When you’re attempting to juggle work a social life, eight hours sleep, gym classes, a commute, double cleansing, and apply a full face of makeup, one of them has to take a hit – and let’s face it, when you’re that busy, a 12 step skincare and makeup routine is probably not top of the list.
Fortunately, brands have caught onto the need for convenience in beauty products, leading to a growing popularity for solid products – skincare and makeup in stick form – that not only speed up your routine, but are effortless to use, hand-luggage approved, and an easy way to embrace the Marie Kondo-inspired trend for decluttering in your beauty routine.
Win, win – here are our favourite beauty sticks.
Isle Of Paradise Blend It Gradual Touch Up Stick
We’ve had far too many incidents with leaking/oversized products to risk travelling anywhere with a bottle of fake tan ever again. Fortunately, Isle of Paradise have saved the day (once again) with the launch of their Touch Up Stick, a quick and clever way to get your glow on-the-go. Small (and solid) enough to throw in your hand luggage, use to touch-up and maintain tan on your face and body, wherever you are.
Revolution Pro Blur Stick
A makeup artist favourite, this blur stick receives rave reviews for good reason. In a matter of seconds, it delivers an airbrushed, soft-focus effect, all while prepping your base to perfection (think smooth and matte). It contains clever blurring particles which reduce the appearance of pores, lines, blemishes, and redness – perfect for wearing alone or beneath foundation.
Yes To Coconuts Oil Stick
What if we told you that you could hydrate your skin without having to get your hands greasy? Turns out, you can. This solid hydration stick contains mega moisturisers like coconut oil, shea butter, and castor oil to deliver deep hydration to parched skin in a single swipe. It also smells like a summer cocktail, so we’re officially dubbing it a true beauty hero.
LA Girl Velvet Blush Contour Stick
If you do your makeup during your morning commute, this one’s for you – and if you like to keep your makeup bag streamlined, it can also serve as an eyeshadow and lipstick. The lightweight, creamy formula blends easily for sheer but long-lasting colour – and depending on which stick you choose, it can create rosy cheeks, a bronzed glow, or sculpted bone structure. Just press onto skin and dab with fingers to blend.
TonyMoly Tako Pore Blackhead Stick
Struggling with blackheads and excess oiliness? If you’re into at-home extractions, this is possibly the easiest blackhead removal product ever to use – just twist up and apply to affected areas. Together, marine extracts, charcoal, and cellulose beads work to exfoliate skin, buffing out sebum and other impurities.
Yes To Tomatoes Charcoal SnapMask Stick
A solid face mask? Yep, dreams do come true. Packed full of skin-saving ingredients like kaolin clay, charcoal, and niacinamide, this swipe-on mask takes all the effort (and mess) out of masking. It cleanses, tones, and draws out deep-rooted impurities from congested and blemish-prone skin in as little as five mins, and washes easily away with no scrubbing required. Clever, huh?
Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation
Old-school foundation sticks were thick, dry, and hard to blend, but this melts into skin easily, delivering a lightweight, glowy finish that doesn’t look cakey or heavy. It has all the benefits of a hydrating foundation combined with a dense pigmentation that provides buildable coverage as both a foundation and a concealer. Keep one in your bag for handy touch-ups when you’re on-the-go.
