I always hesitate to use the term “holy grail” product, but if there’s any instance where I make an exception this is it. The Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer by Paula’s Choice is the best moisturizer I have ever tried. Some key ingredients in the formula include several plant derived oils, glycerin, squalane, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E. It’s marketed towards people with very dry or sensitive skin, eczema, rosacea, or those concerned with wrinkles and anti-aging.
If you have yet to hear about my love for CeraVe skincare products, prepare for some seriously rave reviews. Today I’ll be talking about both of their cleansers. There’s the Foaming Facial Cleanser for normal to oily skin and the Hydrating Cleanser for normal to dry skin. I’ve used both but the one I usually prefer for my skin is the Foaming Facial Cleanser. I have very acne prone, dehydrated skin. An odd combination, I know. The Foaming Cleanser is my personal favorite. Compared to the Hydrating Cleanser, it cleans a bit better without leaving my face tight and dry afterwards. The Hydrating version leaves my skin very soft and moisturized, but using it consistently leads to clogged pores. My aunt started using this one on recommendation from me and she thinks it’s been the cure for the dry flaky patches she used to get on her chin. If you’re a bit older and acne is no longer a major concern I think that version will be right up your street!
Both formulas contain glycerin, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and cholesterol making them hydrating for each respective skin type. If you’d like a brief scientific babble about why each of these work, keep reading. (If not skip ahead to the next paragraph.) Glycerin is a humectant that attracts moisture, although in its pure form it loves moisture so much it can actually have a drying effect on the skin. Ceramides are naturally occurring as part of skin’s cellular structure and moisture barrier. Including them in skin care helps repair the moisture barrier, enabling skin to hold onto whatever moisture it’s given. Cholesterol has a similar function. Hyaluronic acid helps skin retain moisture and may help reduce inflammation. Ceramides, cholesterol, and hyaluronic acid have also been shown to support cell to cell communication. Your cells have to be able to talk to each other if they’re going to work together to fix skin issues. The Foaming cleanser also contains niacinamide which is supposed to help prevent discoloration, presumably from acne scars since it’s marketed for oilier skin (1).
It’s lightweight, pigmented, blendable, long wearing, and conceals spots and dark circles with ease. Interested yet? The Estée Lauder Double Wear line has been talked to death in most circles of the online beauty world, and I finally understand why. I picked this up at a Cosmetics Company Outlet while on vacation in Virginia. It has since become my go to concealer for spots. My favorite method of application is actually not the doe foot applicator it comes with; it’s perfectly fine but it applies a large amount in a small area which can make blending a bit messy. Instead I love taking the product from the back of my hand using a RealTechniques Deluxe Crease Brush and pouncing the brush over any spots I have. I’ll go over a few spots, allow the product to set just a little bit, then go back to blend the edges. This helps prevent wiping away too much of the coverage in an effort to blend it out right away. In the end it dries down to a beautiful semi-matte finish. I rarely bother to powder it stays put so well.
I never used to understand dry texture sprays and aerosol dry shampoos, but since I discovered that volume is my new best friend on second day hair I can’t get enough of them! Most come with a higher price tag though, so I was very excited to try out Garnier’s new De-Constructed Texture Tease Dry Touch Finish Spray. I picked mine up at Target for less than $4, which is a steal considering that my current favorite dry texture spray is $20!
This product claims to add texture and volume to flat, lifeless hair for that beachy tousled look. It’s supposed to have a flexible, non-sticky hold that can easily be re-styled. An instant dry down and weightless finish are also promised.
After having my blog for only about three weeks, I received a couple of very nice comments nominating me for blogging awards. I’m still quite new to the blogging community and I’ve waited a while to participate in the award posts because I wasn’t really sure what they were all about. As I understand it, blogging awards of this style are a good way to share a little more about yourself with your readers. In addition, you also share some of the newer blogs you enjoy reading. From my perspective there’s a bit of self promotion involved, but as I’ve been exposed to more of these award posts I find them a wonderful “getting to know me” opportunity. They also help you to feel more involved and accepted in the blogging community, which is something I think any blogger will appreciate.
Just a note about my nominations for these award tags, I’m only going to choose a handful of people for each one. I still don’t know too many other smaller bloggers like myself and I feel like I’d run out of people to nominate! Also a HUGE thank you to each and every one of the girls who nominated me for an award. I know it took me a while to get around to this post, but I really appreciate the recognition and feeling more included in the beauty blogging community.
I’ve long since been a fan of cleansing oils for removing makeup quickly and effectively at the end of a long day, but most of them come from higher end brands like Shu Uemura and MAC. Imagine my excitement when Garnier released their new Clean+ line that included a cleansing oil! Despite the appeal of an affordable version of the MAC Cleanse Off Oil or Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil, it took me quite a while to purchase. Let’s face it, makeup removers aren’t the most exciting product to buy, but they are extremely essential!
Most Sundays I’m content to go grocery shopping and run my errands bare faced, but this week I had a few products I couldn’t wait to try out. This week my orders from Hakuhodo and Makeup Geek arrived so I had a bit of a play with eyeshadows, blush, and new brushes. I went fairly light on foundation since I usually try to give my skin a break on weekends. The eyes are a very warm, almost orangey brown with my typical half stripe of black liner. For cheeks I used a warm pink blush and on the lips I used one of my favorite bright lipsticks from Bobbi Brown. It’s a very easy and quick look that would be suitable for the majority of skin tones. If you’re darker you may need some darker browns on the eyes but the shadows from MUG are very pigmented so they may work for you after all!
Rimmel recently reformulated their Moisture Renew lipsticks as well as introduced more shades in the US. They claim to “drench lips in moisture” while delivering vitamin-infused color with a glossy finish “at torrential value.” I have three of the 25 shades for review today.
Honestly, I had a mini party in CVS when I stumbled upon these for the sole reason that the shade In Love With Ginger was finally in my hot little hands. I had this in my basket in Boots on my last day in London and put it back thinking I could find it at home. Wrong! I looked everywhere when I got back and even tried to find dupes with limited success. I realize it’s just a lipstick, but it was ridiculously irritated at myself for passing it up. Fast forward to a few months later perusing the drugstore display and finding a product I thought I’d completely missed out on. If any one was watching my face when I picked up that lipstick I’m sure they would have thought me insane… Happy anecdotes aside, let’s get on with the review!
Hola chickens! I could be normal and just say “Hello my lovely readers” but if you were to meet me in real life you know that I prefer to address people with an odd combination of Spanish and a phrase I stole from a wonderful Pilates instructor I learned from. I’ve never done a post where I just sit down and talk to the few followers I’ve met since starting my blog, but I thought it would be nice to try.
I definitely haven’t been posting as much as I was when I first started my blog, but life got in the way a tad bit. I was working a lot at my job and then had a family vacation with very limited internet access. I also failed to plan ahead and write posts that I could schedule beforehand. One of the downfalls to being a blogging newbie I suppose. College classes have started back for me this past week, and so begins another round of trying to establish a schedule and get my life in order. I know that my posting will be limited to once a week or so. I would love it if I could keep up with twice a week but knowing myself I won’t have time to write, photograph, and edit enough to put up a quality post. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I’d rather give you all something I’m proud of than just slap something up in order to keep a deadline.
I thought I might share some of my pre-semester goals with you for the sake of keeping myself motivated. If you have any advice or tips on keeping up with a busy schedule or being self employed (that’s what school feels like to me) definitely feel free to share!
Blog-wise I have several sets of photos that I just need to edit and write up a post to along with. I’m working on reviews of the repackaged Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks (spoilers– they’re awesome), some Paula’s Choice toners, and a few of my favorite hair products. I’ve posted a haul of some of my recent purchases so if you see anything you’d like a review of there be sure to let me know! For school my goal is to stay on top of assignments and studying and seriously cut down on my procrastinating. I feel like I enjoy school a lot more when I’m not so stressed out and I really get to learn the material (provided it’s material I’m interested in). I know procrastination plagues many of us, and I like to think I’ve managed to cut down on it a good bit since my high school days but it still gets me once in awhile. Other life goals I have are to work in regular exercise at least 4 days of the week, continue getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and make time to spend with the boyfriend each week.
How do you get ready for a new semester after a summer or winter break? Do you like to come up with some basic goals to keep in mind? What things are important to you and how do you decide what to tackle first on your to-do list?
I took a look at my makeup stash trying to decide what to review next and realized that since starting my blog I’ve done quite a bit of hauling that I might not have otherwise done. I love seeing what others have picked up recently so I thought I’d share! This is quite a lot of stuff, but I’ve collected it over the past 2-3 months so the damage isn’t quite as bad as it looks. Let me know if you see anything you’d be interested in seeing a review in any of the products shown. I should have quite a few concealer reviews coming up seeing as I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately.
BellaRose Makeup 