September 2024 Empties

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

1. Equate Juicy Citrus Shea Sugar Scrub: I really like that these scrubs are gritty without being overly abrasive and are at an affordable price point. This is one of my favorite scents in the line - I feel like it smells something like citrus but also like passionfruit. I really enjoy it!

2. PURITO PLAINET SQUALANE OIL 100: As always I'm sad to run out of my squalane because I love how it has anti-inflammatory properties, reduces the redness in my skin, and leaves my skin really soft and smooth. I did get a backup so I wouldn't have to be without it.

3. Rare Beauty Kind Words Matte Lipstick in Lively: This lipstick has a pretty caramel tone to it which I thought was a perfect color to transition from summer into fall. The formula is pigmented, full-coverage, and very comfortable to wear. It feels smooth, lightweight, and not dry at all. 

4. Ardell Original Demi Wispies: I love that these lashes are very easy to work with, glue close to the lash-line, and are very natural-looking. In fact I wish all lashes had lash bands like the ones on these because they make it so easy to glue these lashes on without them popping off anywhere the way that thick lash bands tend to do. My only issue is that if I take a nap and have these lashes on, they tend to bend easily and never go back to their original shape. 

5.  Pure Smile Snail Lip Treatment Honey: I'm so sad to have run out of this lip balm - it was very hydrating and helped soothe any lip irratation to the point where it even helped cold sores heal faster.

6. Bath & Body Works Sunlit Palm Trees Hand Sanitizer: This has a yummy sort of musky mango scent to it, it's almost a bit sporty in a masculine way but is balanced out by the fruitiness of the mango.

7. Rare Beauty Kind Words Matte Lipstick in Gifted: Frankly I thought this lipstick was going to be too brown to work on me but it has just enough red in it to make the formula pull rosy rather than like poop on me. The formula is pigmented, full-coverage, and very comfortable to wear. It feels smooth, lightweight, and not dry at all.

8. matrix Food For Soft detangling hydrating conditioner: This conditioner smells absolutely delicious and I am sad to have run out of it. In addition to smelling fantastic, this added hydration and shine to my hair.

9. Equate Coconut Lime Shea Sugar Scrub: I really like that these scrubs are gritty without being overly abrasive and are at an affordable price point. This smells exactly as its name suggests. I like that the scent is sweet and tropical but isn't heavy at all.

10.Clean Beauty Smoke & Mirrors 6 Pairs of Reusable Lashes with Lash Glue (top pair): These are a pretty, fluffy wispy lash that have a full, fluttery look. I was actually surprised that these lashes are fairly easy to use and have a lash band that bends to the eye. That said, they did like popping off at the inner corners of my eyes.

11. berkley jensen Scented baby wipes in Green Tea & Cucumber: As mentioned in my previous posts - I use these wipes to wipe down surfaces, to wipe down my makeup collection, and to remove swatches from my hands/arms as necessary. I really enjoy the way these smell as well.

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the products mentioned above with the exception of the Rare Beauty Kind Words Matte Lipstick product, which was provided as a sample and the matrix conditioner which was a gift from a friend. All opinions are my own.

Love It Or Leave It; Review 2.0: Juvia's Place The Masquerade Palette

Hello folksickles. As a makeup junkie and blogger you may have realized that I review a LOAD of eyeshadow palettes and I like to think of myself as being largely an eyeshadow junkie. In order to declutter a bit I've decided to pick out a palette or series of eyeshadows for the month and have that be my monthly selection for those instances where I'm not doing a tutorial for the blog. Every month I'll do a recap on the eyeshadows - how I feel about them and whether I'll be keeping them or giving them away (and why :P) as well as if I think it's worth its price tag. 

 Juvia's Place The Masquerade Palette

You can find a look I did with the palette here. These are the looks I created this month:

So as you can see I created all sorts of colorful looks with these shadows. I personally have found that these shadows are easy to blend and the pigmentation on them is fantastic. All of them work really great in my experience. As someone who adores color, this is such a fun palette to play with! While I would wear it all year round, I do love fun colors for the summertime especially. That said, I think the mix of neutrals in here truly make it great for any occasion, as you can do a very soft, toned-down look with it or definately amp it up with the more colorful shades. In a sense, it's very versatile and has something for everyone.

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

Disclaimer: I purchase this palette myself. 

Toner Review: Green Pharmacy Chamomile and Cotton Proteins Facial Toner

Hello folksickles. Today's review will be for Green Pharmacy Chamomile and Cotton Proteins Facial Toner.

Availability: I am genuinely unsure if there is an online retailer that sells this product that ships it to the US. I apologize that I can't provide better information. I purchased this at a Russian-speaking pharmacy. 

Would I buy this again?: No.

What is this product designed to address?

According to the bottle, this product is designed to hydrate dry and sensitive skin. 

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

As translated by myself from the back of the bottle:

Chamomile extract: Minimizes irratation and calms skin. 

Cotton proteins: Protect skin from daily stressors, help strengthen barrier function.

What is the texture like?

I'd describe the texture as being watery. 

Is it scented?

This has a floral, chamomile scent with a hint of fresh linen.

My overall experience/comments on the product:
This toner leaves my skin feeling very soft and silky, kind of like a flower petal. I find that it sort of has a skin smoothing and softening effect. Overall I like the way that it makes my skin feel but the scent of this one is not quite up my alley, so I don't think I'll be repurchasing it. It also doesn't do as much to minimize redness or irratation as I would have hoped.

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

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.

August 2024 Departures

Ok folksickles. Departure blogs will contain items that aren't empties but that are going to be given away for one reason or another. I'm working hard to curate my makeup collection and want it to include only the products that I think truly work well, that I reach for often and do what they're supposed to do.

1. Juvia's Place Warrior III Palette:  This is a beautiful, colorful palette and one that I don't think there's technically anything wrong with. That being said, I have these shades in other palettes and I just don't see myself reaching for this particular palette so I will be passing it along.

Disclaimer: The Juvia's Place palette was a gift, all opinions are my own.

August 2024 Arrivals

Ok folksickles! I'm back to replenishing on things that I'm running out of and buying mostly just necessities.

1. Isehan Kiss Me Sunkiller Perfect Water Essence Alcohol Free SPF 50+ PA++++ x2: I'm running low on my sunscreen and needed to replenish, since these were on sale if you purchase two, I decided to just go for it.

2. PRORANCE International Gold Snail BB Cream: I'm also running low on my BB cream so I picked this one up to try.

3. wet n wild Rose Addiction Photo Focus 3-in-1 Primer Water: An old favorite is back, I stopped purchasing this because the Milani one is less expensive, but since my drugstore was out, I decided to pick this up for nostalgia's sake. 

4. The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane: I'm running out of my squalane oil as well and since this is an absolute must-have for my skincare collection, I've replenished it as well. 

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

Disclaimer: I purchased everything listed above. 

August 2024 Empties

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

1. Equate Watermelon Shea Sugar Scrub: I really like that these scrubs are gritty without being overly abrasive and are at an affordable price point. I don't know that I'd get this particular scent again, as it has that strong artificial watermelon scent to it. That said, on the other hand it reminds me of watermelon Bubblicious gum that I used to love as a child, which is nostalgic. I don't know that I want to smell like that gum though.

2. Vaseline Intensive Care cocoa radiant Lotion: I can't say this really adds radiance to my skin, but it is hydrating without being thick or greasy. As always, I wish it were a bit richer because it doesn't hydrate the soles of my feet - which is mainly where I use moisturizer - as deeply as I'd like. Other than that though, I like this lotion. I also like its delicate sweet, roasty scent.

3. NYX Professional Makeup Faux White Inner Eye Brightener in Mint Cream: I am really sad to have run out of this because I loved it as a waterline liner. It really helps make me look more awake and makes my eyes look a bit bigger and brighter. I also liked that this was a subtle mint because it sort of color-corrected any redness in the eye area as well. I'm especially sad because it seems like NYX has discontinued these and they were great in my opinion, I wish they'd come back.

4. Ardell Original Demi Wispies x: I love that these lashes are very easy to work with, glue close to the lash-line, and are very natural-looking. In fact I wish all lashes had lash bands like the ones on these because they make it so easy to glue these lashes on without them popping off anywhere the way that thick lash bands tend to do. My only issue is that if I take a nap and have these lashes on, they tend to bend easily and never go back to their original shape. 

5. Laura Mercier Rouge Essentiel Silky Creme Lipstick in Rouge Ultime: This is a beautiful classic red shade of lipstick. That said, this has gotten down to a point where I can no longer apply it neatly and when I try to put it on with a lip brush it goes on weirdly sheer in a way I don't like. I do use the tail ends of lipsticks to create a "Franken-lipstick" so this will go toward that but I'm done with it as a standalone.

6. Secret Powder Fresh 24Hr Invisible Solid Antiperspirant/Deodorant: I'm not sure what it is with the Secret brand, that it works best for my armpits without irritating them, but I really liked this deodorant, I found that it worked well and was gentle on my pits.

7. inm Out the Door Topcoat for Nails: I love this topcoat because it creates a thick, glossy, gel-like appearance. However, this bottle has gotten down to the bottom where it's difficult to coat the brush with product and the product itself has become sort of goopy. 

8. Equate Tropical Mango Shea Sugar Scrub: This scrub smells absolutely delicious - it has a sweet, tropical, fruity-floral scent that I really love. I love how scrubby the sugar is, it's abrasive enough where I feel like I'm getting a good scrub but isn't harsh on the skin either. 

9. Cococare 100% Natural Peppermint Oil: I use this oil as insect deterrent in my room as I was attacked by a waterbug late one night and don't want a repeat of that experience ever again. So far it seems to be effective.

10. Dove revitalizing cherry & chia milk body wash: I like using these body washes as replacement for shave gel - they really help my razor to glide nicely and leave my skin feeling soft, silky, and hydrated. This one has a really yummy cherry candy scent to it.  

11. Biore UV Aqua Rich Water Essence SPF 50+ PA++++: I feel like I'm always sad to run out of this sunscreen because I just love it. I love its lightweight, serum-like feel and how despite being so lightweight it keeps me from getting burned in the sun while also leaving my skin feeling comfortably hydrated.

12. boscia Matcha Magic Super-Antioxidant Mask: I liked how this felt like a deep-cleansing mask because it was clay based but it isn't drying at all. 

13. Milani Make It Last Original Natural Finish Setting Spray: I am so sad to have run out of this because I feel like the jumbo bottle of this lasts forever and I really like this setting spray - it's great for keeping your makeup on and for applying eyeshadow wet. 

14. Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Complexion Drops Dewy Skin Tint in N and 0.5: Honestly I'm unsure if I didn't like this because the samples that they sent to Sephora essentially have only enough product in them to get a decent color match and not to actually try out the tint and see how much coverage you can get with it. Frankly, I found this entirely too sheer for  my taste and while I like the glow it gives, I feel like this would be more of a glow-giving primer for me versus a tint or foundation product because I prefer more medium to full coverage. Additionally, at $68 I'm just not dropping it on something that doesn't even give me the kind of coverage I like. 

Edit: I did use the second sample as more of a slightly tinted dewy primer and I really liked the kind of coverage and glow I got out of my foundation when using this under it, but again, $68 just doesn't justify the cost of doing so, I can purchase any other glow-giving primer or even a tinted moisturizer or BB cream to do the trick and it would cost less.

15. TIAM Snail & Azulene Sleeping Mask: This mask is great in the sense of the jar lasted a long time, a little bit went a long way, and it added a nice boost of hydration and anti-inflammatory ingredients for my skin. 

16. Shop Miss A AOA Studio Dermaplaning Face Razor: I honestly realize that even though I use this for dermaplaning, I prefer using smaller razors designed for brows because they give me better precision. 

17. Givenchy Powder Puff: This is the one that comes with the Prisme Libre powder. I really like the powder puff in the sense that it feels soft and does a good job of depositing powder and is also great to pat across the face to touch up any spots like around the mouth after eating or on the nose if you were wearing glasses. That said, the strap on it broke quite quickly and I didn't love that aspect.

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the products mentioned above with the exception of the Westman Atelier product, which was provided as a sample. All opinions are my own.

BB Cream Review: PRORANCE International Gold Snail BB Cream

Today's review is for the PRORANCE International Gold Snail BB Cream

Availability: Alright so... I purchased this at my local pharmacy for something like $13.99 for 30 mL and I cannot find any reputable-seeming retailers online, especially ones that sell to the US. 

Would I buy this again? Honestly while I love the product, I don't think it's a good shade match for me, so no. 

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

Let's quote from prorance.kr, shall we?
Triple functional cosmetics for whitening/wrinkle correction/sunscreen (SPF30, PA+++)
For Resilient, Lively Skin
Product Description
1. The BB cream that applies smoothly with a crisp finish for firmer skin.
2. Naturally covers the skin flaws for a clean and radiant skin tone.
3. Contains the concentrated golden snail essence extracted from the mucus of golden snails to help with healthier, moisturized skin.
4. Contains the French rose extracts and American walnut oil to leave your skin resilient with the work of wrinkle-correcting adenosine for vitality and liveliness.
Effect
- Helps with skin whitening and wrinkle correction.
- Protects the skin from UV rays (SPF30, PA+++).

Does this come in any other shade than the one pictured above?

This only comes in one shade. 😭(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

What's the coverage/consistency like?

I would say this is a hydrating cream texture with a buildable, medium to full coverage and a natural radiant finish.

Does this have any beneficial ingredients in it?
Snail Secretion Filtrate: Helps hydrate skin, has anti-inflammatory properties, helps boost collagen production, brightens skin, and helps smooth skin texture.

Glycerin: Helps attract moisture to the skin.

Niacinamide: Has pore-diminishing, sebum-regulating, anti-inflammatory, and skin brightening properties.

Adenosine: Has anti-inflammatory properties and helps restore skin's moisture barrier.

Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil: Has antioxidant properties.

Rosa Damascena Flower Oil: Has astringent and hydrating properties.

Rosa Gallica Flower Extract: Has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hydrating properties.

Tocopherol: Vitamin E, acts as an antioxidant on the skin and helps preserve the product.

Is this scented?

This has a very faint, floral scent.

What has my experience with the product been like?

Pros:

-Consistency is really smooth, easy to blend and apply

-Has a pinkish undertone which is a rare find
-Lightweight

- Wears well all day
- Natural radiant finish looks like skin, not makeup 

Cons:

- color is a bit off, it oxidizes orangey on my skin-tone

- can feel a bit heavy in hot, humid weather

-claims it has SPF30 but isn't labeled as such which makes me feel suspicious

I've been using this as my "day off" makeup because I like to have a bit of a tint on due to having to shave my face due to my PCOS. I just feel more confident going on with a bit of a tint on. I really like this product because in addition to coverage, it also gives my skin added hydration.

What do I use to apply the product?

I apply this with  my fingers.

I feel as though this review is pretty thorough but please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I bought this myself.