Now more than ever, I’ve found myself trying to get the absolute most out of my current collection of products. I’m THAT person who scrapes every last iota of peanut butter from the jar and will store my precious bottles of serums and oils upside down for weeks on end to ensure the tiniest drop doesn’t succumb to premature recycling. I also have this habit of trying to apply my favorite beauty products over every inch of my body—legs, hair, face, cuticles, boobs. If I find a use for it, it shall be used! As a result, a product’s multitasking potential is something I keep top of mind while shopping for new beauty staples as well—especially if they have sting-inducing price tags. Turns out I’m definitely not the only person who exhibits this type of behavior. To gather some additional data, I took to Who What Wear’s beauty Slack channel and asked all of my fellow product-loving co-workers to share the beauty finds they use wherever and whenever they feel like it to boost their glow. Keep scrolling for the big reveal!
Best for: lips, elbows, face. Balm Dotcom is one of Glossier’s most beloved best sellers. It’s formulated to be multipurpose, but our managing editor of branded content, Caitie Schlisserman, says it’s the best elixir for chapped lips and elbows alike. (I totally agree, and I’ve even used the sparkly Birthday flavor as a face highlighter in a pinch!)
Best for: face and hair. Rose water is known for its utility, especially among makeup artists and our fave celebs. But it’s not just a savior for your makeup and skincare routine. Caitie swears shes sprays it on her face and her hair for a midday pick-me-up.
Best for: under-eyes, lips, smile lines, cuticles. Fact: This is a very expensive eye treatment. Thanks to the slippery, fast-absorbing formula, it’s the most delicious and healing thing to apply under your eyes, yes, but also atop dry lips, stubborn smile lines (it has a lifting effect) and ripped cuticles. I’m obsessed.
Best for: scalp and body. Drunk Elephant just released four exciting hair products, but after careful review, beauty editor Courtney Higgs, Editor in Chief Kat Collings, and I dubbed this multitasking scrub our favorite. It exfoliates your scalp to remove pent-up itch and built-up debris, but it’s also designed to work all the same magic on your body to reveal baby-soft skin to boot.
Best for: hair and body. I would buy this three-in-one oil from France due to the intoxicating scent alone, but it’s also a dreamy solution for parched, um, anything? I use it to rehydrate my split-prone ends and scale-prone legs the most! It’s delicate and filled with organic ingredients for extra anti-aging perks.
Best for: face and body. You’ve probably heard about the micro-needling tools for your face (and all of the amazing healing and plumping benefits the treatment offers), so why stop there? If you already own BeautyBio’s best-of-the-best micro-needling tool, make sure you add the brand’s GloPro Body Microtip Attachment Head ($45) to your arsenal as well to extend the treatment to your arms, legs, torso, and bum. Just make sure you switch back to the face attachment before switching to your complexion!
Best for: face, elbows, hands, shins. As someone who is congestion- and acne-prone, I can’t actually use this decadent face cream from Sunday Riley for my face. (But if you’re on the dry side, slather away!) That said, I’ve already gone through multiple jars of this stuff because it’s one of the only things that transform my hands, elbows, and extremities from scaly alligator status.
Best for: face, hands, stretch marks. Before you balk at the price tag, hear us out. According to Who What Wear’s very own co-founder and CCO, Hillary Kerr, this cult-loved serum is pretty much her very own multitasking unicorn product. She admits that while it is expensive, the tiniest bit goes a LONG way. “I use this on my face, on my overly washed hands, AND it was the only thing that helped my insanely itchy stretch marks after I had my daughter, Wilder.”
Best for: face, foundation, lips. The beauty of this hyaluronic acid booster from Versed truly is its one-two punch of efficacy and versatility. You can use it on its own, on your hands, lips, or mixed into your other serums, creams, primers, or foundations for the ultimate cocktail of nourishment. Even one little drop goes a long way.
Best for: brows, lashes, and unpredictable baby hairs. True story: I use Boy Brow on my brows (like every other beauty editor I know), but I’ve also used it on my lashes for no-makeup makeup days and have even relied on my tube of clear to keep my baby hairs along my hairline on good behavior.
Best for: face, neck, head. Rolling this soothing facial roller along my jaw and cheekbones not only tones, brightens, and lifts my face and skin, but it also smooths out any stubborn and ache-inducing knots I have in my neck, upper back, or the base of my head. It’s heaven, and I’m convinced the circulation boost makes my skin look so much more radiant and healthy.
Best for: literally everything? I mean, is there a more iconic multitasking beauty product on the market? Better yet, is there a more iconic product that’s so dang affordable? Courtney and I put our heads together, and we’ve used this stuff on mosquito bites, lips, sandpaper-level elbows, cracked knuckles, split ends—pretty much any type of skin and beauty woe imaginable. (Sometimes I’ll even mix a little in WITH my body lotion. Bizarre yet highly effective.)
Best for: face, body, décolletage . So many people love this top-selling contour and highlight palette from Charlotte Tilbury. Don’t get me wrong. I love it for chiseling out the hollows of my cheekbones and streamlining the look of my jaw, but it’s also gorgeous for adding some depth and contour anywhere else on your body, I’ll dust it along my collarbones and shoulders to make me look a bit more sunkissed, and highlighting with the powder creates an even more photogenic and prismatic effect.
Best for: face, body, hair. According to social media editor Candice Aman, this is the absolute best oil to tackle dryness anywhere on your body—she uses it on her face, hair, and body.
Best for: face, neck, chest, shoulders. This glow-inducing body oil from RéVive Skincare is brand new, but I’ve already forgotten what life was like without it. It’s brimming with skin-improving oils and other luxe ingredients and was designed to serve your radiance goals in a variety of ways. You can apply it over your moisturizer or foundation, you can use it as a highlighter, you can mix into your lotion or primer… The options are honestly endless and so phenomenally flattering.
Best for: hair and body. Leave it to one of our favorite haircare brands, Ouai, to create one of our favorite multitasking beauty products. This rose-scented spray decks strands and skin with a subtle veil of shimmer that’s pretty and glowy but not in an overtly obvious way. You’ll also get a dose of nourishment thanks to diamond powder, amaranth oil, and squalene.
Best for: lids, lips, collarbone, cheekbones. By now you know SPF is one of the most important daily beauty habits to master. And you probably also know that the sun’s harmful rays can get you in the most unexpected places. Enter Supergoop!’s game-changing eye shadows that are not only stunning in their own right but keep your delicate lids shielded and protected. I’ve also used it along my collarbones, across my lips, and on my face for a subtle touch of shimmer.
Best for: lips and cheeks. “I love using the Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté Shine Oil-in-Stick Lipstick as blush,” gushes Courtney.
Best for: face and body. I love a good contour stick, and I don’t just use this on my face. I’ve used it on my legs, shoulders, chest, the sides of my nose, eyelids (as a shadow), even my abs! With this in hand, the world is truly your oyster as far as your contouring plans go. I like this formula over others because it’s oil-free (so won’t make me break out) and extremely long-wearing. Of course, there are plenty of contour sticks designed for your body, but most of them are far too oily and heavy for my face, and they’ve also caused my skin to get bumpy and congested.
Best for: face (foundation/concealer), body. I know so many makeup artists who always keep this do-it-all skin perfector in their kits. Technically, it’s a concealer, but it plays double duty as an epically wonderful foundation for your face or your body. Used as a body foundation, it gives your chest or limbs a really even, airbrushed finish (kind of like a filter). It has this lovely rich and thick consistency that ensures hydration but can be easily blended out with whatever formulas you’re using or a sponge doused in some rose water. It’s such a winner, and the tiniest bit goes the longest way.
Best for: face, under-eyes, neck, chest, and lips. Okay, so this gold conductive gel is specifically meant to work in tandem with your Ziip Beauty Nano Current Device ($495) (which, to be honest, is one of the most worthwhile beauty splurges you can possibly make). That said, I’ve also started incorporating the gel alone into my routine as more of a treatment/masking situation since my results using it along with the device have been so remarkable. After just a few uses, my skin cleared, tightened, de-puffed, and looked so much brighter and dewier. So while I recommend treating yourself to the device if your budget allows, please know this hematite-, snail venom–, and bio-placenta–laden gel is a complexion game changer in its own right. I’ll slather it on my face, neck, chest, under-eyes, or lips whenever I need a pick-me-up. Up next: I Try Hundreds of New Makeup Products, But I Still Use 9 of My College-Era Picks
