Beautycounter Lip Balm Review

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Henna

It’s time to really go through all the lip balms that we have and give them a good testing, because the weather is certainly right for it.

Up to the plate is Beautycounter’s balm – their’s is called Lip Conditioner and comes in a peppermint and Calendula formula.

I’m testing the peppermint here because it’s what I have.

The ingredients are obviously going to be on the natural side: no mineral oils here. These are the ingredients:

 Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Cera Alba/Beeswax/Cire d’abeille, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Olus/Vegetable Oil/Huile végétale, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Candelilla Cera/Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax/Cire de candelilla, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Lanolin, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil

The lip conditioner is solid, but melts easily on the lips when you apply it.  I like that it’s easy to apply, but the finish is slightly oily instead of greasy.  What this means is that it doesn’t coat the lips as well as a traditional balm and so it doesn’t seem to hydrate or make them feel conditioned.  I also found the mint in this a little strong for my liking – I’d prefer the other flavour.

But if you want to give something natural a try, this is a good option.  It is moisturizing but less so than a traditional balm.  It also doesn’t have beeswax in it, so if you are not into using a wax-based lip balm, you could give this a try.

Available online for $22.

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CoverFX Pressed Mineral Foundation Review

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Henna

I’ve been using this foundation for the past few weeks and it’s my absolute favourite right now.  If you’re skin is slightly greasy from whatever moisturizer you wear, topped with some sort of sunscreen, like I do, you want something that’s going to absorb the excess shiny-ness a bit but also give you some coverage but also look natural… well I’ve found that I was looking for and it’s the CoverFX Pressed Mineral Foundation.

I have the foundation in the colour M40 and it’s lighter on my skin than it seems in the pan.  What makes this foundation so great is that there’s a high amount of pigment in the powder so you need a tiny amount to cover anything from the veins under your eyes, or any kind of minor pigmentation issues.  It won’t cover freckles or birthmarks, so it’s not that high coverage, but I would say that it’s a medium coverage foundation.

My skin tends to be oily, with few dry patches so I’m not worried about this making dry skin look more dry – but if you have dry skin, that might be something that you should consider.  If you prep your skin adequately before applying this, you should be ok, and you’ll notice that moisturizer gives this foundation something to stick to and it’ll look better overall.

Through the course of the day, it doesn’t move but it’s not the best at absorbing oil either.  I can see oiliness start to show on my T-zone in the middle of a busy day, but I also see the foundation on my washcloth at the end of the day so I know it’s sticking and lasting the whole day.

You can pick it up at Sephora or online.  $44.

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New Live Clean Foaming Body Wash

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Henna

Live Clean does it again.  Foaming body wash that actually moisturizes!  These have a good amount of slip so they actually do feel more moisturizing than other foams that can often feel dry.

The three varieties available are:

Shea & Murumuru Butter, Moringa & Matcha Butter, Live Clean Mango & Aloe Butter.

Despite coming out as pure foam, they are Sodium Laureth Sulfate free, which is an ingredient that’s often drying.  They’re also made up of 98% natural ingredients.

$7.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, Well.ca.

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OPI Tokyo Collection

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Henna

Available this February at salons is OPI’s new Tokyo collection.  Featuring bright colours, including 2 teals, an array of pinks, and some holographic shades, the Tokyo collection is great way to brighten up your nails this winter.

I love the shade Kanpai! OPI!  It’s the perfect blue-lavender colour that goes on opaque in one coat, although I apply 2 just to be sure it’ll last.  

The colour is creamy and streak-free so it looks even and wears well.

Also pretty are all the pinks. There’s Rice Rice Baby which is more of a mauve,

Another Ramen-tic Evening which is a bright pink,

Arigato from Tokyo which is a fuschia, Hurry-juku Get this Colour.

Kanpai! OPI! And Rice Rice Baby are definitely my fav colours from this collection.  They are wearable and seem to go with everything.

You can get the collection in gel colour, the Infinite Shine formula, or the original nail polish formula.  All the shades that I tried went on streak-free with two coats, and I loved the creams because they’re really rich and creamy.

Available everywhere OPI is sold!

 

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Lalicious I’ll Melt For You Gift Set

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Henna

If you’re a fan of coconut oil based moisturizers, you’ll have to check out Lalicious which is basically pure coconut oil mixed with delicious scents.  

The trio includes Sugar Kiss (which smells like cupcakes), Sugar Lavender (more floral), and Sugar Coconut (sweet coconut).  Because they’re coconut oil, they’re melty at room temperature, so they smooth easily on to your skin. They’re also perfect as a deep conditioning treatment in your hair.  I put it in before washing, and let it sit for as long as I can.

Pick up the set online for $32.

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CeraVe Now Available With a Pump

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Henna

If you’re like me and scooping out CeraVe by the handful to use it on yourself and your kids, then you’re going to want to get your hands on this: the Cerave Jar now comes with a pump.

Thick and rich, this cream is enriched with three essential ceramides (1, 3, 6-II) which absorb quickly and without greasiness into your skin.  They’re hydrating but without being annoying. And best of all, you can use the cream on your face or body.  

Because of the gentle ingredients and a lack of any fragrance, this cream is dermatologist-recommended for sensitive skins, and because it works well for those, it’s great on any kind of skin!

And if you liked the original packaging, that’s still available, along with the other tubes, and the Lotion in a large pump bottle, and an eye cream.

The Jar with pump is $27.99 and the original CeraVe Jar is $23.99

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New, L’Oreal Professionel Anti-Breakage Line

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Henna

If you’re finding your hair is breaking more than usual, there are a few things that you can do to remedy that. Be gentle to your hair when you’re drying it.  Pat it dry instead of wringing it out is what my hair dresser always reminds me.  You can also blow dry it in a more gentle way or you can air dry it.  But you can also condition it more if it’s dry.

The L’Oreal Professionel Anti-Breakage line is meant to do just that. Super conditioning from shampoo, to conditioner, to leave-ins this line gives major slip to your hair so that it looks and feels its best.

I’ve been using the line for about a month, and I have to say I’m sold.  I like how hydrated it makes my hair feel, so much so, that I can even getting away with just using the shampoo because it’s got that much conditioner in it.

L’Oreal Professionel products are available in salons.

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Grown-Up Skincare: Secrets de Sothys

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Henna

As much as I don’t want to hear about new year’s resolutions or commit to them, I like the idea of paring down makeup in 2019.  I don’t think I’m into foundation this year, and I’d rather be more natural. I mean, natural with lashes and lipstick. Not completely without anything.

So this year, I’m focusing on skincare and treatments, and more grown-up skincare.  I mean, I’ve been into skincare for a long time anyway, and this is just an extension of that.  What do you think, are you on board?

Sothys Paris has a new line of anti-aging skincare called Secrets de Sothys.  With serum, a lip cream, and a face cream, the hero product has to be the face cream and its amazing scent which reminds me of frankincense.  It’s rich and mature, instead of being light and airy the way that most skincare with scent can be.

The cream itself is rich but it absorbs into your skin easily leaving it visibly plumped.  It’s the best thing to use on dry or very dry skin because it leaves your skin so soft and smooth.  I’ve been using retinol at night, and I like to apply this in the morning before my sunscreen. I find that it absorbs quickly while I get dressed, and then I can follow up with SPF which just seems to glide on. The line has also been found to make a difference on wrinkle depth, fine lines, and pigmentation.  It is formulated with glycerine and shea butter, so it’s a serious moisturizer.

Pick it up at spas where Sothys products are found.

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L’Etat Libre D’Orange – Vraie Blonde

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Henna

Today’s scent is a perfume by L’Etat Libre D’Orange, a very original perfume company from Paris.

real blonde
The scent that I’m testing out today is called Vraie Blonde and it is smoky. So smoky that I wonder why the scent is called “real blonde” when it smells so masculine. In the first hour of wear, the perfume smells just like the scent that fills my house when I burn some wood in the fireplace; however, later on sweeter notes reveal themselves. I can definitely smell the white pepper, amber, and patchouli in this perfume, and I have to say that after a few days of trying it, I like it a lot.

That said, I find it to be very similar to the Armani Prive Bois D’Encens, and the Costume National Scent Intense, both of which I also love.

This scent is supposed to remind one of the blonde screen sirens of yesteryear, because it’s mysterious, dramatic, and unconventional.

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New bareMinerals Blemish Rescue

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Henna

If you’ve got acne-prone skin (and I’m going through a bout of it myself these days), then you may want to check out the latest from bareMinerals. Their Blemish Rescue line has several products that claim to help acne-prone skin get clear, and the powder formulations are a help if regular liquid foundation ingredients (such as oils or silicones) can be a problem for your skin.

The Blemish Rescue Skin -Clearing Loose Powder Foundation is part of the line and offers coverage and treatment in one step.  A medium/full coverage foundation this is not.  In fact, it’s actually more of a sheer powder that has the ability to even out skin without really covering anything up.  That means that if you suffer from really bad acne (redness and inflammation included) then this is not going to be the product that will cover any of that up.

On the plus side, because it’s so sheer, it’s only available in 12 shades and there’s a good chance that more than one will work for your skin tone.  I got 2.5 which is a neutral medium. Not only is it too dark, but it’s also not the right undertone for my skin. That being said, when I applied it with the charcoal-infused bareMinerals buffing brush, it blended into my skin and looked totally natural.  

The finish is slightly shiny, but mostly matte and imperceptible on the skin.  Your skin looks better, but without being all covered up. If you are used to traditional foundation, this will likely not be enough for you.  But it works great as a setting powder so that your regular foundation lasts longer. 

 

I’ve been applying this with the Seamless Buffing Brush with Antibacterial Charcoal.  The buffing brush is amazing for applying powder foundation.  It actually leaves the foundation on your skin instead of swallowing it, thanks to the tightly packed bristles.  I’ve used this with a variety of powders and it’s amazing and picking up product and then depositing it on your skin.  Absolutely, this is one of the best buffing brushes I’ve tried because of how dense it is. I’ve even used it with the MAC Sheer Mystery Powder and it worked great.   Not only does the brush have charcoal on it, but the bristles also have silver on them which is naturally antibacterial.  The coating doesn’t wash off when you clean your brush, so you’ll continue to reap the antibacterial benefits of the brush.

$28 for the brush, and $29 for the foundation.

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