Travel-sized first always. I’ll always go for a travel-size if I can. See if I actually wear something before buying a huge bottle.
Most of these are sprays but I have 2 Byredo roll-on oils that I use but wish I hadn’t bought. I do like the sprays way more, but I use the Mojave Ghost roll-on oil after I shower and I like that it wears so close to my skin. So good.
I also never travel with perfume – what about you?
I can’t believe I’ve had A313 in my medicine cabinet for over a year, and people are still asking me about it. So here’s everything you need to know about it! I’m going to write a tips post about using A313 soon, so stay tuned.
Somewhere on the interwebs (reddit? maybe?) I came across the mention of A313, a retinol available in France that one could get on Amazon. What made it unique was the pomade texture, something I hadn’t come across before and what I thought would be luxe and hydrating. It’s actually a rename of the former Avibon, but this version is lower in concentration and is the only one available.
It comes in an aluminum tube and you get a tiny amount. Don’t worry though – you won’t be racing to order a backup, because you need just a pea-sized amount for your entire face.
The texture – ah yes – pommade. Turns out that pomade feels a LOT like Vaseline. Thick and glossy, this is a treatment you’ll only want to wear to bed. It’s also kind of sticky (which Vaseline is not) so it takes a little warmth and patience to work it into all areas of your face.
My skin is more used to glycolic acid, which I use almost every single day, so when I applied the A313 my skin was super itchy, especially around my mouth. It was actually so itchy that I had a hard time not touching my face, which is never a good idea. So itchy that I kind of didn’t want to use it again. But I waited a couple of days and then reapplied. Same effect.
After a couple of days, I applied a face cream first (with no actives) and then applied the A313 and this time I had no itching. Thank goodness.
After a week of use, I definitely had brighter skin – but I also saw some breakouts which I never have, and I’m going to chalk it up to the texture of the cream. People say that any exfoliant can cause breakouts to come to the surface of the skin, but I’ve never had this happen before so I’m pinning it on the pomade texture which I think my skin just doesn’t like, it being oily and all.
There’s no doubt that A313 does work. My skin was peeling even though I was only using it a few times a week, and I had to use extra moisturizer to get rid of that dry and tight feeling. Right now, I’m not using it every night, and I’m looking at Retinol alternatives to give my skin the clearness I want.
Have you tried a retinol in your skincare routine? What effects did you see?
You can get this on Amazon!
I have Boy Bait and Fashion Scoop. They both wear pretty light and sheer so I like them for using with lipsticks, not really for wearing on their own. They’re not very sticky and are comfy to wear. They’re so light though, and I think I got some of the darkest colours available. I wish they had nice dark colours that would jive with darker skin tones.
Have you guys tried these? What do you think?
Here are some hair treatments that I’ve been using that are going above and beyond that usual hair mask. A hair mask is great for extra TLC on damaged hair, but I don’t notice a real difference when I use some of them. They just seem like thicker conditioners without any real technology attached to them.
The treatments above actually do something to your hair.
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Treatment: feels like a mask but actually has technology in it that repairs hair broken from colouring or bleaching. Leave it in for just 5 minutes and get nicer, more hydrated hair.
Soapbox Scalp Treatment has tea-tree oil in it so it’s great for itchy scalps.
L’Oreal Wonder Water is amazing. It coats the hair in something so that it dries shiny and soft. A straightening feels like a blowout, and a quick blowdry lasts longer. I love this stuff, and I would rebuy it. I knew it was good when it was sold out everywhere online but now it’s back in stock, and you can get it here. You need to put this in your hair for 8 seconds, which means that it works almost instantly. Use it every 2-3 shampoos, and definitely put it into your routine if you’re going to blow-dry your hair. $9.96 if you get it on Amazon, $12 at the grocery store, and $15 at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Amika Flash Instant Shine Mask is amazing, but kind of feels like a conditioning mask, not a shine mask or a repair product. I do love this and will continue using it, but it was over $30 and I’m not sure that’s worth it when the Wonder Water is less than $10.
What do you guys think? Have you been masking more than usual now that we are all at home?
One last scent of the year and what I’m wearing today: Bulgari Jasmine Noir, nicked from my mom’s collection. She’s the person that started it all, and of course, she comes from a family that bought and wore perfume.
A few years ago, when I was getting rid of my whole collection, she made me keep a few bottles and she was so right about them! Jasmine Noir is a jasmine-gardenia fragrance but with a damp earthiness that reminds me of being in a forest or out in the woods somewhere. It’s a really easy and wonderful fragrance to wear, and I’m hoping that calmness follows me into 2022.
I guess I’m having a bit of a Dior Beauty moment, so I’ve pulled out this Gold Dust loose powder. I think I thought it was more shimmery than it actually is – you can’t see any shimmer in the picture if you swipe.
I have so many loose powders and rotate through them. This one is fine, it takes away shine which is what I’m using it for. I haven’t used one yet that really gives long-lasting oil control, but I do remember that the Guerlain one made my skin super smooth.
Do you guys have a favourite?
Look at the gorgeous texture of the Murad Intense Recovery Cream which is out new this year. This is a thick balm – you can tell from where I dug some out – that melts into a creamy oil that feels so nourishing and comfortable on your skin.
Now because I grew up with oily skin, I’ve never really been a heavy moisturizer type person, and it turns out that I still can’t use this everyday, but wow, does it every feel good on my skin after wearing a mask all day.
Anything with “intense” in the name seems like something I would use at night time, but I have been enjoying this during the day too because it’s protecting my skin from getting too dry. I use it at night a couple of times a week and really like doing that too.
Key ingredients include Shea Butter and Macadamia Seed Oil for moisturizing, and microalgae extract to help calm the skin. What’s really great about is the uber-thick texture – it just stays on your skin instead of just absorbing or evaporating, so apply this after you hydrate to seal everything in.
Available online or at Sephora stores. $109 from Murad skincare or $104 at Sephora.
I love it when drugstore products have some luxury with them too and that’s definitely the came with these Annabelle Cosmetics retractable eyeliners; they have sharpeners on the end so that you can achieve a precise line if you’re using them to line your lids. Sometimes I find that it’s easier to start with pencil eyeliner and then go to a liquid on top. The pencil allows you to correct the shape, and the liquid is long-lasting.
I have them in Granite (the dark grey), Rose Gold, and Plum. Of course, I’m gravitating towards the plum, but they are all smudge-able so you can use them as eyeliner or as shadow.
I’ve used this Cream Blush in many a video on Instagram and I keep reaching for it.
This Fenty Beauty Cream Blush is a surprise fav for me. Maybe because I wasn’t looking for a new blush and I don’t normally go for creams because I don’t like getting my fingers messy, I dip a synthetic brush into this and apply without using my fingers, although fingers are best for cream products.
This is a cream to powder formula and I have it in Rose Latte which is a brownish pink colour. The colour of this blush veers brown enough that you can use it closer to a contour and avoid the apples of your cheeks entirely.
What do you think? Have you tried this? I’ve tried tons of Fenty products and this one and the Gloss Bomb is a standout to me.
I got these right after the holidays: some skin favourites from Vivier.
I got the Hexam cleanser, the Retinol 1%, and the CE Peptides.
Honestly, the cleanser is great but it’s pretty basic. It’s a foaming cleanser and for what you would pay for this, it is pretty average and you could get something nicer at Sephora.
The Retinol is lovely – it has shea butter in it so it’s a little more moisturizing than most other retinols. I really love the packaging because it’s an airless pump.
I also love the Vivier CE Peptides serum and it’s one that I would purchase. It’s just 10% vitamin C and it feels kind of moisturizing. I use this in the morning under my sunscreen.
You can get Vivier products on different websites online, or through a dermatologist’s office, or medi-spas.
