Well, I've been obsessed with having healthy, glowing skin and perfect, bouncy ringlets so I've been on an (expensive), never-ending journey to find the right products for me. I think I've got it! It's working so far - for me, anyway. It does mean that I've given up the Curly Girl method (for now), and have been using a couple of products with silicones. I've also tried to save some money now that I don't have any more Optimum points to redeem. Here are the reviews of the face products I'm currently using. The hair products will be in the next post.
I'm still using Aveda Kinetics Gel Cleanser to wash my face and I've added Clinique's Mild Clarifying Lotion as a toner/BHA (beta hydroxy acid) topical product twice a day. Clinique's website states that it's for "Very Dry to Dry" skin, but I read about it on BeautyPedia where it was touted as an effective BHA (salicylic acid) product for oily/acne-prone skin. The BHAs actually cut through oil and get inside the pore to kill germs that cause breakouts as well as exfoliate skin.
Clinique's Mild Clarifying Lotion
So, after I wash my face (3 times a week I use a scrub or masque), I use a cotton pad to swipe the Clarifying Lotion over my face and neck. Then, in the morning I use Olay's Regenerist Serum in the fragrance-free version and at night instead of the serum, I use Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion. I ran out of the Vichy night cream sample I had and was starting to feel it was a little thick and rich for my acne-prone skin. The Cetaphil is much thinner and fragrance-free, which is a huge plus. (I started to become not-so-fond of the smell of the Vichy products.) It's also $12 for a huge bottle of it and I use it on my arms and legs too.
I can't find an adequate picture of the serum to display, but I'll talk a little more about it. I at first liked the feel of the Vichy serum I talked about in my earlier post. It felt more moisturizing and "dewy" and dried more matte. It was much more liquid: the consistency of a thin shower gel or conditioner. The Olay serum is silicone-based so it is thicker and has a more dewy finish. I thought that would be an oily hell under my makeup. Boy, was I wrong. My makeup goes on smoother with the Olay serum and stays longer. It fills in all my pores for a nicer finish. It's also $20 cheaper than the Vichy serum and almost twice the size!
I've already said as much as I can about the Cetaphil Moisutrizing Lotion: it's a basic, cheap, moisturizer that doesn't irritate skin and doesn't contain any weird ingredients or fragrances. I'm pretty pumped on it. It moisturizes adequately in our rainy, cold-ish weather.
Now, for a product I tried and hated. It was Nivea's Aqua Effect Nourishing Night Care for Dry to Sensitive Skin. It was $17 (on sale!!!) for a 50 mL jar of the stuff. It smelled horrendous, kind of like their basic skin cream in the blue tub, and was very thick and rich. I have sensitive skin that breaks out easily, so I thought this would be a good bet. I applied it before bed and woke up with a huge breakout. I tried two more nights, but I noticed I broke out about one hour after applying it. And the smell! Cloying isn't the right word. Of course I chucked the receipt and recycled the box, so I put it away for things my Mom might like to try (she has very dry skin and appreciates thick, rich things for her face).
So onto bigger and better things: foundation and powder. Oh, and blush! All Clinque this time. I ran out of BB Cream and while I enjoyed using the Maybelline Dream Fresh, I wanted more coverage and better oil control. I stopped at the Clinique counter to look for some eyeshadows, but they were out. So I started browsing the foundations and explained my concerns to the cosmetician: I work in a very humid environment (a veritable sweat-box), and get really shiny during the day, so much so it's embarrassing. Since I use a loose powder at home I can't exactly touch-up during the day.
The cosmetician recommended their Stay Matte Oil Control Foundation. It's a bit thicker than the BB Cream I was using and $10 cheaper than Clinique's BB Cream. I was sold! It offers Light to Medium coverage and the shade I was given (4) looks natural on me and blends well. I actually have to be careful not to use too much or else I get that "made up" look. I want natural-looking coverage; I don't mind if a few blemishes are show through as long as the redness is covered up. I also believe the skin has a natural glow that too much makeup can mask.
To touch up during the day, I chose the Stay Matte Oil Control Pressed Powder in Invisible Matte. It's colourless, so I can blot it over my existing foundation and blush and have it look natural. I do a quick touch up and lunch and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. If I go out in the evening, I might do a quick blot of my t-zone.
And, the blush! Oh, the blush! How I love blush these days! I used to hate it (I thought it looked unnatural) but since being shown how to correctly apply it and given a couple complimentary shades, I'm sold. The cosmetician at Clinique helped me choose two: Blushing Blush in Precious Posy and Smoldering Plum. They are gorgeous! Precious Posy (below) is very pink and I love wearing it at work. It really brightens up my complexion. Smoldering plum is a deeper shade, which I wear out at night. It feels professional, without that "too made up" look.
I can't find an adequate picture of the serum to display, but I'll talk a little more about it. I at first liked the feel of the Vichy serum I talked about in my earlier post. It felt more moisturizing and "dewy" and dried more matte. It was much more liquid: the consistency of a thin shower gel or conditioner. The Olay serum is silicone-based so it is thicker and has a more dewy finish. I thought that would be an oily hell under my makeup. Boy, was I wrong. My makeup goes on smoother with the Olay serum and stays longer. It fills in all my pores for a nicer finish. It's also $20 cheaper than the Vichy serum and almost twice the size!
I've already said as much as I can about the Cetaphil Moisutrizing Lotion: it's a basic, cheap, moisturizer that doesn't irritate skin and doesn't contain any weird ingredients or fragrances. I'm pretty pumped on it. It moisturizes adequately in our rainy, cold-ish weather.
Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
Now, for a product I tried and hated. It was Nivea's Aqua Effect Nourishing Night Care for Dry to Sensitive Skin. It was $17 (on sale!!!) for a 50 mL jar of the stuff. It smelled horrendous, kind of like their basic skin cream in the blue tub, and was very thick and rich. I have sensitive skin that breaks out easily, so I thought this would be a good bet. I applied it before bed and woke up with a huge breakout. I tried two more nights, but I noticed I broke out about one hour after applying it. And the smell! Cloying isn't the right word. Of course I chucked the receipt and recycled the box, so I put it away for things my Mom might like to try (she has very dry skin and appreciates thick, rich things for her face).
So onto bigger and better things: foundation and powder. Oh, and blush! All Clinque this time. I ran out of BB Cream and while I enjoyed using the Maybelline Dream Fresh, I wanted more coverage and better oil control. I stopped at the Clinique counter to look for some eyeshadows, but they were out. So I started browsing the foundations and explained my concerns to the cosmetician: I work in a very humid environment (a veritable sweat-box), and get really shiny during the day, so much so it's embarrassing. Since I use a loose powder at home I can't exactly touch-up during the day.
The cosmetician recommended their Stay Matte Oil Control Foundation. It's a bit thicker than the BB Cream I was using and $10 cheaper than Clinique's BB Cream. I was sold! It offers Light to Medium coverage and the shade I was given (4) looks natural on me and blends well. I actually have to be careful not to use too much or else I get that "made up" look. I want natural-looking coverage; I don't mind if a few blemishes are show through as long as the redness is covered up. I also believe the skin has a natural glow that too much makeup can mask.
Clinique's Stay Matte oil Control Makeup
To touch up during the day, I chose the Stay Matte Oil Control Pressed Powder in Invisible Matte. It's colourless, so I can blot it over my existing foundation and blush and have it look natural. I do a quick touch up and lunch and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. If I go out in the evening, I might do a quick blot of my t-zone.
Clinique's Stay Matte Pressed Powder
And, the blush! Oh, the blush! How I love blush these days! I used to hate it (I thought it looked unnatural) but since being shown how to correctly apply it and given a couple complimentary shades, I'm sold. The cosmetician at Clinique helped me choose two: Blushing Blush in Precious Posy and Smoldering Plum. They are gorgeous! Precious Posy (below) is very pink and I love wearing it at work. It really brightens up my complexion. Smoldering plum is a deeper shade, which I wear out at night. It feels professional, without that "too made up" look.
Clinique's Blushing Blush in Precious Posy
And let me go on about their new Chubby Stick! I wear lip colour occasionally, when I wear only mascara. I have a couple of Clinique lipsticks that were either given to me or a free gift with purchase. I like them a lot. The Chubby Stick is a moisturizing lip colour balm, shaped like a crayon with a twist-up bottom. The cosmetician showed me Pudgy Peony, a bright fuchsia. I was like, "No way, Jose!" Wayyyyy to bright! But, I tried it on and it looked fantastic. I wore it to work the next day paired with basic black mascara and Precious Posy cheek colour and my coworkers complimented me all day on how nice I looked. I even had one coworker ask me to buy her the same shade because she liked it so much! I find the Chubby Stick to be amazingly long-wearing for a lip balm and very moisturizing. Overall, it's a rockin' product and I will buy it again.
Clinique's Chubby Stick in a variety of shades
Lastly, let's talk mascara. I reviewed a few mascaras here, and my fave is still Lash Blast from CoverGirl. I was given 2 Clinique mascaras as gifts with purchase. One was High Impact Mascara and the other was half lipstick, half Lash Doubling Mascara. Both were okay. The Lash Doubling was a very "wet" formula and smeared a lot. It definitely did not "double" my lashes. I was disappointed with it. I liked the High Impact better, it gave good definition to my eyelashes and wasn't too wet. I use it on occasion, but I still love my Lash Blast.
Alright. I think that's it for my face. I'm feeling so pretty now that I've explained all of this to you, dear reader. Next up, hair!
Nice reviews!
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