I've got a (Miga)BEE Allergy

 

The one good thing about getting sick is that it forces you to slow down. I've had the My Honey Box from Memebox sitting around my house for a few days now, and I was finally able to play with it. This isn't a new box by any means, so I already knew what to expect when I bought it on a restock at the beginning of the month. I was mostly intrigued by the Edmong Honeybee Water Cream and the Migabee Antipollution RE-Peeling Gel. It wasn't until after I purchased the box and it shipped, that I went back and read the product descriptions for the two more closely, and picked up on a potential problem. The Water Cream was fine, but ...

"MIGABEE Antipollution RE-Peeling: This is a peel-off type of facial pack enriched with natural ingredients renown(ed) for (their) nourishing and brightening effects - honey, bee venom, propolis, (and) royal jelly. It'll work to exfoliate dead skin cells, blackheads, and whiteheads, and to control excess oil and sebum, by maintaining the skin clean and well balanced." (I don't even know how to edit that last fragment to sound like English, sorry.)

Honey, propolis, and royal jelly - I like all of those things. Bee venom, on the other hand, is one of the only allergies that I have not managed to grow out of. Unfortunately, no one on any forum, blog, or Facebook group could tell me whether I would have a reaction to this stuff. They only thing anyone could recommend was to patch test it. My bee sting allergy isn't life threatening, but it causes severe discomfort. I get red and swollen and develop hives. Since I was already feeling kind of gross, I figured today would be the day to risk it and try the stuff out. Not on my face, because I'm groggy, not insane, but on my hand.

Geez, I really wanted this stuff to have an insignificant amount of bee venom. I like to exfoliate dead skin cells and control my oil and sebum. But alas, it was not meant to be. The results of my patch test above tell my sad tale. It was fine upon initial contact with my skin, but after 10 minutes I could see that my hand was noticeably more red than before. After I peeled the dried gel off, my skin was much redder and felt pretty itchy, as well as burned a bit. It took a while before the swelling became apparent, but it came just the same.

So long, Migabee. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure. My swollen hand made me feel otherwise. Luckily, the swelling did subside after about 2 hours. I wish I could give a review on the actual product performance, because so many people adore it and have it on their holy grail skincare list. Unfortunately, all I can say is, anyone with a bee allergy, stay away.

Note: I've included my Memebox affiliate link in this post for anyone interested in checking it out. You can use the code XP1OWK to get $5 off any order of $30 or more. They are having a Black Friday sale tomorrow, but it seems to be only in their US Shop. Boo.

Heelloooooo Poppets aka Ettang's Mrs. Doubtfire Mask Review

 

I've been pretty impatient waiting for my Competition Box supplies to come in. In order to stop myself from getting upset over the fact that the face charts I ordered on Ebay were on regular computer paper and I could have printed them myself at home, or that my safety pins still have not arrived from Germany, I end up trying every 'miracle' product I've been hoarding in my bathroom cupboards. Whoa, run on sentence.

Anywho, I've been fiddling with these Ettang Modeling Take-Out Cup Masks, which I purchased in Memebox's Memeshop, for two weeks now. I could not get the consistency right for the life of me. It doesn't help that the instructions are barely in English. But today was the day ... I did it.  My Calendula and Oatmeal masks were casualties of my first experiments, so this time I fiddled with my least favourite mask of the bunch, Peppermint. Figures this would be the one I get right. I mixed it at about a 1:1 ratio of powder to water. I tried it at a 1:2 and 1:3 and both were just too watery. The masks ran down my face, neck, and chest, and didn't firm up like they were supposed to.

I got most of the information on these products from Amazon. I do wish Memebox provided at least a translation of the selection being included in the Ettang Take-Out Pack, and the purpose of each mask, but at least the information is out there somewhere on the interwebs. According to Amazon, the Peppermint Modeling cup is for skin soothing, skin refreshment, and skin conditioning. Nothing too earth shattering.

So, did it do it's job? I think so. I mean, when I took it off my face was baby soft, even though my skin itself felt a bit tighter. The photo above is a close up of what the mask looked like when I peeled it off my face. Besides air bubbles I don't know what the heck is on there. Could it really have pulled all that junk out of my pores? If so, the mask was probably worth all the attempts and the 20 minutes I had to sit around doing nothing while it dried.
Would I buy this product again? Maybe. They are pretty messy. I had powder and little bits of rubber everywhere by the time I was done. I might save the rest of the cups for special occasions only.

The funny thing is, regardless of the texture I achieve, I always feel like Mrs. Doubtfire. You know the scene where the case worker stops by and Robin Williams gets his disguise run over, so he he has to improvise and ends up shoving his face into a lemon meringue pie and calling it a  beauty 'mask'? That is what you look like in these masks. They even melt off your face 'like a snowcone', again, even after perfect mixing. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, I refer you to the video clip below:

 

(I'm sharing this clip from Yeah Okay's Youtube account. They had a Blogger share button so I hope it's ok to do so.)

Note: I've included my Memebox affiliate link in this post for anyone interested in checking it out. You can use the code XP1OWK to get $5 off any order of $30 or more.

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.