Summer Trialing

Summer is the time for beach combing, bike riding, melon eating...and apparently product testing. Warmer weather means less dry, sensitive skin for me, so as long as I stay out of the sun, I tend to take these 3 months to test out new skincare bits.

Starting on the left, let me contradict myself on the first product. I am merely trying out Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream since I picked it up last month; no connection to my seasonal skincare theory. My typical cuticle treatment of choice is coconut oil, but I find this is convenient to carry around in my bag. It isn't very emollient but I like that as it doesn't melt or separate in the heat. Did I mention it smells amazing too? Lemon is one of my favorite scents of all time so I just open this up to take a whiff.

Next is a product that was in my May Favorites post; the Neutrogena Clear Face liquid-lotion sunscreen. I try to give skincare a 3-4 month test run before incorporating it into my main routine and this may fit the summer bill. Worth noting is its lack of hydrating properties; this would certainly not be enough on its own for me come autumn/winter. A lightweight, effective and inexpensive SPF option still.

A complete impulse purchase from Target is the No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water. When I lived in France, I tried the famous Bioderma micellar water and hated it. It burned my eyes and didn't remove my waterproof mascara whatsoever. I know I am probably the only blogger in the world who dislikes Bioderma but it just didn't work for me. In fact, I have yet to stumble across a micellar water that does. First impression of this No7 offering is it smells like alcohol...but I want to give it a fair run despite the cynic in me!

Lastly we have a Sephora 100 point perk I received in April. The Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum is meant to fade sunspots, acne scars and general skin discoloration. This serum contains 2% hydroquinone, which works as the lightening agent. I have been using this on my acne scars nightly since June and unfortunately have not seen noticeable improvement. This sample size is almost out, so I may move onto something else. Scars take a long time to fade though so I don't discount this serum. It does contain a decent amount of alcohol; a known irritant so for that reason I won't be shelling out for the full size.

Have you been trying any new things this summer?

May Favorites

We're 3 days into June, so no more procrastinating on my part. It's time to showcase the things I enjoyed in May.

  

 

Only a few makeup products this month, as it has been getting hotter and I prefer wearing less products on my face (it will sweat off anyway if I do...gross but true). First up is the Laura Mercier Secret Camoflauge Concealer. I picked up this cult favorite during the Sephora VIB sale and have been loving it ever since. With two different tones of yellow and neutral/slightly pink, I can mix them to get my perfect shade. It is one of those products with a learning curve however; it is very dry at first so you must warm it up (I use a hairdryer). I find this works even on blemishes, and the formula lasts all day. My shade is SC-3.

Sorry it's a little rough looking!

The next thing I loved last month was the NYX lipliner in Natural. I never used to enjoy lipliners (honestly they remind me of my sisters in the 90s with the brown lip outlines...*shudders*) but this one is really nice to give slight definition. Next is another drugstore favorite, the Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Intense Olive. A long unnecessary name but not the worst I've heard. These eyeliners are nothing short of amazing. They are creamy, extremely pigmented and give you time to smudge out but then set for hours. I especially love this dark olive shimmery shade on my brown eyes. Oh and they retail for $5.95. Last makeup product is the Nars Illuminator in Orgasm. I got this as a Sephora 100 point perk a long time ago and just started using it this spring. This is a really nice subtle highlighting liquid. It has a pink base with gold shimmer and somehow looks really natural for a dewy summer face.

Swatches L - R: Prestige Intense Olive, NYX Natural, Nars Orgasm

I saved my favorite favorites for last...skincare!

On the left is the Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid-Lotion Suncreen SPF 30. Like most consumers, facial sunscreen leaves me feeling greasy and smelly - but not this one. It has a very viscous texture, making it easy to blend in. The "break-out free" claim is true too, at least for me. This is impressive as most sunscreens do break out my sensitive acne-prone skin. I've enjoyed Neutrogena as an overall brand for years, so this is another thumps up from me. In the middle looking very puny in comparison is Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse oil. I did a whole post dedicated to this so I will link it here if you're interested. Lastly we have an old summer staple for me, Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer in Medium to Tan. Every year I wonder if another brand will knock Jergens off their gradual tan throne. This stuff just...works. Gives a gradual tan, moisturizes well and doesn't smell too bad. What more could you want? I use the medium to tan version because the lighter one comes off orangey on me (the worst type of self tan result).

What have you been loving lately? I hope everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying the start of summer (sorry Australians).

Empties #1 (Skincare progress!!)

Long before I even knew what blogging was, I was a skincare fanatic. Growing up, I went to the dermatologist early on as my mother struggled with her skin; we attempted to combat heredity! However, as with most people, my skin fought back with vengeance...alas my skincare obsession has been going strong for over a decade now! I've long accepted that I will never go through all my eyeshadows and blushes, but every six months or so I tackle yet another moisturizer lying about...

Acne.org Treatment - This is actually my second tube of Dan Kern's 2.5% benzoyl peroxide treatment gel. One word: effective. If you struggle with acne, please check out his site here if you've never seen it before. This guy knows his stuff! I went on his "regime" program 2 years ago when my skin was going through cystic acne (hell) and it really balanced my skin out. Nowadays I use his gel more for spot treatment, in conjunction with BHAs and AHAs. A repurchase every year sans doubt!

Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser - I tried this cleanser out in hopes of trying something paraben-free, as opposed to my old standby, Cetaphil. I've always had decent luck with Neutrogena products, and this was no different. It is slightly drying, but suitable for my skin in summer. Only downside is the bottle only contains 6 fl oz (177ml) so this only lasted me two months. To compare, I buy Cetaphil from Costco in a pack of two massive 20 fl oz bottles that last me almost a whole year. Yeah...Still, this cleanser is available at drugstores for about 8 dollars so you can't go wrong. It also totes 90% naturally-derived ingredients. I'd buy it again, but word of caution: "natural" products don't agree with all skins.

Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover - I bought this from Target awhile back since I was at my boyfriend's and needed to get my darn waterproof mascara off my eyes! This did the trick, but I prefer oils...coconut, jojoba, even olive oil. I think I will do a post on oil makeup removing soon. Still, if you do use waterproof eye products, this does work but the bottle lasted me a mere month.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control 3-in-1 Hydrating Acne Treatment - Whoa that is an unnecessarily long product name, eh? Another Neutrogena product, sensing a trend? This is basically a 2% salicylic acid gel (or BHA), and a very good one at that! I read on Paula's Choice (another amazing skincare site; imagine if she and acne.org's Dan met...) that this is one of the only effective drugstore BHAs on the market because it has the correct pH balance. I think benzoyl peroxide does the trick better for me but I like to use this beneath my daytime moisturizer since it is so light and dries quickly. It's a great drugstore acne treatment, but I think I'm going to try Paula's Choice BHA liquid next. Hers lacks the fragrance and blue dye in this product (WHY there is fragrance and dye in most skincare, I will never understand). 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Moisturizer - When I was living in France with my first host family in Toulouse back in 2008 (has it been that long?? trop triste!), my host mom worked in a pharmacie so she used to give me various skincare products and samples. I think that's when my fascination with skincare/makeup began...Anyway she passed me along this moisturizer and I never tried it...found it in the back of my drawer a few months ago and WOW...this stuff is amazing. It says it's a "compensating soothing moisturizer" for "oily skin made fragile by over-drying skincare." I probably never tried it as I have more dry-combination skin but I used this at night when I would get my monthly breakout (the best time) and it perfectly moisturized my skin and even seemed to calm the breakout! I'm already on the hunt online for another tube of this...it's pricey at about $20 for 1.35 fl oz (40ml) but seeing as I cut this one open to get everything out...I need this back in my life pronto.

CVS 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol - If you've made it this far, here we have plain old rubbing alcohol. Why did I include this? Because this is what I use to clean all my synthetic brushes! I learned this method from Gossmakeupartist, who you all probably know and love; his videos are so concise and full of great tips like this. He uses a 99% solution to clean all his brushes as it kills all the bacteria. This is obviously imperative if you are a makeup artist, but if you are anal like me about breakouts from dirty brushes then this should work a treat! I use 70% because my friend who works in a hospital says it's the best ratio for the germs to be killed throughly. I just pour a small amount in a bowl and swirl my brush in it and then wipe it on a dish towel. Let it be noted that I only do this to my synthetic brushes. I have tried with my natural haired ones and it dried them out terribly. With use every few days, I go through a bottle every three months, give or take.

That's all the empties I've got for now! Hopefully I'll be good and there will be some makeup bits in here next time...never say never, right? Do you have any "empties" lying around? x