Tag: larocheposaytolerianepurifyingfoamcleanser

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Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toning Essence: Time Revolution Artemisia Treatment Essence from Missha

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Moisturizer: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oil Control Moisturizer

okay not only can you get 20% off FAB products on the Skinstore’s website with the code EXCLUSIVE but, FAB has a $1m commitment to helping pay off student loans. As those can be a beast I think it is a fabulous thing to do.The link will take you to the Skinstore’s page (for the 20% off) but there are links and more information there as well if you are interested.

Eye Serum: Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

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Pretty much all of the continuing products are doing well. The La Roche Posay cleanser has been a go to for quite some time and at this point I am slowly just working my way through the bottle. Because everything else is stable though, I am thinking of switching it out for the upcoming week. I have several cleansers I want to try and they are ones I haven’t used before. While I still have about a quarter of the bottle of The La Roche Posay left, I kind of want to keep it in reserve in case one of the never before tried cleansers cause problems. I kind of like having that familiar back up as I try out some of the unknowns. Plus at the moment all of the other elements of my skin care line up are pretty stable. I know how they work with my skin and none of them cause issues. So this might be the perfect time to test out a new cleanser. I will look in my skin care drawer later to make my final determination.

The new item this week is the Time Revolution Artemisia Treatment Essence. It was sent to me for the purpose of review by the brand Missha. Missha is a Korean skincare brand and if you have never heard of Artemisia, it is a fancy way of saying Mugwort Essence. I’ve actually used it in a face mask from Facetory so I knew mugwort worked well with my skin. It was actually one of the ingredients that really helped sooth my skin after I had that really bad sunburn last year. The product has zero scent to it. I could detect nothing when I sniffed, and I tried to find a scent. There was nothing. On the skin it is very light weight and soothing. It also feels like it is opening the pores, which is essentially what the essence category of skincare is supposed to do. An essence is supposed to help your skin prepare for other products. I noticed that when I used it the serum (currently the Peach and Lily Glass Skin Serum) absorbed more quickly. I’ve also been spending more time outside latly and in the sun. While I have my sunscreen on, my skin is feeling the effects of more time in the sun so having a soothing product on hand is a nice idea. This was my first week of trying the product out, but I am really enjoying it and will keep it in the line up. Once I’ve used it long enough to determine its effects over time, I’ll break it out into a full review and we’ll go deep into Mugwort land. For now, I like it and will continue using it.

And the glass bottle looks lovely on my skin care shelf. Which isn’t the most important thing, but it is a nice perk.

The only item I am having any issues with this week is the Native Deodorant. Technically it isn’t really an issue but more of a reminder. A deodorant and an antiperspirant aren’t the same thing. Given the intense heat and humidity I have already accepted the fact that my workout t-shirts are going to be sweat stained and grungy. It is one of the reason I work out in Hanes t-shirts. They are relatively inexpensive ad can take a beating. I wear them, I seat in them, and then I wash them until they reach a point where they can no longer really be washed. Then I relegate them to the rag bag and buy a new pack. The Native Deodorant works well with this system. I have had to pick up am Antiperspirant for when I go out though. Some clothes and situations, I don’t want to be showing pit stains. That is just a fact of my life. For that I went with the Dove Powder scented antiperspirant.

And so now we look to the night.

Night Time Skincare

Makeup Remover: Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner: Time Revolution Artemisia Treatment Essence from Missha

Moisturizer: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oil Control Moisturizer

Eye Serum: Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple), Avant lip Scrub

.Night Mask: Bloom Effects Royal Tulip Nectar Night Mask

Again there really isn’t much change. I am using the Time Revolution Essence at night as well as in the day, and if anything, I like it better at night because it soothes the skin after having been in the sun.

This week I also used the Avant Lip Scrub. You can read my full review of it here. The short version is that while all of the ingredients are nice and it works really well, it tastes awful. I am going to keep it around and try to use it once in awhile just to use it up because I hate waste and it does work nicely. But because of the taste it will be a once in a while thing rather than regular usage. I’ll need some time between uses to forget how bad it tastes. I will be trying out a different lip scrub in my lip care routine.

In other Skincare…

Herbivore Prism AHA + BHA Glow Facial

Go-to Skin Care Face Hero Facial Oil

To be honest, this past weekend I ended up using the Herbal Dynamics Beauty Cacao and Chamomile mask instead of the Herbivore. I had some clogged pores mostly around my nose that I wanted to bring to the surface and get rid of. It worked as beautifully as always and of course smelled fantastic.

And as my week spiraled out of control, I ended up skipping the Tuesday and Thursday Retinol and oil routine. So all three of the items in my other skin care list were skipped this week. So exfoliation was skipped. I might go for an exfoliating face mask this afternoon to make up for it.

So that my darlings was my skincare line up this week. Most of the products are chugging along, I am testing out a new essence that appears to be working well and I skipped exfoliation. Next week I’ll be trying out a new cleanser and a couple of my skin care items will have reached the thirty day mark. I can’t wait to look at the before and after photos. This time, I made sure to put them in a safe file. And not accidentally purge them. Like I did with my last eye cream trial photos. But for now, this was my week with skincare.

The Skincare Line up: June 4th, 2021

Good morning my darlings and welcome back to the weekly skincare line up. Here I look at all of the products currently in use and discuss a little bit about how I feel about them at the moment. Later of course there will be an in depth discussion of each product and their ingredients as well as their results. This is more of a progress report. An sadly, we had one item which wasn’t making progress and had to be removed. But I’ll get to that in turn. While pictured above are all of the players currently in circulation through the skin care line up, not all of them are used at the same time. So as always, I’ll break them out by use. First, it’s time for the daytime players.

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence

Moisturizer: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oil Control Moisturizer

okay not only can you get 20% off FAB products on the Skinstore’s website with the code EXCLUSIVE but, FAB has a $1m commitment to helping pay off student loans. As those can be a beast I think it is a fabulous thing to do.The link will take you to the Skinstore’s page (for the 20% off) but there are links and more information there as well if you are interested.

Eye Serum: Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

Looking at the above list and comparing it with last week’s you may notice a few changes. While many of the products have been in use for quite a while (the deodorant, the cleanser, the essence and the sunscreen) and are still performing as well as they did at the beginning of their place in the lineup. There are a few newer items. The Peach and Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum and the Elemis Pro Collagen Eye Revive Mask are each in their second week of use. Thus far they are both performing well. There is no clogging of the pores and my skin seems to really like them. I generally find that with the Peach and Lily, if my skin isn’t completely dry then the serum has a slight tendency to get a little foamy when it touches the wet spots. This is just something to watch and not really a problem.

I was however having problems with the moisturizer. I was using the Farsali Rose Gold Elixir. It was a very wet formula that took a really long time to dry on my skin no matter how little I used. T was also highly fragranced which wasn’t my favorite thing. My plan was to only use the Farsali at night when I had more time for my skin care and could let it absorb. So I took the First Aid Beauty moisturizer out in order to use it during the day. The First Aid Beauty moisturizer ended up being really nice. It absorbs quickly with no greasy film and leaves my skin soft and hydrated. For me, when my skin is becoming oilier in the summer months, this is the perfect time for the oil control moisturizer. I feared it might be drying on my skin, but this far that hasn’t been an issue. As I continue with it, I will be monitoring it.

The issue was that with the excellent performance of the First Aid Beauty, it really made the Farsali feel so much worse on my skin. It felt wet and sticky and as the week progressed I just stopped using it and ‘accidentally’ started reaching for the FAB moisturizer at night instead. Since it is open and I don’t feel comfortable passing it on right now, I am going to use it up on my drier skin like elbows and knees so it won’t be wasted. It is just too wet a formula for my skin. I didn’t use it long enough to actually see if it produced any sort of results. It may end up being a fabulous cream for those of you with really dry skin. However for me, it just doesn’t suit my skin type and forcing myself to use it is just going to lead to trouble.

The other new addition to the lineup came from Influenster. It is the Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum. It has a light scent to it that just pings on my nose as a ‘skincare scent’ but the scent fades fast. It is like a light skin care floral. Thus far I am really loving it. The serum is meant to be worn under eye cream and I have been wearing it under the Elemis Pro-Collagen Eye mask. There were a couple of days where I skipped the Elemis to really get a feel for how the Dior worked on it’s own. Separately it seems to work really well. Paired with the Elemis which also works really well, the products are really fantastic. I am very happy with the feel of them on my skin and can’t wait to see what difference thirty days with the product brings. This is only the end of the first week though so stay tuned.

And so now we look to the night.

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence

Moisturizer: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oil Control Moisturizer

Eye Serum: Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

Night Mask: Bloom Effects Royal Tulip Nectar Night Mask

Most of the changes that affect the night time routine have already been discussed as they are also part of the day time routine. The First Aid Beauty replaced Farsali. The Dior Eye Serum was added. In addition since I finished out the Akar Toner last week, I started using the Byroe Toning Essence in both my morning and evening routines.

I also finished out the Yensa CBD Cleansing oil last week so this week I rotated in the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm. I use the original one but they have several different types. I have used it before and it is one of my favorite cleansing balms. It is a travel size that I have had in my travel kit for a while now so I wanted to actually use it up. It is a fantastic product so it is no hardship to use it, but I was worried about it getting old. So it was sifted out of my travel bag for use now. I’d rather just purchase new travel products closer to the time o my next travel rather than have it go bad waiting for me to travel. Currently my next planned travel is for Thanksgiving, so there is time. But I really do like the formula of this Cleansing Balm. I have purchased it many times in the past and no matter what other product I end up using, this is one that I always end up coming back to.

But not all products are used everyday, so…

In other Skincare…

Herbivore Prism AHA + BHA Glow Facial

Go-to Skin Care Face Hero Facial Oil

Last week I finished the Earth Harbor Marina oil so I started using this travel size of the Go-to Skincare Face Hero Face oil. It too was taken from my travel bag and rolled into use so that it wouldn’t spoil waiting for my next travel. I initially rolled it in to use after the Sunday evening Masking with the Herbivore Prism Glow Facial but once the Marina Oil was used up I started using it after my Tuesday/Thursday Retinol with the Versed Press Restart. I personally like this oil it is one of my favorite basic sort of oils. It doesn’t promise anything fancy, it just provides extra moisture lock down after treatments like exfoliation (whether chemical or physical). I’ve never had any reactions to ut and it works well with all exfoliates that I’ve tried.

The Versed Press Restart is gentle enough that it hasn’t caused any sun sensitivity thus far and The Prism Glow Facial from Herbivore is a nice Sunday evening addition to my skin care line up. It makes my skin soft. But at the moment I haven’t noticed any other changes. I’m going to continue using it and after a month of uses see how the photos compare to the initial ones I took. At the moment I am happy with the softness of the skin, but I don’t really see much in terms of glow. Perhaps though, time will help.

And that my darlings is the skincare line up for this week. I adjusted a few products and their usage and I got rid of a moisturizer that simply didn’t suit my skin.

The Skincare Line up: May 28th, 2021

Oh my darlings do we have some changes this week. Most of the changes are in the night time line up actually. This week i have three separate empties going to the bin and replacements on the way. In addition I have a new element to add to the line up. so let’s get started.

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence

Moisturizer: Farsali Rose Gold Elixir Moisturizing Gel Cream

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

Okay let’s just go down the line with the day time skin care. We’ll start with the Native Deodorant. If you’ve been following along with my posts, or just have a basic understanding of seasons in North America, you know that the temperatures have been climbing. what little spring we had disappeared in a puff of humidity. At least where I live. I started using the Native Deodorant Last fall and decided to wear it (in various scents) for an entire year. At first, I had huge circles of sweat under my arms. Then my body adjusted and the sweat stains grew less. To be honest, when I am working out or going on a walk, especially in warmer weather, the stains don’t bother me because I am often sweating so much that the entire shirt is uniformly soaked so it doesn’t stand out. It did however keep the odor down, which is what it is supposed to do. while this isn’t a problem, I have noticed that as the world heats up, I sweat standing still. I don’t mind seat marks on gym clothes, I do mind them on work clothes. I really like the native, but I have noticed some sweat stains on the underarms of my work blouses when I have to be outside in them. So I think that when I know I have to be in nicer clothes and may be sweating, I will be rolling in my long standing favorite Dove Antiperspirant to pinch hit, and just save the Native Deodorant for my regular use. I just don’t want to go from my house to meetings elsewhere and arrive with sweaty armpits. I really like Native and I will keep with it, but for when it counts, I’m falling back on my antiperspirant.

The Laroche Posay Cleanser and the Byroe Essence have been with me for several months now. Both are chugging along, their levels slowly dropping as I work on using them. The La Roche Posay Cleanser is one of my absolute favorites. It is so gentle and yet very effective. Plus you only need one pump so it lasts a really long time. I am about half way through the large pump bottle at this point and I think I am almost two and a half months into using it.

The Byroe is nice and I love the way the essence opens up my skin readying it to receive other skin care. I am still in the middle of a deep dive into it’s ingredients but that post will be coming soon. For now I love the way it works and I love the clean fresh scent.

This week my serum changed. Itis the first week with the Peach and Lily Glas Skin Refining serum. Thus far it reals really nice on my skin. As time goes on I will be able to see it’s efficacy, but for now feels nice about covers it. The serum is clear and two pumps covers my face and neck. I am trying to remember to bring my serums down the neck so that all of my skin can feel the benefits.

The Elemis Pro-Collagen Eye Revive Mask I am actually in love with. o little is actually needed. i dip a little plastic spatula into the jelly like cream and what sticks to the spatual is more than enough for my eyes. I also put it on the fine lines around my mouth and it seems to be helping them a lot as well.

But then I don’t think I’ve actually tried an elemis product that I didn’t like.

The Farsali Rose Gold Elixir gel Moisturizer is new this week as well, and thus far, I’m not really sold on it. It smells very nice. It has the same scent as the rest of their Rose Gold line. It is a very wet formula. It is wetter than any gel cream I’ve tried and it is even wetter than most water creams. It comes with a little plastic spatula, but the cream really slides off of it. In addition to being very wet, it takes a really long time to absorb. While I still want to give it a fair shot, I think I may end up using it as a night moisturizer instead of a day one because the length of time it needs to absorb has really slowed down my morning. I have to wait a really long time before putting on my sunscreen and I think there were even a couple of days where I forgot my sunscreen in the bathroom and had to use the spray sunscreen i used for my body on my face because I couldn’t remember if i went back to put it on. While i don’t mind doubling up on sunscreen, I do like to know I put it on.

My sunscreen this week was my standard volition and as always, it performs beautifully.

Shall we move into the night?

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: CBD Superfood Dual Cleansing Oil from Yensa

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner Akar Skin Balance Toning Mist (End of Week 7)

Moisturizer: Farsali Rose Gold Elixir Moisturizing Gel Cream

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

Night Mask: Bloom Effects Royal Tulip Nectar Night Mask

Clearly there are some holdovers from the daytime crew at night and I won’t go into them again here. They perform pretty much the same at night as they do in the day.

This week I finished both the CBD Superfood Cleansing Oil from Yensa and the Akar Skin Balancing Toning Mist. i don’t know if it shows in the above photo but both bottles are empty and will be going to the recycling bin this week. While i liked using both of them and wouldn’t mind using them again, i don’t feel the need to run out and repurchase them. I would use them again, but neither was in my absolute favorites category.

My Dermelect Self Esteem Serum is a little more than half way empty at this point and I am nervously watching the levels. This serum works really well with my neck and is especially nice as my weight fluxuates. As I lose weight, my neck skin gets loose and then I plateau and the skin shrinks back and then the process is repeated. The Dermelect helps the shrinking back process go faster.

I am now a third of the way through the Agave Lip Mask from Bite Beauty. I love this mask. It is thick when you put it on, but by morning it has absorbed and my lips feel great. It takes so little product as well that the tube seems to last forever.

And finally in the night time list there is the Bloom Effects Royal Tulip Nectar Sleeping mask. The scent of this mask is utterly delicious. It is slightly floral, slightly apple-y and slightly spicy. It goes on thick and you will go to bed looking like a glazed doughnut. I highly recommend putting it on about half an hour before you lay down, otherwise your pillow case will sort of stick to you. But ive it half an hour and it absorbs in enough not to stick to the pillow case. It is still early days with theis sleeping mask, but at the moment I am loving it.

One item that will be providing a new category for both day and nighttime skin care is the Dior Capture Total Super Potent eye serum. It is designed to be worn under eye cream as an extra serum for the eyes. It was sent to me by Influenster for the purpose of review. It came in yesterday’s mail and I will be adding it to the skincare routine tonight when I get ready for bed. So next week there will be an eye serum category added. However as I have now finished my toner, I will be using the Byroe toning essence with both the day and night line up so there won’t be a big increase in products. Admittedly I still need to make a decision about the Farsali Moisturizer. I’ll make that decision this afternoon.

Tuesday and thursday nights and Sunday evening

In other Skincare…

Herbivore Prism AHA + BHA Glow Facial

Go-to Skin Care Face Hero Facial Oil

The Versed Retinol followed by the Marina Oil have been my Tuesday and thursday exfoliation duo for a while now. The Versed is nice and twice a week is about all I want to use it. It has thus far not produced any sun sensitivity and I really like using it. The Marina Biome Brightening Ambule, I can’t say that I have seen much effect from. It is a nice oil, but to be honest i probably won’t be replacing it.

Last Friday I opened the Herbivore Prism mask and when I used it my skin felt softer and silkier. It is recommended that it be used once or twice a week for results to set in. And that it be followed with a facial oil. I will be using this Herbivore mask every Sunday for a while in order to see if there are any cumulative benefits beyond, ‘Oh my skin feels soft’ which is what I got from the first use. We’ll see if over time, it produces more results. I paired it with the Go-to Skincare Face Hero because I’ve used the oil before and like how my skin reacts to it. I also felt that pairing a known oil with an unknown mask might help with my evaluation as to which does what. Since the Marina Oil is now empty, I will just go ahead and use the Go -to Oil with the Versed Press Restart instead of opening another oil.

So that my darlings is the skin care line up for this week. Some good, some not so good and some now journeying to the empties bin to make room for others. As I’ll at least need an oil or cleansing balm to take off today’s makeup, I’ll pick out any additions and replacements this afternoon so that tonight everything is set for the upcoming week.

I know this post was a bit long as I can go drone on about skin care for long stretches of time. If you made it through to the end, congrats. And thanks for sticking with me. I’ll see you back here this afternoon for the Friday Face Mask. Until then I hope you have a glorious Friday.

If you are a skin care addict like me, you might want to check out the Skin Store’s Memorial day sale. Lots of Brands, lots of discounts. The link is below. Happy shopping.

Memorial Day Sale! Up to 60% + 10% Off

The Skincare Line Up: May 21st, 2021

Welcome once again to the weekly skin care line up. Below are all of the products I am currently using and a little bit about how I am feeling about them as I use them. After a full month of use I will do a full write of each product and go into details about each, but this is more of a casual discussion of how I’m feeling about the products as I work through them. So let’s get into it.

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence

Moisturizer: Farsali Rose Gold Elixir Moisturizing Gel Cream

Sunscreen: La Roche Posay Anthelios Mineral Light Fluid Sunscreen 50 SPF

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

Well the first thing you are going to notice is that there are two sunscreens on the list this week. At the end of last week I had a little of the La Roche Posay Anthelios sun screen left so I went ahead and used it up and then switched back to my normal Volition sunscreen. The La Roche leaves just a little bit of a white cast on the skin so I ended up using it primarily on my neck and upper chest. It is an area I often forget and quite frankly It really needs some help. Last summer there was some sun damage there so over the winter I babied the skin and intend to keep babying it throughout the summer as well. I don’t want to damage in the summer and heal over the winter in a cycle. I prefer the don’t damage if at all possible. For that I may actually pick up the LaRoche Posay when I go to Target. I know it sounds strange but if I have a product specifically detailed for my neck and upper chest then I will remember to use it more because it takes up space in the line up.

You may see that there is barely a drop of the Loum Pure Serenity Golden C Essence. I will use that last drop tonight and then roll in the Peach and Lily Glass Skin Serum to take its place. I have to say I am very torn about the Loum Serum. It made my skin fantastically soft and I really liked the way it felt. However it was so aggressively floral that I am not certain I could take a full sized bottle. It works well enough that I might consider giving it a try, but I think that is one of those things I really wouldn’t know until I tried the full size. I had a little over a week and a half with this sample of the serum and even though I didn’t like the scent I managed to still use it. I think I would have to see what results I was getting with it. Because while the scent is strong it is a scent I could tolerate with good results. If you do try it out though, just remember it is very aggressively floral.

This week I finished the 111Skin Y Theorem Day cream and I have added the Farsali cream in to take its place. I chose it because it is a gel formula and in the summer time the lighter gel formulas are very good for me. I don’t find them as heavy as some of the thicker formulas that I adore in the winter time. And with the heat kicking up, it seemed like a good time to shift into summer skincare mode. So far I do like this cream. It has a light rose scent, but after the scent of the Loum serum it is not all that noticeable. It also fades away pretty quickly. While my skin seems okay with the moisturizer at the moment, I have noticed that it takes a bit of time to absorb into the skin. I tend to moisturize and then put my sunscreen on top of it. Because of the time I now moisturize and then go put on the coffee pot, then return to the bathroom for the sunscreen. I’ve only been using it a couple of days so there are no visible effects yet so the absorption time is the only thing I really have noticed. As time goes on, I’m sure there will be more noticible elements.

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: CBD Superfood Dual Cleansing Oil from Yensa

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner Akar Skin Balance Toning Mist

Moisturizer: Arrow Radiant Skin Moisturizer

Vitamin C Powder: The Nue Co Topical C (didn’t use this week due to the Vitamin C serum)

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

Night Mask: Bloom Effects Royal Tulip Nectar Night Mask

If you look in the photographs you can see that the Yensa CBD oil Cleaner is almost emptied. I think I have about a week’s worth of product left. Over all I have to say it is a good cleanser. The scent is very CBD oil forward which I don’t like, but it does take off the makeup with out stripping the skin, which is very nice. I will finish it up and while I probably won’t be purchasing another bottle, if another bottle did come to me in a subscription service, I would certainly use it again.

On the other hand next time I see a sale on this Elemis Eye mask I am buying back ups. I have really seen a noticeable difference in my fine lines and it lays beautifully under makeup. Just give it a minute to settle down and absorb before applying makeup over it.

The Arrow Radiant Skin moisturizer is a pretty good moisturizer. It is a thick cream that absorbs faster than I thought it would. I would certainly consider trying it out in a full size to see if there were any visible benefits to using the product. I have maybe two days’ worth of product left in the tube. I think that what I may do is use the Farsali for both a day and night time moisturizer for a while. It is a gel cream and I normally do prefer a heavier cream at night, however I do have this night mask that I am trying out so I think it will work out.

With the Arrow Moisturizer, I needed the Night mask three times a week. I suspect that with the Gel cream I will need it more often. I am personally okay with that. The Bloom Effects Royal tulip nectar smells fantastic. It has that slightly floral tulip scent to it, but then it has this kind of spicy back note to it that just makes it smell utterly delicious. My big complaint is that the moisturizer didn’t come with any sort of spoon or spatula. (in the photos on the website it does actually come with a sort of shovel looking tool. My jar came from Boxycharm and did not so I improvised).

The mask is a strange consistency. There is a liquid that is in the jar but the product mostly has the consistency of jam. I have several small spoons that go with a tea service (they are tiny spoons much smaller than usual teaspoons)and I repurposed one for use with this night mask. It works really well actually. If you do use this mask just know you are going to need some sort of spoon to go with it. What I have been doing is putting on my moisturizer and then letting my moisturizer settle in for an hour, then applying the Tulip nectar night mask about twenty minutes before bed. It is mostly absorbed by the time I lay down to go to sleep. It is a little sticky going on but dries well. It just needs those twenty minutes so it doesn’t end up on the pillow.

The tuesday and thursday night exfoliation and oil (well only tuesday this week)

In other Skincare…

Finally we have the Versed Press Restart Gentle Retinol Serum which I am using Tuesdays and Thursdays. I actually only used it on Tuesday this week because I want to try out the Herbivore Prism Exfoliating mask for today’s Face Mask Friday and I wasn’t sure if that much exfoliation in so short a time would be good. I am liking this Versed Retinol thus far. I’ve had no sun sensitivity which is nice.

The marina oil is nice, but it isn’t my favorite oil. I will be using it until it is gone and then not repurchasing it. I actually have a small amount left. It works well as a facial oil, but there are just other facial oils I’ve used that I prefer.

And that my darlings is a snapshot of this week’s skincare line up. I’ve rolled in a couple of new products. They were also spaced in such a way as to not freak out my skin. I have also started edging into more summer friendly skin care as well. We will have to see how the new products fare as the skin care line continues.

The Skincare Line up: May 14th, 2021

Are you ready for the weekly skincare line up? I’ve rotated a few new products in and a a couple of used up products out. I have a couple on the edge of being finished as well. Let’s see how they performed this week.

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser (end of week 7)

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence (end of week 6)

Moisturizer: 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream (end of week 7)

Sunscreen: La Roche Posay Anthelios Mineral Light Fluid Sunscreen 50 SPF

This week the Native Deodorant, Cleanser and essence chugged along performing well as I slowly work my way through the products. As the toner is used only a drop a day, it will be lasting for a while. Which I am rather happy about. It is a good product and I will happily continue using every last drop.

Speaking of using every drom I finished the L’oreal Midnight serum this week. This link will take you to the full review if you are interested. I had a small sample of the LOUM Pure Serenity Golden C Serum so I figured I would go ahead and rotate that in. Mostly I chose it from my collection because the small dropper bottle has no label on it so I had to keep the cars with it so it didn’t get lost and the little bottle kept slipping out of the card. I figured I had better use it before the two were separated and lost forever. Because it is a vitamin C serum, I did not use the Nue Co Topical C powder this week. I just forgot to take it out of the night time line up.

As you can see in the above photos the small dropper is now halfway empty. I’ve been using it for about three days. I suspect that by Monday it will be gone and I’ll have to pick another serum to take it’s place. Thus far it has been an interesting product. I like how it feels on my skin and for the past three days my skin has responded well to it. It is however very perfume-y. It has a very strong floral scent to it. while I am okay using it for what I’m pretty sure will turn out to be about a week, I am not certain I could take the scent for an entire bottle. It is just very floral. My skin feels fabulous using it, but the scent is definitely something to think about before purchasing.

I also finished up the Perricone Eye cream over the weekend and have been using the Elemis Pro-Collagen Eye mask as my eye cream. Thus far I am really liking it. This time i took (and labeled) before photos so I can show them once i reach a month of use. However I have been using this mask as an eye cream for about a week now and it sits well under makeup and thus far I have no clogged pores. It has almost no scent at all which makes it a nice contrast to the LOUM serum.

I have just a little bit of the 111Skin Y Theorem Day cream left. You can see my full review here if you’d like. I think what I have in the jar might last until about Wednesday of next week. It has been a good day cream. It is better on my skin during cooler weather. I was starting to not be as enthused by it once the weather started warming up, but then the weather turned cold again this week and it has worked really well. I think it very much is a cooler weather cream for me. I will use it again, but i will do so in the cooler months.

Finally this week i took a break from my Volition Sunscreen and tried the La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 50. It has a lightly pleasant scent that dissipates quickly. It does leave a bit of a white cast unless you really rub it in. while I like the lightweight feel of it, I definitely think that this is a neck and upper chest sunscreen for me rather than a face one. It feels weightless but with my moisturizer on it takes quite a while to massage it in so the white disappears. And i sort of felt like i was rubbing my moisturizer off rather than rubbing everything in. I loved it on my neck and upper chest though and those areas do take a beating in the sun. I would definitely purchase the full size of this sunscreen, but I just wouldn’t use it on my face.

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: CBD Superfood Dual Cleansing Oil from Yensa

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner Akar Skin Balance Toning Mist (End of Week 7)

Moisturizer: Arrow Radiant Skin Moisturizer

Vitamin C Powder: The Nue Co Topical C (didn’t use this week due to the Vitamin C serum)

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

The biggest change in my night time line up this week was the Moisturizer. I am using a sample of the Arrow Radiant Skin Moisturizer. It is a sample that came from Birchbox and it is in fact a brand owned by Birchbox. It is a thickish cream but it absorbs pretty well. It has a light, clean scent to it that doesn’t really linger and it didn’t make my face feel greasy. That being said, it’s only benefit seems to be moisture. It is a standard basic moisturizer. There are no bells and whistles. More importantly At least for me) there are no anti-aging properties to the moisturizer. It will help fight dry skin but nothing else. It is a small sample and I will finish using it this week. However it isn’t a moisturizer I would buy in the full size. I just like my moisturizers to do a little bit more. If you are just looking to deal with dry skin though, it does a pretty good job.

the Elemis was just as nice on the eye area at night as it was in the day and with the exception of the scent, I did like the LOUM serum. If they had dialed back that scent just a little bit, I would certainly consider picking up a full sized bottle because it is a nice serum. That scent is intense though.

The Yensa CBD oil is slowly being used up. I have about an inch of product left in the bottle and I have to say, I might actually be sorry to see it go. It is a really good makeup remover that is fairly gentle. I am oddly enough getting used to the scent. it isn’t my favorite, but it is something I can live with. I would certainly use it again if it came my way in a subscription box, but I am not sure i would purchase it on my own.

In other Skincare…

The Retinol and the oil are still being used every Tuesday and Thursday. The Versed Press Restart i can see some brightening of the skin, but I have to say I’ve tried better oils than the Marina from Earth Harbor. I went looking on line and there are rave reviews everywhere, but quite frankly I’m not seeing much other than an additional hit of moisture post retinol. Which to be fair is why I use it after the retinol. I much prefer something lie the Malin+Goetz Recovery oil or the Go-To Face Hero Face Oil. Both of those I would use and repurchase. In fact I have used two of the Malin+Goetz recovery oils before and have a third sitting in my skincare drawer. (there was a sale back in the fall) I don’t think I will repurchase the Earth Harbor Marina oil. It is nice enough to continue using, but not nice enough to repurchase.

And that my darlings was this week in my skincare line up. Next week i will need a new Day cream as well as a new night cream. I will have to replace the serum and there is the possibility that I will need to break out a new makeup remover. I’ll be choosing different days to add them in so that i don’t change up everything at once and cause my skin to freak out. At the moment my skin is doing quite well. Despite the somewhat cooler than usual temperatures, i may start edging into warmer weather moisturizers though. Something to consider as I begin to add things to the empties bin.

The Skincare Line Up: May 7th, 2021

Welcome once again to the end of the week skin care line up review. I has been an interesting week for skincare. Many of the items are reaching the end of their trials and even more are reaching the end of their product. Soon new products will be rolling in. One product that I had planned to roll in last week, but didn’t was a different Sunscreen. My plan was to set my favorite Volition Prismatic Luminizing shield to the side and give one of the sample sunscreens in my collection a try, but I’ll be honest, I completely forgot. So with Sunscreen I stayed with Volition. There were of course many days where I did not see the sun. However my skin was protected from even the things I could not see.

The Day time line up (accidentally including my makeup removing oil)

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser (end of week 7)

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence (end of week 6)

Serum: Loreal Midnight Serum (end of week 7)

Eye Cream: Perricone MD Smoothing and Hydrating Eye Cream (end of week 7)

Moisturizer: 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream (end of week 7)

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

I am liking the Native Powder and Cotton Deodorant a lot more than I liked the scent of the Water Lily and Orchid. It starts off light and fresh and fades to nothing by the time I leave the bathroom. As silly as it sounds the scent makes me feel fresh so I am good with it for a while. My Full year of Native Deodorant trial will take me through the summer and into the fall so the real test has yet to come.

The La Roche Posay is slowly but surely being used up. It is about at the one third of product gone mark but at one pump per use it does last a while. Not that I am rushing it, I really like the formula of the cleanser and with so many products about to change out of my line up and new ones coming in, it is nice to have a steady product that I like. I just have to make sure other products are steady around the cleanser when I get close to replacing it.

Likewise the Byroe Essence is only used drop by drop. One drop each day onto the palm and then on to the face, so its use is quite slow as well. Again though I am not rushing it as I really enjoy this toning essence.

The L’Oreal Midnight serum however is almost empty. I tried peering inside and given the level I suspect I will make it through the weekend and maybe have Monday, possibly Tuesday to use the serum before it is gone. This serum I really liked in the first two weeks of use and thought it was absolutely fabulous. Continued use however didn’t make me more fond of it and I will actually not be sorry to see it go. My review for this should be up on Monday if all goes as planned. I’ll go into details then.

Also nearing the end is the Perricone MD Smoothing and Hydrating Eye Cream. Well nearing its end is probably not the right phrase. The tube is empty. All used up. This morning I used the very last drop of this eye cream. I know because I rolled the tube to see if there was any more. It was a good eye cream and I will be sad to see it go. It is a sample size and I will be putting this on my list to try in a full size at some later date. Although technically the sample did last long enough that I could actually do a full review on it. Which I might. I take notes as I use products, regardless of whether or not they are samples or full size. What can I say? I like evaluation.

Tonight however a new eye cream will roll into the line up. I have a couple to choose from but I haven’t chosen one yet. A decision is nigh though as I will need a new product to use tonight.

The 111skin Y Theorem Day cream is still in use. The review went up this past week actually. This link will take you there if you would like to see the break down. It is a good cream and I enjoyed using it. It is more of a cooler weather cream than a warmer weather so I think I used it at exactly the right time. I would purchase this again, but not until the summer time heat has faded. I should finish it up sometime next week. As I know there is a moisturizer coming in my Boxy Charm Premium this month that I am kind of excited to try I think I might try a sample size of day time moisturizer so that I can roll the new moisturizer into the line up when it arrives.

But that is for another week. Are you ready to face the night?

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: CBD Superfood Dual Cleansing Oil from Yensa

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

Toner Akar Skin Balance Toning Mist (End of Week 7)

Serum: Loreal Midnight Serum

Eye Cream: Perricone MD Smoothing and Hydrating Eye Cream

Moisturizer: Neogen dermalogy probiotics youth repair cream

Vitamin C Powder: The Nue Co Topical C (end of week 2)

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

You know, as much as I complain about the scent of the Yensa CBD Cleansing oil. It is a good cleanser and the more I use it the more the scent fades into the background. It is one of those scents that with repeated use I just may be able to get over. Especially as it really takes makeup off well without stripping my skin. The level continues to drop. I’m not entirely certain that I would buy this cleansing oil again, but I think that if it showed up in a subscription box I would definitely use it rather than pass it on.

The Akar Skin Balancing Toning mist actually falls into the same category, even though I actually really like the scent of it. It is a good toner and so little of it is really needed that it will last a while. It has lovely skin beneficial ingredients in it, but it makes my skin sticky and takes forever to sort of lose that stickiness.

The Too Cool For School Moisturizer sample I was using ran out and I replaed it with a Neogen sample of the probiotic Youth Repair cream. This was the same company that made the fermented Rice essence that I really liked. This sample is definitely a moisturizer that I will be looking into a full size of. The cream feels thick when it applies but it melts into the skin quickly. It smells vaguely like candy, which you’d think after the SYS prickly pear scent would turn me off, however there is a kind of freshness under the sort of candy scent that bypasses the ‘if it smells this sweet it must be sticky’ button in my brain. I haven’t done a full break down of the ingredients as it is a sample (and if the remaining sample lasts the weekend I will be surprised) but I think it might be the probiotic element causing me to think of it as fresh rather than sticky sweet. Whatever the cause for my brain bending, I think this cream will definitely go on the list of products to try in the full size.

I did try it both with and without The Nue Co Topical C added to it. I liked the cream both ways. I have been using the Topical C Powder more often. I had to move it in front of my tooth brush stand so I wouldn’t forget it. I really like the way the powder melts into the cream without leaving any grittiness. It is too early to see results (and my use too inconsistent) but I like the addition to my line up, now that I’ve remembered to start adding it.

In other Skincare…

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The Retinol Serum is used on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the oil is used after to provide extra post retinol moisture. Thus far they are working as a good pair. I also think that two days a week is enough retinol for me right now. O the testing of these two might take a bit longer to see real results and it will be a while before I am ready to review them. At the moment I am content to chug along using them. I have had no sun sensitivity and no other issues which is quite nice. I’ll have to see how they progress before I report in.

Next week there will be a few new items rolling in to replace products leaving. Luckily they all don’t roll in at the same time. I like to space out the new arrivals. That way if my skin does freak out I have a better chance of figuring out where to look for the issue. This afternoon I am going to take out the sample of sunscreen I want to try out and put my Volition in the cabinet so that I don’t automatically reach for it. While I do love that sunscreen, I wouldn’t mind having a few sunscreens on my list that I can grab when I need them. Right now I really only have the one. And I know the list won’t expand if I don’t try out the others. So It is a temporary farewell to the Volition SPF 50 as it takes a small vacation from my skin care line up. Have no fear, it will soon return.

Using the La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

Cleanser is one of those skin care categories that is always there. I may forget to add my vitamin C or decide to skip my toner, but every morning and every night, I wash my face. I tend to do a double cleanse, removing my makeup with one product before I actually move into the daily cleanser.

So while this La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Face Cleanser does remove dirt and makeup, I tend to use it to remove the last traces rather than apply on top of a full face of makeup. I like for my toner pads to be as clean as possible when I use them post cleansing. And this certainly does the trick.

It is also mild enough that if I come back from the gym and a quick splash of water just won’t do it for me, I can use this mid day and not worry about overly washing my skin.

While it is a foaming cleanser, it comes out of the pump in a liquid form. What I really like is that the liquid is thick and you only need one pump to wash your entire face. When applied to the skin it actually applies like a cream. If you look at the picture you can see that you can apply it to your face and see where the cleanser is, making sure to get your entire face, without having it drip off.

I know that sounds like a weird thing to like, but I really do like that. I like knowing that i didn’t miss a spot. The foaming part comes with the water added on top of it. (I tried to get a picture of this but the bubbles kept sliding off). With the ability to make certain that I covered every spot and the foaming taking the dirt away with the bubbles, I always feel like I am getting a good clean.

With cleansers I always feel a little off when talking about ingredients. There are some, like salicylic acid that are great for breakouts and can, if over used, dry out your skin, however for the most part, cleansers don’t stay on your skin all that long and while I appreciate that the ingredients are in there, I am never really sure they are doing too much given the length of time they are on the skin.

Having said that, this cleanser does have niacinamides, which I do like in my skin care, and like more the older I get. Niacinamides help build keratin to keep skin firm and smooth. I don’t know how effective they are in a cleanser, but I like the thought of them there. If you have a sensitivity to them, just keep in mind that they are there and that might not make this cleanser for you. I also like that it is sulfate free and fragrance free as even if I may wonder about the effectiveness of the ingredients, I do know that repeated use of fragrance can cause sensitivity and I am not a big fan of sulfates. Although I shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t in here. Toleriane is a line that is designed to be used for sensitive skin and specifically avoids using many allergens. While I am not overly sensitive, because of the gym I do wash my face more and find that the sensitive skin formulas do really help me out with preventing me from overdoing it while rinsing off the workout.

For me this La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Facial Cleanser is one that I return to quite often. While I do often order it from the La Roche Posay site, I like that it is also a cleanser that I can pick up at both Target and Walgreens if I need to. As I mentioned at the beginning, I may skip out on a toner or serum here and there, but I always use a cleanser. Occasionally I have run out when I thought I had a back up waiting in the drawer or I’ll try a product that just doesn’t work for me and needs to be swapped out immediately. I like having a cleanser I know will work for my skin available in a place I can easily run out to if need be. I still tend to order on line, but if necessary i can pick it up locally. It is definitely an extra perk.

Also a perk is the price. A 400 ml bottle of this cleanser is $14.99. I find this to be a pretty decent price for a cleanser in general. However, one pump is all that you need to wash your face each time and if you look at the top picture I have used about a third of the bottle in six weeks of steady use. That means each bottle i can get a solid 18 weeks worth of use from, which isn’t too shabby. Effectiveness, gentleness, price and availability all combine to make this a cleanser I will repeatedly purchase.

The Skincare Lineup: April 30th, 2021

The complete line up (with my reusable rounds newly washed in Thursday’s laundry and peeping out of the container which is slightly too small but I like it)

Welcome to the friday skincare line up, my darlings. Most things were still in use from last week but there are a few updates and a couple of changes coming. Let’s take a look

Daytime Skin Care

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser (end of week 6)

Toning Essence: Byroe Bitter Greens Toning Essence (end of week 5)

Serum: Loreal Midnight Serum (end of week 6)

Eye Cream: Perricone MD Smoothing and Hydrating Eye Cream (end of week 6)

Moisturizer: 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream (end of week 6)

Sunscreen: Volition Prismatic Luminizing Shield in SPF 50

While I adore my Volition sunscreen, I have a sunscreen sample I want to test in the upcoming wee, so even though it is my standard and I will be returning, I want to give another product a try. You can never have too many sunscreens on your personal approved list. And as summer approaches and more time is spent outside, I want to get my summer preparations underway. For me that means new sunglasses, baybe a new beach towel, hopefully a gardening hat (although that quest has been ongoing) and definitely a number of sunscreens to use. I may have to actually hide the Volition so I don’t reach for it automatically.

The La Roche Posay cleanser I am still loving. Which isn’t a surprise as it is not a new to me product. I have pulled this in and out of my routine for years. It is a reliable formula, gentle on the skin and you only need one pump to wash the face. Slowly the left of product is going down, but I’m really in no rush to use it up.

I still like the scent of the Byroe and the way the Essence opens my skin up to receive the products. This is the second essence i;’ve tried and I really like it. One drop is all that is needed so it will last a while, but i need to think about adding essences permanently into my skin care line up as a category since I can really notice a difference when I use them.

I am ending week six with the L’oreal Paris Midnight Serum. The review will definately be up next week. I think I have enough serum to make it through next week but I don’t think i will make it past next week. despite the name the serum is used both morning and night. To be honest, I will not be terribly upset about reaching the end of this serum.

I will be sad to see the end of the Perricone Eye cream though. I thought it would run out this week, but so little product is needed that it is still going. I know that I have the sample in the squeeze tube, but I actually like eye cream in these tubes better because I use only what I need. I often find that when eye cream comes in a jar I tend to over use the product. This tube lets me dispense just the small amount I actually need which I really like.

My 111Skin moisturizer is also still going strong. I think I have about two week’s worth of product left in the jar. I tested this moisturizer out as a sample size and liked it enough to use the full size jar. It is interesting to see the changes in opinion from the sample to the full sized jar. I still like the cream, but my opinions are definitely more complex. With the sample you have only a short window to judge the feel of it on your skin, the scent and any initial sensitivities to the formula. It is only after a thirty day use that actual results can be seen and this has been interesting for me. It has also made me look at my list of samples that i have tried, liked and want to try in a full size in a new light.

But now we need to move into the night…

Night time Skincare

Makeup Remover: CBD Superfood Dual Cleansing Oil from Yensa

Cleanser: La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser

( I didn’t wear waterproof eye makeup this week so I didn’t need the separate eye makeup remover from Klorane)

Toner Akar Skin Balance Toning Mist (end of week 3)

Serum: Loreal Midnight Serum

Eye Cream: Perricone MD Smoothing and Hydrating Eye Cream

Moisturizer: All in one Egg Mellow Cream from Too Cool For School

Vitamin C Powder: The Nue Co Topical C (end of week 1)

Neck serum: Dermelect Self Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum

Lips: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (in Maple) – this week I didn’t use a lip scrub.

Slowly I am using up the Yensa CBD cleansing oil. It is a good product, I just don’t care for the scent. I am determined to use it up though. I won’t be repurchasing it, even though it is a really good cleansing oil. The scent is really just too much for me.

Now that I have found that just a little spritz is all that is needed from the Akar toning mist, I am feeling better about it. For me it is still a night time product rather than a day time one because it does tend to get a little sticky and takes a little longer to sink into the skin than I like in the morning.

this week even though I put the Nue Co Topical C powder on the list, I forgot to use it. I could justify it as the week of testing the All in One Mellow Cream Moisturizer, but the truth is I just forgot it. I need to put it front and center so that I do remember to use it.

I did use the Too Cool For School Moisturizer sample this week and in fact I used it right up. I have enough for tonight, but then the tube will be heading off to the empties bin. I have seen the brand around but never picked them up. i think that it is because of moisturizer snobbery on my part. They are an affordable moisturizer so in my head I think I downplayed them. It is a good moisturizer and one that i would like to try in the full size. It is a little on the thick side though. I am very glad that i used it as a night cream more than a day one. I think in the winter time I could have used it during the day, but as temperatures heat up it is a little too thick and rich for me to use as a day cream. It was excellent at night and I didn’t need to add a night mask or extra night cream which was nice. While I am putting this on the list to try in a full size, I will probably wait until the temperatures dip again in the autumn to try it out so that I can give it its best chance of success. I see no reason to try and sabotage a product.

In other Skincare…