Sample Selection Saturday | Tarte Smooth Operator finishing powder

Three things…that help fight shine

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If you're anything like me, fighting shine is a daily battle one must face.

During the summer, anyway.

Oh well. It's the price we all have to pay for amazing weather. Right?

WRONG!

I'm sick and tired of looking like a shiny round beacon in public. As such, I'm sharing three of my favourite ways to beat shine at its own game.

Three things…that help fight shine

If you're anything like me, fighting shine is a daily battle one must face.

During the summer, anyway.

Oh well. It's the price we all have to pay for amazing weather. Right?

WRONG!

I'm sick and tired of looking like a shiny round beacon in public. As such, I'm sharing three of my favourite ways to beat shine at its own game.

Sample Selection Saturday | Malin + Goetz lip moisturizer

Malin+Goetz is one of those brands that I would love to try but would never bring myself to purchase. For the most part, anyway. Obviously there are some products within the brand that I wouldn't mind purchasing.

This lip moisturizer is one of those!

what is it:

A heavy-duty lip moisturizer.

In brief: the good and the ugly

The good:

The cost. This is one of the cheapest products Malin+Goetz offers. The full-size, 10 ml, is double my sample and costs around $12/$14 CDN plus tax, depending on where you get it.

The fragrance and colour, or lack thereof, is amazing. My lip balm should be colourless and odourless. If I wanted something exciting, I would be wearing lipstick or gloss.

This moisturizer doesn't play around! Just a little dab will do in the driest and coldest part of winter (I live on the west coast, so in comparison to some parts of North America and Europe/Asia it isn't that cold or dry). Even less than that for other parts of the year. Amazing for dry, dehydrated lips.

I put them on this week to some really chapped lips overnight. When I woke up, they were completely healed. No joke.

The ugly:

The texture is really thick, then again it's pretty much all emollients. So there you are. Has the same type of consistency as Vaseline, only more sticky and heavy.

Malin+Goetz products in generally are pretty difficult to purchase in Canada. There are no Malin+Goetz stores in Canada. Luckily there's a retailer in town that sells them. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of whatever stock the spas and stores that pick up the brand have available.

** If there are any readers who do know where I can get some Malin+Goetz I am all ears!

Would I purchase?

Yes!

Malin+Goetz lip moisturizer can be found online.

Review | Garnier Ombrelle SPF 60

To me, summer always reminds me of coconuts. That's what sunscreen always used to smell like.

Now, I favour sunscreen that provides me ample sun protection.

Ombrelle is one of my new favourite sunscreens. It would be nice if it could smell like coconuts, though.

Sample Selection Saturday | Tarte ReCreate primer

When I buy – or use – primer, it has to pass two tests: keeping my makeup on my face and keeping my face on the dewy side of shiny.

That's all I ask of it.

I don't expect it to keep my face matte-free, especially in the middle of summer. I'm not asking it to create miracles.

Haul | iHerb

I love iHerb. What kind of beauty shop is iHerb, you ask? It's not a beauty shop. But it's where I get most of my natural beauty products at a discount. Some examples of what I've bought from iHerb include clay masks, lotions, coconut oil and toners.

Here are the goods that I got this time around:

1. Heritage Store Rosewater and Glycerin. I'm so excited to try this! It's a toner that I've heard very good things about on MakeupAlley.

Note: There are two types of rosewater sold from this brand: regular rosewater and a more hydrating rosewater and glycerin. (I chose the one with glycerin). I've been told it can be a good toner, serum, moisturizer and even perfume.

2. Thayers Witch Hazel I've talked about this toner before. It's hydrating, gentle and calming. I use it as a toner after cleansing and as a mist to refresh my skin throughout the day.

3. Vitamin C crystals. This is mostly going to be used topically for a DIY serum, but I've been told you can dissolve this in water and ingest it. So happy with my iHerb purchases. I bought this late last week and got it within two days. Especially happy because international mail never comes that fast!

Review | Lush Herbalism cleanser

This is cleanser unlike anything I've ever seen before. First off, it's green. Second, it's made of clay. Third, it's in a tub. The woman at Lush had to cut the cleanser off from a larger roll. But I didn't allow any of those concerns to detract me from purchasing it. In fact, a good number of those reasons made me game enough to try it out!

Three things…to beat the heat

My hood is going through a brief heat wave. I love it!

What I don't love is that slightly gross look I tend to sport when I'm out and about in this heat. Shiny face and I feel just a little bit sticky.

Since sweaty and shiny aren't a good look for me, I'm sharing some of my favourite products for staying and looking cool when it's so hot.

1. Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener: It's something I've talked about in the past. While I love its makeup removing superpowers, it also works well as a mist. I don't notice any of the benefits that the bottle purports – deep cleansing, smaller pores, refined skin tone. What I do notice is a nice layer of moisture to my skin right when it needs it.

Pro tip: transfer some of the freshener into a small spritz bottle and mist and refresh your look.

Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner can be found online.

2. Avène Thermal Water This is quite possibly the most frivolous and wasteful thing that I have ever bought, in terms of skin care. Most people will get more out of it if they live in an area that has hard water since rinsing your face with hard water is not good for the skin. Fortunately, I now live in an area with soft water which is amazing for skin and hair.

Now, its only true moment of glory is the month and a half of summer where I spritz myself with some water and mist my skin when it needs an extra dose of cooling and moisturizing love. It's good to use after applying makeup to set it, use throughout the day as a mist and good on sunburns.

Pro tip: Keep it in the fridge for extra cooling powers.

Though if anyone is interested, I did live in an area with hard water before and I used a full bottle of this thing and my skin stopped having crazy breakouts.

Pro tip: If you live in an area that has soft water, what you could do to save money is DIY. Hit the dollar store for a spritz bottle and fill it up with regular water. I don't know how it'll set your makeup but it should be a pretty comparable alternative.

If you live in an area with hard water, have skin and hair that is sensitive to it and/or want the makeup setting benefits, just bite the cost and head to the drugstore for any thermal water.

Avène can be found in Murale and select drugstores, including London Drugs and Shoppers Drug Mart.

3. Nature Republic Aloe: I haven't reviewed this yet, but just know that I love it. It's a perfect allover moisturizer for the summer: cooling and soothing to the skin, it's light but delivers an ample amount of moisture. It's also multipurpose! It can soothe sunburns and act as a nice, light face mask.

Nature Republic Aloe can be found online and at T&T Supermarket.

Sample Selection Saturday | Lush Mask of Magnaminty

Another week, another sample selection!

What is it?:

This week's selection is a two-in-one product. Lush's Mask of Magniminty is a pretty generous product. It can be used as a mask and a cleanser.

In brief: the good and the ugly

The good:

It's a two-in-one product (cleanser and a mask).

I like the minty and slightly earthy smell.

As a cleanser – YOU CAN USE THIS ANYWHERE. This is kind of too strong to use as daily face wash. I'd suggest using this as a treatment mask. Definitely once or twice weekly, tops.

As a mask – YOU CAN USE THIS ANYWHERE. It left my face soft and minimized some swelling and some redness from my spots.

The ugly:

For the occasional user, it costs a lot ($12.95CDN for 125g; $24.95CDN for 315g).

It can be far too much product if you're going to use this primarily as a (face) mask, even if you're going to be using this as a face cleanser. Most of the Lush products I own can be used on the face and body, so this isn't really a problem.

It has a shelf-life of only four months.

The perils of buying products with ingredients I can pronounce. /sarcasm

Would I purchase?

Yes

Adventures in…facials!

A couple of weeks ago I treated myself to a facial. I decided this was necessary when I stumbled upon a sign: gift certificates to Skoah hidden amidst a load of paperwork.

This wasn’t my first facial. Nor was it my first time at Skoah.

But it was my first time in a long time, so I thought I would visit and try the very first thing I had.

The quickie facial.

Haul | Lush

I've always been intrigued by Lush.

It always smells amazing every time I walk by! And I've never seen soap in those shapes and colours before.

On a whim, I went in and ended up buying a couple of things. I didn't count on walking out with so much; luckily it was all stuff I was running low on.

Special thanks to the nice woman at Lush who demonstrated most of the products on me.

1. Herbalism cleanser – This cleanser is not like any other cleanser I've ever used. It's green, for one. And clay. And stored in a tub.

While Herbalism is a cleanser, it's got some exfoliating properties with the ground almond base. So excited to try this out!

2. Mask of magnaminty (sample) – It's a cleanser and it's a mask. Beyond that, I don't know much else about it. I'm excited to try this out also!

3. Mint Julips lip exfoliator – A sugary base that you can lick off after you rub onto your dry lips.

4. Full of grace serum – Don't let the bar shape throw you, it really is a serum. Just rub onto palms or rub directly onto the face and massage the serum into your skin.

Reviews to come soon!

Three things…for the days when you can't be bothered to cleanse

Attaining – and maintaining – good skin isn't rocket science. It requires a good diet, adequate sleep, hydration and daily cleansing.

But there are some days when I can't be bothered to cleanse properly.

Just like there are some weeks where I can't be bothered to post.

Life happens. Sometimes you stumble home late at night from work or a party. Sometimes you collapse into bed after work for a nap, only to wake up at 2 a.m. and can't be bothered to get back up.

Those days happen!

I've stocked up on some heavy-duty cleansers and makeup removers, in preparation for those very days.

While these three products can't compare to my regular skin care routine, these do fine in a pinch.

1. Bioderma Créaline: Créaline isn't the only cleanser of its kind, but it's the one that is shown the most love. Bioderma offers this cleanser in two forms, though Créaline (Sensibio) is definitely the one to get. It's gentle on skin, yet powerful at removing makeup and cleansing. Arm yourself with some cotton rounds, cleanse to your heart's content, and be prepared to see how much comes off. An added bonus – no rinsing required.

Runs for $22CDN for a 250mL bottle and available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale and London Drugs.

2. Etude House Wonder Pore freshner: This "freshener" from the Wonder Pore line can do a lot of things, cleansing being one of them. Wonder Pore is similar to Créaline, with a few exceptions. It contains alcohol and is a teensy bit harsher than the Créaline. It also has a convenient pump – something lacking with Créaline. In similar fashion to Bioderma, arm yourself with cotton rounds and prepare to wipe off all that makeup and grime. Again, no rinsing is required.

Find this online in a variety of sizes.

3. Olay cleansing wipes: I reserve these for especially lazy days when I can't be bothered to use cotton rounds. Or, for that matter, find them to use with the other two cleansers. These are pretty good, despite the heavy alcohol smell. Oddly, my skin doesn't feel at all taut or dry afterwards. The sheet is pretty generous and it's possible to use both sides – great if you're wearing a lot of makeup. Its texture reminds me of a Swiffer cloth and it's just as effective at catching dirt and makeup. This is strong enough to easily take off eyeliner, ditto Créaline and Wonder Pore, but I have to tread gently while taking off my mascara.

Still possible, though!

Olay wipes come in a pack of 30 and retail for $8CDN and can be found at London Drugs.

 

A windfall for good skin

Over the weekend I did some cleaning and found some ancient gift cards from Skoah.

I took them to the store hoping that I could still use them, but not really expecting anything. (I've had these for at least two years, after all.)

But, miracles do exist! The sales associate rang them through and they work!

This must be what winning the lottery feels like.

Check back for my adventures with facials soon!

Haul | Fresh Faced

FYI: These haul segments are going to be few and far between. This year, I've resolved to finish off products before buying any more. So, this will be the only one of these for a very long time.

But they do make me feel special. Hauls are like massive presents.

Until you realize that they're from you and you get a massive bill a couple weeks later.

What was going to be just a small shampoo purchase ballooned into a massive purchase.

See?

I blame/thank profusely Fresh Faced: a Canadian online retailer that stocks some awesome eco-beauty products.

In the bag:

• Rahua travel pack: shampoo+conditioner combo, voluminous shampoo+conditioner combo travel pack

• Kahina Giving Beauty: argan oil

• a bag filled to the brim with samples. I feel only slightly bad/greedy that I managed to get so many of these tiny, amazing wonders!

Reviews to come!

Review | Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe toner

I once thought that toners were one of those "extra" products. But one day, I haphazardly swiped my face with a cotton pad, and looked down.

So. I was wrong.