makeup Archives - Page 24 of 25

Trader Joes Refresh Citrus Hair & Body Wash

May 24, 2014

I love Trader Joes food products. A few months ago, I went through a phase of going crazy over their food products, because it was so good and (mostly) healthy!

Unfortunately, the closest Trader Joes to where I live is in the country next to me, so I can’t simply stop by when I have free time. Anyways, the last time I went to Trader Joes a few months ago, I was strolling down the aisles and saw that they sold body wash. Needless to say, curiosity got the best of me and I ended up buying it. I think it was around $5-6 USD.

The description on the label made it sound super awesome, so I was very excited. “The pure aroma of sweet orange, succulent grapefruit, tangy tangerine, and luscious lemon refreshes the body and smoothes the mind.” is what the first line read.

However, I think they over-exaggerated with the description. The scent of the body wash isn’t that strong, contrary to what it says on their label. After taking a shower, I was a bit disappointed because I couldn’t smell much of the body wash on my skin.
Since I was disappointed with what little scent it had, I started to neglect it and left it sitting in my shower over the past months. I recently decided to give it another chance, which is why I am writing this review now. It says that you can also use this as shampoo, so I decided to give it a try. As a shampoo, it worked a lot better and formed a great lather, even with a small amount.

But I would suggest using a lot of conditioner since this doesn’t really moisturize your hair. I felt that my hair was drier than normal afterwards (didn’t use conditioner to test this out).
Anyway, needless to say, this body wash is pretty average, so don’t let their description deceive you, like what it did to me. I think if I didn’t read the description, I would have liked it a lot more, but I did have high expectations for this product. I should also mention that there are a lot of quality ingredients in this body wash, if you look at the picture above. (botannical water extracts of chamomile, ginseng, lemon grass, sage, essential grapefruit/tangerine oil, vitamin b5, vitamin c, vitamin e, vitamin a) ^ I’m not sure if I would buy it again.

Pros:
-Good price
-Has a light citrus scent
-A tiny amount produces a lot of lather
-Quality ingredients, not just your usual body wash ingredients
-Cruelty free, no animal testing, biodegradable bottle
-Durable bottle

Cons:
-Can’t smell the scent before purchasing; bottle is sealed
-Description is deceiving
-Says it is “aroma-therapeutic” but didn’t have any effect on me

What else did I get at Trader Joes? On a side note, if anyone reading this is going down to the states and wants to get me some TJ cookie butter, let me know and I’ll pay you back 🙂 Hope you enjoyed the review!

-Carmen

Lush Comestic Warrior (Fresh Face Mask)

May 22, 2014

I have had a slight addiction with Lush skincare products this past month, it’s all I’ve been using! I recently went back to Lush to look around, and was drawn to their fresh face mask section. After reading the ingredients in the masks, I wanted to try them and asked for a sample first. Unfortunately, I was told that they do not give samples of the fresh face masks as they expire in 3 weeks, and use only the freshest ingredients. Fair enough!

I ended up purchasing the cosmetic warrior ($7 CA) after reading the ingredients, here’s how it went.
The cosmetic warrior face mask is made with kaoline, fresh green grapes, fresh free range eggs, honey, cornstarch, glycerine, fresh garlic, tea tree oil, limonene, and perfume. Because of those ingredients, I can tell why the mask has to be kept in the fridge and expires in 3 weeks.
When I first opened the tub, I noticed that it was only 3/4 full of product. A lot of reviews warned people about the smell of this product due to the garlic and tea tree oil.

However, when I put it on, I didn’t find the smell to be unbearable. I didn’t really smell the garlic, but the tea tree oil scent was strong.I slathered a generous amount on my face. I figured that since it expires so quickly, I might as well use it up faster, and while the ingredients are at its freshest. I left it on my face for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the mask had hardened slightly. I washed it off with warm water, which took a few tries as the areas that I put more product on was harder to wash off. I noticed that the mask turned into a soapy, creamy lather after washing my face with it. Now, the best part: the results? After drying my face, the first thing I noticed was how soft and clean my face felt. It also felt really moisturized, more radiant, and healthier.

Pros:
-Leaves skin feeling really soft, clean, moisturized, refreshed
-Non messy
-Made with all natural ingredients and vegetarian (as it says on the label)

Cons:
-Have to use within 3 weeks
-Have to keep it in the fridge all the time
-Can be seen as “pricey”, you don’t get that much product for $7

-Carmen

April Beauty Favourites

May 9, 2014

This is my first time doing one of these monthly favourites! I’ve seen them on YouTube a lot, plus some fashion/beauty/lifestyle blogs that I follow. Since I don’t have photoshop on my computer, nor am I good at it, I had to come up with a way to create a collage by other means.

After pondering the internet and trying out various photo apps, I have finally created my first one! I know it’s not perfect, so please bear with me here. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a beauty related post, yet alone a mini haul, so I’m quite excited to try this out! These are in no particular order!

1. Dove Go Fresh deodorant, pomegranate and lemon verbana scent. I am in love with the smell of this deodorant. I like how it has a strong scent, making you smell lovely the whole day. When I want to freshen up after I shower, I apply this deodorant and feel refreshed.

2. The Body Shop – Mango body whip. I love all the body lotion products from The Body Shop (not body butter). The mango one has a lovely, subtle mango scent. It moisturizes very well. I love how it’s very light weight so you don’t feel sticky or heavy after applying this lotion.

3. ELF eyebrow kit. I bought this online back in November, and have been using this everyday for the past few months, so of course it is going on my favourites list! I love the colour/shade of the eyebrow kit, which matches my hair and skintone perfectly. The colour is very soft and not harsh, which I like because I don’t want strong, harsh eyebrows (that’s just my own preference). It’s also long lasting, and the small angle brush that comes with the kit makes it very easy to apply this to your eyebrows- pretty foulproof! Occasionally, I will double this up as a eyeliner for my lower lashes since I don’t like pencil eyeliner.

4. LUSH Grease lightning spot treatment. I received a sample of this, and I am already hooked after 2 days of usage. It is made up of all natural ingredients which fight acne scars, kills dirty bacteria on your skin, and prevents/kills pimples. I had two ugly pimples pop up last week, and after applying this spot treatment, I have noticed that they have diminished dramatically. I love how all the ingredients in this are natural as well.

5. Chanel – Chance Eau Tendre. This perfume has a soft, flowery and romantic scent to it which I love. Whenever I spray it on myself, I instantly feel very calm since the scent is very light and relaxing. I also feel a lot prettier when wearing this, so it definitely gives me a boost of confidence when I feel like I look like crap. I’ve gotten many compliments whenever I wear this perfume, which is a plus!

6. Maybelline mineral powder foundation. I bought this back in high school years back, but didn’t really have a good experience with it and ended up throwing it out. My friend recently gave me hers since it wasn’t the right shade for her, and I decided to give it another try. After wearing this as my setting powder, I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter, smoother, and more translucent with a hint of shimmer. I realized that the problem was the crappy brush that came with it. I used my own brush and the finish looked a lot better.

Well there you have it, some of my current beauty favourites! What are some of yours?

-Carmen

Suzy Nail Colour Review

April 12, 2014

For the past two years, I’ve been stripped away from the liberty of wearing nail polish due to my job. So, whenever I have a few days off, I jump at the opportunity to wear it!

Since I only wear nail polish a handful of times per year, I don’t splurge on expensive ones since they’ll probably dry out by the time I wear it.
I got this nail polish probably last year, at Suzy Shier which is a women’s clothing store. I really liked the soft, girly pink colour and it was also really cheap, so I decided to get it.

One of these cost $3, or 2 for $5. It’s a pretty good deal! I applied 2 coats to get the current colour.
I haven’t worn this since last Summer, so I forgot how fast it dried! I would have to say that it dried in less than 45 seconds, I was so impressed. I’ve never had a nail polish dry that fast and have such healthy and strong shine to it! And for $3?! What a miracle.

Also, can you notice how the top brush part is uneven from the bottom? Somehow, I can’t twist it back to its normal position no matter how hard I try. I’m glad that it doesn’t leak, or else we’d have a problem!
One of the annoying things about nail polish is their removal, especially if it’s glittery. I was in a rush to remove the colour since I was about to be late for work, but thankfully, this polish comes off so easy with nail polish remover. YES!!! Overall, I love this polish!

Pros:
-Fast drying
-Lovely colour
-Matte finish but with a light shine to it
-Easy to remove
Cons:
-Smells strongly like chemicals

-Carmen

First Impression- My Beauty Diary Mask (Sake Yeast)

April 8, 2014

First off, I want to say that I rarely use Asian facial masks like these. In fact, this is only my second time using one of them! I got this as a gift from my friend, who went to Asia in the Summer.

I was just feeling tired tonight, and had some time to kill so decided to re-energize and vitalize my skin! I know that this brand is hugely popular among Asian countries, so I was quite excited to try it. The only other Asian facial mask like this one I’ve used is the Innisfree brand masks, which I will be using to compare my first impression with MBD!

As I mentioned before, I used the sake yeast one. From my knowledge, MBD carries a bunch of other masks, such as strawberry or black pearl. The sake yeast one claims to be whiten and moisturize. The package was the size of my hand, just to give you a rough idea.
The Innisfree mask that I used was pretty fragile, it did not take a lot to tear it. For that reason, I was a bit wary and very careful in opening this one.

To my surprise, there was actually another harder sheet inside which was used to protect clumsy people (like moi) from tearing it. I was off to a good start. This mask was so much easier to unfold and apply to your face with the other sheet.
The plastic sheet also made the application process waaay easier than my experience with the Innisfree mask. I had no problems with it. When I put it on, a wave of refreshing, cold, liquid hit my skin. It was instantly awakening and there was a cooling sensation to it. I felt so much more energized!
After 5 minutes, the mask was still super, super cold. I felt like I had dumped ice on my skin. There was also a lot of liquid serum from the mask that was starting to drip.

Eventually, I had to take away my pillows because the angle my head was in was making the liquid drip down to my neck, which got really annoying. I kept having to wipe my neck and pat the dripping liquid onto other parts of the mask. After 20~ minutes, it got better since the mask was starting to dry. However, the whole time, my face was very cold!

Be sure to take this mask off over the sink in case there is still excess liquid, you don’t want that to drip all over your clothes! My skin was still covered with the product, so I decided to just pat it and leave it, instead of rinsing since that was what most bloggers did. It dried after 10 minutes and as I write this, my face feels very soft and refreshed!

(PS. Do you love the cat on my eyes? Hehe. I look freakish with this mask on, and I’m not about to let the internet see that stuff. Let’s name her Polka.)

Pros:
-Easy to apply due to the extra sheet
-Cooling sensation, making your skin feel refreshed and energized
-Light but pleasant scent
-Skin feels energized & soft afterwards

Cons:
–Serum drips everywhere, you have to lie on a completely flat surface (no pillow)
-Serum can drip on your neck since it’s so liquid-y
-Product instructions are written in Chinese, good luck deciphering it unless you can read Chinese (That’s what Google is for! Yay!)
-Not sold in major Western drug stores/retailers, TNT or online is your best bet

Summary:
-Would use this product again, but maybe press out a bit of the serum before applying
-A box of 10 sheets sells for around $16 USD on Amazon

-Carmen