I'm back! + Monthly Favorites

I've been gone for quite awhile but I've come back into action!

Yes, it's been awhile, so I'll add in a new post with some of my monthly favorites (of all sorts).

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Elta MD sunscreen - goes on super smooth, does not make me break out, and has a high SPF!

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Dariya Hair Fringe Grip - super useful for holding onto hair (get those strands out of the way) when applying makeup

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 Coastal Scents 12 Piece Brush Set - Great for travel and super affordable ($18 for 12 brushes)!. The brush hair is extremely soft. The only downside is that there is some brush fallout (hairs coming out) when washing and that when first opened, the brushes smelled a bit funky (chemical scent). After a wash though, they were fine =D

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 Hario Chacha Kyusu Maru Tea Pot - Made of glass with a large net to brew tea!

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Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Vitality Facial Serum - super awesome facial serum for prepping my face. Also sold at Whole Foods

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Etude House Dear My Blooming Lips - #OR204 Bashful Coral - Recently I've been getting into Korean cosmetics, and this is an interesting product I purchased. It's got a beautiful color and the packaging is sooo cute!

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Nature's Gate Daily Cleansing Herbal Shampoo - This shampoo is sulfate-free and contains all kinds of goodies to cleanse hair and make it smell good!

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Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer SPF 15 - this is an old favorite of mine. It is one of the best sunscreens that has minimal scent and does not give a cakey, thick feeling typical of the stereotypical sunscreen. I've recommended it to several friends and they've all enjoyed using it.

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Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub in Coconut Lime - This is also an old favorite of mine. It's a great body scrub for desquamating/exfoliating skin (especially areas that are shaved/epilated) and also has a fantastic smell!

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Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat - I've tried several top coats and so far this has been my favorite one! It helps dry nails super quickly and also gives them a nice glossy finish. I've noticed that my manicures have lasted 2-3 days longer than usual with this top coat.

So there you go! 10 monthly favorites. See ya around!

My current skincare routine (updated)

Morning:

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OR

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Night:

Remove makeup (1:1 Witch hazel:Olive oil) + Yes to Grapefruit Face wipes (see below):

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FTC: I bought all of these products.

Review on high-end acne skincare: Peter Roth

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FTC: I purchased both of these products with my own money. I am not compensated for this review.

Lately I've been pretty curious about high-end skincare products. Thus, why not try two at the same time?

Peter Roth's BHA 2% Acne Wash and Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel seemed to have good reviews, so I decided to try them out. 

Ingredients:

BHA (Beta-Hydroxy Acid) 2%:

Salicylic Acid 2.00%, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Allantoin, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Quaternium-15, Methylparaben.

Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Propylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid (Beta Hydroxy Acid), Glycolic Acid/Arginine, Peach Fruit Extract, White Oak Bark Extract, Lemon Fruit Extract, Lime Fruit Extract, Linden Flower Extract, Grapefruit Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Citrus Bioflavonoids, Allantoin, Methylparaben, Quaternium-15, Red #40, Yellow #5, Fragrance.

My first impression: My skin definitely took some time to get used to both of these products, particularly the BHA than the anti-aging. This is ironic because initially the BHA wash made my skin break out - just the opposite of what it was intended to do!

Here are my thoughts:

BHA face wash:

Pros:

• Got rid of acne (eventually)
• 2% salicylic acid for combating acne

Cons:

• Made my face break out initially
• Ingredients: SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) was present - not a very good sign for such a detergent to be present
• Cost - $35 for 8 oz, that's perhaps 4-5 times the price of a drugstore face wash that has similar efficacy at the same size. This means I can get 1.5 years worth of product for the price of this product itself. Not so good.

Anti-aging cleansing gel:

Pros:

• Did not make me break out
• Brightened and illuminated my skin
• Cleared up my face

Cons:

• Ingredients - also had SLES
• Cost - Once again, $35 for 8 oz. Enough said.

Overall, I liked the anti-aging cleansing gel better than the BHA face wash. Despite this, I do not think I would purchase the anti-aging cleansing gel due to the cost and the fact that I can find a similar product at drugstore price for the same efficacy and results. I would recommend the anti-aging cleansing gel to those who can afford it and want illuminated skin, though!

Review: bliss Lemon+Sage Body Butter

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FTC: I received this product as a deluxe-sized sample from Sephora (with purchase). I am not compensated for any reviews.

During the winter I am constantly searching for a good body butter, oil, cream, or thick moisturizer of some sort. Whenever I curl up in bed without a moisturizer, my skin feels scaly and dried up, as if I were a shriveled up prune that had baked in a dessicator for hours.

So thus, when I received a deluxe sample of this from Sephora, I was very eager to try it out.


Ingredients:

Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Stearate, Trimethylolpropane Triisostearate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Phenoxyethanol, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Butylene Glycol, Triethanolamine, Caprylyl Glycol, Algae Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, Carbomer, Ethyl Acetate, Cyclohexane, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Calluna Vulgaris Extract, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citral, Limonene.

What did I think of it?

Pros:

• Glided on super smoothly onto my skin
• Did not feel sticky or leave a sticky residue
• Had a light lemon scent that was not too strong
• Moisturized my skin very well and was very emollient
• Did not give me body acne or make my skin erupt in a rash

Con:

• COST. $29 for 6.7 fl oz. I could buy Tree Hut Coconut Lime Body Butter, a body butter with similar efficacy and liking for a quarter of the price. I did find this body butter as part of a holiday gift set (perhaps 3 of these body butters for perhaps around $35) so if I were to buy that set I might actually consider getting the full price, especially since I do like this product, and especially because it is not sticky.

Bottom line, I guess I'm waiting for the next big holiday special for this :3

Review: fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream with Super 7 Complex

FTC: I received a sample of this product from Sephora.

This product is one of a series of samples I recently received from Sephora. It is an interesting product made by fresh, a company known for their awesome lip balms and chapsticks. So, how well did the company make their skincare products?

Ingredients:

-Super 7 Complex: Fresh’s proprietary age-defying, hydrating, and radiance-boosting blend of seven super-charged ingredients: Lotus flower extract, blue-green algae extract, hibiscus fruit extract, fig fruit extract, vitamins C and E, and vegetable glycerol. 

-Maca Root Extract: Enhances luminosity and cell turnover. 

Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Pentylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Betaine, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Steareth-21, Phenoxyethanol, Behenyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Sorbitol, Dimethicone, Sodium Pca, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate, Limonene, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Caramel, Algae Extract, Citric Acid, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Citral, Potassium Sorbate, Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Sorbic Acid, Tocopherol.

I looked at the list of ingredients, and the top 10 include the everyday, run-of-the-mill water-based ingredients - glycerin and fatty alcohols for emollient properties and hydrations, with propylene glycol for better skin penetration. All of the "special ingredients" featuring the "Super 7 Complex" are actually toward the bottom of the list, so honestly I don't know how much of a difference it would make in the overall product.

Pros:

• Emollient, helped hydrate my skin
• Did not break me out

Cons:

• Felt really thick - as if I were piling paint or foundation on my skin
• Price - $42 for 1.7 oz!

Honestly, while it does do a good job of moisturizing my face without making me break out, it does just as well as most drugstore moisturizers with the kick of the 7 extra ingredients which inherently would most likely not contribute too much given their limited quantity of percentage in ingredients to make up the whole product. So thus, I will pass on getting the full-sized version of this product.