Shopping

I Shop Amazon for a Living, and These Are the 10 Things I’m Buying From Its Annual Beauty Sale

And everything’s under $42.

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Published on October 28, 2022 06:00AM EDT

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Best Amazon Beauty Deals Tout — Photo:
Amazon

Amazon’s biggest beauty sale of the year is here, and it’s a great time to stock up.

There are more than 1,000 deals in Amazon’s annual Holiday Beauty Haul sale, including discounted skincare, makeup, hair care, and oral care. This year’s savings are steep—up to 65 percent off. And rather than sifting through the huge assortment, you can see what I, Real Simple’s shopping editor, am buying from the sale.

Editor-Loved Beauty Deals:

Aquaphor Healing Ointment Variety Pack, $15 (was $24)
Cerave Hydrating Cream to Foam Cleanser, $17 (was $19)
NYX Professional Makeup The Brow Glue, $7 with coupon (was $9)
L’Oréal Paris Lash Paradise Mascara, $7 (was $13)
MainBasics Bath Shower Loofah Three-Pack, $9 (was $12)
Silkie Silk Scrunchie Set, $20 (was $25)
EltaMD Skin Recovery Night Mask, $40 (was $50)
Honest Beauty Crème Cheek Blush, $11 (was $16)
NYX Professional Micro Brow Pencil, $8 with coupon (was $11)
Cerave Vitamin C Serum Night Cream Set, $41 (was $51)

The sale is designed to give early holiday shoppers (both Prime subscribers and non-members) a chance to save on bigger ticket items weeks before the season kicks off. It’s a great time to splurge on higher end products and gadgets, like PMD’s at-home microdermabrasion tools, T3’s lightweight and super fast hair dryer, and Oral-B’s highly rated electric toothbrushes. But I’m taking a different approach.

I’ve always been a big fan of drugstore beauty products and rarely splurge on expensive makeup or skincare. And when a big sale like this comes along, I use it as an opportunity to grab all of my go-to products for less. In fact, I approach it with the same thinking I apply to shopping for my pantry: When one of my staples go on sale, I’ll get a few.

With that in mind, I’m stocking up on three favorites from Cerave. My dermatologist turned me onto this drugstore brand that’s affordable, yet effective. Not surprisingly, my doctor endorsed it because everything is developed by fellow dermatologists, and that’s how I discovered the brand’s incredibly gentle, but thorough cream to foam cleanser. While most facial cleansers make your skin feel tight and dry, this one actually hydrates as it cleans. And it’s gentle enough that it doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin.

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser — Amazon

To buy: $17 (was $19); amazon.com.

Cerave’s vitamin C serum and its skin renewing night cream are also going for a special bundle deal while the sale lasts. The now-$41 combo features two of my favorite everyday products. The vitamin C serum defends my skin from pollution and other free radicals, and it layers beautifully under my sunscreen and makeup. And I always go through several tubs of the face cream during the cold and dry winter months. It’s the best budget-friendly intensive moisturizer I’ve found to date.

CeraVe Vitamin C Serum and Night Cream — Amazon

To buy: $41 (was $51); amazon.com.

And speaking of winter prep, everyone needs Aquaphor at the ready. This incredibly versatile ointment serves many purposes. It can be used to treat cracked hands, dry cuticles, cuts, and blisters. It’s a great way to tame flyaway hairs, too.

I use it in lieu of lip balm or chapstick, finding that it’s the only beauty product I’ve ever used that actually heals my dry, flaky lips. I love the healthy glow it gives my lips so much that I’ve stopped wearing lipstick altogether. I’ve also used it to treat and prevent nosebleeds that tend to become more frequent in the winter.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment - Variety Pack — Amazon

To buy: $15 (was $24); amazon.com.

And when it comes to makeup, there are a few deals that caught my eye. Honest Beauty's crème cheek blush, which provides a subtle and natural-looking dewy glow, is going for less. Everything from the brand is clean and made without icky ingredients, so I feel great about using this creamy blush on my face. And unlike powders, it doesn’t cake, accentuate fine lines, or look clown-like.

Honest Beauty CrÃ¨me Cheek + Lip Color — Amazon

To buy: $11 (was $16); amazon.com.

There are hundreds of other markdowns in the Holiday Beauty Haul sale, and there are even more beauty products going for less in Amazon’s deal hub. Head there to browse the full array, or discover more editor-loved finds below. Once these markdowns expire next week, the prices will go back up.