You know a blind buy is successful when the bottle matches your aesthetic. This just slides into my collection.
Almond, powder, lipstick, iris, ultra-femme. Bienaime Vermeil.
Bienaime Vermeil Perfume Review
Vichy Liftactive B3 Pigment Corrector Gets Reformulated
Did you know that the dark spots appearing on your skin now are probably sun damage that you got decades ago, even when you were a kid? It’s disheartening to hear, but you can try to minimize the damage you’ve gotten and wear sunscreen to reduce the likelihood of future damage occurring. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Vichy has reformulated their B3 dark spot serum. Last year’s version said 13% of the formula was actives, and this year’s is 15%. Of course, I wouldn’t throw out what I was using just based on the new packaging, and when I switched over to the new version, I didn’t notice a change in how my skin felt. Of course, my skin might not feel the difference between 13% and 15%, but hopefully it looks brighter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This Vichy serum is among the most pricy at the drugstore, so what are you paying for? The price will be higher when you purchase a product that has a blend of ingredients to target a problem – here, it’s acids, vitamin C, Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Melasyl, and HEPES. There’s 1% tranexamic acid in the formula so you can stop using a separate tranexamic product, if you were. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
All of which is to say that they did a study with 65 participants, and found that the B3 serum had results similar to Hydroquinone but without any of the side effects. Participants used it for 20 weeks… which is almost half a year. I like the idea of buying one product and sticking with it for 6 months to see if it’ll work… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lancome Clarifique
Smelled so many things today and washed the day off with this Lancôme Clarifique cleanser which smells like grass. It has a moisturizing slippery foam which feels luxurious but it makes me wonder if the Lancôme women are enjoying it as much as I am. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I think the entire line must smell like this because the accompanying Clarifique serum (with a blend of different mild acids) smells the same and feels similarly plush. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I like it – now they need to come out with a body mist version and the line will be complete. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Actives in Your Sunscreen
I bought a ton of sunscreen in Japan. I wasn’t planning on it, but when I saw the skincare there, I figured I may as well stock up. One of the intriguing trends was sunscreen with skincare benefits like this Hare Bare SPF 50 sunscreen with vitamin C. I don’t know how much vitamin C is actually in here, but part of me knows that I’m using this for the SPF 50 anyway, and I’ll be layering a serum underneath my sunscreen. Still, Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can actually help your sunscreen work better by preventing it from oxidizing in the sun. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Now, there’s Garnier’s SkinActive Vitamin C UV Brightening Daily Cream. It’s sold as a daily face cream with broad-spectrum SPF 30, so use it like you would a regular sunscreen. There’s such a tiny amount of vitamin C in the sunscreen that you will need to layer it with a different Vitamin C product to get the benefits of vitamin C. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Garnier Vitamin C Serum has a small amount of the ingredient – great to see how it works for your skin, and it’s blended with Niacinamide, which helps overall skin tone. It does pair nicely with the sunscreen (meaning there’s no pilling) and both prep your skin for the day. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Posted in Skin Care
Tagged Garnier, Hare Bare, Japanese Beauty, Korean Beauty, Sunscreen
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Shalimar L’Essence Review
I posted a review of the latest version of Shalimar on my little channel. Have a listen: https://youtu.be/Rh_SxaBmZ9E
Can This Lipgloss Make You Feel Happier?
Just some of the lip oils that Charlotte Tilbury launched this year – the flavours were created using AI to create combinations that are mood-boosting. I asked ChatGPT which scents make you feel happier, and guess what the answer was? Literally anything: fruity, gourmand, aromatic, woody notes, etc. Everything has the capacity to inspire joy, depending on what your own experience with scent is. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The flavours here are cherry, strawberry vanilla, and coconut water. Missing flavours: fig, peach, pink watermelon. My favourite: coconut, but they are all good, actually. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Trend is that There’s No Trend
Canadian brand BKind sent me some gorgeous nail polishes, and one thing is clear – if you’re looking for the latest nail trend, ignore social media and magazines and know that there is no real trend. Do your nails however you want, and enjoy all the colours. What’s more important is that you enjoy the process and that the colour feels good to you. Personally, I’m partial to the lightest of pinks and a creamy matte shade works better for me than anything too bright or dark. But I’ve also been known to flip the script and rock a hot pink, so really, anything goes. These polishes go on so smoothly, and if you’re looking to support a small Canadian brand, you need not look any further.
An Abalone Shell
After reading The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, I had to try abalone when I had the chance. The beautiful shell took my breath away and I couldn’t stop looking at it. I am trying to hold on to this memory for just one more moment.
Posted in Perfumes
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Scent Culture in China and Visiting Amouage in Shanghai
Everything I had read and heard about scent culture in China and Japan said that people preferred softer scents and nothing too loud. It explained the popularity of Jo Malone in Asia, but my information must have been years old, because when I got there, I realized that scent culture there is more alive than it is in North America, where scent culture is partly wiped out by “clean girl aesthetic”. I shouldn’t have been surprised; India has an appreciation for scent and perfume that’s alive and well, and I found that in China, like in India, people especially love plants and florals, and their scents, some of which have their own therapeutic values. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Anyway, perfume stores, both with imported and local goods, were always a stone’s throw away and there were a plethora of brands available. On an incredibly hot day, we chanced upon the Amouage store, and I had to go in for a visit. What I hadn’t been prepared for was that English wouldn’t be so ubiquitous in China. The salesperson at @amouageofficial spoke no English, so what we missed out on was the consult that buyers can get in the store, and then the wall of perfumes lights up the scent that has been recommended for you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
They also didn’t have any of the latest launches, Existence, and Outlands was missing from last year’s trio of launches. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thanks to the Internet, we find out about new things so quickly and people can buy and experience them at home usually within weeks of the launch, even if you, like me, live in a perfume desert. But this didn’t just apply to perfume. There were lots of things that had me thinking – oh, I have that at home already, or oh, I’ve already tried that. And I guess that’s ok. I still had an amazing time.
All The Makeup I Took on Vacation With Me
My travel rule is that if you don’t love it while you’re on vacation, you don’t have to bring it back with you. This was you make room in your suitcase for souvenirs but also room on your shelves at home for the stuff you really love. But everything here was a winner so I still have almost all of it.
If you want to use a mineral sunscreen but haven’t found anything you love, this Vivier Skin Sheer SPF might be your thing. It’s a blend of mineral and chemical filters so it’s a bit more forgiving than most other mineral sunscreens. There’s a tiny bit of a white tint but I wear it under makeup. It’s also very matte and really seems to stay on so well.
That Charlotte Tilbury blush is the new one that just launched. The lilac shade is just my favourite. The Elf Cosmetics mascara is basically bulletproof and didn’t come off even in the most humid weather. Maybelline Teddy Tint is the lip tint I’m currently using and it’s a lip product I just throw on and then don’t think about until I eat something.
Posted in Make-Up
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