Beauty Gifts from Christmas 2013

I got a handful of really awesome Christmas gifts this year and I wanted to share the beauty related ones I got with you. If you want a full review on any of the products as I really start trying them out in the next few weeks let me know in the comments below.


First off, my big present was the Clarisonic Mia 2. It was a set from Sephora that came with the Fresh Soy Face Wash and the Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex - also the brush head is the sensitive one. Haven't put these face products to the test yet because I want to use my normal skincare as I implement the Clarisonic into my routine. I've been using it every night since I got it and I can really feel the difference in how clean my skin feels. I can tell I'm already heading into the breakout phase because it's very deep cleaning and it's been purging. I will do an update in a month and let you guys know how my acne/redness is doing. I'm attaching a picture of it from the Sephora webpage because I don't have my camera with me up north and as you can see it's not the same set as mine so maybe that was a limited edition set with Fresh. I also got the hot pink colour of it. 

Next I got the Naked 3! I'm so thrilled and I don't have any swatches for you but you can google it to find 100s of photos of this palette. It's everything I hoped for and more. All the shades show up really well on my fair skin and I think it can work for so many different people. I love using the shade Trick all over the lid, and then limit/nooner mixed together in the crease. If I'm going more dramatic with it I'll pull in some dark shades like Factory and use Blackheart as a liner. 

I got the Nars Guy Bourdain blush palette that I mentioned before previously in my wishlist. I don't want to post too much about it because it was limited edition and it is obviously sold out. It's perfect because it has 4 blushes, one highlighter and a bronzer - i love the formulation and the shades are gorgeous.

Lastly, I received the 500pt perk from Sephora that was the Kate Somerville package. It comes with the Oil Free Moisturizer (0.5 oz), ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment (0.25 oz), Detox Daily Cleanser (2.0 oz). I've always wanted to try out the products and these sizes are actually very big. So far I've only tested out the cleanser for a few mornings and I have no complaints. I'll be testing these out in the future and will let you know if I'd repurchase any of this. 

I hope all of you had a fabulous holidays and I'd love to know what beauty related items you got xxoo

Some Favourites From my Benefit Advent Calendar

Now that I only have one day left to open I wanted to go over some of the standout products in the advent calendar. Benefit is a brand that has a ton of really good products with amazing packaging, and I always want to try  more so this calendar was so worth the money. I'm going to be listing out a few of my favourites here but keep in mind over my exam period I haven't tested them ALL out. I don't have any photos to attach so I'm taking a few from Benefit's website.

The blushes are amazing so I'm always happy to get an extra sample size Coralista, you can read my review on the Benefit boxed blushes here. I found that the Hoola bronzer had the same soft texture that's easily blended and it actually works on my extremely fair skin. So glad I got to test this out.

I tested out the Bad Gal liner that's said to be waterproof and it did last on my eyes all day. I smudged it out on top and even brought it to the bottom lash line (always a disaster for smudging) and it actually lasted for the entire 8 hours I wore it at school. Definitely a good dark black pencil liner to get if you're looking for one. It's pretty dark, not as dark and creamy as others but I think it works really well if you want to smudge it out which is the way I typically wear liner because I'm so fair.  Mine did not come with a smudger end but the full size does which is awesome!

I just ran out of eye cream and was waiting for the Benefit It's Potent eye cream. I find it really good for the dryness I get and it feels really good. It hasn't dramatically fixed my dark circles or bags which are awful.. but not eye cream has been able to so I didn't expect that. I'm looking for mainly hydration right now and this did the trick.

As I mentioned here the Stay Don't Stray Primer is really good for me as a primer for my under eye concealer. It doesn't work well for my super oily eyelids but it's amazing under the concealer. But definitely check out my previous blog for more info.

I LOVE Benefit stains, as well as the highlighter high beam. I think these last so long and are so gorgeous. I love using the stains on my cheek because it always gives a gorgeous natural look and it's easily blended/built up. I'm not going to post pictures of all of them but I love them. If you're looking into a really unique multi purpose lip/cheek product you need these. Plus the smell of Benetint I'm obsessed with.

XOXO, I won't be posting until after Christmas so I hope all of you have an amazing holiday. Let me know what Benefit products you love and think I should check out. :)

Review of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray Primer

Now that I am DONE my final exams I promise I will be posting twice a week regularly again! I got a mini size of this primer in my Benefit Advent Calender and tried it out multiple times in different ways. I loved how this primer neutralized the colour on my eyelids but for me personally, I liked this way better as a primer for my under eye concealer than as a base for my eyeshadows. I have literally the oiliest eyelids ever, even on days I don't wear shadows I get oil buildup. I use UD primer potion but even with that sometimes I get creasing  even pro longwear paint pots crease on me without using a primer before- I think I need to try the NARS next. I noticed after only about 2-3 hours all my MAC eyeshadows I used had creased. If you have normal eyelids I think this would work great for you, especially because it is a neutral colour to blur out any redness. I found it worked well under my eyes with a concealer on top and then powdered. It made everything look pretty flawless and I was really happy with it. The full size of this sells for $30 CAD at Sephora which is more expensive than most brands of eye primer. You can use other primers like UD and Too Faced under concealer as well but I don't think the texture is as nice for that as this one, so I think if you're looking for a primer that can be used as an eyeshadow/concealer base and you don't have very oily eyelids you'll really enjoy this product!

The Body Shop Cleansing Oil Review

I've been wanting to try this product for a while and I got this for Christmas as a gift from my roommate when we did Secret Santa. I've tried the Sephora cleansing water which is really awesome but I wanted to try this one because I love the Camomile line from The Body Shop. It comes in the size of 200ml and it sells for $16 CAD but The Body Shop during Christmas always has amazing deals so definitely look into it.

This is what it says on the website:

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This silky-soft cleanser will effortlessly remove make-up from the whole face quickly and effectively, leaving skin feeling clean, refreshed and clear of impurities. It’s the ultimate time-saver.

The packaging is adorable and I love the scent of the product. I usually use 1-2 pumps on my hands and rub it onto my DRY face. It's very thick which it should be because it's called an oil and not a water like the Sephora brand. I typically rub it in for around a minute and even use it over my eyes just make sure you do not get any in your eye. If you're sensitive I might even suggest using eye makeup remover instead of the oil on your eye because it is thicker and it really hurts if you get it in your eye. After I feel like my skins coated in the oil I add water to let it foam off and then I rinse. It gets off I would say 80-90% of my makeup but I always wash with a cleanser afterwards so for me that's not a big deal. I wouldn't suggest using this product as you're only cleanser. I see it as more of a makeup remover for your face and then you cleanse to remove any leftover product. I always use a toner after as well which further removes any leftover product and balances out your skin. This hasn't broken me out and I have incredibly sensitive acne prone skin. I've been it for about 5 days every night and my skin always reacts right away, so since I haven't broken out I definitely won't. Overall, I really like this product as a makeup remover and I'm so glad I got this because I hated always buying makeup wipes and putting more garbage into the environment by using them. This is a really good alternative to cleansing makeup removing wipes!

Body Lotion for a Cause

I thought this would be a really nice gift for someone and it's limited edition! I wanted to post this as soon as I could in case it sells out in stores. The Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter is a Kiehl's classic and you can purchase it year round but for Christmas they changed the lid to be a childrens picture. 100% of the net proceed from the body butter go to charity in Canada, I' m not sure if this is offered anywhere else. The charity is Canadian Association of Pediatric Oncology Camps (CAPOC), and my particular Kiehl's in Sherway Gardens Mall was donating to Camp Ooch which is a camp specifically for children with cancer. The price of the product is expensive, it's $45 CAD but as I mentioned before all the proceed go to charity and the product is really amazing. Christmas is the perfect time to donate to charity, and this way you get a really luxurious body butter out of it.

You can see it online here but it seems to be out of stock online. There was a handful left in my Kiehl's location so I'm sure there's more in store! They had a tester out as well so you could smell it and try it. I love whipped body butters, as they're not super heavy but very hydrating. It has Jojoba in it as well as shea butter and it leaves my dry winter skin feeling great. The smell lingers and it's not a perfumey scent, it's subtle but so nice. You have to smell it in person to actually understand. Also, Kiehl's is good with samples so if you go in to test out this product and buy one, they typically load you up with their little packs of product.

If you click the link I attached above you can see what the lid looks like for the limited edition one I'm talking about.  Definitely a good gift for a friend, family member or even yourself. It's a great body butter for a great cause.

If you don't live in Canada is your Kiehl's doing anything like this? Have you found any other products that are limited edition like this that donate the proceeds charity?

 

Favourite Eye Makeup Remover

December is a bit crazy with me since I have finals but I'm still trying to post at least once a week - definitely not on the typical days. I wanted to upload a quick post about what eye makeup remover I love to use. So here's a bit of background on me: I am a contact lens wearer, I have really sensitive eyes and do not wear waterproof eye makeup on a regular day basis. I hate eye makeup remover that feels super oily , most drugstore makeup brand ones I've tried have bothered my eyes like crazy because they feel so greasy when I use it. I need a really gentle makeup remover and I hate using scented eye makeup remover near my eyes because they're so sensitive. I finally found a really good one that you can also purchase in a formula that can be used for waterproof eye makeup as well.

The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. They've made the packaging prettier since I bought my last bottle. It lasts a really long time, I use one cotton round saturated with this and it removes all my eye makeup on both eyes. I hold it to my eye for about 2-5 seconds and then wipe, mostly everything comes with it but sometimes eyeliner and mascara needs to be rubbed a little more with it. This is seriously the most gentle eye makeup remover I have ever used and it's the only one that has not bothered my eyes. It doesn't have a harsh fragrance either. It retails for $16 CAD but The Body Shop always has really good sales and right now on the website it's 40% off and priced at $9.60. I highly recommend to all of you contact wearers with extremely sensitive eyes!