go through my desk but these five have proven themselves indispensable over the years.

L’Oreal Infallible Concealer (P595 at Lazada). I first tried this in 2019 when it launched here in the Philippines and it was love at first use. I’ve tried some amazing full coverage concealers through the years but NOTHING quite measures up to the L’Oreal Infallible in terms of coverage, color match (for me), and staying power. I mean, sure, there’s probably a few other ones that are similar but they all come at steep price tags for a small amount whereas the LIC is only P450 per 10ml - and that’s not even the sale price yet. I usually get it for P300-350 during a sale. Such great value!

Whenever it’s on sale, I just buy three or five pieces of this concealer. To be honest I’m a little bit sawa of it at this point (what, I’m human!) but it’s just too good!

Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara. I have a very, very long long love affair with this mascara. I first discovered it sometime 2013 or 2014 during my travels to Tokyo, and I even had the privilege to run the brand’s grand launch and PR campaign when the brand finally arrived in the Philippines. Sadly, they didn’t stay long, but I would always still buy this abroad.

This and Majolica Majorca are for me the top mascaras in the world because they give my short lashes the length, volume, and curl they always knew they deserved. Just don’t make me choose anymore! I was very lucky that I bought a bunch of Heroine Make mascaras on my last trip abroad before the pandemic! Actually, Heroine Make has news for us in the Philippines soon. Stay tuned! *Wink

Urban Decay All Nighter (P1,980 at Sephora.ph). You know what, I can’t quite remember when I first started to go crazy for this spray. I was never a big setting spray girl, that is until I tried the All Nighter. It sets makeup so well - no matter how oily I get or how long I was out, it would make my makeup still look fresh with minimal or sometimes even zero retouching. It’s especially useful during the pandemic, since it helps keep makeup on my face instead of my face mask.

A bottle of this would last me a pretty long time. I’d say 5-6 months? I only need to get two a year so I really time it when Sephora.ph goes on 20-25% off!

Kojie San Soap (P85 for three mini soaps in Watsons). Ok, I admit I’ve sneered at this soap before I first tried it in 2016. Whitening my skin has never been my goal so why would I need a soap for that? But the thing is, topical over-the-counter whitening products never really lighten your skin. They are just really effective exfoliators!

I use the Kojie San soap every other wash or so to make sure that I have chemical exfoliation for my body. It’s really effective! When I don’t use it, my legs become flaky and kinda dull looking. I buy this in their value packs - I usually go for the 3-pack in Watsons since the soaps are smaller and are therefore sakto in the shower. I’d buy nine Kojie San soaps at a time to make sure I never run out.

Shiseido Lash Curler (P1,400 at Lazada). I first tried the Shiseido lash curler in 2013. OMG. That’s such a long time ago! In the last nine years, I’ve only needed to buy like three of these since they last for about three years a piece. To be honest it’s more like…I just mysteriously lose them after a while. They don’t really break. It’s a bit pricey if you buy it from the Shiseido store, but in Japan you can find these lash curlers in the beauty drugstores for not a lot of money. I hoarded a lot of lash pads for this as well.

I love this curler because it’s the one that best fits my eyelids and gives me a great curl. It has a wider band than Shu Uemura so it conforms nicely to my big eyes. Actually, my old Shiseido curler is far from dead but I couldn’t miss the Shiseido sale last year and bought this limited edition gold one!

What are your must-repurchase products that you’ve been using for years? Let me know in the comments!