A Foot Mask That Works Better Than a Pedicure

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Henna

Thank you Skin Republic for making these Foot Peel masks which are basically a pedicure in a mask – actually, they’re better – and CHEAPER – than a pedicure because they do a better job and last longer!

The Foot Peel mask (some of you may have heard of the “Baby Feet” mask that you can get on Amazon) basically is a baggie that has really strong chemical exfoliant in it.  You put the baggies on your feet and let the exfoliant do its job for 60-90 minutes.  7 days later, the skin on your feet starts to peel of in an intense way and you can let it fall off on its own, or help it along with a washcloth or any kind of scrubbie.  The amount of skin that comes off is so much more than what they get to at the salon.  For example, during a pedicure, they might get to my callouses, but they never exfoliate the base of my feet because I’m too ticklish.  Now, all that comes off on its own after using the Foot Peel Mask.  It’s amazing.

The mask takes 7 days to work, it takes a few days for the dead skin to be completely off and during that process, you probably don’t want to wear open-toed shoes – it’s pretty gross to look at.  But once it’s done, your feet are soft and smooth for a few weeks, especially if you keep up your moisturizing.

Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid are the main ingredients, and I don’t have sensitive skin and I didn’t experience any tingling or burning when I used these.  It’s a hassle to keep the booties on for 90 minutes but I did it while I was watching a movie, so the time went by pretty fast.  It’s totally worth it and I’m going to keep these on hand and do them on a regular basis because the results are totally worth it.

The Skin Republic mask is just $16.  Get them from Amazon

 

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Kate Somerville Exfolikate Review

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Henna

First up is the highly hyped Kate Somerville Exfolikate exfoliating treatment.

I’ll start by saying that this is not for anyone with sensitive skin, because even with my hardy oily skin, I felt major tingling (slight burning) when I applied this for the first time, and I took that to mean that it was working.

The treatment is made up of a creamy base with grains mixed with lactic acids and fruit enzymes.  To apply, you rub this on to your skin, taking care of surface dead skin, and then let the product sit on your skin for a few seconds longer so that the enzymes and the acids can do their work.  It’s the lactic acid that really does the burning and penetrates the skin to give you major results.  There’s a good reason that Kate Somerville is known for this product, and that’s because it really does work.

After one use, you will see a lightening of major sun spots and discolouration, and I like to use this once a week to keep my skin really clear.  The product is green and it turns clear as it dries, letting you know when you can wash it off.

As I said, if you have sensitive skin you probably don’t want to use this product as it will leave you really red.  Also, you should follow the directions and leave this on your skin for the recommended 2 minutes or so and then wash off.  Only if you are able to handle that should you leave this on your skin for any longer, and when I did, I did notice some redness to my skin.

This does also come in a gentle version which is recommended for those with sensitive skin.

At $110, yes, this is on the pricy side, but it’s at par with other department store product prices.  The one upside to Exfolikate, however, is that you will notice major results and this has active ingredients that produce those results so I feel that in this case the $110 is completely worth it.

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Up Your Mask Game this Summer

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Henna

There’s no filter that can possibly make a mask selfie look good and so I haven’t been posting any mask-wearing selfies, but I’ve been adding masks to my daily regimen and it’s making such a difference.  

Masks are like boot camps for your skin.  They have the ability to triage any emerging skin issues and help your skin look its best.  For me, masks generally fall into two categories: hydrating or detoxifying.  A good hydrating mask can make your skin look more plump, and a good detoxifying mask can head off any breakouts by pulling excess oil out of skin for good.  It’s a good idea to have both in your skincare regimen and use them as you see fit.  

summer face masks

Here are three new masks for you to try. 

1. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery PowerFoil Mask. This is the coolest new mask out there and deserves all the hype that it’s getting.  The mask has a typical serum-soaked fabric mask that you then cover over with a foil mask (that’s included) to lock in the moisture and prevent the serum from evaporating into the air.  As you leave the mask on your face, the foil helps it gently heat up and lets the serum soak into your skin. Like most cloth masks, once the ten minutes is up, you take the mask off, and rub the excess serum into your skin.  I used the mask once and noticed my skin was so much more hydrated and healthy-looking after using it.  

Besides the obvious and noticeably hydrating benefits, this mask contains antioxidants that can help ward off future damage to the skin so using this mask will actually help your skin look better int he long run, especially if you use the Advanced Night Repair serum on a regular basis too.

Pick it up at Estee Lauder counters.

2. Clinique City Block Purifying Charcoal Clay Mask + Scrub.  This mask and scrub is formulated especially for combination skin which has a tendency to look dull and greasy, especially after any time in the sun and heat.  The kaolin clay in this mask is excellent for absorbing oil and it also contains bamboo charcoal which you scrub into the skin as you wash the mask away.  The mask goes on dark grey and fades to a pale blue within five minutes, conveniently telling you that it’s time to wash it off. The result is noticeably more clear and fresh skin – if you have problematic skin in the summer, then this is the mask that’s going to get you through it. 

3. Fresh Rose Face Mask.  This is my favourite mask to use for a pick-me-up because its gel base is super refreshing and the combination of rosewater, glycerine, and cucumber extract just makes my skin look healthy.  It’s for all skin types so if you’re new to the world of masks this is the one to get you back into a routine. 

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Sunscreen Lineup

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Henna

Here’s my sunscreen lineup for the summer.  These are just the ones that I keep upstairs, partly because they’re the ones that I was testing but also because they’re ones that I like to use on my face.

I have a separate collection near the front door and everyone chooses their favourite and applies it. The ones near the front door are also ones that I don’t mind sharing.  The Neutrogena Bright Boost above is a fav, so I’m keeping that in the bathroom.

What’s your sunscreen routine in the summer?

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Liquid Eyeliner Tutorials

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Henna

I got a request yesterday to do a video on how to apply liquid eyeliner – and I’m going to make a new video soon, because I’m trying a new eyeliner, but I’ve made a few how-to’s and I thought I would link them all in one place.

This first one uses Tom Ford Liquid Eyeliner, but I want to emphasize that you do NOT need an $80 to get good results.

http://www.instagram.com/p/CAvEXMaBsCu/

I used a drugstore eyeliner in a different format for this video.

http://www.instagram.com/tv/B_-6VNfpyrw/

And finally, you can use a cream eyeshadow as an eyeliner too. Kind of like a cream gel eyeliner.

http://www.instagram.com/p/CAQtJT-pzrY/

Enjoy!

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Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Henna

By now, you’ve seen me use this eyebrow gel in one of my many tutorials and videos, so you know that I love it and use it daily.  This Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow+ was the original fiber gel that was on the market, and I’ve actually used it for years.  It came before the Boy Brow that everyone is using these days and is almost the same.

What’s great about it is that it adds volume to your brows without making them look too filled in or fake. It also comes in 12 colors which is more than most brow products come in. I found this to be pretty impressive.  There’s even a grey for people who have grey brows.

I’m using that in the color for her but I could probably even go up to a 4.5 or a five and it would match my eyebrows perfectly.

Find it at Sephora or online for $32. 

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Nautica Oceans

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Henna

Nautica Oceans launched in 2009 is the name of the newest scent for Nautica, and is interesting not because of it’s light fresh Cool Water-like smell.  No, this scent is interesting because it is based in water not alcohol. The scent is completely biodegradable which means that it’s good for the environment, and because it’s not alcohol based, it won’t be drying out your skin where you apply it.

Interestingly, the biodegradable element doesn’t mean that the scent won’t last on your skin – it will and moreover, it retains its true nature all the way throughout.  It has citrus notes that are slightly sweet and if you’re a lover of something fresh, this one is for you.

Oceans is on shelves now.

Interestingly, I don’t normally find perfume to be that drying on my skin because I don’t use that much of it.  I prefer to even spray it on my clothes, or into my hair.  Some people really don’t like the alcohol smell that perfumes sometimes give off, but perfume oils are also a great option if you don’t like alcohol.

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Dior Addict Lip Polish

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Henna

Just thought this was the prettiest picture from Dior in 2009, so I thought I would repost. 

The Dior Addict Lip Polish was new this summer and was formulated after makeup artists from fashion weeks specified how they wanted lips to look. They would prep lips with vaseline to make them super-smooth and then apply a light layer of lip colour on them.

Lip Polish was created to mimic that effect. This is the polish that you use when you want pretty natural looking lips. It instantly fills in lines, moisturizes, and creates a smoothing effect on the tops of your lips.

You can pick this up at Dior counters everywhere.

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Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Moisturizer with SPF 30 Review

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Henna

I go back to using this Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Moisturizer every single summer – a micro dose of retinol with SPF 30 in a light lotion that moisturizes and smells good.  What could be better?

You can get this at mass merchandisers and online. $29.97

 

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Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Concealer

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Henna

You might have guessed this from my videos lately, but this has been my go-to foundation and concealer duo lately. The @armanibeauty Luminous Silk Foundation is an old favourite, and now I have it in a warm colour that’s perfect for my skin tone with a coordinating concealer.

I find that the concealer is a little bit lighter than the foundation, so using the two together works well because you can use the concealer under your eyes to add some brightness.  The concealer is made specifically for using under your eyes. It’s made with technology that doesn’t crease once it sets, and is meant to correct and highlight.  I can attest to this because that’s what I see when I use it myself.  It also has caffeine in it which is great for reducing puffiness, and vitamin E and glycerin take care of that delicate under eye area.

The finish is pearlescent so your skin looks glowy without being shimmery.

What I love about the Luminous Silk foundation is that it’s blendable and liquidy, and one pump gives me enough coverage on my whole face.  I tap it into the areas that need most coverage, and then blend it all in.  Because of how pigmented it is, I prefer to apply this with a foundation brush and then I don’t end up with product all over my hands.

Both the foundation and the concealer are medium coverage, but you could definitely layer product to get more coverage, or you could sheer it out by mixing with your sunscreen or moisturizer.  I’ve tried the foundation and concealer over primer, moisturizer, and sunscreen, and I love it, but I do notice that it doesn’t last the whole day.  I’ve had to cover a little bit more after my micro-needling treatment and I realize that where I’m trying to cover some redness, the foundation and concealer have worn off by evening time, and if I want, I have to pat some more on.

But, on a more regular basis, this isn’t really a worry or problem.  I would be able to get through the whole day with this amount of foundation.

You can find both of these at the Armani counter or at Sephora.

$49 for the Luminous Silk Concealer, and $80 for the foundation.  I wear both in 6.5.

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