Review: Kardashian Beauty Take 2 Dry Shampoo

I have oily hair. Oily, fine, limp and lifeless. Most of my life, I’ve washed my hair everyday. Or, everyday that I had to go somewhere/look somewhat presentable…

Years ago, I discovered the benefits of using baby powder. On days I wasn’t going to do my hair or I was too rushed to wash it, I would sprinkle baby powder in my hands and rub it together and work it through my hair. It did a good job, a great job in comparison to any of the dry shampoos I found on the market.

Then, I watched Kayley Melissa’s review  of Kardashian Beauty Take 2 Dry Shampoo and I was intrigued. I, like Kayley am not a Kardashian fan. This product, however, is life changing.

 

This product is the best dry shampoo I have ever used. I would go as far to say I almost cannot tell if my hair hasn’t been washed. It is that good.

For this dry shampoo, I shake it many, many times. I actually count it fifteen times. By doing so, there is a tiny whitecast that blends out quickly.

I highly recommend it to everyone!

Kardashian Beauty Take 2 Dry Shampoo is available at Ulta for $13.99

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Have you tried Kardashian Beauty Take 2 Dry Shampoo? What are your thoughts? Have you tried anything else from the line?

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New Jo Malone Colognes – REVIEW

A few weeks ago, I was in the market for a new perfume. I just finished a bottle of Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb and I wanted a change. I had been familiar with Jo Malone Colognes, but I didn’t feel tempted to spend quite that much money on perfume.

I started browsing the Jo Malone counter and before I knew it, I had fallen in love with a scent. Of course, it’s limited edition, which makes it even more delicious. I decided on Plum Blossom Cologne, one of three limited edition Colognes. Then, the very convincing sales lady layered Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne on top of Plum Blossom and I really fell in love. By itself, Wood Sage & Sea Salt isn’t my favorite, but I love it paired with Plum Blossom.

When I was convinced to spend almost $300 on perfume, I was told that my Plum Blossom wouldn’t be available for a few weeks. However, I was also given a gift with purchase. This soften the blow when I realized I got the gift.

The lovely little samples are of a small cologne of English Pear & Freesia, a lotion of Peony & Blush Suede (love) and a body gel of Grapfruit.

All in all, I love my purchases.

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What do you think of Jo Malone? Over hyped and over priced? Or absolutely fantastic?

Simple Cleansing Micellar Water Review

For the past year or so, I watched enviously as European Bloggers used Bioderma, a cleansing water. As you know my love for cleansing oils, I wanted to try Bioderma badly. Cleansing waters, aka Micellar Waters or Micelle Solutions are makeup removers with a water-like consistency.

I received a sample from a Sephora purchase of Dermaclear Micro Water and fell in love.

As previously stated, cleansing waters remove makeup effectively with no residue. They are divine. As much as I loved Dermaclear, I wanted to find a more affordable drugstore option.

I found Simple’s Cleansing Micellar Water at the drugstore and was a bit disappointed. Although it was just as effective at removing makeup as Dermaclear’s version, it did leave a slight residue and wasn’t as moisturizing on the skin.

The price, however, is great. From anywhere from $6ish-$8ish, you get 6.7 oz of Micellar Water from Simple, for just over an ounce more you pay $32 for Dermaclear’s water. It’s quite a price difference and the differences between the two aren’t significant.

Pros of cleansing waters:

-Excellent at removing leftover waterproof makeup that your cleanser didn’t remove.

-Fabulous at cleaning up makeup mistakes. Removes the mistake without taking off other makeup.

Cons of cleansing waters:

-Personally, I don’t care for cleansing waters to actually cleanse my skin. I just use them to remove difficult makeup.

-In order for the water to be effective, I saturate one cotton pad per eye. A little does not go a long way.

 

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Have you tried any cleansing waters? What do you think? What is your favorite brand?

 

L’Oreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation Review

I have to say I was pretty excited when I first learned about the new L’Oreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation. I found glowing reviews online, and L’Oreal described exactly what I wanted: dewy, long lasting foundation.

L’Oreal says it is a 24 hour, lasting, Demi-Matte Finish that is never dull and never flat. It boasted to be air light and medium coverage.

My verdict? I don’t like this foundation. I wouldn’t repurchase it and I have considering returning it. Womp womp.

Things I don’t like:

This foundation is not for dry skin. I found this to be dull and flat. I have dry skin with oily patches (which is a change I’ve recently experienced. Previously, I had oily/combo). The foundation doesn’t smooth well on my dry cheeks – instead, it highlighted the baby hairs I have and made my dry skin feel even drier.

Dryness around my eyes and mouth.

The foundation coverage is too light. It is a light foundation that you can build to medium.

Coverage light around my nose.

A little does not go a long way. I built this foundation to get a medium coverage and I ended up using quite a bit, about double of what I normal use with other foundations.

This foundation doesn’t last. I have sun spots on my forehead and by the end of the day (10 hours or so after application) you can see them clearly. Other reviewers paired this foundation with the Infallible Pro-Matte Powder and said it lasted all day.

This foundation is the wrong color. Now, this is clearly my fault for buying the wrong color, but usually I am the lightest color in every foundation range I’ve used but this is color is a bit too light. It is easy to blend with a bronzer to darken. (I have Classic Ivory 101).

Using highlighters, I worked the product to look more dewy than it was before.

However. As my skin is not everyone’s skin type, this foundation will work for many. Do you have oily or combination skin? You will love this. This will mattify the oil on your skin and turn it into a wonderful glow. Do you hate the feeling of foundation on your skin? This is perfect for you. Do you have little to cover up and need a base to color correct some areas? Yep, buy this.

Overall, this isn’t for me. But, it may be for you!

What are your thoughts?

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Other reviews:

Tati’s Review

Sam’s Review

Tried and Tested: MAC Cleanse Off Oil

Confession: Until recently, I rarely washed my face before bed.

Okay, I never washed my face before bed.

Ever since I started wearing make up, I usually took the time to remove my eye makeup but nothing else. I had heard that removing makeup before bed was important for your skin’s health and to prevent aging. I tried to wash my face. I hated it. I hated the time it took, how I seemed to get water everywhere. I hated splashing water on my face.

I saved face washing for in the showers only. Which meant my face only got washed once a day.

Overall, I have good skin. Despite struggling as a teen with acne, I rarely break out now. As an adult, I always had clogged pores and blackheads, most of which was only noticeable to me. Skincare wasn’t a huge concern for me so I had little motivation to deep clean my face.

Fast forward to today. Every night, before going to bed, I use MAC Cleanse Off Oil to remove all of my makeup. This includes the use of water. Being splashed on my face. And I LOVE it.

What changed?

As a huge fan of many beauty bloggers/vloggers, I noticed a trend of cleansing oils and balms. Particularly Fleur De Force’s post about Cleansing Balms. I read this post about a year ago and I was intrigued. I wasn’t, however, going to pay $40 + dollars on something to wash my face.

I was willing to pay $9 and give the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm a whirl.  I bought the tin container and started using it. I really liked it. I liked that the first step was to massage the oil into your skin, and then remove it with water. I’m not sure why, using water at the end of the cleansing was much more appealing than using it twice.

The downside to the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm was that I went through my tin very quickly. In fact, it lasted just over a month. I decided going to the mall every month and spending $9 wasn’t for me. I wanted something more accessible, something that lasted longer than a month.

In addition, I decided to look for a Cleansing Oil instead of a Balm. I didn’t like dipping my hand in the same tin everyday. It just screamed bacteria growth to me.

Quite soon after, I discovered Garnier Clean + Nourshing Cleansing Oil from Samantha Schuerman’s Review. Although it was a sponsored post, I do agree with most of Sam’s reviews and decided to give it a try. The Cleansing Oil was great except for one thing: the scent. I hated it. I hated it so much that I decided to return it.

Back to the drawing board.

I wanted to find a product that was effective, long-lasting and not too pricey. I had become addicted to the nightly massage and was serious about finding a product that worked for me. I started going through my favorite bloggers once again and found Tati’s video on her nighttime routine. In her video, she used MAC Cleanse Off Oil. Coming in at $31, the MAC Cleanse Off Oil was a bit more money then I wanted to spend. I was nervous I would have the same situation I did with the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm and I was afraid I would go through a bottle a month. Not quite ready to give up $31, I opted for the travel size, which is $10. (Still quite a bit of money, but less of a risk).

To my surprise, I loved that little bottle. I loved the scent, the slight citrus smell. I loved the feeling on my skin, and how it effectively removed all of my makeup. And, I loved that the little 1oz bottle lasted almost a month. In September 2014, I bought the regular 5oz bottle and I am happy to say it has lasted until this week. I am just about out of my first bottle and repurchased another bottle today. (I use two pumps a day, and I’ve used it every day).

And my skin? The best it’s ever been. While I’m starting to deal with sun spots and other side effects of being almost 30, my pores are not longer clogged and I rarely break out. Win Win.

What Cleansing Oils/ Balms do you enjoy?

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A few notes:

• I sometimes use an additional eye makeup remover if I have quite a bit of mascara or eyeliner on.
• How I use it:
  • First pump: massage all over my face, except for eyes. Gently rub eyebrows last.
  • Second pump: massage gently into my eyes.
  • Wet hands, massage face again, concentrating on the eyes. I will do this step multiple times. (Note: the oil will turn into a milky substance with water).
  • Final step: Gently splash water on my face until the milky substance is gone.

Enjoy! 

The Best Bronzer (for me)

More often than not, I’ve been hesitant when I’ve seen beauty blogger and vloggers talk about Bronzers. I’ve found Bronzers to be orange and very fake looking. With my fair skin, none quite worked and I often would look weird with them on.

I started following Essie Button on YouTube and she raved about Body Shop’s Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder. Since Essie has fair skin like me, I thought I would try it!

I have to say, I love this bronzer. It is the perfect warmth, without being orange at all. I use the shade 01 Light Matte which was perfect for winter, but as the Summer is approaching I’m may go up a shade. Either way, it is the perfect bronzer for all skin types.

What is your favorite bronzer?

Things I like this week (vol 17).

She kills me.

1. A few weeks ago, Tahn and I met my friend and her two Labradors at the lagoon and let the dogs swim. Tahn found the only mud on the beach and decided to roll in it right before we left. She refused to go back into the lagoon afterwards, forcing me to take a very muddy dog home. I still have mud in my car. Let’s just say we haven’t been back to the lagoon since.
2. I read The Glass Castle a few years ago and I can definitely say it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. When I saw this New York Times article about the author, I was so interested to learn about her and her mother today.
3. I’ve found myself sitting at my computer most nights watching YouTube Beauty Vlogs. I also watch them with a gigantic bowl of homemade popcorn and it makes me so excited. I’ve found many new beauty products I want to try, and learned of some to stay away from. Part of me wants to get my own video camera and make my own YouTube Vlog channel. You down?
4. A few weekends ago, I went to Arizona to watch my cousin marry the love of her life. I originally couldn’t make it for a few reasons, so getting to go was really exciting. Highlights of the trip? Dancing with Buddy, the only child (only two-and-half-year old child) on the dance floor. That kid has moves. It was one of my favorite memories of my life.
5. Also at the wedding? My cousin, aka the little brother my sister and I never had but always wanted. He lived in CA last year and my sister and I got in the habit of seeing him almost every month. When he moved back east last fall, it was a sad day. It had been almost a year since my sister and I saw him so it was thethreebuddies reunited once again. The weekend was way too short and I keep trying to get him to move back to CA. One more thing I love about my cousin? He loves Tahn and made a point to tell many family members about how wonderful she is. Brownie points to anyone who loves my dog and gushes about her.
   

   I may or may not have screamed when I saw THIS GUY.

   

   Me, my mom, and my sister.

   

   Yes, I’m very pale & she’s very tan. Yes, we have the same parents. Nope, I don’t tan.

6. I saw this video on NPR, and I have to say, the innocence and logic of this toddler was powerful and profound.
7. Thanks to theSkimm, I found this little nugget of a video. At first I thought it was a SNL skit, but soon learned this lady is serious. I spent Thursday morning of last week watching it with my roommate and we couldn’t stop laughing. But, the woman is skinny as a rail, so the joke is on us, I guess.
8. From all my beauty blogs and Vlogs I read, I learned about Maybelline Color Tattoos. They go on smooth, and stay all day without creasing. The good news is that I AM IN LOVE. The bad news is that I will be buying every. single. color. Goodbye, money.

Happy Thursday!! xxxxoo

Things I like this week (vol 16).

Love San Diego. Best decision ever.

1. TheSkimm. I. AM. OBSESSED. It’s funny, informative, and my one of the best parts of my day. I wake up excited to read it and cry a little on Saturday and Sunday when they take the days off.
2. Nicole’s post to Do Whatever You Fucking Want. Hell yeah.
3. Maskcara’s makeup recommendations. I’ve been using L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara for months (I randomly chose it one day) and it’s the best mascara I’ve ever used. I started using her recommendation for a lip liner (yes, it’s sold as an eyeliner, but you use it as a lip liner). I’ve gotten many compliments every time I’ve used it. I’ve very fair so I have to be careful with it, but it’s fabulous.
4. Noosa yogurt. When I started antibiotics to rid myself of my sinus infection, I ate yogurt everyday to make sure the good bacteria stayed alive and well. My roommate has been eating this brand for months, so I decided to try it. I love it. The downside? It’s pretty pricey. (My fav is the raspberry. Oh my YUM).
5. Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin. It makes the most perfect bun that stays. I saw this product months ago and thought it was a big joke, but after seeing Maskcara use it successfully I decided to try it. (I found that inserting the spin pin horizontally works better for my hair. Also, like Maskcara, it works best on dirty hair).
6. Hollywood Housewife’s very brave, honest and heartfelt post on anxiety. My favorite part: “(Anxiety is) like allergies. You can manage it, but it’s still something that is there. Okay, it’s not really much like allergies. But it’s something I have no control over. And like depression, or PPD, or any other number of mental health issues, severe anxiety is not something you can talk yourself out of. One can’t simply ‘calm down.’ Deep breaths are not the answer.” I wanted to stand up and cheer.
7. I took Jessica’s recommendation and tried Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer. I love it. It really brightens my face, and covers dark circles.
8. Jess Lively’s free May wallpaper. It’s brighten my desktop and makes me smile every time I see it.

Happy Tuesday! xxoo