September 2022 Empties

 All my monthly trash on display for you to see. :P

1. The Ordinary "Buffet" Serum: Although I can't speak to the anti-aging benefits of the peptides in here, given my lack of aging signs thus far, I found this serum gave my skin a nice boost of hydration and made my skin feel plump.

2. Dr Teal's Shea Sugar Scrub in Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil: The scent of this grew on me, it's very green and I wasn't its biggest fan at first. It does not, however, smell like the type of weed people smoke so if that's what you were expecting or hoping for, this isn't it. This provides a nice exfoliation due to its large sugar pieces and makes my skin feel soft and smooth. I can't say that it has any pain or inflammation reduction benefits, nor does it claim to, but I know some cannabis products do and therefore felt the need to point that out. 

3. AOA studio lashes in Alexis: While these lashes are beautiful and easy to put on, I find that you have to be very delicate with them as they have a tendency to rip off at the lash band. Given that these lashes were under $2 I can't complain much but I'm unsure if I'll get them again. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the style, it was wispy the way I like but I found it a bit too chunky for my liking. 

4. L'oreal Excellence Creme Conditioning Treatment x2: For whatever reason my mom doesn't use these after she dyes her hair so I end up using them instead. This leaves my hair feeling very soft, silky, and smooth. It gives my hair a nice shine.

5. SOLINOTES Paris Rose Eau de Parfum: While I personally still prefer sweeter, fruitier, rose scents this grew on me as I was using it. This has a nice fresh rose scent to it.

6. berkley jensen Maximum Strength Ant-Itch Cream 1% Hydrocortisone: I purchased this to help get the itch out of my eczema patches and I have to say it does a really great job of that. 

7. Darphin Hydraskin Light All-Day Hydrating Cream Gel: I really love the texture of this moisturizer because it feels very hydrating and nourishing while also being extremely lightweight. It's also nice for the summertime because this feels refreshing to apply. I do personally feel that I need more hydration than this offers though.

8. Trader Joe's Brazil Nut Body Butter: I have to start by saying that this smells absolutely incredible and I just love it. As far as this being a Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream dupe - it's a dupe in scent for sure but the texture of this is thicker, and in my personal opinion, a bit more stickier, especially on the soles of the feet. Despite its thickness I feel like the soles of my feet have a tough time absorbing it and getting adequate hydration from it. That being said, it makes my legs feel super silky post-shave. I feel like this is the kind of item I'd purchase if I was in Trader Joe's and wanted to pick it up because I wanted its scent but it's not an item that I feel I always need to have on hand. 

9. COSRX Aloe Sun Soothing Cream SPF 50 PA+++:  I really love this sunscreen and am sad to have run out of it. It has a nice lightweight yet hydrating texture and doesn't leave a white casting behind. I like that it feels hydrating and I don't need to use an additional moisturizer with it and that it keeps my pale behind from burning out in the sun. 

10. AOA studio lashes in Audrey: Unfortunately I was feeling a bit weepy when I wore these lashes and sort of ended up screwing their shape up entirely because I cried with them on. Overall they're pretty and are easy to apply and shape to the eye. 

11. Christophe Robin Cleansing Volumizing Paste with Pure Rassoul Clay and Rose Extracts: I really like using this product as a weekly scalp scrub just to get rid of any dead skin and product residue. I personally prefer their sea salt scrub because it's a bit more intense but this is a nice, gentle alternative.

12. Soapology Black Coconut Creamy Scrub: Honestly this scrub is just absolutely dreamy. It does a beautiful job of exfoliating and smoothing my skin while giving it hydration. It feels invigoratingly scrubby but, in my opinion, is fairly gentle for the body. It can be used for the face and the one time I tried it made my facial skin super smooth but I found it a bit too abrasive for my liking. That being said, it's great as a body scrub and it doesn't leave an oily residue in the bath/shower either, which is fantastic. The black coconut scent feels sweet yet sophisticated. All in all, while this is a super pricey item and I received it as a birthday gift, I absolutely love it and would purchase it myself if I wanted to treat myself or someone special. 

13. Farmacy Very Cherry Clean makeup meltaway cleansing balm: I really enjoyed using this cleansing balm because it removed not just my long-wear makeup, but also most of the lash glue residue I get on my lashes without leaving any kind of oily residue behind on my skin. I've been using it regularly since March so I think it lasting me just about 6 months is really fantastic and well worth the price. I would definitely consider repurchasing this. 

14. #I Dew Care Berry Groovy Brightening Glycolic Wash-Off Mask: I really enjoyed using this mask because it smells like a delicious berry smoothie and leaves my skin feeling very soft and smooth.

15. Korres Renewing Body Cleanser in Lilac Hyacinth: This body wash smells absolutely delicious and left my skin feeling very clean and soft. I am sad to be done with it.

16. Soapology Buttercream in Verbena & Ginger: This is a really yummy scented lightweight body cream. As with many, I love the way it leaves my legs feeling silky but it just doesn't do enough for the soles of my feet. I do love that it's quick-absorbing and doesn't leave any kind of residue on my clothing. 

17. AOA studio lashes in Lauren: So, my advice when it comes to these lashes is do not fall asleep in them because you will end up deforming them in one way or another. I took a nap and these look like weirdly bent caterpillars now. 

18. Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream: This was a nice lightweight yet hydrating moisturizer. That being said, I feel like my facial eczema is aggravated at this time and this didn't really do enough to hydrate the bits afflicted by the eczema. 

19. Dove refreshing cucumber & green tea Nourishing Body Wash: As I've mentioned many times, I really love to use these body washes to shave with because they're very hydrating and more economical for me to have on hand versus shaving foams. This has a nice, refreshing, slightly sweet scent to it. 

20. Soapology Walnut Polisher: I absolutely love that something about this scrub smells like a bookstore as I find the scent of bookstores very comforting. But that aside, this scrub leaves a lot of sandy residue in the tub which is a pain to clean up. 

21. Nature Republic Hand & Nature sanitizer gel in Apple: I really like these hand sanitizers because they don't feel thick and goopy, and they also don't dry out your hands. The apple scent reminded me of apple Jolly Rancher.

22. Soapology Buttercream in Yuzu: This body cream just smells absolutely incredible. It has a very strong, lasting yuzu scent that's citrusy and refreshing. Unfortunately, as with most body creams, this did a wonderful job on my legs but didn't cut it for the soles of my feet. 

23. Soapology Dead Sea Salt Scrub in Waterlily & Jasmine: I absolutely love the scent of this body scrub and I love how grainy and scrubby it is. That being said, unfortunately it's just too oily for my personal liking. It leaves a residue behind on my skin. I understand that the oil is to counteract the drying properties of the sea salt but I wish they would've just made it a sugar scrub instead. 

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

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the above with the exception of the Darphin, Soapology, and Christophe Robin products. 

Fragrance Review: SOLINOTES Paris Rose Eau de Parfum

Today I will be reviewing SOLINOTES Paris Eau de Parfum in Rose.

Availability: This is available on target.com and jcpenny.com along with their physical store locations (this varies, call your local store ahead of time to be sure they have it). You can also purchase it on solinotes.com, beautyhabit.com, and zulily.com. It retails at $12 - $12.29 for 0.33 fl. oz. (10 mL) or at $20 for 1.7 fl. oz. (50 mL). 
Would I buy this?: Probably not.

Notes: To quote from fragrantica.com: 

Top Notes: Litchi, Bergamot
Mid Notes: Rose, Magnolia
Base Notes: Cedar

Smelling it straight out of the bottle, I get a a combination of the rose and magnolia with just a hint of bergamot.
Freshly applied, I get that sweet rose scent that I'm looking for. As the scent dries down the magnolia and bergamot start to make an appearance. Frankly I'm not the biggest fan of the bergamot. I like a sweet, apple-like rose scent and while the magnolia adds this hint of springtime freshness that I'm not mad at, the bergamot has an earthy, bitter quality that takes away from the sweetness. Personally I would've gone with a vanilla or perhaps a sweet lemon or even sugared grapefruit note here instead. 

In terms of wear, I had this on for just around 13 hours and I get a very faint, fresh note.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.

March 2021 Arrivals

Ok folksickles! I was hit with so many sales and such that I went a little nuts this month, not gonna lie. 

1. REVLON COLORSTAY SHARP LINE Eyeliner in 01 Blackest Black: Technically I was planning on getting a liner I already had but this is all that I was able to find at my local drugstore so I decided to give it a try.

2. DUO Brush On Striplash Adhesive: I needed to replenish on lash glue so I just decided to go for an old faithful.

3. Physicians Formula Eye Booster Waterproof Ultra-Fine Liquid Eyeliner Dramatic Wear Liquid Eye Pen: As it turned out, the REVLON pen from above is very difficult for me to work with so I had to go and pick up a tried-and-true.

4. Overtone for Brown Hair Coloring Conditioner in Pink, Blue, and Purple: Given that I haven't had my hair dyed in over a year and that I'm afraid to bleach it because it's very thin and fragile at this point and the person who I trusted with my hair moved... I figured I'd give these a try since I'm also hesitant to go back to box dye. I figured I'd have a play with them and see if they really do work on dark brown hair as their regular line shows up on the bleached bits of my hair and occasionally will catch onto the white hairs I've got but that's about it. 

5. The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density: As you all know I've complained about my hair being thin for pretty much forever so I figured I'd give this a try.

6. COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF 50 PA+++: Honestly my wife suggested this to me and I tried it in-store a while back, it's nice and lightweight and I'm paper white, as you know, so I figured I'd pick it up since I'm running low on sunscreen. 

7. Maya Chia The Straight A Serum Retinol Treatment: This was quite an investment piece but I decided to pick it up because my skin is very tolerant of it to the point where, when I had a sample of this, I was able to use it nightly. I'm in my 30s now so I feel like investing in my skin, when I have the ability to do so, is worthwhile and I might as well get a retinol I know I like from a brand that I know I like. 

8. Sonia Kashuk Essential Blending Crease Brush No. 273 x5: I picked up 5 whole brushes because I genuinely had so much trouble finding something similar at the same price point - these brushes are $6 apiece and I honestly feel like the quality of the brush at its price point is incredible. It's the PERFECT brush for my particular eye shape to lay down transition shades with or, essentially, for any type of blending crease work. 

9. wet n wild Crease Brush: I bought this on a whim when I was at Target just to see how it would compare to the Sonia Kashuk brush, because as you know, I LOVE that Sonia Kashuk Essential Blending Crease Brush No. 273 brush. Well, color me shook because this is just as good! I wasn't expecting anything from a brush that cost me under $2 but I am so impressed with the quality and efficacy of this brush! The only thing I don't like is the ergonomic groove it has for you to hold it because I like to move my hand around the brush handle just depending on whether I'm trying to pack color on or blend and I feel like that design isn't particularly conductive to how I use my brushes but alas, I can't complain at this price point!

10. Solinotes Rose Ea de Parfum: One of my friends suggested I give this a try because I love rose fragrances. It's a little bit more of a floral, herbaceous rose rather than the sweet rose scent I tend to gravitate toward, at least smelling it out of the vial. I'll have to wear this on my skin and see how that works. 

11. Skinfix eczema+ targeted body balm: You folx already know that I swear by this stuff for my bodily eczema so I had to pick up more due to some recent flareups. 

12. Skinfix Barrier + Lipid-Boost 360 Eye: This was available as a sample at sephora.com and I decided to opt in for it because I've been getting eczema on my eyelids and figured maybe this would be helpful. 

13. Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream: You already know my deep love for the scent of this so when I see it as a sample I usually grab it. 

14. wondergloss beauty Makeup Assassin: This has become an essential makeup remover in my repertoire because it genuinely removes the vast majority of my lash glue. Due to that being the case this product is something I will continue to repurchase.  

15. wondergloss beauty Pumpkin Latte Masque: Given that I was able to find this for relatively inexpensive on Amazon and am running low on masks I decided to give it a try. I also really love pumpkin lattes so it was a win all around. 

16. Glow Recipe Banana Souffle Moisture Cream: This was available as a sample at sephora.com and since I've been wanting to try out Glow Recipe I thought this would be a great way to do so. 

17. Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow pha+bha Pore-Tight Toner: (not pictured) Honestly this was another sample I picked up because I wanted to try the brand. That said, I found that it was just ok and didn't make a noticeable difference for my pores. I don't like how this smells, it doesn't remind me of watermelon at all, and it stung a bit. All around I wouldn't go buy this. 

18. Mario Badescu Deodorant: Ok so I'm sort of on a mission to find a natural deodorant that I like. I say sort of because I'm not on any sort of committed mission but I figure if I find one and it's not super expensive that'll be nice. So far my favorite has been Lume but given the lack of baking soda (I find anything with baking soda ends up giving me a nasty rash sooner or later) in this one and its nice scent I decided to pick it up, 

19. A'Pieu Air Mask Sheet Mini "Haul": I use the word haul in quotations here because my lovely wife bought these masks for me. She got me the:

Coconut Milk (not pictured)

Green Tea Milk

Banana Milk

Disclaimer: I purchased everything listed above with the exception of the masks my wife got me.