Today is going to be pretty quick and easy. The only change made to the line up was the addition of the Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask. So I have gone ahead and combined the list
To be honest it is a simple review this week. The only thing new was the Tatcha and it is fantastic. Everything else in the line up is working well also. It is kind of interesting though. The Pili Ani is almost done. It won’t last the weekend actually. It is a fantastic oil and I am going to put it on the list to try out in a full size. The Elemis toner I love and it too will finish out this week. It is lightly apricot and works fantastically well. It too will be purchased in a full size at some point.
The line up this week is full of really good products. Clove and Hallow has proven to be a summer time life saver as I can use it for day and night time face washes but also if I sweat during the day and just need a quick wash, it is gentle enough that I don’t feel as though I have overused it. The Sunday Riley eye cream I have used for quite a while now. I will use it until it is done and then add it to the repurchase list. It absorbs fast and doesn’t clog my pores.
The Embryolisse is the perfect summer weight moisturizer. I only need the night mask from Elemis a couple of times a week, and even then only when I spent way too much time in the sun. This week with all of the rain I only used it once.
While I haven’t used the Vitabrid C12 long enough to actually see results, it feels nice on my skin and absorbs quickly so i am happy to keep using it and to give it the time it needs to show me if there are positive results from continued use.
All in all there is absolutely nothing I can complain about with any of the products in use. As a couple of them will be used up this week there will be some new additions coming in and a few of the items should reach a point where results start to show, but for now, things are just steady on. It isn’t the most exciting review of the week, but sometimes it is just nice to float through on an even platform. And that is where I am this week with skincare. Everything is working just fine with no real issues.
I can’t complain and honestly that is not a bad thing.
Good morning my darlings and welcome to my favorite post of the week. Here I get to talk all about the skincare I’m using and how I feel about it currently. Later of course once I’ve use a product for long enough to see whether or not there are effects there will be full reviews on the products, but for now it is a casual update as to how things are working. And I do like to talk about skincare.
bare skin complete with puffy eyes
I forgot to add them in the last couple of posts, but today I have added a photo showing my current bare skin, makeup free face. It is just there for reference. As a side note pollen is very high today so none of the skincare products can actually be blamed for not taking down my puffy eyes. I have a jade roller in the fridge that I am periodically taking out to roll over my skin in an effort to help take down the puff. It actually works. I use it, then when it is warm and my eyes feel a little better I return it to the fridge to use later in the day.
Aside from the allergies, I’m rather happy with the way my skin looks this week. There are no major blemishes and the wrinkle fighting products are currently holding their own. So without further ado, into the skincare we dive.
All of these products were in motion last week and I am happily using them again this week. The Clove and Hallow waterless cleanser is quite lovely. It has that vanilla mango powder scent to it and is a really gentle yet effective cleanser. Gentle is actually the most important bit right now as it isn’t just morning and night when i need a face wash. while I still have morning and night routines, as I am walking in the mornings and attempting to add some strength training exercises in the late afternoons, there are times (especially post walk) where my skin just feels sweaty and salty and kind of gross. A tiny pinch of this cleansing powder mixed with water after I get in from my walk cleanses the skin but is just the right amount of gentle not to overly cleanse my skin. while it is a powder and not much product so it will last a while, a part of me wants to just keep it as the post work out cleanser, hoarding it for during the day necessities. It is a fantastic face wash so i am still using it in my day and night time routines, but hoarding it is a thought because it is so gentle. It is also from a clean and sustainable brand so that makes me feel even better about using it.
The slightly sweet and fruity apricot toner from Elemis pairs oddly well with the cleanser scent wise. it is like a skincare smoothie of apricot and mango. Plus it is a really good toner. It is light and refreshing and really only needs a little bit to be effective.
The Sunday Riley eye cream has been in use for a while. It absorbs fast, isn’t greasy and doesn’t clog my pores. I haven’t noticed any new lines forming which is nice. And the finer lines are a little plumped out so they sort of disappear which is also fantastic. Over all it is a good eye cream and i will probably use it until the tube is empty. It is also a product I will purchase again.
This is the third Embryolisse product from the Lait Creme line. It is the Fluide and it is the perfect summer weight day cream. This is it’s second week I believe and I really do like it . I am noticing that a couple of times a week I need a little extra night time moisture so I have rolled in a night cream for twice a week. That seems to be enough to balance it out. Other than that, it absorbs well, moisturizes and causes no irritation or clogged pores. It actually is close to a creamy water cream in consistency. One pump is all i need for day time wear on my face. A second pump covers my neck and upper chest. I am actually still tickled at the order in which I ended up testing them. I had three of the embryolisse creams and somehow they fell into the perfect, winter/spring/summer sequence as far as moisturizers go. Somedays, it’s the little things that are just fabulous.
I started using the Vitabrid C12 serum towards the end of last week (last Thursday I believe) so it has only been a little over a week with the serum. It isn’t long enough to see results yet since most skincare needs at least thirty days, but I do like the creamy consistency of the serum and the way it absorbs into the skin. It is a non-greasy formula and there is no scent to the serum. And after applying, my skin feels really soft. I like using it and am really hoping there are some sort of visible results by the time a month of use has passed since I am enjoying using it.
But that is the day time, shall we go into the night?
Okay a lot of the products were covered above so I won’t repeat the descriptions here. I’ve been using the Yensa CBD cleansing oil to remove my makeup and it does a really good job. It sometimes misses a bit of mascara but as that comes off with the Clove and Hallow I use right after that isn’t a problem. It’s also why I am a big fan of two cleansers in a line up at night. I really like to make sure all of my makeup is off before i sleep.
On Monday, wednesday and Friday I replace my regular toner with the Alpha H. It is a glycolic acid exfoliating toner so you aren’t supposed to use it more than every other night. I was using it, then I had a break and this week I went back to using it. The first day back it stung like it had the first time I used it. The second time the sting faded and I’m sure when i use it tonight the sting will be gone. It is a light stinging sensation (I’ve actually had face masks that tingled more). And the stinging was just with that initial use. If you have really sensitive skin, I would test it on your inner arm a couple of times before deciding if you want to use this on your face. I think it is worth it and I really like the gentle exfoliation of the skin.
The Pili Ani oil is a tiny little bottle and since I really only need one drop on my face at a time, it is actually lasting. This is it’s second week and I still have product in the bottle. I am hoping it will last the full four weeks. This oil absorbs well and has a slightly nutty scent to it. My skin drinks it in and feels soft and hydrated after. It is especially nice on the nights after I use the Glycolic acid toner. This is a product I am definitely adding to the list of products to try in the full size.
And finally the Elemis Super food midnight facial. I am using it twice a week for extra moisture. With the Embryolisse cream it is all I need actually. I notice I need it after sweating more in the sun. It is a nice little boost. It smells a bit like candy. it is sweet and fruity. It kind of reminds me of the old Fruit Stripe Gum. It is that kind of scent. And kind of nice to apply right before bed. The cream melts into the skin so it isn’t smeared all over the pillow and it really provides great moisture. It is a product i am happy to add into my skincare line up. This is it’s first week so I am sure I’ll have more to say as time goes on. for now, I just like it.
And that my darlings is my skincare line up for the week. To be honest there is nothing bad to report. Nothing caused problems and nothing is something I plan to avoid. You may notice that I didn’t include my sunscreen on here. My sample ran out so I went back to using my Spray Neutrogena sunscreen instead of adding something else to the line up. I ordered a couple of products and hope they will be coming in soon. This week I am going to rummage because I think I have a few more samples to try out in sunscreen and I am hoping they last until my orders come in. Otherwise, things are rolling along pretty well as we slide into summer. My skin feels and looks good and I like the products I’m using. I’m sure at some point that might change, but for now I feel like I am on a roll.
Good morning my darlings and welcome to another Friday Skincare line up. This week I used up several travel products and rolled in some new ones. I still have a few of the travel ones to work through, so it is still a bit of a mix. But there was enough differentiation that we will be going back to separate day and night time lines, even though a lot of the products were used at both times. Also you will see the Alpha H Liquid Gold in the full line up but it was not broken down this week because I honestly forgot to use it. It was behind the Embryolisse bottle and I just didn’t see it and forgot about it. The Embryolisse is a pump so I don’t have to pick it up, hence the no moving of the bottle. I didn’t see it until I lined things up for pics and had a “wait a minute… Moment. So next week it will be back. Until then…
I am really loving the Clove and Hallow Cloud Powder. The trick is to blend some of the water in with your fingers rather than just putting your hands together and rubbing. When I just add water and put my hands together I end up with a cloud of product puffing back at me. So just cup it in one hand, add a little water and then make sure it is all wet by blending with your fingers before adding more water and rubbing your hands together. It saves a lot of mess. But it is a great cleanser and has a very light vanilla-y mango powder scent to it. It fades away almost instantly though so it isn’t strong at all. And I am really using very little of the powder with each wash so I know it will last a while.
The Elemis toner I love. It smells fresh and fruity and really helps when I have been in the sun all day. I am about a third through the bottle so it will obviously be staying as i work through it. I think this is definitely a toner i will be repurchasing.
The sunday Riley eye cream is really nice. It absorbs well and quickly and thus far it hasn’t clogged any of the pores around my eyes. (I tend to have a problem with that so it is something i watch) Over all a good eye cream. I can’t say I’ve seen spectacular results, but it has been good at reducing some of the minor lines.
I am hoping the Vitabrid will take down more of the fine lines for me. I just added it yesterday so I can’t really say there has been much of an instant reaction. It is a creamy serum, which I wasn’t expecting. I don’t mind it, but it was a bit of a surprise. The glass bottle is kind of heavy in the hand, in a good way and there is absolutely no scent that i could detect from the serum. It felt really nice yesterday and this morning. it absorbed well but it is a new to the line up product so I can’t say there are any results at the moment.
This week was the start of the Embryolisse Lait Creme Fluide trial. I’ve been trying the various products in their Lait Creme line. I have to say this is definitely the summer weight moisturizer. While I like it as a day creame I think that a couple of times a week I might want to roll in a night cream. It is very light and perfect for the hot weather, but I think a little night time boost might not be bad. I don’t think I’d need a night cream more than once or twice a week, but i think having one on hand might not be a bad thing.
There is a little Elta MD sunscreen left in the tube and this week I will finish it out. It has no scent which I like and it is water resistant, however it takes a lot of rubbing to massage it into your face enough that there is no white cast. It is a pretty decent sunscreen, but the massaging is a bit much. I don’t think this is going to be my regular sunscreen. I will finish using up the tube this week though.
Okay there are only two products used at night that weren’t used during the day. the first is the Yensa Cleansing oil that I used to remove my makeup. it does really well with removing makeup but it is definitely a cleanser I want added to a double cleanse. I know it takes off the makeup, but I think there is something in my brain that just wants to wash the oil off even if there is no real residue from cleansing with the oil. Its a mental hiccup. I have used this product before and I really do like it. It is however one that you need to use as soon as you open it. It isn’t something to try out then set to the side and come back to later. When you first open it it has a very light scent. If you let it sit too long then the scent will gradually get stronger. It isn’t a bad scent but it is a very CBD type scent. It will still work well but it will be CBD -tastic in scent. I really like the pump dispenser and that only two pumps gets rid of all my makeup. It is just a makeup remover I will be using until it is gone. There will be no setting it aside to try something else.
The last item is the Pili Ani Ageless skincare concentrate. It is a facial oil and as such only a small amount is needed. Two drops is all that is needed. So even though it is a tiny little bottle, it will be hanging around another week. The oil has a slightly nutty scent to it. It does take a while to absorb in, but once it does it leaves no sticky or greasy residue on the skin and after applying it my skin feels really great. I haven’t noticed any real changes, but I haven’t been using it long (and probably don’t have enough in the bottle to use it long enough to see any changes) but my skin feels soft and hydrated after using it. I don’t know too much about it, but I have to say that given how it has performed this week, I would consider trying it out in a full sized bottle. It feels great on the skin and I do love oils that don’t leave you feeling oily.
And that was this week in my skincare line up. In the coming week I will lose an item or two and continue working with others. I think there is enough variety in product amounts that I will be able to slowly incorporate new things. I always prefer that to starting an entirely new line up at one time. So the skincare continues. Have a great Friday.
This week I have been using the skincare that I took home as part of my travel pack. I decided it was better to go ahead and use it up rather than put half empty tubes into the drawer to go bad and become forgotten. There are two full sized products and a couple will be lasting into next week but for the most part things were used up. Since I was trying to fit everything into a small travel bag, there is no break out between day and night, although some products certainly were only used at one time or another, but I’m sure that will be clear as we move down the list. First, The Products…
Okay let’s break this down. I love the Elemis cleansing Balm. It is one of my favorite cleansing balms in fact. This was the first use of the Apricot toner from the brand but I really enjoyed it. And as the memorial service was held in a bare, open back yard and the temps reached 104 my skin appreciated the calming nature of the toner when even the sunscreen needed back up. Thee is plenty of toner left and I will be keeping it in my routine for a while. I enjoyed the light fruity but clean scent of it as well as it’s use.
the Clove and Hallow was interesting. It is a waterless cleanser which means it is a powder and you add your own water. It comes in a reusable glass shaker bottle which I love. Clove and Hallow is one of my favorite brands for reusable and sustainable packaging. I had several lipsticks from them that I absolutely adored, but this is the first of the skincare that I tried out.
Not a lot of powder is needed for each use so there is a lot of product packed into this small container. As it was powder there was no issue with leaks during travel which was nice. One shake was all I needed. I did notice that I had to be careful with the rust water added and rubbing as the way I brought my hands together could cause the powder to puff back against me. That just took a little maneuvering to figure out and I was fine. The scent of the powdered mango in the cleanser is the most prevalent scent, It smells a little like the vanilla scent you get from a mango rather than a mango itself. Which for me is better for skincare. Sometimes mango products make me think it is sticky just by the scent. This doesn’t. I’m really liking this this far and appreciate the gentle nature of it.
The eye cream was the Sunday Riley i was already using, mostly because i couldn’t see the point of opening a new eye cream just for the travel. I am really liking this eye cream as it is quickly absorbing, non-greasy and it doesn’t cause my pores to clog.
But here is where it get’s interesting. The day cream I used was The rich cream by Augustinus Bader. It is by far the most expensive item in this line up. In fact i am willing to bet this sample size is more expensive than the rest. The full sized 50 ml of this cream retails for $280. Now you know me, I am always happy to try out expensive products in sample sizes. Mostly because I really like to know something is going to work for me before I spend the money on it. And truthfully I am the same way with inexpensive products too. It doesn’t matter if it is a $280 cream or a $30 one, I want to try it out before I purchase it in a full size. part of that has nothing to do with money but rather with waste in general. The worst is when you get a full sized product of, well anything, try it and realize you don’t like it. For me the product offers recriminations about other people using it and how dare I waste it like that.
In this case, i was really looking forward to it not only because it was an expensive product but because I heard really great things about it. Opening it, the cream has a sort of playdoh like scent to it which I didn’t particularly care for. It was a thinner cream than I expected for something called a Rich Cream. It also took a while to absorb. It was a thin cream that left white streaks on the skin and once it was massaged in left my skin feeling a bit sticky. The second day I tried it, the cream seemed to have separated and a whitish liquid came out. I closed the tube, massaged it a bit and put a little on my hand rather than my face. It was sticky and after about ten minutes I noticed my hand was feeling very itchy. I don’t know if I got a bad sample or if this is how the cream always reacts but it was quite a disappointment. The sample is fairly new. If it didn’t arrive in May’s subscriptions then it came in Aprils. I only used it the one time and decided not to risk the rest of the tube. Instead I used smaller amounts of my night cream during the day time.
The night cream was the onekind Dream Cream. It is a thick white cream with almost no scent. To use it in the day I used half of what I used at night. For me that is usually a pretty good ratio whether it is using night cream in the day or day cream at night. I will almost always use twice as much at night. While the Dream Cream is not my absolute favorite night cream, it does a decent job and it did a great job filling in as a moisturizer. It isn’t sticky, has almost no scent and if left for a little while it does absorb well into the skin. It does take a while, about ten minutes for it to really soak in. i don’t actually have a problem with it, it is a good basic cream. It hydrates but doesn’t really do anything else. In a pinch it works reliably as a moisturizer but it isn’t something I feel the need to keep stocked.
And finally we end up with our sunscreen for the week. The elta md has no scent to it. there is no sunscreen scent and no mineral scent, there is quite literally no scent at all. It goes on with a white cast but as you rub it into your skin the white cast fades. It isn’t greasy at all and doesn’t leave a shine. It is the slightest bit sticky. Even if you are not planning on wearing makeup after putting this on, I would add a quick layer of powder just to take down the stickiness. Other than that it is a nice formula. It isn’t one I’d feel the need to keep constantly in stock, but it is one i wouldn’t mind using again.
And that was my skincare for the week. A few of these items will be back next week and a couple are off to the empties bin. Aside from the disappointment of Augustinus Bader, it was a pretty good line up.
Good morning one and all. It is time once again for the weekly skincare line up. Are you excited? I know I am. This week had only some minor tweaks to the line up. It wasn’t anything major actually. In general I like to have my skincare rotate in and out at different times so I am not adding all new products on the same week. But let’s get into it and see what happens.
While I have been a bit so so about the cleanser I have to say this week it sort of came into it’s own. With the increased humidity I have ended up washing my face more than usual. I try to usually stick with the morning and evening routine, but this week I was sweaty and nasty a couple of times mid day and had to roll the cleanser out because I simply felt gross. I was able to use this gentle cleanser with out stripping my skin, so I am quite pleased with it.
The Time Revolution Essence I still love. It does a great job of opening up the pores to get them ready for the rest of the skincare. It is used one spare drop at a time, more simply isn’t needed. It is not yet low enough that i am risking having more product come out than I need but i suspect in the next week I will have to start watching that. Because of the way the regulator is placed when there is less product, upending the bottle to dispense lets the product hit the distributer with more force so more product comes out. it has happened with all my essences regardless of brand. The trick is to remember to tilt it slowly instead of just upending it over the palm of your hand.
My one new product in this week’s line up is a sample sized serum. I am going to try to roll through some of my sample serums to clear out out some space in the drawer and this one has been hanging around a while. The problem is that it was only about half full when i unsealed it from it’s plastic at the beginning of the week. Now I’ve used some of it and I don’t think it will make it through a second week. I won’t be using it long enough to decide it it has any use to it because of the lack of product. The serum has no scent to it. It absorbs well and doesn’t leave the skin greasy. It has hyaluronic acid in it, which is a good ingredient, but given the time i’ve had with it I can’t tell if it has enough to have an effect. I do like the way it feels enough to consider giving it another try with a full size though.
The Sunday Riley eye cream I am absolutely loving though. It absorbs well without leaving my skin greasy or clogging pores and I am starting to see a reduction in the fine lines by my eyes as it plumps the skin.
The Embryolisse is a great moisturizer and perfectly weighted for this time of year. It isn’t too heavy and it moisturizes well. We are nearing the end of the thirty day tril though so next week there will be a full review and I will be rolling the third moisturizer in the lait Creme line into the skincare rotation. I’m hoping it proves to be a summer weight product but i will have to wait and see for that.
And Sunscreen is a must. It is a must year round but as I spend more time outside in this weather it is doubly important. The Sunday Riley is doing well. Once the cream warms up to skin temps the white cast disappears. It does leave me looking very shiny for about twenty minutes after application but after that it is fine. I’ve had no problems with it and am happy to continue using it.
The Yensa Cleansing oil s great for the general makeup removing as well as washing my face, however when it gets in my eyes it tends to cloud my contacts a bit. So I brought in the Laura Mercier to take off my eye makeup. Thus far I haven’t had any problems with it. The eye makeup remover is a good product with no scent, you just have to remember to shake it up before using it as the oils tend to separate. Is it my favorite eye makeup remover? No. It takes a bit more effort to get mascara off than I’d perhaps like. It is good enough to use, but I’m not sure I’d repurchase it.
The other new product in my line up is the Sonage serum. Again it has only been a week with this serum so i haven’t seen any effects yet. It has a scent that somewhat reminds me of rosemary but in a more industrial skincare kind of way, if that makes sense. It is a potent scent, but it fades fairly quickly. It does leave the skin sticky. I was not expecting that but it is very sticky. The stick factor isn’t a problem as I apply moisturizer over serums and that took away all of the stickiness, but it is sticky enough to warrant notice. This is one of those products that I am going to have to wait and see in order to pass judgement. I’m not a huge fan of the scent or of the stickiness even though both could be excused it the product works well. I just need to use it more to figure out if it works well. If it works well and plumps my lines and rejuvenates my face i will forgive the scent and the stickiness. Only time will tell on that one.
And finally we come to the Alpha H. Used every other day I am really liking this exfoliating toner. My skin feels clear and clean after using it. At the same time, I am only using it three times a week. I would not want to use it more than that. Three times is plenty, more would be overdoing it. But it is a fantastic item in my line up. It tingled and was a little stinging the first couple of times I used it, but that faded quickly and I haven’t had anything but good skin since. I am pleased to use it and pleased to have a second bottle waiting in the wings. Truthfully once i finish this bottle I’m just going to roll in the second one unless there is something else I nee to test out. I would happily award this a permanent spot in my routine.
Good morning and welcome to the weekly skincare line up. Here we take a brief look at all of the products in play and see how they are performing as they work in a team. This week was a week of allergies so the eyes are watery and the bags can not be blamed on any skincare product. Still I have a bare skin picture to show you so you can see how my skin looks. Despite the allergies I think it is doing well.
There were some minor breakouts due to the massive sugar intake over Easter. Peeps and Cadbury Eggs. I love them but luckily they only come around once a year. Although this year the Peeps actually gave me the sugar shakes. That is far too much sugar to take in one sitting when you haven’t had it in a while. Next year I am either going to have to ease myself in or just skip them all together.
But that has passed and the sugar spots have mostly been cleared away. I’m actually quite pleased with how my skin looks at the moment. So shall we talk about the products responsible?
First Up, I did finish The Pill Serum by Nue Co. It wasn’t my favorite serum. I’m sure it was good for my skin, but there was nothing I could point to and say, yes, this is what that serum did. There were a couple of days where I left off the serum and there was no noticeable difference. The Nue co makes several great products, but I just wasn’t impressed by this one.
The Kate Somerville cleanser is fine. It cleans well without stripping and it is quite gentle. It is a nice cleanser. It probably isn’t one I’m going to remember or seek out once this tube is empty, but I am enjoying using it. at the moment I actually have a stockpile of cleansers so I am working through them. Its also why I have a different one at night. I don;t mind having a lot on hand as I will always go through them, but they have to be special for me to put on the repurchase list and thus far, I haven’t seen anything that makes me really want to repurchase this.
The Time Revolution Essence just gets better and better each time I use it. I can feel my pores opening up and I really think my skin looks better because of it.
When I went into the cabinet to find a toner I realized I had this one from Murad opened and about halfway used so I decided to roll it back into my line up to finish using. I really like this toner. The spray lets me apply the right amount to the reusable pad without the risk of spilling and it smells light and fresh. I also like the proof that my makeup remover is working when i use it at night.
The Sensitive version of the Embryolisse is turning out to be perfect for this time of year. It is light enough that it doesn’t feel like too much when the weather is warm and it works well with my sunscreen. I was worried about that actually. When I apply the sunscreen I have to wait until the moisturizer absorbs. because of this I adjusted my schedule slightly in the mornings. Normally I put on the coffee, then go through my morning routine. By the time i am done the coffee is brewed. What I am doing now is putting the coffee pot on, applying everything but sunscreen, then pouring my first cup. I set the cup on the desk and then go back to the bathroom to apply the sunscreen before having my coffee. I know it isn’t much of a change, but just that slight amount of time is enough for the moisturizer to settle in before I apply the sunscreen.
And I am liking the sunscreen. Which isn’t a surprise as I really liked the sample of it I tried at the end of the summer last year.
This week I also switched out my eye creams. I have been wanting to try this Sunday Riley eye cream for a while. It was a gift with new subscribers for the Allure box (and one of the reason I signed up) and since it was here I couldn’t resist. While I really like the formula of the eye cream and I like that only a little comes out of the tube at a time, keeping the rest of the product away from the air. I am not a huge fan of the applicator. It is very good on the crows feet area but not great for under the eye. So I end up putting the cream on the sides of my eyes and then tapping it in with my fingers. Which is fine. Just something to note. It is a very light weight formula and I did remember to take a picture of the lines around my eyes before I started using it so i can o a comparison pic after a month of use. So hopefully I will see some results.
The Yensa cleansing oil has worked really well as a makeup remover. I had planned to roll in a cleansing balm for makeup removal but this far I haven’t needed it. I do have a couple I want to test out, but I am happy to wait until this cleansing oil is done since they aren’t necessary at the moment. The Turkish Towel Company cloths are holding up well. They are gentle and effective and due to their dark color, they haven’t stained. So I am happy to keep using them.
In all honesty, I forgot to use the Topical C this week. It ended up pushed to the back of the shelf and forgotten. I remembered it when I moved the bottles around for the photograph this morning. I’ll put it back to use now that I’ve remembered it, but I forgot about it this week.
And Finally the Laneige has been keeping my lips soft and supple. I really love applying it before bed at night and highly recommend it.
But wait…that’s not all…
(and yes I wrote Tuesday and Thursday on top of the Retinol to remind myself not to reach for it every day)
The Shani Darden is almost empty, I will probably finish it out before the end of the week. It is a nice retinol. I’ve been using it Tuesdays and Thursdays and then using the Alpha H Liquid Gold Monday, Wednesday and Friday. when i tried using them together there was some stinging so i separated them and have had no problems with either product. The retinol is nice however it does male me a little sun sensitive. As we are entering into the season where I spend a lot more time in the sun I will probably be switching to a bakuchiol instead since it doesn’t have the same sun issues. I am only using this retinol at night though. I think I would like to try this product in a full size to see how well it performed over a longer period. I think that might be a skincare trial for next winter though.
The Alpha H is fantastic. The first couple of applications it did sting a little, but the sting faded as my skin got used to it and I really think my skin looks lovely partially because of this Liquid gold. I am very happy to keep using it.
And that is the skin care for the week. I am enjoying the products I am using and this week I will roll in a serum to take the place of The Nue Co and I will finish out the retinol and roll in something else. If you are looking at products, I hope this helps you out. Happy Friday everyone.
This week I feel a little bit bad for my skincare. I have several breakouts, but they are the result of too much sugar in my week. I won’t harp on it here because i have mentioned it a lot this week. But it does make me feel bad for my skincare. they put in the effort, I simply sabotaged them when they weren’t looking. You may notice that there are a lot of products in that picture above, mush more than is usual, even for me. Many of those bottles are actually empty. And a couple of the items are rolled in as replacements. Also I have two non-daily products in the mix, on for Tuesdays and Thursdays and one for every other day.
I’ll separate them out below so this week there are three sections; Day, Night, and Other. The picture to the left is my bare skin. I forgot to take it in the bathroom, but as I hadn’t put on my makeup for the day, i went ahead and took the pic at my desk, hence the light and backdrop difference. Also I finished my Native Deodorant (actually the last of it popped out of the tube unexpectedly and landed on the floor). I had an extra Dove Deodorant in the drawer (I keep it as back up for when I am testing natural deodorants that may or may not work) which I pressed into service. So now that I have given a lengthy intro to match the extra products pictured, let’s get into it. As always, we will start with the day time lineup.
Okay we have a few changes this week. I finished up the Missha Cleanser. Although gone, it will be returning. I pulled this Kate Somerville from the collection of cleansers I need to work through. It is a clear gel. It smells slightly florally but the scent is very light. The cleanser has minimal foaming but seems to work well. To be honest the most notable part of it thus far is the cap. Instead of twisting off, it twists and opens a hole in the center so you don’t have to fumble with putting the lid down somewhere while you use it. I am a fan of this. Thus far the cleanser is nice. I have no problems continuing to use it, but at this stage the cap is the most notable element.
I live the Missha essence. It is quite fabulous. almost no scent whatsoever so if you are sensitive to scents this might be something for you to look into. It absorbs quickly and I j=know this will sound strange but when applying it I feel as though my skin is opening up. Like my pores are opening wide. It is an odd sensation. Not a bad one, just odd. But as essences are designed to open the skin to increase the efficacy of the other skin care you are using I suppose that is a good thing. I kind of like the feeling too.
The Pill by the Nue co is about half way finished and while I love the shape of the bottle and how it fits in the hand the serum itself is kind of meh. I have two Nue Co products in my line up and the other (used at night) is really great. I am just not really liking this one.
The Pixi glow tonic toner is completely empty. It was nice. I like Pixi by Petra’s toners. they generally work out well for me. My favorite is the clarity toner so I would probably purchase that one over this one, but this was a nice, lightly exfoliating toner. I haven’t chosen it’s replacement yet but in the Other section below there is a toner used once every other day so I’ll need to roll in something for the between times.
The sensitive Embryolisse cream has been interesting. This is the first week of use actually. I really like it. It has much less of a scent. It is still there and still the same scent as the original, but it is less present. In addition the cream is a slight bit lighter. I think this is perfect timing as we are starting to see warmer days. The sensitive cream is performing just as well as the others and there has been no noticeable difference. I think there will be more of a difference as the sun heats up and I am curious to see how it performs as a pre makeup base, but for now I am thrilled with it.
And speaking of the sun, the time has come where a daily sunscreen is no longer optional. I know, I need it year round, but the truth is I spend a lot more time indoors during the winter and when walking outside for the daily walks I use a spray sunscreen before I leave the house but don’t add it into my skincare line up. Once April hits, this changes and sunscreen is placed in the skincare line up. (I still add the spray sunscreen before my walk as a back up just incase I forgot.)
I tried a small sample of this Sunday Riley sunscreen and really liked it. So I was happy to have a full size to try out. When dispensed it has a slight pink tint to it and it has a light scent. It is one of those creams that needs to warm up a bit. There will be a little bit of white cast when first applied but as the cream warms to your skin it absorbs in and the white disappears. As with moisturizers that do this, just put it in your hand and let it warm up a second before applying and there is no white at all. I am rather enjoying this sunscreen.
As usual I won’t cover the items I talked about in the day since they performed as well at night as they did in the day (if they didn’t I would mention it). The last of the Sunday Riley makeup remover was used this week. I think it might have been discontinued. If not, then I would buy it again as it is a really good makeup remover. The bottle is empty and it will be tossed away. I used the Yensa last night for the first time. well first time for this bottle. I’ve used it before. It was interesting. I had one bottle, loved it and then picked up a discounted bottle that I think might have been a little old. The scent was stronger but it worked just as well as before. I think the older the product is the more like CBD oil it smells. It still works, but the scent is stronger. So check your dates. This is a fresh bottle and the scent is barely noticeable. it wasn’t until I applied water to rinse it off that I really got much of a scent at all. It is a great product and I am happy to use it, I just thought you might want to be aware of that.
The topical C powder to add to moisturizers is really nice. It is my favorite Nue Co product. It is one that I will consistently repurchase as it is a great way to add just a little extra Vitamin c to the routine. I tend to use it at night only because too much vitamin c in the day makes me a little sun sensitive. so if that is an issue for you, you might want to watch it. I like that I can add as much or as little as I like.
The Fig recovery oil is almost empty. It has a week, maybe two left of use. It is a nice dry oil that won’t leave your skin feeling greasy. I’m not sure it is better than other oils. I like Byroe as a brand and there are other products I will always repurchase (their Bitter Greens Toning Essence is fantastic) but while I have no problems using this oil again, I don’t think it is one I would seek out. It would be something i would add to my cart if I was shopping on the site, but not the reason I was shopping on the site.
With these two products I am making certain that I don’t use them on the same days. So I skipped the weekend with the Alpha H just so I wouldn’t use it on the Tuesdays and Thursdays I am using the retinol. while they are working well I am kind of glad that the Retinol Reform is a sample size. I think in my routine i should only use one of these at a time. But the retinol is about half empty (sample size) so I will finish with it and then just be left with the Alpha H.
Both of these products tingle on the skin. The Alpha H more than the Retinol. I would not use either during the day. While the Alpha H was noticeably tingly with the first use, each additional use the tingle becomes less. I don’t know if i am just becoming used to it but on my first use I was somewhat concerned. Then things went well. It is too early to really sea a difference with either but aside from the sugar fueled break outs, my skin feels really good. I’m monitoring it in case it becomes too much, but this far, I am liking both of these products, the Alpha H especially.
And that has been my skin care for the week. I know there were a lot of generalizations for the newer products but as I get the feel of them and they settle in to longer usage I’ll have more specifics on each. And now it is on with Friday. I hope you have a good one.
Ah yes my darlings, another week of skincare down. And changes are a foot. Several products are on the verge of being empty and will soon be replaced. First we look at my skin as it is the ultimate response to how products are working. Personally I think my skin is looking quite nice this week. I have a few bumps around my lower orbital bone, but I think that a lot of that is more to do with where my face mask presses’ than any skincare products.
my bare skin this week
And this afternoon i will be using my Bl’eau Mask which will bring up the clogs and since I won’t be wearing makeup or facemasks this weekend then my skin will have time to clear out the issues before next week starts up. Other than that, I have no real skin issues this week. Which is always nice to say. we are on the verge of seasonal changing though so in the coming weeks there may be a bit of finding my footing as the temperatures rise. A lot of that will depend on if we have a slow spring that rolls gently into the summer or if the Summer sun shows up early and clobbers spring into submission. Last year we had a long cold spring and then almost no autumn to speak of. Si I guess we will see what we get this year. But weather (and the future) aside, let’s see how this week’s products performed. For many of them, this is tha last time in the Line up this go round although some will be returning.
All of these products were in use last week (and several week’s prior. Next week will see many of them go away. The Missha Cleanser is almost used up. I think the fact that I used it as a mask as well as a cleanser used up the tube far faster than anticipated. I will definitely order this again and I will use it as a cleanser. when i use it as a mask it won’t be as a traditional face mask but as a cleanser I let sit to sooth the skin. I am actually ordering a new tube soon (they have a massive sale right now 20% off with code HELLO20) just so that I can have it on hand for the summer. That Artemisia is fantastic at soothing sun irritation (as well as other irritations) and I want it on hand.
The 111Skin essence has been great and I have loved not only how it increased the efficacy of the other products I was using but also the high end spa scent it brought to my routine. It was nice and I would certainly use it again. However I think there is only enough product to get through the weekend. Soon a new essence will join the line up. I have enjoyed the 111Skin Essence though.
The Nue Co’s The Pill is one of the few products staying. It is nice. It isn’t my favorite serum. I haven’t noticed anything that makes me think Wow when I use it. I think part of that is because it is an everything serum. There is not one targeted thing that I can see it doing. I’ll keep using it because it is nice, but i am still trying to figure out how i feel about it. The Vitamin C powder from the Nue co is another story, but I’ll get to that in the night time routine.
The Pixi toner is one I like. I’ve used it before and will no doubt use it again. The sample size I have is almost out. So I will use it this week. I plan to roll in the Alpha H Liquid Gold Toner which can only be used every other day so I will probably be using those together in the coming week. This should make the small amount of toner last out the week.
The MZ eye cream has been performing well. There is some reduction in fine lines. I would have expected to see a little more of a result but we are just approaching the thirty day mark (I think, I sort of lost track with the eye cream and will have to check) so it is still a little early to expect massive results. I will keep using it and hope the results increase. I think part of my expectations is that I know how much the cream costs ($159 per jar) and the cost leads me to expect really spectacular results. Especially since I have gotten spectacular results with a $30 eye cream. But as always where skincare is concerned, only time will tell.
And this leads us to the Embryolisse. I love this moisturizer. It has been fantastic. I thought that with the changing seasons it might end up being too heavy, but it hasn’t been. However we are approaching a moment. I have used it for thirty days. Now while I would love to keep using it, I have two other creams from the Lait creme line of Embryolisse so I need to use each of them in turn and compare them. However this moment also makes me happy. I tried the Embryolisse as a pre makeup base and now I am hooked. So while I would like to keep using it as a moisturizer, I am relocating it to my makeup bag and will be using it before applying my makeup while I test out the other moisturizers in this line. For me this is a win win. Having it in my makeup bag means I won’t forget it and can use it each day with my makeup and won’t have to run back to the bathroom to fetch it. So that’s kind of a bonus win for me. I will have the thirty day final post of this up next week with a lot more detail.
But that was my Day time line up. Only three of the products will be back next week. And new ones will be gin their testing. I can’t wait. But for now it is into the night…
Okay I won’t go into the repeat products from the morning as they worked the same in the day as they did in the night. I needed a break from the Vike spray. It works well but that scent made me feel like i was in a cloud of vaporized mothballs and I needed a break. So I went to my skincare drawer knowing I have at least two cleansing balms in there. And at the back I found this Sunday Riley Vitamin C makeup remover oil. There is only a little bit left so i decided I would go ahead and just use it up. I used it this week and think that there might be enough left to finish it out this week. It was fantastic. I am a bit fan of the entire Vitamin C line, but I couldn’t find this on their website so i think it may have been dropped. It is a really good makeup remover and I didn’t have to scrub that much a the makeup just melted away.
I am finishing up the second week of trying out the Makeup removal cloths from the Turkish Towel company and am really liking them. I know this sounds strange, but the fact that they have the word Makeup embroidered on the front has kept them from going walk about. Everyone leaves them alone and they don’t get used for other things. which means I can easily rotate through them and not wonder where they got to.
The topical C powder is fantastic in my moisturizer. It just melts in and blends beautifully. I am a huge fan. I am however not a fan of the Somme institute. I think the pads didn’t even make it into today’s photo because I just stopped using them this week. The serum is fine but those cloth pads are a pain. So I stopped using them. I know it is wasteful but i just got so annoyed that i didn’t want to bother. I’ll do a short review detailing my experience and why I’m letting them go but i am passing them on to someone who will hopefully get better use out of them.
And finally there is Laniege. I love the lip mask and will use it until it is gone. Which will take a while as there is a lot of product in the container and you don’t use that much with each application. But it is fabulous. I think that when i do repurchase, i will go with the mini set so that I can switch out scents and flavors. But it is a great product.
And so that is my skincare line up for this week. Over all things went well. there were some misses, but nothing missed badly enough that it cause a break out, so i am calling that good.
Ah yes, my darlings it is travel time. Time to pick out makeup and skin care products to take with me on my trip. I know this sounds totally dorky, but I really love picking out travel products. It forces me to slim down my choices with makeup, taking only what I will need for the trip and it allows me to try out an entire range of samples that I have been stashing in the drawer and waiting for an excuse to try out. With my travel I have a rule with packing. I can either take two small makeup bags (think the IPSY Glam Bag size) and place skin care in one and makeup in the other or I can take one larger makeup bag.
Hair care always gets stashed in a separate bag regardless, mostly because those items are often wet from the shower. That will be a second post. I actually did pretty good paring down the makeup this year. I have a harder time at Christmas as when I go home there are more gatherings. But I am still proud of myself. Let’s take a quick look at the makeup I am bringing along and why.
The Travel Makeup:
Primer: Elf Poreless Putty Primer: This is a great primer to just smooth out the rough edges. Plus I am almost finished with it and am hoping to use it up soon. Don’t worry a replacement has already been ordered. Partially because ELF has a huge sale going on right now and I couldn’t resist a restock. Not only is this a good primer, but it is a good travel primer. It performs well and because it is a cream it won’t spill or get a punctured tube. It is neat as well as fabulous.
Foundation: Revolution Fast Base Foundation Stick: It is a great foundation and I really like traveling with a stick foundation over a liquid one. No spillage or breakage to worry about. this foundation can look a little shiny in the midafternoon, so have not only the powder in my makeup bag, but I have a compact in my purse. I know, it bends the rules a little, but I’m okay with that.
Pur 4-in 1 Skin Perfection Powders Face Palette: I chose this palette because I like all of the products in there and having all of my powders in one is a really good travel plan. It also has a hard case that will protect the powders on their journey. Is it my absolute favorite palette? No. It is good and I don’t mind using it for a long weekend though. It also has the powder, blush, bronzer and highlight. My other palettes don’t have quite the same mix. Several of them have multiple blushes or highlights or bronzers. This has all four so it is easy to pack. Plus it has a nice large mirror in case I end up putting on my makeup in a small corner of the kitchen table. This tends to happen more than I expect.
Eyeshadow: No 7 Pink Blossom Trio and the Ciate Trend Edit palette: I know, I probably should have chosen just one. The No 7 gives me a quick solid look, which as I am never certain how much time I will have to get ready when I am with the family is always appreciated. The Ciate London Palette has a few more pops of color but the colors complement the No 7 well. So I can use the No 7 and then maybe brighten it with the Ciate. or just swap them out by day. Both palettes are small and encased in sturdy plastic so I know they will travel well and give me enough variation for the length of the trip.
Mascara: Tarte Lights Camera Lashes and YSL Volume Effect: I know, two mascaras. Both are samples and neither have a whole lot of product left in them, so I suspect they will be used up during the trip. I have both so I won’t run out of mascara and because I like both. I do suspect that the trip will finish out both tubes of sample sized mascara though.
Lips: Elf Sheer Slick, wet ‘n Wild Megalast Lipstick in Cinnamon Spice, bareMinerals Liquid Lip in Pout, and Colourpop So Juicy Plumping Gloss: Yup that’s right, four lip products. And yes there is still a lip balm in my purse. and probably another couple of lip products as well. however I did choose the lip products carefully. All of them are ones I like so that is a no brainer. The ELF is a light wash of color for a barely there look. The wet ‘n wild is a deeper berry shade that is more dramatic and the bareMinerals is a pink toned neutral. Which means I have my shade ranges covered with this lot. The colourpop plumping gloss is to make mattes shiny and to plump my lips if I choose. Or to just be a clear gloss if I decide not to use a lot of lipstick.
See I may have gone a little heavy on the included lip products, but I chose them for a reason and even though a few more may find their way into my purse, I am pretty happy with my selection and the reasoning behind it. I was a little less cutthroat with my skincare items. There is a little less reasoning as far as products go. I had samples and I chose a sample for each category. Most of the products I’ve never used before and am using this as an excuse to try them. Others I’ve used before. Soooo.
The Travel Skincare:
Toner: Thayers Rose Petal Toner: Don’t worry I am not packing the whole bottle. Its why I have the travel bottle from my in-flight products packing kit next to the full sized bottle. I will fill the bottle and for extra safety tape the top shut during travel. Also it will go in with my hair care items, just incase it leaks. It shouldn’t but I like to be prepared.
Elemis Cleansing Balm: I know and love it and I picked up the travel size just for traveling. It is kind of my go to when traveling.
Klorane waterproof eye makeup remover: I am a big fan of this eye makeup remover. I actually have a large bottle of this but I keep the smaller sample size for traveling and just refill it. It always takes the makeup off and doesn’t cause the eyes to sting.
Tatcha Soft Cream Cleanser: Never tried it but it came in an IPSY a while ago and it was the only sample sized cleanser I had on hand. I’m actually quite looking forward to trying it out.
May Coop Raw Sauce: This is an essence. I picked it up the last time I went to the Peach and Lily website because it looked interesting and I thought I would give it a try.
Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream Anti Aging Day Cream: I know I’ve tried it before, I loved it before, but as so many of the products in the line up are new to me I thought I’d have at least a moisturizer that I knew and loved. If all else fails, I’ll still have a moisturizer.
Filorga Age Purify intensive serum: I figured I would try this out as a day time serum. The tube feels quite light so I made certain to include both a night time serum and an oil in the mix.
BareMinerals Ageless Night Concentrate: I plan to use this as my night time serum. As it is a retinol I am packing an oil to use just in case. I am actually very excited about this serum. I’ve used BareMinerals makeup products for years but I’ve never tried out any of their skin care, so I am very much looking forward to using this.
Akar Soothe Face oil: When using retinols it is always good to have an oil around to calm down the skin if necessary. Plus if I run out of day time serum I can sub it in with no issues. Or so I hope.
Hey Honey Look into my Eyes Eye Mask: I found this floating in the bottom of my samples drawer and thought why not. I also have three Hey Honey Moisturizer samples I need to try. But that is for another time. I really like Hey Honey. The items I have tried from them have been really good. I’m hoping this one will be as well.
Sunday Riley Broad Spectrum Light Hearted Sunscreen: I keep forgetting to rotate this in to try out. I’ve been using up my Neutrogena spray sunscreen and applying it whenever I leave the house. But I have wanted to give this a try so now seems like the right time.
And finally I have two types of Eyemasks: Klorane’s Cornflower infused eye masks and Grace And Stella’ Energizing Eye masks. I love them both and when traveling home they are necessary. there are many dogs. I love them and they love me. My sinuses are less enthused. it is not allergies, just a change in environment and my eyes get puffy. These are amazing products to use to depuff. Especially since I love playing with the dogs. For me, they are essential Holiday Travel kit.
And that my darlings is the list of makeup and Skincare items going into my travel bag. By using a bunch of samples and strategically choosing my makeup, i fit it all into one bag. The brushes will be going in a different bag, as will the hair care, but that is just par for course. I have the thrill of trying out all new products and the added benefit of clearing out some space in my samples drawer. So it is kind of like an extra win for me. the closer we get to New Year’s Eve the more I want to clear out samples and partially used products. Partly because it makes things look neat and clean and partly because it makes me feel I am opening myself up to whatever the new year brings. and this makes me feel like I am getting a good start on that.
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 