March 2015: The Empties

 

Bioderma Sensibio H20: I'm going to be doing my empties in order from best to worst this month, and this product makes it to the top of my list. I swear, if there is a better makeup remover/cleanser out there, I haven't found it. It seems to work for all skin types, since when I was oily in the summer and fall, it didn't break me out, and when I was super flaky this winter, it didn't dry me out further. I used to use the Sensibio to remove my makeup only before my actual cleanser, but now I use this as my primary face wash. I can't gush enough about it. All of the issues I've had with other products, whether they be cream, wipes, or liquid like this one, are absent. There is no stinging in the eyes, residue on the skin, or leftover product. All that Bioderma Sensibio H20 makes me feel, is clean. The only deterrent is the price. I've gone through about 4 of the 100ml bottles because at about $6.95 a pop, they don't break the bank, but I figured, if this was going to be my primary face product, I'd better invest the $26 and buy the biggest bottle offered. I'm hoping it will last me a quarter of a year at least! 

Julep Conditioning Nail Polish Remover: This is my #1 go-to nail polish remover. It will honestly take anything off my nails without effort or fuss, even glitter. I used to hate wearing glitter polish, only because it was so difficult to remove. Now? I have no fear and glitter manicures have become my favourite nail look to rock. It doesn't dry out my nails or sting or stink like other brands do, but it does leave my nails feeling a bit greasy. I have to give my hands a good wash and dry before attempting to apply anything else, even Julep's own Oxygen Nail Treatment. It won't adhere properly otherwise. The biggest downfall of the Julep Conditioning Nail Polish Remover is the price. You only get 4oz. for $10USD, and that's if you already have the pump, otherwise it goes up to $14. I always wait until it's available in a kit or Julep decides to discount it drastically. Even this month's Secret Store price of $17.99 for a pump bottle and refill couldn't entice me to repurchase.

Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat: The company's claims of this top coat drying in 5 minutes are true. Not even Seche Vite works are quickly when I've got more than 2 coats on my nails. It's amazing when you want to do your nails, but not sit around and wait for them to dry before you can do things like go to the bathroom. Julep has the cost of this as $18USD, but unlike their polish remover, this top coat is always on sale. I don't think I've paid more than $6 for it. I do have two major issues with this though. The biggest problem that I have with the Freedom Polymer Top Coat is that it chips after about 2 days of wear. I can never keep a manicure for longer. At first, I thought it was just me being rough on my nails, but a few days ago I started using a different Julep top coat and all of a sudden I could get a good 4 days out of a mani. Because I was changing my polish and using the product up every other day, I only noticed the second problem towards the end of this bottle's life. The formula completely changed on me and became a clear sludge. Sure, it's always been a bit goopy, but it applied well, and the brush didn't glue itself to my nails if I took a bit of time to try and smooth it out.

This month has been pretty light on the empties for me, mostly because I've pared down my skincare routine. Also, it's dance competition season and all the free time I have has been spent trying to source the most cost effective necessities like tights, shoes, and costume accessories. I just can't bring myself to pay $24.99 for a plastic garment bag. Who do these people think they are??!!?

The Empties of January 2015

Aside from two products, January has been the month of K-beauty item testing. I went on a huge Memebox binge in October and November, and because of the sloooow shipping from Korea, I didn't get most of them until December. The result is that I am now drowning in Korean cosmetics, and have been using them exclusively in order to test out what works best for my skin.

Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat: I discovered the Julep Maven subscription last summer and have loved everything I've received from them since then. This base coat is no exception. I learned early on that this base coat shouldn't be used with just any polish. It's quite thick and opaque, and works best under glitters. For those who adore glitter nail polish, this base coat is a miracle worker. I used to use white glue before applying anything with sparkles so that I could just peel it off in one coat, and not sit there fussing with each nail for ten minutes. This Julep product works almost the same way, except you can use regular polish remover. It has the added benefit of allowing oxygen to permeate the nails, so that they don't turn yellow. It retails on their website for $18 (nuts), but there is always a way to get Julep products cheaper. I usually wait for the items to appear in their Savvy Deals section, Secret Store, or as an add-on option to my monthly box. A ton of coupon codes are also floating around the internet on blogs and coupon websites like RetailMeNot. There is no reason anyone should be paying retail prices for Julep.

Make Up Forever HD Primer: I have a confession to make. When I want to wear a full face of makeup, I use two primers. Underneath Benefit's POREfessional, I like to use Make Up Forever's HD Primer in Neutral. Up until a few months ago, I was obsessed with it and would have probably refused to use anything else to prime my face. Then I woke up and realized I was using $70 worth of makeup before applying my actual makeup. But that's a story for another day. If I'm spending $40 on a product, it better perform exceptionally well, and this does. I find that the MUF primer does a better job than the POREfessional at blurring fine lines and wrinkles, and doesn't leave my face feeling greasy or cake-y. It settles in nicely, and creates the perfect canvas for applying makeup. I'm hoping to find a hidden gem in my k-beauty pile or great drugstore dupe before I break down and just buy this again.

Purederm Tea-Tree Pore Freshener: This did nothing for me. I think it may have actually made me break out, even though tea tree is supposed to be good at controlling oil and reducing 'troubles' (read: acne). It left a weird film on my face, like it never got fully absorbed by my skin. Most k-beauty aficionados are Purederm fangirls, but this toner was enough to turn me off the brand completely.

Skinfood Egg White Pore Meringue Foam: I hated this foaming cleanser until I learned how to use it properly. It actually made it into the trash can a month ago, until my niece came to visit and saw it and wanted to try it out. Gross, I know. I'm glad she fished it out though, because it ended up being a really great working face wash. The trick is to use it after an oil cleanser (it's called double cleansing) and to not leave it on the face for too long, because it is way too harsh on its own. Even the oiliest face would be at risk of drying out and flaking if this was used improperly on a regular basis. Once I wash off my facial oil, I do a quick cleanse with the foam to get rid of the residue, and it ends up leaving my face feeling the perfect kind of clean.

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Liquid Nose Pack: I purchased this product on its own from TesterKorea because it was on sale. I need to use something to unclog my pores and this seemed like a good bet. It's liquid, so you can apply it to any part of your face with large pores. My issue was that I could never get the correct coverage. If I spread it too thick, it would never dry, and washing it off was a huge mess. Plus, my pores were still clogged. If I spread it too thin, it didn't grip on to the gunk properly, and peeling it off was a huge mess. Again, the pores were still clogged. I gave it five good tries until I gave up and tossed it. Goodbye $4.

Solucion 9 Aztec Therapy Shampoo: I need more of this shampoo, stat! I'm so sad I only received the tester in my Hair Salon Memebox and not the full size that they had sent out previously. It's a tiny tube, but lasted me a week because it cleansed my hair so well. I only needed to lather and rinse once. Forget the repeat. My scalp is also perpetually dry in the winter and the shampoo didn't exacerbate the issue like most of the others I've used before and after it. If anyone knows where I can get a bottle, please let me know!

La'dor Perfect Hair Filler: I also really liked the La'dor hair mask I received in the Hair Salon Memebox.  It left my hair shiny and feeling super soft, but also strong. I noticed I didn't suffer as much hair breakage during the styling process as I usually do. My hair still looked healthy after basically frying it with a flat iron. Yay for Korean hair care! The biggest downside of this hair treatment is that you need to mix it, 1 part solution to 1 part water, so you need to remember to have something on hand in the shower or bath to do that in.


Note: Memebox has notified it's international customers that they will no longer be shipping to countries outside of Korea, China, and the USA. For anyone who is k-beauty curious, I recommend heading over to the blog Fanserviced-b for reviews on a lot of great products and information on where to buy them.

Kiddie Mani feat. Makeup by One Direction

A few days ago I was sent some Makeup by One Direction samples to review from BrandBacker (This post is powered by BrandBacker). Unfortunately, before I could even open the boxes, they were confiscated by my little girl. After some begging and pleading on my part, she decided she would 'allow' me to take some photos of her using the products to give herself a mani.

 

First off, she decided to use their neon pink shade, "Moments"

She really loves the polish because the lid is large enough for her to get a good grip on, and the brush is the perfect size for tiny fingers and fingernails. This is probably the first time she's managed a solo-mani without getting polish all over herself and my nice towels.

 

 

Next came the glitter in "Kicks", which is described on the box as a "snow cone blue".

 

I noticed a few things about the 1D polish while she was doing her nails that I really liked. The color is buildable, which makes it age appropriate for young kids (like the little 7-year-old in these photos) AND their moms (the neon pink is coming with me on my next beach vaca). All the DD needed was one layer of polish and glitter for her sweet pink mani, while I would probably use about 2-3 for a seriously fun pedi.

 The nail polish and glitter are also supposed to be UV-reactive, which may get tested the next time we go Cosmic Bowling. 

The newest collection should be in stores already, so after seeing how much the kiddo enjoyed this set, I'm thinking I need to head over to Walmart before the holidays to pick up some stocking stuffers. She would probably get a kick out of their hair mascara and go nuts over their full beauty tins. If only she could decide which member of 1D is her fave, it would make my shopping much simpler. Obviously each member has his own 'collection'.


All the info on the Makeup by One Direction line can be found on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MakeupbyOneDirection

You can also enter to win some of it here: Makeup by One Direction Giveaway

I wore a mask ... on my nails!

 I've been waiting patiently for products to come in so I can test them for my competition bag - namely, my face charts (for the makeup comparisons), safety pins (all the way from Germany!), and makeup removers (just ordered them). Meanwhile, all of my personal beauty items have been arriving in record time.

A little background info: I love getting my Ipsy and Topbox subscriptions every month, so I decided to branch out and join pretty much every other beauty subscription option available to Canadians, or at least the ones who didn't charge an arm and a leg for shipping. The first one one I added was Julep Maven, mostly because I couldn't justify going to the nail salon for a manicure that would last me about two days. I was pretty sure I could learn to do it myself.

Receiving a few new polishes a month has been fun, but in October I took the plunge and ordered their Trick or Treat Mystery Box. To be honest, I didn't hear many good things about Julep's mystery boxes, but I guess they took the criticism to heart and promised a better experience for anyone who purchased their latest one. I'm glad I decided to do it. It included some of their best nail care products, thus allowing me to jump start my new routine.

The first thing I decided to try was their Nail Moisture Mask:

I followed the instructions pretty well, but let me just say, those little finger masks were a pain. I don't know how one is supposed to secure them 'around each fingertip', but mine kept riding up for some reason. I figured the essence would help them adhere to my nails/skin, but the masks were not as moist as I was expecting, so it didn't happen. I ended up just making a fist and pressing my cocooned fingertips into my palms to make sure the mask stayed in contact with my nails for the duration of the treatment.

Aside from that little hiccup, the rest of it was smooth sailing. I wasn't completely bored waiting for my 30 minutes to be up, since the masks are 'touchscreen-friendly'. When my hands weren't in a fist, I could text, Tweet, and Subway Surf to pass the time.

After I removed the masks, the remaining solution, which the instructions said to massage in, didn't exist. The rinsing and patting steps weren't really necessary. My nails, though? They looked spectacular! When I'm not wearing polish, they're pretty awful. Even after moisturizing, you can tell they've been tortured (usually because I've just removed stubborn glitter polish). They now look healthy and shiny and moisturized. Even my cuticles have an acceptable appearance. The biggest downside? The other side of my hand isn't so pretty. They felt nice, but looked like I had fallen asleep in the tub. Not cute.

 

 Overall, it was a positive first nail mask experience for me. I probably wouldn't pay the full purchase price for these ($30 for a pack of 5). However, they're currently on sale in the Julep Secret Store, so I may decide to pick some up before it closes down for the month.