The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% Review

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Henna

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Here’s an update on the Azelaic Acid that everyone bought in October when it launched in Canada.  Azelaic Acid is an ingredient that helps with skin tone, and it’s a good ingredient to have in your skincare lineup if that’s something that you struggle with.

The Azelaic Acid is in a silicone/water-based formula, very much like their vitamin C, and I don’t love it. The packaging keeps the formula stable but it has a tendency to pill, depending on what other creams you’re applying on top. I have made this work for me. Apply right before sunscreen, right after retinol and DON’T rub it in. Just let it be and it won’t pill. I apply sunscreen but just glide it on and let it set.

I really like using it at night, on top of my retinol. If you have the A313 retinoid, try it with that. The A313 is a water-based pomade so it works well with this “suspension” formula. I know that if you’re using the Azelaic acid on top you are technically “buffering” it which means that it has to go through another product before it gets to your skin, but I’ve still noticed a difference on my skin when I do this.

 

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Violet Parfums First Impressions

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Henna

https://youtu.be/feF7u-z0dZA

Quick reviews of Violet Parfums. I liked all of them, and the price point is great. There are also travel sizes available and I love that option best of all. If you come across them, sample them if you can. Natalie Lorson is the perfumer, and she has hundreds of perfumes under her belt, so these do smell refined and complete. I haven’t smelled the latest one, Abîme.

Have you smelled these? Do you have a favourite?

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Fenty Watch Ya Tone Serum and other Niacinamide Serums

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Henna

Let’s talk about a bit of skincare.

The Fenty Skin Watch Ya Tone serum is out and it has been getting a lot of buzz. Niacinamide is… you guessed it… great for dealing with pigmentation. Why do we need all these things ingredients to deal with the same problem? The short answer is that they all work in different ways, so if this is something you really struggle with, having an army of products can be helpful.

Watch Ya Tone has 5% Niacinamide and yes, it’s been shown to be effective even in small doses, so you don’t have to go out and find the formula with the most in it. I’ve noticed that Fenty formulas are really smooth and well-blended. The products work together seamlessly. I feel like their marketing seems geared toward teenagers but they’re encouraging good skincare habits which will make a difference in the long run.

I’ve tried a few other Niacinamide products like one from The Ordinary, which is 10% and with Zinc. I found this one to be amazing in the summer because it kept my skin so matte.

Bliss has a Niacinamide and Pore Vanishing toner that I loved.

Oh K! is a Korean brand that has a Niacinamide mist and it worked well too. This one was available in the drugstore so I didn’t have to order it.

Do you have a Fenty product you love? The sunscreen is my favourite.

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Tom Ford Champaca Absolute Perfume Review

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Henna

The most underrated Tom Ford, Champaca Absolute, my theory is because it’s so intensely feminine from beginning to end that I have a hard time imagining a man wearing it. Champaca, gardenia, jasmine, sweet and soapy all at once. A whiff of white tea, bubbly like champagne, revitalizing like a lush wet garden.

I always think of this as a summer perfume, but it’s mood-lifting in the dead of winter, beautifully heady and tropical, completely different from anything else at the Tom Ford counter. A decade into my collection and it’s still unique enough to hold on to, still interesting enough to reach for.

 

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Most Worn Perfumes in December

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Henna

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Feeling merry and bright, hashtag blessed, here are my most worn fragrances for December.

SJP Stash offers a woodsy vibe that gets the same appreciative nod as if you’d mentioned that underground rock band that nobody’s heard of.

Chanel Coromandel with a zingy sparkle before enveloping you in a golden velvet robe from head to toe, letting some leg peek out when necessary.

Amouage Fate makes you feel like you’re walking around in your own cloud, remembering to be grateful for all the things like friends who send you their favourite perfumes because nothing is better than sharing the things that you love.

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Fenty Beauty The Navy Collection

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Henna

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Classic holiday makeup all in a cute little bag.

Fenty Beauty has launched The Navy Collection which is a 5-piece Lip, Eye, and Accessory set. it includes a Make-Up Bag, a Make-Up Mirror, a navy blue eye pencil in wish You would, and a Fenty Icon Semi-Matte Lipstick in a cool blue case. The shade of the lipstick is The MVP which is a cool-toned red that’s super pigmented.

In my selfie, I applied it just in the centre of my lips and then blended it out with my fingertips. You could apply an even lesser amount as a stain, and I prefer to wear a bright red like that because it’s less likely to get messed up as the day goes on.

The eyeliner is a beautiful matte blue, and it lasts longer if you use it with an eyeshadow primer. I used the Urban Decay Primer Potion which is what I’ve been using forever. I blended it into my lashline and did a bit of a wing. I know that if I don’t use a primer, this eyeliner will smudge and won’t last very long.

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Roja Parfums Diaghelev

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Henna

Plummy, jammy, dirty, at once referential but also worthy of referencing. Complex yet comforting. Noteworthy, unforgettable.

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Ledda 22 Orris

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Henna


Ledda 22 Orris is here. Perfumer: Frank Voelkl who is also the perfume for Glossier You and Le Labo The Noir, both of which I love. Official notes: Pear leaf, pink pepper, orris, ambrette.

It’s that cool girl aesthetic in a bottle. As comforting as a hot shower, warm lather on skin, earthiness but also a hint of stewed fruit, like your mom packing your lunch, and when you gave her a hug before going off to school, she smelled faintly of the pear she was just cutting but also of soap and skin.

That’s basically what you get in the new 22 Orris by Ledda. It’s not very orris-y but more of a fruity musk with hints of earthy orris in and around the fruit and musk, which is ambrette. If you’ve smelled Glossier You or Diptyque’s Fleur de Peau, then you’ll be familiar with the ambrette. It’s like a warm shower, really comforting without being hot, heavy, or cozy. I really enjoy it in every perfume that has it and it’s the most addictive finish for a perfume. 22 Orris adds the fruity component which adds a considerable dose of sweetness. If you didn’t like the floral aspects of Fleur de Peau, or You is too simple, then maybe this will be more to your liking.

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Guerlain Cherry Oud Review

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Henna

A gorgeous bottle, and part of a collection of new oud perfumes from Guerlain.

Even if you’re not a fan of cherry or oud, you need to get your nose on this one.

Watch the full review below.

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Chanel Cuir de Russie

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Henna

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Cracked the whip this Monday because when you have a silk shirt with horses on it, you need to wear Cuir de Russie.

This is such a bougie leather, thanks to the opening sparkle and the Chanel floral blend which includes ylang-ylang, jasmine, and rose. It’s soaping your saddle in the barn, but you’re up to your elbows in the soap so the whiffs of leather and barnyard come out more when you’re done with the soap.

The dry down of this yields more leather, with the birch tar really coming through and mixed with hints of smokiness, and I think that’s what makes it one of the most masculine-leaning perfumes in my collection. Still, the florals make the leather easier to wear, and make me think of an elegant new purse. Maybe the new purse part is what makes this a leather that’s still easy for me to wear.

Mondays are always a little sluggish, and it’s hard to get out of bed, but somehow the whiffs of Cuir de Russie ground me and get me focused as I make my way through the day.

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