Category: Skin Care Reviews


Nov
2016

Origins Drink Up Intensive Quickie Review

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

origins-drink-up-intensive-overnight-mask
There’s nothing I love more in skin care than an overnight mask but a lot of them don’t work quite as well as I want them to. I’d never used anything from Origins before and we received the Breast Cancer Awareness version of their Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask a few months ago. We get so much skin care to review that this honestly stayed on my shelf until a couple weeks ago when I started getting my seasonal dry, scaly patches near my mouth. I tried about ten new products to help me get them cleared up with zero success and then I tried Drink Up Intensive.

This overnight mask felt a little different right away. It’s a little bit thicker than I’m used to and took a good twenty minutes to fully absorb (so wait a little while before you go to bed) but it smells amazing, like rose and apricots and felt soothing right away. I woke up with seriously radiant skin, so much that people kept telling me that my skin looked amazing. And those scaly patches? One application turned them into simple red patches and the more I use it, the better they get.

I’m really happy I tried Drink Up Intensive before winter gets into full swing because this mask is going to save my skin and I’m already wondering what other Origins products I’m missing out on.

If you want to try this mask, you can get the Breast Cancer Awareness version until December 31, 2016 and as part of the The Estée Lauder Companies’ BCA Campaign, $5 off each one will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation up to $40,000.


Sep
2016

Lise Watier Hydraforce BB

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

lise-watier_hydraforce_bbcreme_clair

Lise Watier is changing the way that you think about BB creams. When you see the words BB, you probably think more of a foundation type product. Other BB creams have coverage from light to full coverage giving you a different option from your regular foundation combo. Lise Watier’s Hydraforce BB isn’t like that.

When you go on their website, you might have a hard time finding it, because this BB isn’t in makeup, it’s in skincare.

Lise Watier has made a BB cream that is ready to protect your skin first. This cream is really moisturizing. It has a slight tint in it, but it’s not enough for any kind of coverage. Look elsewhere if you want to hide blemishes or discolouration. This is all about moisture.

I did find that Lise Watier’s BB cream made my face a bit shiny. I know that is part of the product giving me a healthy glow, but it’s too shiny for my liking.

If you need a new tinted moisturizer, I would recommend giving this a try, just know that it’s a moisturizer.


Sep
2016

Nip + Fab Kale Fix Collection

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

I’m definitely not on the kale bandwagon but I get why people are, so I’m not surprised that skin care companies have jumped on it. When we received Nip + Fab’s Kale Fix collection, we weren’t really sure what to expect. Both of us had the chance to try the products and we had some interesting (and non-interesting results).
Kale Moisturizer
nip + fab kale moisturiser
When I try a new skin care line, I generally try out the moisturizer first. I like a lot of things about this one; it’s light, it moisturizes and it absorbs really quickly. All in all, a good option for a daytime moisturizer. It’s really too bad I hate the kale scent of it. It’s such a strong scent that I literally used this twice so I could review it and then gave up. I wish there was less of a smell because I would’ve used this a lot more.

Make-Up Removing Pads
nip + fab kale fix make-up removing pads
I’m used to using huge wipes to take off my makeup but these pads actually come in really handy. I use them to just take my eye makeup off before I use my Clarisonic or after a shower when I have some leftover mascara run-off and they don’t sting or dry out my eyes. I generally use one pad per eye and they’re not the greatest at waterproof mascara so I have a tendency to go through these pretty quickly. They get the job done though and I was completely surprised by how much I liked them.
Clay Mask
nip + fab kale fix clay mask

I have used a ton of masks this year, so I feel like I have become pickier as we get into the second half. I had high hopes for this mask because of the brand and the fact that it’s a clay mask. I am used to clay masks really drawing out everything that is clogging up my skin. Unfortunately, I wasn’t overly impressed with the Nip + Fab mask. The colour was fun (who doesn’t love a bright green face mask?) and it did dry like a regular clay mask, but when it was cleaned off my face didn’t feel super clean. In the end, that’s really what it comes down to and unfortunately it didn’t live up to it.


Aug
2016

L’Occitane Verveine Moisturizing Body Mousse + Fresh Body Mist

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

L'Occitane Verveine Moisturizing Body Mousse and Fresh Body Mist
If there’s one L’Occitane line I love the most, it’s the Verveine collection. I’ve always loved the scent of verbena and they just keep adding new products to the line. Like last summer’s additions, this year’s are equally refreshing in the crazy Toronto heat wave. We tried two of the products; the Moisturizing Body Mousse and the Fresh Body Mist.

The Moisturizing Body Mousse is extremely hydrating and cooling (and really fun to use!) but you’re definitely going to want to avoid touching your face for a while or wash your hands really well right after you apply it because it can make your eyes sting. That’s really the only downside though. Right after you put it on, your skin feels soft for hours and there’s no stickiness and it dries instantly.

The Fresh Body Mist is equally refreshing and an really light, fresh scent. Unfortunately, the scent doesn’t seem to last very long on me. It almost disappears as quickly as I spray it, but I do enjoy how refreshing the scent is when I use it. The bottle is small enough that you can throw it in your purse and use it as often as you want.

If you’re looking for ways to get refreshed, this line is a good place to start.


Jul
2016

Joe Fresh Makeup Removing Wipes Quickie Review

categories: Skin Care Reviews

joe-fresh-makeup wipes

Your favourite affordable clothing line now has makeup available at Shopper’s Drug Mart! It’s so exciting to be able to get our hands on this makeup whenever we want. It’s not just makeup though, but also these wipes that help remove makeup too. These wipes are so soft on your face. The scent of baby powder is a nice surprise for cleaning my face. At first glance, you might not think these wipes will give you a deep clean, but give them a chance. I was surprised at the very clean and very moisturized feeling left on my skin.

 


Jul
2016

Avon Anew Clean Mini Cleansers

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews, Travel

Avon Anew Travel
Anew is Avon’s most popular skin care collection, or at least it’s the one I’ve heard of the most and in August they’re introducing the Anew Clean Mini Cleansers. There are six products to choose from. Three traditional cleansers, a cleansing water, toner and a scrub.
Avon Anew Travel Cleansers
The gel cleanser is meant for oily/combination skin, the rich cleansing foam is for normal/combination skin and the cream cleanser & mask is for normal/dry skin.
Avon Anew Travel Skincare
The cleansing water let’s you cleanse, hydrate and tone without needing water and the toner gets everything that you missed off. If you’re like me and love exfoliating, the daily scrub is a gentle way to do it.

All of these will be $6 each and are available as of August from whoever you get your Avon from. In the meantime, I’ll be taking a couple of these on vacation with me.


Jul
2016

Bioderma Travel Essentials

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews, Travel

Bioderma Summer Travel Sizes
Finding travel sizes of some of our favourite products can be a hassle or really expensive. Luckily, Bioderma now has travel sizes of all their most loved products. If you love Bioderma’s Micellar Water (and who doesn’t?) you get three choices in the minis. Sensibio (sensitive skin), Hydrabio (dehydrated skin) and Sébium (combination to oily). I almost want to take all three on my trip with me but I’ll settle for Hydrabio.

If a Micellar water isn’t enough for your skin, you can also get the Sébium Foaming Gel to ward off blemishes and keep your skin super clean. And to top it all off you can also get the Atoderm Shower Gel, which is soap free and great for sensitive skin.

Bioderma has truly made it easy for us to get our skin clean and take off all our makeup on the go.


Jun
2016

Makeup Most Wanted – June 2016

categories: Bath And Body, Makeup Most Wanted, Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

June has been a hot one, but these products have been keeping me looking cool!

Lush Yuzu And Cocoa Shower Cream

Lush Yuzu And Cocoa Shower Cream – I wanted this from the second I smelled it! The orange scent drew me in and made me need it in my shower. It has the feel of a chocolate orange to me. There is even a little spiciness underneath it all to bring the whole scent together. In case you didn’t get it yet, I think It smells amazing! I don’t know if it’s just my bottle, but this shower cream is really thin. It still lathers up properly, but it just comes out of the bottle like it has been watered down. Like I said, it could just be my bottle. Either way, it doesn’t matter, I am in love!

Katy Kat Matte Lipstick By Covergirl

Katy Kat Matte Lipstick By Covergirl – Somehow I’m not surprised that I love  Katy Perry’s Covergirl collection lipstick. What makeup loving girl doesn’t look at pictures of Katy Perry with those cherry lips and get a bit jealous. If you’ve ever used Covergirl lipstick before, you know the wear and quality of the product. There is no surprise there. It was the colours that have me jumping through hoops.

katy perry lipstick

The purple ‘Cosmo Kitty’ is one of the coolest lipsticks I have ever worn. Yes, it’s purple, but it’s also so wearable in your everyday life any time of day. The ‘Cat Call’ pink is also hot, hot, hot! You have to head to the store to try out these shades. They are just what your summer is missing!

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Sephora 8 Hour Mattifying Moisturizer Sunscreen – I realized that I didn’t have a face moisturizer that I loved and then a few days later this little baby appears at my side. Thank you makeup gods! Not only does this ‘perfect for summer’ moisturizer have SPF 20, but it’s mattifying! Nothing is worse than putting on makeup and still have a shiny nose or forehead. Now I am starting from step one with a face that I can be happy with. It makes all of the makeup I apply feel that much better and last just a little longer.

faceshop-foundation

The Face Shop Oil Control Water Cushion – While we are talking about stopping oil, reducing shine and getting great matte skin, I have to mention this foundation. I tried the CC Intense Cushion first, but I didn’t like it. It was only when I switched to the Oil Control version that I liked this makeup. This cushion foundation makeup is so light. You will barely even feel it at all on your skin. It almost absorbs right away. The colour goes on a bit lighter than it looks, so try on each shade carefully before you buy. I was still happy with my light shade. The makeup goes on very lightly in a way that is perfect for hot summer days. I never want to wear heavy makeup in the summer and this is exactly the consistency that I need. I did find that for full coverage I needed to wear this along with my favourite concealer, but I would have done that with my other foundations too.

MadeInShade_Box

Dermaflage Made In The Shade Powder Foundation – Despite all of my many makeup escapades, I have never used a loose powder foundation. I just didn’t think that it would work properly. I had no faith that it could give me coverage that I trusted all day. This one by a collaboration of Hollywood SFX makeup artists and Dermatologists. I was shocked when I applied it. This powder covers pretty much everything on your face. It recommends applying concealer afterwards if needed, and I never needed it! I wear concealer every day, so for me to go without is a huge deal! Even though it gives great coverage, this powder still isn’t heavy or cakey. It wears very naturally. I might recommend  spraying a finishing spray over top to give it more lasting powder, but you can toss the rest of the makeup you aren’t happy with.


Jun
2016

Alba Botantica Sun Screen Lotion Spray

categories: Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

Alba Botantica Sun Screen Lotion Spray

I want to start this review by saying this sunscreen works great! It’s a bit concerning to use natural sunscreen, because you want one that you can trust. I prefer a name that I already trust for my sunscreen most of the time, because you can’t mess around with things like that! This is one that you can believe in. The Sport version the sunscreen lasted for a full long bike ride in the beating sun with no burns at all!

My problem is with the spray bottle that this sunscreen comes in.

If you are going to make a spray sunscreen, make sure that it really sprays. This sunscreen shoots a thick lotion in one stream at your arm. It doesn’t spray it around at all. To get it on your arms or legs, you have to really aim carefully or you will miss them and shoot it across the room. It’s easier to just spray it in your hand and then spread it. There is also a regular style bottle, which I feel like is just as good.

The morale of the story is great sunscreen, bad spray bottle. Opt for the regular bottle and your summer will be great!


Jun
2016

Father’s Day Skin Care Most Wanted

categories: Gifts, Skin Care, Skin Care Reviews

Father’s Day is this weekend and other than posting about the usual gifts, thought we’d make some skin care suggestions for the men in your life.
No7 Energizing Face Wash, Protect & Perfect Intense Serum and Moisturizer SPF 15 
No7 Men's line
While men are getting better at taking care of their skin, a lot of times we have to buy the products for them. No7 (available in Canada at Shoppers Drug Mart) have a great men’s selection and this grouping gives them everything they’ll need for great skin. These are all suitable for sensitive skin and the moisturizer has SPF in it. The serum and moisturizer have anti-aging properties while the face wash will give them a little boost in the morning.
Lush Smuggler’s Soul Shampoo Bar and Multi-Purpose Cream
Lush Smuggler's Soul line
While it’s nice for men to have their own products, it’s even nicer when they have stuff we can share. Lush’s Smuggler’s Soul line smells so good you’ll want it for yourself. With sandalwood, lemon balm and jojoba, the Multi-Purpose Cream can be used for face, body, hair, shaving and pretty much anything else. It also absorbs really quickly so nothing will get greasy. Pair this one with the matching scrub and anyone who uses it will have super smooth skin. The shampoo bar has a similar scent and gently cleanses hair while cocoa butter moisturizes. I would love for this line to stick around because I know a lot of guys (and girls) who are going to love it.