I thought I’d post these belated birthday presents since they’re all beauty related! Since I was away for my actual birthday in July, I received some of my presents later (not the givers’ fault!) Here’s what I received (or purchased with the gift card that I received):
Yeeeeeaaaaah nail polish nail polish nail polish!
Years ago, I used to love an inexpensive enzyme mask from Life brand, which is the private brand of Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM), Canada’s leading drugstore chain. It was called “Dermavive Renew Enzyme Facial Peel” and had just the perfect amount of AHA (in the form of glycolic acid) that gave my skin a bit of a tingle, but wasn’t so harsh that it made my face red. Of course, they discontinued it. 😥 I, being that customer, actually emailed SDM to inquire about an alternative, but they could not recommend one. SOL, I decided to try to find a replacement.
First, I tried the Freeman Facial Pineapple Enzyme Mask but it was so mild that I could not feel any tingle or skin sloughing effect. I also tried O’slee Rosehip Peeling Gel which was the rage a while back – the idea is that you apply this clear gel on the face like a mask, and then rub it off in bits like you’re removing glue. All that manual rubbing wasn’t good for my skin – this left my face red and irritated so I discontinued using it. That brings me to today’s review; Andalou Naturals Pumpkin Honey Glycolic Mask – $12 for 50g (iherb and health food shops):
I know you’re saying, HOLD UP, it’s not Back to School time yet, it’s only the beginning of August. And you would be right. But you would also be wrong. Have you been in the mall lately? Summer clearances galore, and Back to School merchandise are making the annual creep… and it gets me SO excited! No, I’m not excited for kids going back to school – I couldn’t care less – I’m excited for the Back to School merchandise.
This is something you probably don’t know about me, but every year without fail, I buy a Back to School beauty pack from the drugstore. I’m not even the intended customer for these packs, but I can’t be the only non-teen-aged person to buy these packs for themselves, right? I’m uh, picking this up for my sister / cousin / friend (me).
This is the “Teen Pack” this year from Shoppers Drug Mart:
For the road trip, I brought along 2 of the items from this 3-pc kit, which I got for $5 as a purchase with purchase last year when I bought some skincare at The Face Shop.
The kit includes:
• THE THERAPY Essential Formula Emulsion – $40 for 130ml (Deluxe sample is 32ml, worth $9.85)
• THE THERAPY Secret-Made Anti-Aging Cream – $45 for 50ml (Deluxe sample is 10ml, worth $9.00)
• THE THERAPY Essential tonic treatment – $35 for 150ml (Deluxe sample is 32ml, worth $7.47)
The total value of the kit is $26.31, which is definitely worth the $5 I paid for it.
Let me get back into beauty blogging with a bang – I got new makeup! Huh? But aren’t I on a No-Buy? Allow me explain. Nicola of Beauty As I Know It contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in doing a swap – she’s in the UK, and I’m in Canada. I contemplated this: was this a violation of my No-Buy?
Let’s weigh the facts:
• I’m not buying makeup for myself, but rather, buying makeup for someone else, like a gift
• I’m receiving makeup in return – but I didn’t pay for them!
My friends are 80/20 split in their opinion that I’m an horrible dirty cheater vs I might have found a loophole in my No-Buy. 😛
Regardless, I went ahead with the swap because, hell, what’s the fun of having a blog if I can’t connect with amazing people from all over the world? Nicola and I set out some parameters for the swap:
• focus on makeup / skincare from drugstore
• target total of £30 / $55 CAD
I also sent out a little questionnaire to help each other narrow down our preference, here are my answers to the questions:
1) Are there any brands that may not be available in your country that you’re interested in?
Natural Collection (Boots), Sleek, Makeup Revolution, Soap & Glory (we have the skincare but not the makeup), MUA, Barry M
2) Skin type / skin tone / eye colour / hair colour / allergies?
Combination / NC25 I’m usually in the shade range light/medium or “Buff” shade / brown / brown / no allergies
3) What are your top 3 favourite makeup / skincare categories?
eye shadows, blush, concealer (I’m particularly interested in the Collection’s Lasting Perfection Concealer [I would be in Warm Medium] hint hint!)
4) Do you like sweet or savoury snacks? Any candies / chocolate that’s not available in your country that you would like to try?
I love sweets! I know there are loads of UK sweets – most of them are available in Canada as well in specialty British shops.
Here’s the parcel I received!
She included a lovely handwritten card and put little star stickers on the items to indicate her personal favourites!
The end of June marks the official mid-point of the year! I’ve always wondered why it’s “Christmas in July” when it really makes more sense to be in June! 💡
It was especially satisfying to finish some of these products this month because many of them I’d been using for a long time.
The final day of “Radiant Skin” Week, I’m reviewing another type of exfoliation for the face: physical / manual exfoliation. Any manipulation of the skin surface: rubbing, scratching (ouch!), massaging all have an exfoliating effect. When combined with an abrasive object or product, the surface dead skin sloughs off, revealing softer more radiant skin. Most people are familiar with face scrubs – usually a cream-based product embedded with grainy abrasive particles (alert: please do not buy any scrubs containing plastic microbeads [polyethylene]! The microbeads get flushed down the sink and choke our wildlife! I learned about this from mirrorthelove – you can find out more information here)
My skin can’t tolerate too many scrubs – it gets irritated easily, according to my esthetician, I have “thin skin”? – so I tend to limit my usage of them. I do however, enjoy a milder physical exfoliation using exfoliating cotton rounds:
I went on the hunt for the Up&Up brand (Target’s private label) Exfoliating Cotton Rounds after watching an empties video by Missglamorazzi (Ingrid Nilsen!) in which she raved about it. I was intrigued because it looked like a more gentle way to exfoliate the face. And since finding it at Target, I haven’t looked back! This is hands down, my favourite way to physically exfoliate my skin on a weekly basis. My skin is left smooth and glowing after I use this (you may recall that I stocked up on these when Target Canada closed shop):
Continuing with this week’s topic of “radiant skin”, today we’ll be talking about water. To achieve radiant skin, It’s essential to keep the skin hydrated inside and out – and the easiest way of course, is water.
Yes, another zoolander reference. 😛
Yes, drinking water is good for starters – but beyond drinking 8 glasses of water blah blah blah, water in the form of facial mists can be used on your skin before, during and after applying skincare and makeup:
• Before: I spray a hydrating mist on my skin just before I apply my hyaluronic acid serum so that the hyaluronic acid has moisture to bind to.
• During: I will sometimes spray water onto my foundation brush to make my foundation more dewy. If using a Beauty Blender type sponge, I use water to soak the sponge to make the application flawless.
• After: I spray a setting spray to reduce the powdery appearance of finishing powder, and also sometimes during the day I will mist my face with a spray to refresh my makeup
Since it’s officially summer, this week’s focus will be on “radiant skin” and I’ll be covering topics relating to achieving clear and glowy skin. First, we’ll look at chemical exfoliants.
Don’t let the word “chemical” scare you, this is just to distinguish between the physical / manual type (scrubs, cloths, loofahs) and the ones that solely use non-abrasive ingredients to exfoliate the skin.
The 2 key categories of chemical exfoliants are BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and AHA (alpha hydroxy acid). A trick I use to help myself remember which is for what purpose is: BHA = blemishes, and AHA = anti-aging. Typically, BHA works better for oily skin types whereas AHA benefit drier skin.
Happy Summer Solstice! Aka the longest day of the year, aka official first day of summer. And I want to remind everyone to wear their sunscreen today, and every day! 🙂
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know what I’m an advocate of sunscreen. No other anti-aging skincare is as effective as sunscreen.
There are 2 general categories of sunscreens: 1) chemical and 2) physical (or sometimes referred to as mineral). I personally prefer physical sunscreen (combinations of titanium dioxide [TiO2] and zinc oxide [ZnO]), for a number of reasons:
• much more photostable than chemical sunscreens
• less likely to cause skin reactions
• combined, TiO2 and ZnO covers the entire spectrum of UVB and UVA rays (and you want to protect well against both: UVB causes sunburns but UVA causes aging)
stash matters 