Amazon's Big Spring Sale includes deals on star products and trusted skin care brands like Bioderma, EltaMD and Embryolisse. (Amazon)
As a longtime beauty editor, I've learned at least one hard truth: "Big" sale events can be a crap shoot. You never know if the best, most trusted (and actually desirable) skin-care brands will take part, or if you'll be left covering a bunch of mediocre junk no one really wants. But after scrolling through 400+ items, I can confidently say Amazon Big Spring Sale is loaded with huge deals on the kinds of high-quality anti-aging potions, dry-skin lotions and luxury sun protection you'd want to pick up at almost any price. These last-gasp Spring Sale beauty deals include some true skin care stars, including viral collagen masks, longtime French pharmacy staples and the sunscreen that's been recommended by dermatologists more frequently than any I've come across.
I've been covering beauty deals going back 20 years and I've tested countless skin care products. So you can trust me when I say the following are the most "worth it" skin-care items you can buy in this year's Amazon Big Spring Sale.
This multitasking beauty oil even helps with breakouts and acne scarring. The on-page coupon knocks $0.25 off the price.
This beloved snail mucin from CosRx is excellent for evening skin tone and making your face look softer and brighter overall. It's also won multiple awards, has over 54,000 five-star reviews on Amazon and has impressed most every beauty editor I know.
After using it the first time (here's my full review), my face was noticeably dewier. Other reviewers have boasted about its ability to soothe, hydrate, repair and improve dull skin — all of which helps wrinkles look less deep and crepey.
When it comes to finding the best mascara, it takes a lot to impress me. In my years as a women's lifestyle editor, I've tried literally hundreds — at this point in my life (I'm 51), I like what I like and I rarely consider changing brands. But after testing this bestseller from Maybelline earlier this month, I've changed my tune. The formula is just beyond-the-pale amazing, the kind of thickening, lengthening, no-smudge product that would be good at any price, but for less than $10? You cannot beat it.
More than 77,000 reviewers rave about it on Amazon, all stating something along the lines of, "10/10 would recommend, I've ordered this six times now ... it's the best mascara I've ever used." Truly, it's that good.
The classic, best-selling cream is ultra-emollient, made with super-hydrators like squalane and glacial glycoproteins and ideal for treating dry skin of all types. It's rare to see this beloved skin care staple go on sale — snap it up while it's 15% off.
Did you know your mouth gets drier as you age, and this includes your lips? Even though I literally wrote a guide to avoiding chapped lips this winter, last week, I somehow found myself with the most cracked, bone-dry pucker I've ever experienced — the kind where you get a gross, scabby, brownish line around your mouth that looks like you're Pamela Anderson lining your lips, circa 2001.
When I couldn't find my trusty Aquafor, I picked up this delightful salve at the grocery store, and I may never use another lip treatment again. It's made of chamomile, calendula and sunflower seed oil. It's rich, moisturizing, soothing and just plain ol' effective and pleasant on your mouth. I would pay three times as much for this balm but am happy to report that it's just 7 bucks.
It seems silly to say now as this is a (relatively) inexpensive product, but in the early 2000s, when I first started covering beauty and aging, I felt like I had truly made it when I had a bottle of this Mario Badescu Rose Water Facial spray on my desk. It was an in-the-know find, a product that all the glamorous women's magazine editors had on hand, a lightly-rose-scented super hydrator (the formula also includes aloe) they often wrote about and included in their "what I can't live without" stories. Spritzing it on my face felt then — as it does now — like a moment of self-indulgent luxury, which can be hard to come by in today's busy world, especially at this price.
I know, right now you might be thinking: Is this middle-aged lady crazy? Why is she trying to get me to purchase a toy? But hear me out: Hormone-induced acne is a real thing at any age, and blackheads can proliferate rapidly on places like your nose well into your 50s and beyond (mine are currently worse than when I was a teen). This handy roll-on exfoliator is made of sea salt and black mud balm to gently exfoliate pores, remove excess sebum and pull the ick out of blackheads, giving your complexion more clarity overall.
More than 7,600 Amazon reviewers rate it 5 stars, and you can currently snag this popular product for just $9.
Incredible deal alert! These gilded, Jessica Alba-approved eye masks incorporate hyaluronic acid, amino acids and sea moss to hydrate the delicate under-eye area, reducing dark circles and puffy bags and blurring fine lines as they go.
They're also paraben- and sulfate-free, vegan and gentle enough for most skin types. The luxe packaging makes them an excellent gift.
If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
Shop Spring's best sales: Brighten up your wardrobe, get your backyard back into gear, and nab tech deals you've been waiting for since Black Friday with our comprehensive coverage of Spring sales from Amazon and more major retailers. Shop the best expert-picked Spring deals from Amazon on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Spring Sale tech deals. And shop curated deals handpicked just for you from the experts at AOL.