Rapid Fire: My Five Daily Essentials

The five top items in my current beauty stash in no particular order:

1. Maybelline Full 'N Soft Mascara: A few swipes instantly open my eyes without making it look like I'm trying too hard. It gives me the look I wish I'd rolled out of bed with at 8 a.m. -- one that says I had a full night's rest and balanced breakfast instead of a few measly hours of sleep and a handful of cereal while running out the door. This stuff doesn't flake or smear but is still easy to remove at the end of the day.

2. Almay Clear Complexion Concealer: It is easy to blend and long lasting. Plus it contains 1 percent salicylic acid, which should help dry up blemishes. FYI, I don't use it under my eyes, just on select spots on the rest of my face, and it's never made me break out.

3. Milani Blush in Luminous: I actually didn't bring this with my on my current trip because I'm using NYC's Color Wheel in Rose Glow - it's a good combination of peachy and rosy for the last warm days before autumn kicks in. Luminous is tauted as a dupe of Nars Orgasm, which I've never tried but is an insanely popular color that supposedly works well on all skin tones. Luminous is a pretty, natural, rosy flush color on my fair skin, with just the right amount of tiny shimmer particles in it.

4. Tinted lip balm: I am definitely a lippie sort of gal, so a product that keeps my lips moisturized and deposits subtle color is an absolute must. Right now I'm hooked on using two products together -- first a petroleum-based product like my new Carmex click stick with SPF 15 (I'm not a Carmex addict though), then Tarte's 24/7 lip sheer in Tea Time. I need something more moisturizing before putting on Tea Time because it's very much a lip stain, not something to rely on to make your lips soft. The color is so pretty though! Burt's Bees lip shimmers are nice and have a bit of color, sometimes I use those. On this front, however, I'm still looking for a true all-around HG product.

5. Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15: Okay, so this actually belongs at the top because it's probably the product I'd most swear by. My 85-year-old grandmother who's always had radiant skin in an Aveeno devotee, so my family used it growing up. Then, as a teen, I eschewed old faithfuls like Aveeno in favor of the exotic colors and overwhelming scents of Bath and Body Works lotions. Now that I'm back to appreciating subtlety -- hey, I still use some B&B products, they can be nice! -- I appreciate the simplicity of Aveeno, especially when it comes to face cream. My grandmother just used their regular body lotion on her face, but I've gone 21st century and picked up this ultra-calming moisturizer.

It is very light and not oily yet makes my skin feel incredibly supple and smoothes flaky areas. It contains feverfew, which is related to camomille, and supposed to calm irritated skin. I don't suffer from persistent redness or severe irritation but this seems to work well on my sometimes sensitive skin. The SPF is a definitely plus, and I'm looking for an Aveeno product with a higher SPF for my next face purchase.

I'd very much recommend trying this product or others from Aveeno, but of course everyone's skin is different and like all the items listed above, what works for me might not work for you! But hey, usually it can't hurt to try. :)