Product Rave: Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer

So I recently went to the mall and went inside Sephora!

I actually wanted to try out Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20, which is a sheer foundation, and very light weight.  

I actually haven't bought the product yet as I just wanted to test it out before I spend the money. I wanted to try the Laura Mercier one specifically because they are known for their tinted moisturizer.  They also carry an original Tinted Moisturizer which is not Oil-Free.  They both come in ten shades to fit different skin tones, and the oil-free one is more targeted towards those who tend to get more oily.  I actually got two shades to try, Sand and Fawn.  I still am unsure about the difference between the shades because they both are so similar.  

So far the product has not broken me out and considering my sensitive skin that is a major plus.  The product is very sheer however it just feel as if you are putting on an everyday moisturizer so the texture is very creamy and applies smoothly onto the face.  Obviously with those who want more coverage this product would not be recommended as it only hides minor flaws in the skin.  I actually don't mind that some of my scars/pigmentation show as it is getting warmer outside and putting on a full face of makeup is just not plausible to me.  It actually does give a nice summer glow to your skin which is fantastic! 

After applying the product I do set it with a powder. 

Some setting powders I have used:

- MAC's Mineralized SkinFinish 

- Maybelline Dream Matte Powder (this is amazing for touch-ups)

- Cargo Wet/Dry Foundation 

 I just love this product and I probably will be picking up a full-size of it soon, once I finish my samples.

So if your looking for some everyday sheer coverage especially for the upcoming warm months I would recommended checking out this product.  Available at Sephora Counters and Holt Renfrew.  

Face Masks

So this month I have been obsessing over my skin.  I mean I want it to look flawless and blemish free especially while putting makeup on, because its good to have a clear face to work with. Anyways, my skincare regime has been a top priority to me because I feel like great skin = younger, fresher skin.  Since winter has been so brutal our skin gets damaged because of such harsh weather and the key to looking more youthful is making sure first and foremost that your skin is a top priority.  Make-up can only hide so much, you must also take some initiative.  


My obsession for this month has been face masks.  I actually went to Wal-mart last month and was browsing their skin care aisle and came across them.  They retail for approx. $1.50- $1.99


The face masks are by the company Purederm, a japanese company.  The masks come in variety selections depending on skin types and issue you may have.  Some face masks are for firming, age defying, hydrating, moisturizing etc.  I picked up almost all of the varieties that they had because I was so excited to try them.


So basically a face mask when opened is a thin sheet which you place on your face.  There are holes in them for your eyes, mouth and nose so they don't obstruct those areas.  The mask is infused with different ingredients to nourish the skin.   The mask depending on which you buy is kept on the face for 15-20mins (instructions on the back).  Once you take off the mask you can either wash your face or leave the residue on.  

After trying my first face mask my face felt refreshed and just felt clean.  It also felt very soft and hydrated. 


I would recommend these masks for anyone who wants some home relaxation and spa treatment at their fingertips.  So take some time out of your day and relax while your skin gets pampered :) 

Product Rave: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle

I had a little time today so I thought I would rave about a product I have been loving.  It’s actually a hair care product that I have been using for over a year now.

 It’s called Aussie 3 Minute Miracle.  It comes in a purple cylinder bottle and it contains 35ml of product. I would say the product lasted me 5 months however I do not use it everyday.   I am currently using my 2^nd bottle of this conditioner and its almost finished!! 

This product is a deep conditioner for your hair and it gives great results.   I don’t use any of the Aussie shampoo or conditioners but this product is amazing. I have tried other Aussie Styling products, which are amazing as well. 

So basically a deep conditioner is like an extra strength conditioner used for your hair to nourish it and restore your hair from damage (dry or brittle).  It makes your hair silky, smooth, soft and shiny.  It also helps with detangling untamed hair, which is awesome specially when combing your hair after a shower.  The product with my experience does not cause your hair to fall out, as I have experienced some deep conditioners that have.   

I love the smell of it and it’s a great to use once or twice a week.  You could however use the product as often as you like and make it your daily conditioner alongside your shampoo.  I however have a different set of shampoo and conditioner, and whenever I feel like my hair needs some nourishment I use the product. 

The packaging is also amazing.  It’s basically a non-spill proof bottle and you just squeeze out the product when needed.  No cap and no mess, especially since you would be keeping it in your shower.  

I have not seen it around in stores, but I work at a pharmacy and I actually asked them to order it from me from the catalogue.  This product retails for around $3.99 however price depends on where it is purchased.  Also, www.drugstore.com is an awesome website to get any drugstore products that you may not necessarily find available in Canada.  I have purchased products from this website and it is reliable, safe, and affordable. 

Just a tip: Because you have to wait 3 minutes while the product is penetrating in your hair, at times it may seem tedious to wait that long.  My tip is to make sure you rinse out the product well especially if you are planning to wash your hair right after or after one minute of it in your hair.  This way there is no residue build-up.  I personally don’t wait the full 3 minutes, too be honest I don’t even know unless I count if 3 minutes are up.  So it all depends on you. 

Can you recommend any Aussie products? 

Have you tried any hair care products that you just cannot live without??

Comments and Questions are always welcome

Favourite Perfumes :)

Hello Readers !

Here is a list of some of my favourite perfumes/scents at the moment :)   


- Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom 
- Bath and Body Works Secret Wonderland 
- D&G No. 3
- Vera Wang Princess collection 
- Marc Jacobs Daisy 
- Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy 
- Miss Dior Cherie 
- Armani Code Women 
- Philosophy Unconditional Love
- Aquolina Pink Sugar (which smells like cotton candy!!)
- Chloe Chloe 
- Gucci Flora 
- Ed Hardy Women 




Feel free to leave a comment of your favourite perfumes/scents. 
:) 

Foundation Series #6: Urban Decay Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup

So today's review will be for Urban Decay's Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup in the colour Vision.  This product comes with 0.30oz of product.  This was my very first mineral makeup I ever purchased.  It retails for $35.  It comes in 11 shades to fit a variety of skin colours.  


This foundation is a mineral foundation, it comes with a sponge tip puff built in so that there is no mess.  It also includes an on and off switch so you just turn the bottle and it helps keep the powder secure and set.  The coverage is amazing and very buildable.   Mineral foundation is said to be a lot better than liquid foundation as it can be used on oily, sensitive or dry skin types.  

So how to use this foundation? 
This foundation is easy to use and since it comes with a built in puff applicator so applying it requires no brushes and no mess.  You lift the round lid and there is a white puff sponge and you tap it on your skin and apply accordingly.  

Results?
The results you get when using this is awesome.  The foundation is flawless and gives you an even skin tone.  It is very buildable so you can start off with applying a little and then gradually apply as needed.  The coverage was awesome for me.  The foundation is very light weight, it is a mineral powder so it doesn't feel like much on your face.  

Where I live it is winter right now so I found that the foundation doesn't crack due to the harsh winds and it still stays in place.  Also the foundation is matte so you don't have to worry about those "shiny" days, even still you can always apply it again during the day if needed.  

Cons?
I love how the puff is built in, but after a while of using the foundation I find that it will get dirty.  That is the only problem with the built in puff, however you can screw the top off where the puff is and dip a brush in and use it that way too.  I wish they sold a separate puff so that if it got dirty you could just replace it.  

Tips:
I know urban decay sells a razor sharp finishing powder to set the makeup which would be nice to apply after this foundation.  I have not tried it yet but it comes in the same packaging and I think it would work wonders.  

Hope this helps and happy foundation searching =) 

Foundation Series #5: Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ Matifying Foundation

So I am back ! 
I know it has been awhile and I apologize, school has just taken over.

Alright so today I will be continuing with my Foundation series, and this one is for the Make Up For Ever(MUFE) Mat Velvet+ Matifying Liquid Foundation.  I got this foundation from Sephora and it retails for $40.  
The foundation comes with 30ml of product, it is oil-free and water resistant.


The reason I purchased this foundation was mainly because it claimed to be a "matifying" foundation, and since the majority of the time my skin gets oily due to makeup I decided to give it a try.  
This foundation is a liquid foundation it is full coverage however it is build-able so if you require more coverage or less coverage it is up to you.  

So how to use this foundation? 
When you open the bottle there is a squeeze tube so there is no mess when it comes to this foundation.  I usually apply a pea size amount to start off on my hand and dip my brush into the product and then apply it to my face.  I recommended using a brush as it is a liquid foundation however everyone's preferences are different.  Apply the foundation wherever necessary on your face and you can set it with a powder.  


Results?
The results are awesome! My face looked matte and there was no shine to be seen.  I liked the finish because I could then add a highlighter without my face looking shiny everywhere so it was tamed.  The foundation was easy to apply and glided smoothly onto my face.  The coverage was great and build-able and it looked flawless.  I didn't necessarily have to put a setting powder as the foundation set itself nicely, however out of habit I decided to just put some on.  Honestly, this foundation has great coverage and feels very light on the face so you don't have that heavy foundation feeling.  This foundation lasts without having to touch up or having to blot your face.  Just remember these results were individual to my skin type everyone has different results.


Cons?
To be honest I have no negatives about the foundation.  The coverage was nice and the packaging was also great.  Good Job MUFE !


Tips:
Make sure that you get the correct shade for your skin colour.  There are plenty of make-up artists at Sephora to help you out with choosing the right one for you.  This foundation alone has 16 different shades so you are bound to find something.  Also, if you are at a Sephora store if you ask they can give you a small sample to try out the foundation so if you end up liking it you can buy it otherwise you can skip it.  I think this is awesome because then you are saving money and time in case it doesn't work out for you.  Another thing to remember is that Sephora has a great return policy, if you lose your receipt or even used the product they will still take it back so it's great to know what just in case.


Hope this helps and happy foundation searching =) 

Exfoliators

Today I have decided to discuss exfoliators and exfoliating in general.  I think people take this lightly when in actual fact exfoliating is helpful in keeping your skin healthy. 

Exfoliating is basically removing dead skin from the outer surface of your skin.  This would create a glow to your skin, provide the skin with a smooth and soft look, fresher, brighter looking skin, prevent breakouts and prevent ingrown hairs.  This also helps the skin sink in the moisturizer when you are applying it. 

There are many ways to exfoliate your skin you can use cleansers/scrubs with micro beads, you can get facial peels at spas or even at home or you can use microdermabrasion products.  The products with micro beads consist of finely abrasive ingredients to help remove the dead cells from the skin.

How to Exfoliate:

1.     Dampen your skin with water

2.     Apply the scrub onto hands and massage in circular motions onto face and/or body

3.     Scrub until grains have disappeared and penetrated into skin

4.     Rinse face/body thoroughly with water

5.     Apply moisturizer to create smooth, soft moisturized skin

I would recommend exfoliating every other day, sometimes exfoliating too often might cause the skin to become inflamed and dry because of the scrubbing.  In the winter you could reduce this to 2-3 times a week because of the harshness of the weather your skin could become more sensitive.  Also make sure especially on the face that you are not scrubbing too hard as the skin is sensitive, so be gentle when exfoliating you want to create smooth, soft skin not cause dry patches. 

Recommendations:

I have tried a number of exfoliating products both for the body and face all of which I would re-purchase because they have worked for me. 

1.    St. Ives Apricot Scrub

I think this the most famous facial scrub out there.  It smells great and the fine granules are not too abrasive to cause damage to your skin.  St. Ives has a variety of scrubs for the face depending on your skin type. They also have body scrubs that can be bought in a tube like bottle and also a tub container.  They also carry many body washes, which include exfoliating beads to help when you are showering.  St. Ives can be bought at any drugstore, they are reasonably priced and the product gives the skin a smooth, radiant look. 

2.    Soap & Glory Flake Away Spa Body Polish 300ml

This is a product, which originally came from the UK and they carry a variety of skincare products.  The names of the products are hilarious and the products are great.  This particular exfoliator is specifically used for the body and it comes in a tub container.  It smells really good and it leaves the skin very smooth.  The product contains Shea Butter, sweet almond oil, peach seed powder, sea salt and sugar.  It retails for  $9.99 and is available at Shoppers Drug Mart. 

3.    Laura Mercier Face Polish 3.5oz

This exfoliator is specifically for the face, it is a higher brand so the price would be a reflection of that.  Although it is targeted for the face you can use it on the body as well.  This scrub can be used everyday as the grains are not abrasive enough to cause the face any harm.  The grains are small and they disappear quickly when massaged into the skin.  The scrub has a very creamy consistency and it smells great.  It also can be used as a replacement for a cleanser so it works as a 2in1 product both as a cleanser and an exfoliator.  This product is available at Holt Renfrew stores (in Canada) and retails for about $35.00. 

4.    Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

      This product could also be considered as one of the higher end products, as it’s not readily available at drugstores.  Philosophy has great skincare as well as cosmetic products and I have used their cleansers and moisturizers so I am familiar with their products.  This exfoliating wash like the Laura Mercier Face Polish can be used everyday as the granules are very fine and cannot do harm to the skin if used everyday.  This can be used as a cleanser depending on your preference.  Because of the fine grains this exfoliator is very gentle even for the most sensitive skin types.  I am not too fond of the smell of this exfoliator however it does do the job and you will get use to it.  It gives the skin a smooth, soft surface and leaves it moisturized.  It gives the skin a very clean feel.  This product is available at Sephora stores and also on the Philosophy website, the price starts at $27 and increases depending on the size of the bottle.   Just a note Philosophy has great skincare starter kits to introduce you to the line that are reasonably priced so that way you can try a variety of products including this one. 

Transform your dull, dry skin. EXFOLIATE NOW