The last couple of months have given us all a lot of extra time to think, and to consider what we need more of in life – as well as less. We’re not advocating a strict Marie Kondo-style of decluttering when it comes to your beauty routine, but perhaps a more considered, streamlined approach.

This is where multi-use products come into play, many of which deliver the added bonus of cutting down on our personal packaging waste, as well as reducing the sheer number of purchases we’re making. They also make it easier to actually use up your products before they expire, which makes opting for a multitasker the ultimate win-win. Some brands do multiuse better than others, so we’ve rounded up our favourites from the makeup category to get you inspired…

Aleph Beauty

New Zealand makeup brand Aleph Beauty are firm believers in the multi-use makeup product, and they have created a considerable line up of beautiful products with just that in mind. Precisely created from powerful active, natural ingredients, Aleph products work in harmony with skin at the cellular level – and they look and feel amazing, which is often a rarity in the all-natural colour category.

Winter is when you look for a more nourishing foundation as well as skincare, and we love Aleph’s Concealer / Foundation for its skincare properties and general no-nonsense approach. Made in New Zealand using 100 percent natural ingredients, Aleph products have been formulated to protect against environmental toxins, regenerate cellular energy and work to increase collagen production, and the fact that you can use this little number as a foundation AND concealer makes it great for travel and on the go. The little pot houses quite the concentrated formula, and is recyclable and/or easily repurposed.

Aleph also created five beautiful Aleph Cheek/Lip Tints, which have been carefully formulated to suit a wide range of skin tones. You can wear them as a sheer wash of colour on the cheeks or intensely layered on the lips for an ultra-moisturising colour pop, depending on your needs and your situation.

And we can’t talk about multiuse makeup without mentioning Aleph’s amazing Radiance, which can be mixed with your Concealer/Foundation prior to application for a gorgeous glow, applied on the eyelids for a super flattering glossy effect or as a touch of transformative iridescence when applied to the lips or over a lip colour. It’s also the perfect highlighter when applied to the high points of the face, lending a healthy, youthful gleam.

Karen Murrell

New Zealand’s own ‘lipstick queen’, Karen Murrell creates high performance, non-toxic lipstick formulas that are loved the world over. Last year she also released a line of natural lip pencils, which the perfect partner to your favourite Karen Murrell natural lipstick shade. Promising to define, protect and love your lips while keeping your lipstick perfectly in place, you can use them alone for a long-lasting matte finish or as a liner to compliment your lip choice of colour. Made from natural and nourishing ingredients including jojoba seed oil, candelilla, carnauba wax, and Vitamin E, they easy to apply and have a handy brush on one end which helps with blending to create a perfectly defined lip. As well as all of this, they can be used on the eyes for a soft and flattering liner look on days when your approach is less full glam and more less-is-more.

Suntegrity

We love the Suntegrity brand, and their impeccably formulated Skin Moisturizing Face Tinted Sunscreen is one of our favourite multiuse products. Pretty much a beauty booster, sunscreen and super flattering tint all in one, it is free of silicones, parabens, oils and UV chemical blockers and delivers a major boost to the skin both above and below the surface. The finish is a glowy, velvety matte and the coverage a good medium, whilst the antioxidant and peptide-rich technology visibly reduces the signs of ageing while non-nano zinc oxide and melanin provide Broad Spectrum SPF30 and blue light protection to help prevent future damage. It’s also vegan and reef-friendly, caring as much for the environment and our future as it does for your skin.