Good morning my darlings and welcome to Friday. It is time once again for the Skincare lineup. There are a few samples I rolled in so I could try them out and a few issues with some of the existing products. Let’s get into is shall we?
The first change to my weekly day time line up this week you will see is in the cleaner. This week’s cleanser is from Purlisse. I am a big fan of the brand and they tend to rotate in and out of my skincare routine quite often. I picked this up as an add on through IPSY because it sounded interesting and was a Purlisse product I had not tried before. Due to the charcoal it is a slightly off putting blackish gel when you dispense it, but it immediately foams to white when you apply it to the skin. It is not terribly foamy but it does make the skin feel nice and clean without feeling stripped which is nice. For me the scent was a bit much. It smells a lot like watermelon candy. I found I didn’t mind it in the morning, but really didn’t like it at night, hence the reason my night time routine sticks with my Korres Cleanser. I will continue using the Watermelon cleanser as it is a really good cleanser but because of the scent I am not certain I would purchase this in a full size. I would definitely use a sample if it came my way again, but a full size might just be too much watermelon for me to take.
The Byroe Bell Pepper serum is supposed to sooth and calm irritation. Thanks to the Time Revolution Artemisia Essence, I don’t need a lot of extra calming but the two working together have really helped improve the minor sun damage and irritation. (I’ll mention that a little bit more when I get to the other skin care section below). I haven’t been using this Byroe serum long but I am liking the way it has performed thus far.
This week I also rotated a toner into my line up and I really like it. Used in the morning it lets me make certain the remnants of my sleeping mask are removed and in the evening it makes certain that he last vestiges of makeup have been cleared away before I add my other skincare. If you notice the product level in the bottle, I did not go through this much toner in one week. I tried it and set it aside for some reason I can’t remember and now I am going back to use it up. I really like this toner. Murad is one of those brands I like keeping around but tend not to use consistently. For example I have a Murad Cleanser that is acne fighting. When I was getting a lot of maskne, that was an excellent cleanser to help dry oily bits out. It is too drying to use more than occasionally, but it is great in a targeted regimen. The Hydrating toner I can use pretty much long term though. This isn’t my first bottle of this toner and probably won’t be my last.
The Air Repair moisturizer was a little bit problematic for me this week. It works well at night, but it is a little too heavy for me during the day. It is a very thick formula and I have noticed a few issues with heaviness and greasiness when I wear it in the day time. For now I am going to keep it as a night time moisturizer so that it doesn’t go to waste and then roll in a different moisturizer for daytime use. This is the last week it will be featured in the daytime.
Since I have several sunscreen samples I am rolling them into the line up to try out and see if I like them. This week is the Coola Sun Silk drops. It is a chemical sunscreen and one drop basically covered my face. It absorbs well and gave me no problems under makeup. I have to say I really enjoyed this serum sunscreen and would definitely consider buying it in a full size. I’m actually kind of surprised actually as there are a lot of sunscreens that I just don’t like. This one is light weight and I was really impressed with it. There is a light orange scent to it, which I think is covering up the chemical scent of the sunscreen. I actually like the scent of it. It fades away pretty quickly though so it isn’t a big issue, just something to be aware of if you are scent sensitive. Or don’t like oranges. I am about half way through my sample and will continue using it until it is gone and then rotate in another sample to try out. This is definitely a product I will look into buying in the full size.
The big change in the night time skincare this week was the makeup remover. This is more like a cream than it is a balm. Peach slices is a brand featured on the Peach and Lily website. It was part of the group of products I ordered last month during their big sale. Unsurprisingly is smells like peaches and actually looks a bit like pudding. Not a lot is needed to cover the entire face. Thus far the only product I had issues about removing has been the Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Magnet Mascara. For that I had to call in my Klorane Coneflower waterproof eye makeup remover (which took it off instantly with no stinging eyes).
Everything else, including other mascaras have come off beautifully with this Peach Pudding makeup cleanser. I do use a regular cleanser afterwards. This cleanser has the word hydrating in the description and while that does help to make certain the skin is not stripped, it also means that I feel like there is a slightly greasy residue left behind. As it is step one in my nightly cleanse, that doesn’t really bother me. My Korres Cleanser takes off the residue easily leaving my skin clean without stripping it down. I am very much liking this Peach pudding makeup cleanser as it really does a good job removing makeup. Unless something goes horribly wrong by the end of my usage, I will certainly be purchasing this cleanser again.
My trial of this facial continues. I still like the product and how it makes my skin feel. I am less enthused by the pump. Because the mask is of a rather heavy consistency, the pump has to work really hard and it really doesn’t like dispensing a lot of product at a time. So many, many pumps have to occur to get enough product out to cover the face. So the pump is not my friend. But the product is. I have had a bit of sun sensitivity from the product though and while I am now limiting my time outside, especially on the days after I have used the product (I use this Tuesday and Thursday Nights). I also tend to use the Time Revolution and the Bell Pepper essence more on Wednesdays and Fridays. I’ve actually started rinsing my face after being outside and then just applying a few drops of the Time Revolution to the skin so the Artemisia can soak in and take care of the sun sensitivity.
Over all the products and combination of products I am using at the moment are working well for me. I will be rolling in a daytime moisturizer that will hopefully be more suitable and once the Purlisse Cleanser is finished I will try out another of my sample cleansers. I will also be looking at some other samples that I might want to try just so I can clear out some of my samples so the samples box will no longer be overflowing.
But for now this has been the skincare line up I used this week.
Good morning and welcome once again to the weekly skincare line up. Here I line up all of the products I used this week and give you some brief thoughts about how i feel about them. It’s not an in depth review but just a little bit of a progress report. So let’s dive in shall we?
Most of the elements this week remained the same. Actually all of the repeat items are working beautifully. The Whal Myung Anti-Oxident Serum was a sample size and I did finish it out this week. It felt very good on the skin, light and refreshing, but with only just under two weeks with the product there were no visible results so i have to go on non-result based opinion with this one. To be honest as good as it felt, it smelled quite perfume-y. There are some perfumy products that I’ve used where i have gotten past the scent and enjoyed using. I don’t think this is the sort of scent i can really move past. i don’t enjoy it and I think that if I were to buy a full sized bottle I would slowly stop using it because of the scent. And that would be wasteful. So I am going to just appreciate the chance to try it out and then send it to the empties bin with no plans to repurchase.
The Byroe Bell Pepper Serum I picked up from my skin care drawer simply because I was in a hurry. I need to look into what it is supposed to do. For the moment it feels nice on the skin and has almost no scent to it. Which is kind of nice after the Whal Myung. I’ve only used it twice at the point so there isn’t much else to say. Next week I’ll have a better handle on how it performs as well as what to expect (I’ll be looking that up later today.)
The other change was the First aid Beauty Moisturizer. It was a fantastic product and one I will repurchase. I had a couple of more weeks left in the jar, however I accidentally forgot to screw the lid on tight enough and it accidentally got knocked over and was left to drip out of the jar creating quite a mess as no one caught it before most of it was gone. I was not happy and have to bear at least 50% off the blame since i did not tighten the lid properly. As I am not the one who knocked over the jar, I’ll give the other 50% to someone else. However it was a very good lesson in double checking the lids before leaving the bathroom.
It was a very good summertime moisturizer for me.
I have brought in a tube of the Air Repair moisturizer. A while ago I tried a sample and thought it was okay. I remember being on the fence about whether I wanted to buy a full size or not and then I ended up with a full size in a subscription box. So now I get to try it out. I’ll admit, I partially chose it because it is in a tube and not a jar. Hence, no spillage. This morning was my first use of the tube. It is thicker than I thought it would be and I am still getting used to the switch from the lighter gel cream. I’m sure I;ll have deeper thoughts for you next week, but for now that is about it.
Everything else is chugging along. The Time Revolution essence is still fantastic after too much sun. I did realize this week that it is not a toning essence though. Which you would think would be obvious. However my last essence was a toning essence so I opted out of adding a toner to my skin care routine while using it. This coming week i will be pulling one of my toners into the line up.
In addition i noticed that I have more cleanser samples than I thought so I might be pausing my Korres and trying them out, just to clear out some of the samples and decide what I want to think about repurchasing. Many of the samples have less than a week’s worth of product in them so i figure I can use the sample and then fill in with the Korres. That way I can clear out a few of the sample sizes as my sample box is now overflowing.
But that seems to be all for the day time products, shall we peep into the night?
As in the day time, the moisturizer and serum changed. but the only real difference has been the addition of the Ole Henriksen Phat Glow Facial to th line up. I am currently using it twice a week to see how it works. Thus far I have noticed a little sun sensitivity on the morning after I use the mask. It isn’t a lot of sensitivity, but it is noticeable to me. Admittedly this week i spent a lot of time in the sun, which could have played an additional role. In the upcoming week there will be less in the sun time so I’ll see how that effects things. My skin is soft and the stress blemishes I had from earlier summer events are fading and being cleared away without scarring, which is nice. The pump is kind of driving me a bit crazy though. I think because it is such a thick formula the pump is not happy about pumping the mask out. But other than that I really like the product. I will be monitoring the sun but I am happy to continue using this.
You may notice one extra addition in the lineup that doesn’t match the description. And that is the cleansing balm. I have been using the Elemis Cleansing Balm (one of my all time favorites). I used the last of the product in the jar last night and so replaced the empty with the brand new Peach Pudding Cleanser that I just ordered from Peach and Lily. It hasn’t been opened, but I moved it into place in anticipation of this evening.
Everything else in the list is still performing beautifully. I know that doesn’t make for a very exciting post, but it is good for my skin. And next week there will be more details on the newer products as well as some new trials rolled into the line up. But for now, my skin is quite happy with the products used.
Good morning my darlings and welcome to the weekly Skincare lineup. This isn’t an in depth review but more of a recap of what I am currently using and how I am feeling about it as I go through.There were a lot of good products this week. Most have been in the line up a while and will soon be changed out or used up, but there were a few shakeups. There will be a new edition starting this afternoon. I am trying a Peter Thomas Roth Mask out for Face Mask Friday today and if it goes well it will be used twice a week to see if there are longer term results. But that is for later. Now we need to look at this past week.
Okay so let’s just go down the line. While the Native Deodorant is a deodorant and not an antiperspirant I am still using it this summer. I thought about picking up an antiperspirant (and I did) for when I go out some place where sweat marks would be a really bad thing. However in the past few weeks I haven’t gone anywhere that it was an issue. The few places where I might go and not want to show sweat were so heavily air-conditioned that I actually had to bring a cardigan to keep from shivering. So even though I have an antiperspirant waiting in the wings, I have yet to actually break it out. The Native has worked thus far.
I like the clean of the Korres Foaming cream cleanser. It smells fresh and feels clean without stripping the skin. It goes on like a cream so it isn’t drippy until I add water and rub. Then it foams up to wash the dirt away. It has a slight scent if you put your nose up to the open lid that might be a bit dairy-esque because of the yoghurt but once on the skin it just smells fresh and clean and the scent just washes down the drain.
I did a full review of the Time Revolution Artemisia Treatment Essence (which you can find here). It is a great product and one that I will repurchase once it runs out. It is especially lovely in the summer time as it works to soothe skin that has spent too much time in the sun. It is a large bottle so it will be with me for quite some time. Very little product is needed, so it lasts which is nice value for the money as well as simply being a great product.
I finished out the Caudalie Vino Perfect serum and rotated a sample from Whal Myung into the line up this week. One pump is all that is needed to cover the face and neck. It feels very wet when it applies but absorbs relatively quickly. There is a slightly perfume scent to it that tends to linger. It isn’t unpleasant but I haven’t decided how I actually feel about it. It is also a little sticky after application. There is anough product for another week of trial so I might have more for you next week on this product. At the moment I’m a little on the fence about it.
The Elemis Procollagen Eye mask is still working out well for me. I actually apply the dior serum first and then add the eye mask once it has absorbed (I tend to put the serums on, then brush my teeth, then add the Elemis followed by moisturizer. And then I finish with sunscreen.
The moisturizer I am using right now is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oil Control Moisturizer. (Full Review here) I like it and will happily finish out the jar. There are about two, maybe three weeks left of product in the jar and then I will switch out moisturizers.
The sunscreen will remain. I’m sure I will try out others but Volition is my go too as it absorbs well and I can just add it to my skin care line up without worrying about clogged pores.
Last week I had a sample of the Crest Pro Health Gum Detoxify. You might notice in the photo, I went ahead and picked up the full size. I have a couple of other toothpaste samples to try out, but I have to say I really liked the clean this gave. My mouth felt fabulous. So even if I try out other products, I wanted to have a full tube on hand for daily use.
Most of the products I used in the day are also used at night. The two differences are the Wander Beauty Overnight repair concentrate and the Bite Beauty Agave Lip mask. The Wander Beauty I used three times this past week. I like having a night mask for nights when I feel I need a little extra moisture for my skin, but I don’t need it every night. I think if I used it everynight it would be far too much moisture for my skin. It is a light weight cream that absorbs well and It comes in a beautiful glass pump bottle. The nozzle is actually shaped well so if you hold your hand under it and press, the cream shoots into your hand instead of dribbling down the side of the lovely glass bottle, which I find nice.
The Bite Beauty Agave Lip mask I use every night just before I go to sleep and I really like it. It feels a bit heavy as I drift off to sleep but by the time I weak up the next morning almost all of it has absorbed and my lips feel great. This is not my first tube of the Bite Beauty lip mask and it certainly won’t be my last.
This week saw the passing of the thirty day mark for many skin care items in my line up and I will begin breaking those items down in full reviews next week to let you know my thoughts on them. There were a few items that rotated out and a couple that rotated in. It wasn’t a major shake up but there were some changes.
Over all there isn’t much change to report in about the skincare line up. While I loved the Loreal Midnight serum in the first two weeks of use, I’m not entirely certain I felt much improvement after the initial burst of delight. I’m looking into the ingredients but I am not entirely certain it is worth a repurchase.
The Byroe Bitter Greens essence is now one of my all time favorite morning products. I love the scent of the product and the way it seems to wake up my skin and helps it absorb more of my other products. I am really becoming a big fan of this.
The deodorant is still Native Brand as I want to go a full year with the brand before my final thoughts on it. I did finish the Water Lily and orchid deodorant yesterday so this morning I opened the Powder and cotton scented one I picked up to replace it. The scent is clean and fresh and actually smells like a newly washed shirt straight from the dryer. Minus the heat of course. It is a less perfume like scent than the Water lily and orchid and I think I am going to like it a lot more. The other one was just a little too floral for me. This seems like something I could live with for a long time.
But of course only time will tell.
My eye cream is running low so I am not certain how long before a replacement needs to be rolled in. I am actually liking the Perricone MD soothing and Hydrating cream. It hasn’t caused any clogged pores around my orbital bone and I think it is really helping to reduce the appearance of the fine lines around my eyes. I’ll have to do a photo comparison to see, but on a day to day basis I am liking it and kind of down about how empty the tube now feels. Still it is eye cream so a partially empty tube can still last a while. We’ll see how long this one lasts.
Wednesday night the SYS Superfood for Your Skin Moisturizing Cream in Prickly Pear cream ran out. It was just shy of the thirty day mark so I won’t be breaking it out in a full review. However I also don’t think I will be picking it up in a full size either. It was a nice cream and I think it would have been a lot more suitable in the warmer months given it’s consistency, however I just can’t get past the scent of it. The prickly pear scent just reminds me of cocktails and made me feel like I was sticky (even though I wasn’t) It was purely a scent thing. Which is a shame because it was a nice cream. The scent just wasn’t for me.
In it’s place I added the All in one Egg Mellow Cream from Too Cool For school. I’ve seen this brand and moisturizer around but never tried anything from the, before. I’m thrilled to get to try it out. I used it for the first time last night. It has a light scent I can’t quite identify yet and I was surprised at how thick it felt in comparison to the SYS formula. It absorbed well but aside from that it is too early to tell whether I will really like it or not. I’ll have more to report on that next week.
Other than that the night time routine is plodding along with no major issues to report. Everything is working fine.
And now for the not so everyday products in the line up
While I put the Good Genes from Sunday Riley in the line up, this week I used the last of it. I have yet to find a replacement. The Good Genes really is a very nice product and I very much enjoyed using it. I was actually a little bit sad when I had to place the bottle in the empties bin. Despite smelling vaguely of lemon scented cleaner, it made my skin feel and look amazing. It may be gone now but it is definitely on the to be repurchased list.
The Marina from Earth harbor provides an extra burst of hydration to the skin after the retinol of the Versed Press Restart. I am still using those two times a week. I might shift to three times a week next week but i don’t think I’ll go any higher than that as my skin doesn’t need that much chemical exfoliation. Whole I like retinoids and exfoliators in general it is very easy to overdo them. Sometimes less is more. It is a very gentle product though and even though i am spending more time in the sun I have not had any sun sensitivity. I also put on extra sunscreen the morning after I’ve used the Bersed Press restart so I think that helps. The Volition Prismatic Luminizing shield is still my go-to as far as daily sunscreen goes. As always it gets two thumbs way up.
and that y darlings is a quick review of this week’s skin care line up. As many products have passed the 30 day mark I will start rolling them into full individual reviews starting next week. That’s where we get to peer at the labels and poke around at the listed ingredients. I also get to look at claims and pass judgement on if the product actually met the claims listed and if I think I would repurchase it in the future. Fun stuff. well I think its fun. That’s of course one of the reasons I do it. I’ll see you back here later this afternoon for the Friday Face mask. As for me, it is is time to change clothes and head off to the gym and the start of my new fitness program. Wish me luck!
And that is the weekly Skin care update. Some of the products are edging towards the recycling bin while others are about to face the spotlight of a deep dive into their ingredients list. At the moment I am pretty happy with my skin. I have a few blemishes that I am clearing away, but other wise, I don’t think it is looking too shabby.
Last month I completely spaced on doing a review of the empties in my bin so there is a lot to go through this month. Most of these items had full posts listed on my site so if you want more fulsome details I hope you check them out. This is just a rundown of the products I used up, along with a few notes about what I think of them now that they are gone.
The products all laid out
Item number one is the Marc Jacobs Youthquake. I had high hopes for this one. It smelled nice and in general I like Marc Jacobs’ products. This however felt very heavy on the skin and was far too moisturizing for me to take.
I could use it as a night cream but not during the day. To use it up I ended up using it at night (and to be honest, also on my elbows which tend to get really dry in the winter). It was fine at night (and my elbows loved it) but it was too heavy during the day. I will not be repurchasing it. I will be reusing the very pretty jar somewhere though.
The PureHeals Pore Clear Black Charcoal peel off mask is also not going to make it to my repurchase list. While I like the mud masks that PureHeals makes (and will order those repeatedly) this mask was not for me. It never did anything for my skin that I could tell and it hurt to peel it off. If a peel off mask is going to hurt then I want to see some results. After all the Hey Honey Take off The Drama mask hurt like the dickens but my skin was fabulous afterwards. This just hurt and offered no return. I kept trying and it never got better. So it is good by to the empty and I will not be picking it up again.
the A+ high dose retinoid (L) and ICE Moisturizer (R)
Next up there is a trial size of the Sunday Riley A+ High Dose Retnoid Serum. I enjoyed using this very much and will be picking up a full sized bottle sometime in the near future to try out in my retinol trials. It was very nice and gone far too soon.
I will not miss the Marcelle CC Cream. I finished this small tube up last week and happily added it to the empties bin. While it is a wonderful color corrector, over the course of the day it seeped into the fine lines around my eyes and made me look super tired.
Marcelle Golden Glow CC Cream and Tarte Shape Tape Concealer
Plus, it lives up to the name Golden Glow and made my face very glowy, which is not my thing. And so this too will sadly not be repurchased. I was disappointed as every other Marcelle product I’ve tried has been top notch.
Also disappointing was the Dove Nutritive Solutions for Volume and fullness. While I love Dove products in general and usually have no problems with them, this shampoo and conditioner set just didn’t work for me.
While I don’t normally have a problem with tangles, while using this shampoo and conditioner, I ended up having more tangle problems than usual. I also felt like my hair was slightly dull and getting some build up.
The first few washes were fantastic. But then it just went downhill fast. While I love the brand Dove and will continue to buy other products, this shampoo and conditioner set won’t be one I will repurchase.
I have to say, I am slightly on the fence about the feel renewed Pumpkin Walnut facial cleanser. I never actually thought I’d say that. Because this is not my first tube. It is the scent that always gets me, and if I’m honest, it is the reason I purchase it. I adore the scent and it was a good clean, but it was a rather rough exfoliate when it comes down to it. I believe I used it early in November, maybe even late October. The scent was suitable for the time frame and utterly delicious.
I have tried a couple of other exfoliating scrubs that perform better, even if they don’t smell as yummy. The Olay Regenerist scrub in particular smelled nice and clean and was a much gentler product on the skin. I think this may fall into the category of I’d use it if it ended up coming into my possession but I wouldn’t seek it out. It is a good exfoliator for once or twice a week, I just don’t think I would want to keep it stocked. I just need to find something better with the same scent.
I will be stocking the pixi skintreats Clarity Tonic though. It was a fantastic toner and I had wonderfully clear skin while using it. While I like other pixi toners, I have to say this one thus far is at the top of the list. This doesn’t mean I won’t try other Pixi products, but this one is a definite repurchase.
The Balance me and the Derma E products both worked well, enough but the scent of them both was not one I appreciated nor wanted to face every day. I find it kind of a shame as they were good products. However I know myself and the scents just meant that if I repurchased them in a full size I would slowly stop using them because I couldn’t take the scent.
The Derma E was floral and somewhat cloying while the Balance me smelled a bit like floor cleaner. I just know the product would go to waste if I purchased them. The Whish primer, however, was something altogether different.
Derma E toner and Georgette Klinger Collagen and Elastin Mask
The Whish botanical Primer was a failure as a primer. An Absolute Failure. It did nothing a primer really should be expected to do. It was however pretty good skin care. While this primer won’t be returning any time soon, it worked well enough as skin care that I am going to be looking into the other products from this Whish line that are specifically designed for skin care use. I will not use this as a primer. So it will not be returning, but some of its brand compatriots will. I can’t be upset about trying it though as it did bring Whish to my attention.
Sulwhasoo serum, Whsh Botanical Primer and Goldfaden Needleless Serum
The Tatcha Deep Cleanse will hopefully soon make a return in a full size. I really enjoyed this cleanser. It was one of the few exfoliating cleansers that I have tried that I found I could use on a daily basis with no skin damage.
My skin looked and felt wonderful while using it and I really enjoyed the scent of the cleanser as well. It is lightly floral but with enough of a fruit back note to keep it from being cloying. I was somewhat surprised as I didn’t particularly care for Tatcha’s moisturizers when I tried them. However I can see why this cleanser is one of the brand’s best sellers. It is definitely something I want to repurchase.
Elemis Pro-collagen marine Cream and Tatcha Deep Cleanse
There were four sample sized moisturizers in my bin this time around and I have to say all five of them made my list of products that I would want to reorder in a full sized version.
The Sunday Riley Ice moisturizer is not the most appealingly scented cream. It smells vaguely medicinal. However, it is a thick cream that disappears into the skin and hydrates well. I think as a night cream it would work well for me. It is also one of those products where the product worked well enough that I found I could live with the scent. As I am very scent oriented (in case you hadn’t guessed), that is saying something.
The second sample was the Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine cream. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I enjoyed it as there are very few products from Elemis that I don’t enjoy. This sample came to me through a Look Fantastic Box and I was happy to get the chance to try it before adding a full size to my try out list.
Surprisingly the fourth is the 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream. With 111 Skin I am sometimes on the fence with them I like a lot of their products but there are few I fall in love with. Especially after seeing the price. They usually strike me as good, but not quite good enough to justify the price. I don’t mind paying more for a product I think is worth the price. Especially where skincare is concerned.
This is one moisturizer I could easily see myself falling in love with. It claims to be a day cream and that is exactly what it is. I really like a product that stakes a claim on one thing and does it well. I liked it enough that when I looked at the price of the full size I actually found myself thinking it sounded like it was priced correctly.
That was how much I enjoyed the sample. I was very sad when the sample ran out and you can bet that anytime I see a sample of this up for grabs I will be snapping it up. This is one of the few things from 111 Skin that I believe actually earns its price tag.
Another product that earns it’s price, although it is substantially lower in price is the Timeless SkinCare Hyaluronic Acid Serum. I believe a full sized bottle is around $9.95, but trust me, this serum is something I would actually pay twice that for, maybe even three times. During my use of it, I actually saw a reduction in the Great Stress Crack of Mimsy, which is what I call the ever deepening line across my forehead.
While using this, it not only didn’t deepen, but it appeared to be getting shallower. I was sad when it ran out. I have two hyaluronic acid serums to test out from other brands and now that I’ve had a few weeks without this serum, I am going to start a trial of the next sot see how it performs. But right now, Timeless SkinCare has set the standard and it is a pretty high mark to reach. Regardless of future trials, this was an excellent serum offered at an excellent price and it is one that I foresee making several repeated trips to my skin care shelf.
A few products that won’t return? The Sulwhasoo first care Activating serum. Its herbal scent I could get used to if it was an amazing product, but it left my skin sticky and not feeling improved. The Goldfaden, MD Needle-less line corrector will not be returning either. It felt like it was stinging, but beyond the stinging it didn’t do much. In general Goldfaden, MD and I have not had the best history. I have a serum to try from the brand, but thus far everything I have used from the brand has left me saying ‘Thanks, but no thanks. ‘
Sadly the Pa’akai cleansing cream also falls into that category. It cleanses well enough, but the scent is just far too perfume-y for me to take on a twice daily basis. Incidentally, I did use the product up, but there was just enough remaining to coat the back of the bottle where it lay in the empties bin so it looks full. It fooled me too but I opened it and looked inside thinking I might not have finished it out. But oh yeah, it is empty and the perfume scented remains remind me why I am not using it.
I found myself trying to avoid washing my face while using it, and that is not a good thing. There are many steps I could probably skip in a skin care routine should I want to pair it down. Washing my face isn’t one of them. So, it is a good cleanser, but sadly the scent just made it not for me.
Also not for me is the Tarte Shape tape Concealer. It works well as a spot concealer, blending beautifully into my skin and hiding red spots and blemishes. But it settled into the fine lines under my eyes and just made me look haggard. Which is not what I want in a concealer. So I used the last of this little sample size up as a spot corrector. And now it is empty and will not be repurchased. Sadly I used to love the Shape Tape Concealer. I think that as I get a little older, my skin’s needs just change. I have changed not the product. If fine lines aren’t a problem for you then you will still love it. (if you like it now). This was an excellent concealer for me once upon a time, but no more.
Benefit They’re Real Mascara, Wander Beauty Mile High Mascara, Maybelline Color Strike Shadow, wet ‘n wild liquid liner and Revolution’s Fast Base Concealer.
I do have a second concealer in my empties bin this go around and it is the Fast Base Concealer from Revolution. I love this concealer, never had any problems with it settling in my fine lines and will be repurchasing it very soon.
The fact that is it a $3 concealer, if I remember correctly, doesn’t hurt the wallet either. I don’t mind paying a lot for products that work, but good products come in all sorts of price ranges, and this one certainly proves it. The Fast Base will be repurchased.
There are two empty mascaras in my empties bin. One is the Mile High Lashes from Wander Beauty and the other is a sample sized tube of They’re Real from Benefit Cosmetics. While each performed well, to be honest, neither are the products I prefer from the brands. With Wander Beauty I would purchase the Unlashed Volume and Curl Mascara before I would purchase the Mile High Club mascara. With Benefit, I would purchase Bad Gal Bang before I would pick up They’re Real. That isn’t to say that they are not both quality products, but I doubt I would purchase either of them specifically. If going onto their brand pages, other products would draw my attention. So I did like them, and wouldn’t mind using them again, I just know that if shopping, they aren’t the ones I would repurchase.
Also not making my repurchase list was the First Aid Beauty Primer. It is a mattifying yet hydrating primer but my skin isn’t dry enough for the product. If I had skin that was a great deal drier, this would be a different conversation. But alas I don’t. So the First Aid Beauty primer I would not repurchase. If you have really dry skin and are looking for a mattifying primer, you might have better luck than I did with this product.
One primer I will consistently repurchase is the Yensa tone up primer. This is either the second or third tube of this that I have gone through and I absolutely adore it. It mattifies and fills pores really well and my skin reacts really well to it. It makes my top ten favorites list. In fact everything I’ve tried form the Super 8 line from Yensa has been really good in general. I’m actually finishing out a BB cream sample size from the brand this week that I know I am going to have to order in a full size once I’ve whittled down my foundation products.
L to R: Hey Honey Gold Mask, Yensa Primer, Hey Honey CC Cream
The Hey Honey Trick and Treat CC cream is also on my reorder list. It fairly melted into the skin and left me with a beautiful no makeup look that worked really well for daily wear. I adored the formula and will be purchasing a full size in the future.
As far as Hey Honey goes I will also be reordering the Show Your Glow Colloidal Gold and Honey Beauty Mask. I really like how soft and lovely it made my skin feel. The fact that I wandered around the house for fifteen minutes looking like I’d been gilded by a wandering art restorer was kind of fun as well. But the mask was fabulous.
I also want to order a full sized version of the Georgette Klinger Collagen and Elastin Mask (pictured above with Derma E). The sample I tried worked really well on my skin and it is one I would not mind keeping a full size of around. It plumped up my skin and diminished my fine lines after one use. The tube had enough for three uses and I was happy to use it for an entire week of masking. I was however very sad when it was empty. So to the repurchase in a full size list the product goes.
As much as I like Native Deodorant, I have to say the sample size of the holiday scent Sugar Cookie was enough for me. The sample size lasted a little over a month and quite frankly as much as I liked it, I was happy to end the trial. I am still using my Native Deodorant, but it is the Cucumber and Mint.
Like the holidays, it was nice while it lasted, but I was happy to resume the standard once it was done. I could not have taken a full size of this. I am still upset I didn’t pick up the fill size of the Candy Cane Scent, but they didn’t have it at Target (apparently it sold out extremely fast) and I didn’t get around to ordering it in time. That one I probably could have used longer than the Sugar Cookie. Mostly because I adore peppermint.
I still don’t know why spearmint (an inferior to peppermint in my opinion) gets to live on throughout the year, but peppermint, fabulous peppermint is banished to the holidays. Because of this I stock pile products and end up using products decorated for Christmas in June. It isn’t right. Do you know how many bars of Dr. Squatch’s Peppermint soap I have squirrelled away in my linen closet? I don’t either and I’m not counting because it would make me feel bad, but I do now have an absolutely deliciously scented linen closet. But that isn’t the point so I will end my pro-peppermint rant and get back to the empties.
I know this is a behemoth of a post, but there are only two more items and then, my darlings, we are through. The Color Strike Shadow from Maybelline was really hard to work with and had the added effect of not staying long on the lid once I got it to work. While I generally like Maybelline Products, this was not my favorite. I am getting rid of it because trying to make it work nearly drove me bonkers. I’m sure there is product remaining in the tube, but it was so hard to ge out onto the little brush that I couldn’t prove it. It will not be repurchased. I’ll still use Maybelline products, just not this particular product.
And to end on a good note. The wet ‘n wild liquid megaliner eyeliner. It reminded me of how much I really liked liquid eyeliners. It performed magnificently and I was so sad when the product reached the end of its productive life. It went on smoothly and after letting it dry a moment, it stayed put all day without fading. (If you don’t give it a moment to dry it will transfer when you blink because it is a wet liquid. So just give it a second and you are good).
I will repurchase this product and I will continue repurchasing this product. I will also be picking up more liquid eyeliners from different brands in the future. As a side note, the wet ‘n wild liquid eyeliner was the very first eyeliner I learned to apply way back in Junior High. I loved it then and I find it amusing all these years later to find that it is still a great product. So many of the products i used to absolutely adore when I I was first introduced to makeup have either sadly gone away or are kind of amusing to look back on. I find it fun to find one product that still works as good as I thought it did when I first started with makeup.
And with that my darlings we are finally through with two months’ worth of empties. If nothing else this reminds me that I need to remember to do these once a month or suffer the wrath of an overflowing bin and an extraordinarily long post. I nearly forgot about some of the items towards the bottom.
If you stuck with me, thanks for making it to the very end. If you didn’t’, don’t worry, it was a really long haul and I almost gave up midway through myself. I will see you at the end of January with next month’s empties in a much more manageable sized post. I have put it on my nice new calendar so that I will not forget it. I will also be back this afternoon with a perfume review as well, but I am definitely remembering the empties bin each month instead of letting it carry over.
Ms. Mimsy Reviews 