Mask Review: Trader Joe's Rose Gel Mask

'Ello folksickles. Today's review will be for the Trader Joe's Rose Gel Mask

Availability: I'm unsure if this is still available but if you're interested it's certainly worth taking a look.

Would I buy this again?: Possibly.

What is this product designed to address?

According to the packaging this is what the product is and what it does: 

Restore - Hydrates and Tones Skin

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?
Glycerin - A humectant which attracts moisture from the air to your skin.

Rosa Damascena Flower Oil - contains anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties.
Rosehip Oil- contains anti-inflammatory and brightening properties.
Purple Carrot: Is high in anti-oxidants, in particular, lycopene which protect your skin against pollution and free-radical damage which causes aging.
Red Cabbage: Contains Vitamin C which helps lighten, brighten, and tighten the skin and helps in collagen production.

What is the texture like?

This has a gel-like texture.

Is it scented?

This has a somewhat herbal, floral rose scent.

My overall experience/comments on the product:

I find this mask really refreshing and hydrating. I wish the scent was more of that sweet rose that I like but I find that it does what it claims, especially in terms of hydration but without feeling heavy.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.

Serum Review: Dr. Barbara Sturm Calming Serum

Dr. Barbara Sturm Calming Serum

Availability: This product retails at $250 for 1 oz. (30 mL) and is available at spacenk.com, bloomingdales.com, neimanmarcus.com, bluemercury.com, and nordstrom.com along with their physical store locations. You can also get it through e-retailers such as net-a-porter.com, beautylish.com, and molecular-cosmetics.com

Would I buy this? No.

What is this product? What is it supposed to do?

Product info according to molecular-cosmetics.com:
An effective concentrate that contains an active, plant-based complex of Cardiospermum, Echium and Sunflower to rebalance and calm irritated skin and help reduce redness and burning. The calming serum strengthens the skin’s natural defenses, minimizing the skin’s sensitized reaction. Purslane, a key active ingredient used in this range by Dr. Sturm, activates the skin’s own anti-oxidant system, calms inflammation and protects sensitive cell membranes against free radical attack. The serum is ideal for rebalancing skin that is stressed as a result of sun exposure, sleep loss, jet lag, air conditioning, and exposure to smoke or environmental pollution.

Does this contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

Echium Plantagineum: Contains skin-regenerating, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Sunflower Extract: Helps skin retain moisture.

Cardiospermum Extract: Contains soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Purslane: Contains hydrating and skin-regenerating properties.

Sweet Almond Oil: Is rich in Vitamin E, assists with hydration.

Vitamin E: Has anti-oxidant properties, soothes the skin.

What is the texture like?

This feels like a very lightweight, watery moisturizer.

Is this scented?

This has a very light, clean scent.

What has my experience with the product been like?

I haven't used this long-term enough to tell you if it does anything for actually reducing the redness I often complain about. Within two uses I didn't notice a difference. That said, the texture of this is incredible, it leaves my skin feeling silky smooth. I will update on whether it helped with my redness or not but, given how pricey it is, I may just stick to my beloved squalane.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: This was provided for testing purposes. I am not obligated or being compensated to mention it on this blog. 

Eye Cream Review: Dr. Barbara Sturm Eye Cream

Hello folksickles. Today's review will be for Dr. Barbara Sturm Eye Cream

Availability: This product retails at $50 for 5 mL or at $140 for .5 oz. (15 mL) and is available at spacenk.com, bloomingdales.com, neimanmarcus.com, bluemercury.com, and nordstrom.com along with their physical store locations. You can also get it through e-retailers such as net-a-porter.com, beautylish.com, and molecular-cosmetics.com.

Would I buy this?: No

What is this product designed to address?

According to molecular-cosmetics.com this is what the product is and what it does:

Swelling, bags, dark shadows – an exhausted eye area can make us look tired and sad. This new eye cream has been especially developed by Dr. Sturm to treat the delicate and problematic eye area. While the scientific basis of the eye care formula provides optimum care for this sensitive area using Purslane and Skullcap, the special complex of Golden Root, Sugar Beet and Yeast also provide a soothing, ‘de-puffing’ effect. Active omega lipids help the skin retain its moisture and give it youthful freshness. As with all our products, powerful natural compounds are combined with medical molecular active substances to offer protection against premature skin aging and to assist skin regeneration.

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

Purslane: Contains hydrating and skin-regenerating properties.
Skullcap: Has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin-brightening properties.
Macadamia Nut Oil: Has anti-inflammatory and hydrating properties.
Sugar Beet: Has anti-oxidant properties.
Vitamin E: Has anti-oxidant properties, soothes the skin.
Yeast: Helps soothe the skin.
Panthenol: Promotes wound healing, helps repair the skin's barrier, reduces inflammation and improves hydration. 

What is the texture like?

This feels light-weight and refreshing. 

Is it scented?

This doesn't really have a discernible scent.

My overall experience/comments on the product:
I will say that I like how quickly this sinks into the skin and the beneficial ingredients it has but firstly, it feels incredibly lightweight to the point where I feel like it doesn't adequately hydrate the eye area. I haven't used this long term enough to speak to anything other than the immediate benefits. This does have a bit of a brightening, blurring quality to it. All that side, given it's high price point, I am in no rush to purchase a tube.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: This was provided for testing purposes. I am under no obligation to mention this product on this blog.

Cleanser Review: esfolio Pumpkin Moisture Soothing Cleansing

'Ello folksickles. Today's review will be for the esfolio Pumpkin Moisture Soothing Cleansing

Availability: I am finding this difficult to find on any reputable site. It is available on ebay but buy at your own risk and research the seller if you are looking to go that route.

Would I buy this again?: Probably not.

What is this product designed to address?
I am unable to find any info about this online. That said the packaging claims that it removes dirt, oil, and makeup.

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

Again, according the packaging pumpkin has soothing and moisturizing benefits. It also contains
Palmitic Acid: Has skin softening properties.
Glycerin: A humectant which draws moisture to the skin's surface.
Lauric Acid: Has anti-bacterial properties that are particularly effect against acne-causing bacteria.
Sorbitan Olivate: Has skin-softening properties.
Pumpkin Fruit Extract: Contains AHAs which help speed cell turnover, resulting in more radiant, brighter-looking skin.
Witch Hazel: Soothes skin, reduces inflammation, and may prevent acne-causing bacteria from entering pores.
Chaenomeles Sinensis Fruit Extract: Has humectant and anti-oxidant properties.
Argania Spinosa Kernel Extract: Argan oil - has hydrating and anti-oxidant properties.
Green Tea Extract: Has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Camellia Japonica Leaf Extract: Has moisturizing properties.
Arnica Montana Flower Extract: Has anti-bacterial, anti-septic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

What is the texture like?

This has a traditional cream cleanser texture and produces a nice foam in contact with water. 

Is it scented?

This has a scent that I'd describe as being clean with perhaps just the slightest hint of pumpkin.

My overall experience/comments on the product:

Frankly I bought this because I'm low-key obsessed with pumpkin anything so I decided to give it a go. I find that it works the same as any traditional foaming cream cleanser and I'm in no way wowed or moved by it, hence I probably won't go out of my way to try and find it again. I mean I did snag it for $4 at Marshall's which isn't a bad deal at all.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself. 

Toner Review: Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner

Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner

Availability: This product retails at $37 for 6.7 fl. oz. (200 mL) and can be purchased at macys.com, nordstrom.com, and ulta.com along with their physical store locations along with dermstore.com and  elemis.com. 

Would I buy this?: Probably not.

Notes: According to ulta.com:
Soothes, calms, refreshes. ELEMIS Soothing Apricot Toner soothes and refreshes the skin without drying it out. Extracts of apricot, quilla wood and sweet betty flower soothe and harmonize the skin, leaving a fresh and radiant complexion. Not tested on animals.
This product is free from:
Artificial color
Parabens
SLS, SLES
DEA
Mineral oil
The ELEMIS Promise:
Active Plant Extracts
Skin Kind
Results-Driven Formulations
88% agreed this left skin feeling soothed.*
*Independent user trials

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

According to ulta.com:
Perilla Seed Oil: Reduces irritation, calms and comforts. Soothes skin sensitivities.
Sweet Betty Flower: A natural cleansing and foaming agent. Tones, moisturizes and rebalances precious pH levels without the use of alcohol.
Saponins: Extracted from quillaja wood, saponins are a natural skin cleanser.

.

What is the texture like?

This feels pretty watery, hydrating and is refreshing when applied. The mister produces a very fine mist. 

Is this scented?

This has a sweet apricot scent.

What has my experience with the product been like?

I find this to be a fairly soothing, refreshing toner mist that smells nice and leaves my skin feeling soft. That said, this is more of a first impression and I will have to use it longer-term to see if it has any benefits beyond what I listed above.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

Disclaimer: This was provided for testing purposes. I am under no obligation nor am I being compensated to mention it on this blog. 

Cleanser Review: Rosette Hello Kitty Uji-Matcha Kintoki

'Ello folksickles. Today's review will be for the Rosette Hello Kitty Uji-Matcha Kintoki Cleanser

Availability: I am finding this difficult to find on any reputable site. It is available on ebay but buy at your own risk and research the seller if you are looking to go that route.

Would I buy this again?: Possibly.

What is this product designed to address?
I will go ahead and insert these useful images I was able to find online:

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

What is the texture like?

This has a traditional cream cleanser texture and produces a nice foam in contact with water. 

Is it scented?

This has a scent that I'd describe more closely resembling a sweet green tea (think Arizona Iced Tea) than matcha. I personally find it to be soft and pleasant.

My overall experience/comments on the product:

Frankly I bought this because I love matcha and I thought the packaging was just utterly adorable! I like foaming cream cleansers and this is totally up my alley but I'd say it's fairly average on the scale of cleansers that I use. It works well, smells nice, makes my skin feel nice, but I'm in no way blown away by it.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself. 

Nail Polish Review: Essie Closing Night Gel Couture Polish

Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish in Closing Night

What the brush looks like:

My nails with 2 coats of polish, all nails have NailsInc Gel Effect Top Coat  on; I have  Formula X for Sephora Xplosives - Chaotic on the ring finger:

Availability: In the US this can be purchased at target.com, ulta.com, and riteaid.com along with their respective store locations and essie.com. This is also available anywhere Essie nail polishes - especially the gel ones are sold. Price and availability will vary on location and looks to range anywhere from $7-$11.50.
Would I buy this again?: Possibly.
Notes:    In terms of color, Essie describes this as a soft shimmer gray.  I'd say that this is a mid-tone gray with a blue pearl and a cream finish. This is mostly opaque within one coat but I applied two for good measure. I found that this wore well for about a week and while essie.com claims wear time to be around 12 days I just don't personally wear polish for longer than a week at a time. I like that this gives that thick, shiny effect and longevity gels do but without needing a UV lamp. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

Disclaimer: This polish was a gift from a friend. :)

Mascara Review: Trish McEvoy Jet Black Lash Curling Mascara

Alright folksickles...

Today I will be reviewing the Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara in Jet Black

Sans Mascara:


With Mascara:

Availability: This is can be purchased at bluemercury.com, nordstrom.com, bloomindales.com, bergdorfgoodman.com, neimanmarcus.com and macys.com as well as their respective physical store locations as well as trishmcevoy.com. The retail pricing is $33.

Would I buy this?: No.

Notes: This only comes in " black - I think it's just as inky black as most other mascaras.

Let's go over what the mascara's supposed to do and what it actually does. It's marketed as curling.

As you may or may not notice my natural lashes happen to be naturally curly so I don't ever purposely seek out curling formulas. However, I do find that this kind of emphasized that curl. I was surprised it even made any sort of difference on my lashes as tubing mascaras tend to do little other than darken my lash hairs. As you can see I have noticeable length with this on. It layered really nice as well, which again, with tubing formulations is uncommon. That said, this just doesn't provide me with enough volume or definition for me to truly love it.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thanks!

Disclaimer: This was provided for testing purposes, I am under no obligation, nor am I being compensated, to mention it on this blog. 

Trish McEvoy Barely There Essential Pencil Review

Trish McEvoy Essential Pencil in Barely There

Availability: This shade appears to be discontinued. These Essential Pencil products retail at $28.

Would I buy this again? I'm not sure.

On me this reads as a nude terracotta. I love the texture of this - it glides onto the lips very comfortably and feels hydrating. It's unscented. In terms of wear time I'd say this did make it to my cut-off four hour mark. By about three hours most of the base color was gone but the shimmer remained. I personally am pretty happy with it.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: This was provided for testing purposes. I am under no obligation to mention it on this blog.

Fragrance Review: Versace Dylan Blue Pour Femme

Today I will be reviewing Versace Dylan Blue Pour Femme

Availability: This is available on macys.com and ulta.com along with their physical store locations. You can also purchase it on versace.com. It retails at $120 for 3.4 fl oz.
Would I buy this?: No

Notes: 

To quote from fragrantica.com: 

Top Notes: Black Currant, Granny Smith Apple, Clover, Forget-Me-Not, Shiso
Mid Notes: Rose hip, Rose, Jasmine, Peach, Petalia
Base Notes: Styrax, White Woods, Musk, Patchouli

Smelling it straight out of the bottle... there's an intense, slightly sweet, floral scent.
Freshly applied...there's an apple scent that I wouldn't say is Granny Smith, mostly because I don't get that sour bite that Granny Smith tends to have. As this begins drying down the florals come through along with the peach. Due to it having so many notes, frankly, it smells like a perfume department to me. Once it really starts fully drying it has this clean, fruity scent with an almost shower-like freshness. Overall, I'd say this scent is a bit too much for me personally.

In terms of wear, I had this on for about 17 hours yesterday and still sensed a hint of sweetness where I sprayed it in the crook of my elbow.

Disclaimer: This was provided as a gift with purchase. All opinions are my own.