Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Review

TextHere is the update on the Charlotte Tilbury products I’ve been testing out in case you want take advantage of the discount. You all know that I like the Magic Cream so far, and I’m a fan of this serum too. The primary ingredient in niacinamide but aside from that, this is a very moisturizing serum, and it smells deliciously like rose and saffron… a bit on the spicy side.

The two palettes are the Luxury Palette of Pops (it’s only shimmery and glittery shades) which I got last year, and the new one is the Pillow Talk palette. Honestly, I love both these palettes and I reach for those glitter shades all the time. Nothing crazy over here, I just put them on a bare lid and they look great. The Pillow Talk blush… oh… I wanted to like this, but it’s too shimmery and too light for me. It comes in an intense shade… if it’s still shimmery, I won’t get it.

Also, these two colours are difficult to pick up with a brush on their own, and gosh, I might prefer to just have a blush I can use without having to be so precise. On the Sephora site, the picture is way lighter than how mine is here.

The Beautiful Skin Foundation is a glowy medium coverage foundation, and I use it all the time. I really like it. It has hyaluronic acid in it and it’s pretty moisturizing. Blendable, long-lasting, I use it on top of primer and I think it looks great. I can see myself finishing this.

Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes mascara. The colour I have is Super Black. It looks great, but it smudges. If only there was something I could put on top to make it stay. I’m serious, I want some sort of brush on product that I can gently apply to the top side of my lashes so that my mascara stops smudging.

I also have the new Glowgasm blush, and it’s a very shimmery highlighting blush, but it’s so pigmented and long-lasting so I really like it. I use it a lot on the weekends and if I go out. Is there anything else that I should try from this brand?

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Madame Rochas Perfume Review

TextIt’s #irisweek around here, and I love these weeks because they inspire me to look at things from a different perspective and explore my own collection. I don’t have a lot of iris perfumes – the powdery aspect of iris-heavy scents doesn’t always appeal to me, but I crave them more in the summer. But, it’s +18 degrees today and that’s basically summer where I live (don’t worry, there’s a snowstorm next week), so I pulled out Madame Rochas.

I have a modern bottle that I got in a swap and I had never smelled it before. It’s got a distinct baby powder base that I can only attribute to iris but it’s still grown up and interesting, thanks to aldehydes and violets. It makes me feel put-together and ladylike, and actually, I usually don’t need any help in that department, so maybe this is one that I save for the occasions that I want to smell the way I appear. Or so I can fake it till I make it.

Also check out the iconic ad for the perfume… Right now, I’m keeping this out and leaving it in the rotation.

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The A Method Tranexemic Acid Skin Perfecting Serum

TextThe A Method is a derm-created line and the Tranexamic Acid serum has a whopping 10% of this active ingredient. Surprisingly, it’s not burning my face off even though my skin is peeling because of my tret, so this is in rotation. I used it morning and night for a while and now I do either/or because I’m rotating through my serums.

It also takes 6-8 weeks to notice a difference with tret (on hyperpigmentation) and now that it has been 6 weeks, here’s the update.

What I love about this serum is that it’s nice and thin (almost like water, actually) and at no point did I feel any stinging on my skin when I used it. I tapped a few drops in after cleansing and let it absorb. Then I went ahead with another thicker serum, or moisturizer, or sunscreen. It was so easy to incorporate into my routine.

There’s actually nothing that I didn’t like about it, and I’m going to keep using it. My skin has evened out, thanks to this and a consistent retinoid in my routine, so if you want a nicely formulated Tranexamic acid serum, try this one.

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Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Collection Expands

Just in time for you to still make use of your Sephora discount.

A full face of Charlotte Tilbury products and how they look on my skin. I loved some of these but some of them were too light to show up on my skin tone. I love the Glowgasm blush and I wear it all the time. What’s your favourite product from the brand?

https://youtu.be/FGRMOa-L88I

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A BEGINNER’s GUIDE TO BUYING USED PERFUME

A BEGINNER’s GUIDE TO BUYING USED PERFUME. I honestly wish people talked about this more so here is what I’ve learned in the short time I’ve been buying used. Let me know if I missed anything!Share your preferred place to buy used or new fragrances.

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New Skin Proud at Walmart

Every single product in the Skin Proud lineup is under $20, and these formulas are actually more elegant than the brands they’re competing with.

TextTake the Skin Proud Detox Tonic, for example. It’s not hard to find a glycolic acid toner out there, but this one is about $17 and comes in a nice pump bottle. The finish isn’t sticky which is what I’ve hated about other toners. I’m using this in the AM as my only cleanse… There is 5% lactic acid in this toner which makes it more gentle than other acid toners.

I like both the Sorbet Skin and the Sleep Hero moisturizers. They’re both light but have a pleasing jelly texture, and really the only difference is that the Sorbet Skin is the lighter of the two. You could use Sleep Hero during the day… there’s nothing in it that makes it only suitable for the night time. But, they’re both light, so probably not great for very dry skin.

There’s even a gentle retinol in the lineup, called the Recharge Serum. Again, this is a super light formula even though it has rosehip oil in it. Honestly, the retinol is a bit confusing because the line seems more geared towards the younger demographic, and not EVERYONE has to use retinol all the time, but if you wanted a retinol in a light gentle formula, then this could be for you.

I think this line has a good balance of ingredient-focused skincare but without being too concerned with percentages. Recent trends have been to obsess over what percentage of retinol or glycolic you’re using without any regard to the elegance and usability of the formula. I know that we all want skincare that works, but what’s the point of an intense formula that irritates your skin?

Honestly, keep me stocked with the Detox Tonic and the Sleep Hero cream and I’m happy.

The whole line is at Walmart now.

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Comme de Garcons Incense Jaiselmer

TextIt’s under-the-radar week around some places, so submitting Comme de Garcons Incense Jaiselmer as my pick. I honestly think that this is such a spicy strange perfume that people don’t know what to make of it, let alone smell like it, but it’s almost so bad it’s good.

For me, it checks a few boxes: cardamom, Indian connection, woody. It definitely does not smell like Indian incense or Jaiselmer the city, but spicy and smoky wood? Check check check.

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Maison Louis Marie No. 04 Bois de Balincourt Review

TextOnce more, scents I’ve sampled but haven’t bought. Today, Bois de Balincourt No. 4 by Maison Louis Marie. I know many of you live this scent and it is lovely. Would I buy this? Maybe if I didn’t have Katy Perry Indi already? Maybe if someone was getting rid of their bottle and was selling it cheap? Maybe if I was on vacay and stepped into a Sephora and bought it for the heck of it?

This smells a bit like Santal 33, but not exactly. It’s fresher, and honestly, nicer, but I’ve had this sample for a while and haven’t been convinced that I can’t live without it.

I know that earlier this year when I posted that this was a pretty close dupe to Santal 33, some people were intrigued. Again, this is a nice mindless grab, and a sure way to get compliments, so I’d wear it to a party. I’ve heard no. 9 is great but I have yet to try it.

Do you have this? What do you think?

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Chanel Paris-Venise Perfume Review

TextI was waiting for a good day to open this bottle, and today was that day.

Chanel Paris-Venise Les Eaux de Chanel. I had a sample of this for a while, and the fresh neroli paired with a warm ambery vanilla really appealed to me. I like to wear ambery perfumes at this time of year, but wearing them daily can feel too heavy. Paris-Venise has a freshness, but also a warmth. It’s a bit of a snuggle but not like when you’re in a blanket and over-heating. It’s more like wearing a cardigan with holes in it, but the holes are cool and you paid a lot of money for them to be strategically there.

This is perfect for your cool co-worker who wears those ripped cardigans, uses the expensive shampoo, never leaves her desk without lipstick on (yes, even under her mask). It’s casual but never messy or unkempt.

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Diptyque Philosykos EDP Review

TextYou say you want to travel with perfume? I do it everyday. Yesterday, it was Philosykos from Diptyque. Yes, this a cool fig, green, but also woody. The cedar in this is so realistic that I was instantly at my parents’ cottage where every morning the wooden cedar deck wafts it’s scent as the dew dries. It’s amazing how quickly this took me back to the summer.

I have the edp, which I prefer because I like the peppery-ness of it.Olivia Giacobetti is the perfumer behind this fragrance and she has also created Safran Troublant, which is one of my favourites. Her first fig perfume was actually for L’Artisan Parfumeur a couple of years before this.

Have you smelled this? It’s at the Diptyque counter and fairly accessible.

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