Recent Beauty Favorites: Feb 2017

1. Dearpacker Royal Black Black Tea & Black Rose Mask
Gel mask with 77% black tea + rosewater infusion that moisturizes, calms, and smooths the skin. Hydrating, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant.
 BB Cosmetic

2. Esfolio Snail Essence Mask Sheet

3. Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask with Rose Clay
Pretty, smelled good, felt good on skin
Made with Mediterranean Rose Clay, Canadian Willowherb and exfoliating Jojoba beads, it helps gently deep clean while refining skin's texture. Pores appear to vanish. Clarity is restored. Glow is instant.

4.Missha Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel SPF 30  PA++
Dual-filter, double layer UV blocking system allows for outstanding UVA & UVB protection
Glacial Water and Ice Plant Extract combine to create a lightweight water gel base that moisturizes and cools and is quickly absorbed by skin.
Antozone-Rose protects skin from environmental stressors while Thanaka extract provides a cooling effect

5. Etude House Sunprise Must Daily SPF 50 PA+++
 *** Favorite sunscreen used so far! A sun lotion protecting skin from UV and improving skin defence power with vitamin D, smooth and non-sticky texture hydrating skin. Containing Vitamin D to improve skin's defense power. Gentle ingredients destress skin with Dwarf ground sedge, Acai berry & Acerola, Aloe vera & Linden flower.

6. Wet N Wild Max Volume Plus Mascara
Great first-step mascara:
Macadamia, jojoba, and olive oil to condition lashes. Panthenol to strengthen them.

formulated with macadamia nut, jojoba, and olive oils for conditioning, and enriched with D-Panthenol to help strengthen lashes. And its show-stopping, proprietary brush lifts, separates, and extends for extreme voluminous lashes – no clumping or smudging - See more at: http://www.wetnwildbeauty.com/eyes/mascara/max-volume-plus-mascara.html#sm.0000fvpvuabdudk5vcr19cset70lr

formulated with macadamia nut, jojoba, and olive oils for conditioning, and enriched with D-Panthenol to help strengthen lashes. And its show-stopping, proprietary brush lifts, separates, and extends for extreme voluminous lashes – no clumping or smudging - See more at: http://www.wetnwildbeauty.com/eyes/mascara/max-volume-plus-mascara.html#sm.0000fvpvuabdudk5vcr19cset70lr

Asian Beauty Products Mini Reviews: Tony Moly Delight Tony Tint, Skinfood Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Cream, O Hui Perfect Sun Green

Here are some mini reviews on products I received samples of, or were "Free with Purchase."

The first one is the Tony Moly Delight Tony Tint in Red. (It also comes in Orange ChaCha and Cherry Pink). Tony Moly is a very popular Korean beauty brand with reasonable prices and fun, cute packaging. It is becoming more and more available in the U.S., with some products available at Sephora, and Ulta, and others easily purchasable online from many sources, including Amazon, Soko Glam, and Memebox.

The packaging on this lip tint is adorable. I love the see-through tube that shows the pretty, glowing tint, and I also love that the end of the tube is in the shape of a heart. The applicator is a nice, angled "doe-foot". The smell is like strawberry candy. The color of the tint in the tube looks like strawberry jam. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end.

Upon application, the color turned orange-y (at least on my lips), and was super wet. The applicator deposits way too much product onto the lips, so I had to just dab on a bit in the center of my mouth, and then use my finger to spread the rest. It dyed my finger orange. Really, the color ends up being just like you sucked on an reddish orange popsicle with lots of artificial colors, and it stained your lips orange. The lip tint dried quickly to a like-skin finish, which is okay, but it was also drying. I needed to apply lip balm shortly afterward. I also needed to scrub the skin around my mouth a bit, too, because the color bled a little bit outside of my lip line.

This product is long lasting, though, and I had the same stain on my mouth and finger by the time I went to bed, although it did not wear evenly. On the plus side, it is very affordable, selling for $2 on the Koreadepart website.

Final verdict: I would not purchase this, and I also won't use up my tube. This is pretty junky stuff.

Beauty Favorites and Fails: March and April 2016

I have so many beauty products to discuss this month because I've been stockpiling the empties but procrastinating writing about them. In February, I tore my meniscus (which is very painful, by the way), and it's kind of thrown my life into chaos. So a lot has fallen through the cracks, but now I am finally sitting down to type up this recap of products I've tried over the last two months. Here goes:

Things That Were Pretty Good, But Not Great, So I Probably Won't Buy Again

1. Rose Petal Cleansing Oil from RE:CIPE
I enjoyed the consistency of this product, which felt very silky on my skin, and it worked well to remove make-up at the end of the day. But I didn't care for the smell. It has that dried rose petal smell, so it smells very natural, and maybe some people like that smell, but I do not. The packaging is very good, though. The pump worked efficiently through my entire use of the product. And it was pretty with the actual rose petals floating in the bottom. I can recommend this product, because it does work well, but only if you like the smell, which is pretty strong.

2. 7 Seconds Morning Sheet from Neng Jang Go
These moistened pads, with smooth plastic scrubby bumps on one side, and a soft quilted pad on the other side, are okay. There was no scent that I could detect, and the packaging is good. It comes in a plastic tub with a tin can style lid that you peel off, then cover with a plastic lid, and it comes with tiny blunt tweezers to lift each pad out. It is supposed to be kept in the refrigerator so that the coldness of the product will help reduce morning puffiness. But I didn't find that this product did much for me. The plastic bumps weren't really exfoliating enough, and the solution did not clean very well. I much prefer the grape-juice scented pads, with similar design, from NeoGen. These were not horrible though, just kind of "meh."

3. Pomegranate Softening Facial Wash from The Body Shop
This was pretty good. I think it did an okay job of removing make-up and dirt from my face. It did not help with my clogged, enlarged nose pores, though. But I liked that it did not strip my face, or leave it feeling tight or dry. It had a light fragrance that was a little fruity, but it smelled kind of old-ladyish to me. I did not notice any particular "softening" of my facial skin. 

4. Sweet Pea Golden Sugar Scrub from Bath and Body Works
Well, just like every other product I've tried from B&BW so far, this product drew me in because of the pretty packaging but turned out to be just okay. I love the design of the tube, which is sparkly (of course!) and floral with delicate colors, but it wasn't the greatest design for this scrub because a lot of it would not come out the opening. This is a thicker-consistency gel scrub, with larger sugar as the exfoliant. I prefer a finer grind of sugar or salt in my scrubs. This was gloppy and a lot of it ended up on the shower floor. The smell was nice, but it didn't exfoliate very well.

5. ProX Anti-Aging Nightly Purifying Micro-Peel by Olay
This product worked really well to exfoliate my hands of their beginning age spots, and to lessen the roughness of the chicken-skin bumps on the backs of my arms, but it was too harsh for my face. It's a quality product, though, so if your skin is tougher than mine, this might be good for you. It is a glycolic acid solution in a syrupy liquid, dispensed from a sophisticated pump. Ideally, it should be in a darkened container to protect it from degradation by light. And personally, I found the texture unappealing so I didn't enjoy using it. There is no fragrance or scent, and it leaves a slightly tacky sensation on your skin. It does work well, but is kind of yucky.

6. Power 10 Formula Propolis by It's Skin $13
This is a serum from Korea that is chock-full of beneficial ingredients, like honey, glycerin, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. I used it all up and I think it was good for my skin. But I didn't like the packaging (it's in a yellow glass bottle the color of urine, with a black eye dropper), and I didn't like the texture. It was goopy and sticky. I guess I am finding that I prefer serums with lotion-like formulas, as opposed to runny or gelatinous ones.

7. Black Tea Age-Delay Instant Infusion by Fresh $49
This very pricey toner didn't seem to change my skin at all. The packaging seems luxe: it's a dark brown, heavy glass bottle with a screw cap. I liked the texture of this toner, which was watery without stickiness. But the smell was kind of gross. And for this much money, I really have to love using the product and see actual results. I was glad when this was all used up.

8. Water Sleeping Mask by Langeige
This is a cult-favorite Korean sleeping mask that is supposed to be used as a last step in your skincare routine at night, to seal moisture into your skin. This just wasn't moisturizing enough for me. I did like the scent and the texture, both of which were pleasant and light. However, it stayed sticky on my skin for a long time after application, meaning that my hair stuck to my face, and so did my pillowcase. The jar packaging is pretty, but I won't purchase this again because of the poor absorption and the low level of moisturization.

9. Exfoliating Body Scrub Anti-Cellulite Kneipp-Kur by Kneipp
This product falls in between favorites and fails for me. I'm still not sure if it is something I would purchase again. On the one hand, I liked it as a scrub due to fine scrubby particles (I think it's salt but I'm not positive) suspended in a lathering gel loaded with beneficial plant oils. But it, of course, did not live up to its claims of reducing the appearance of cellulite. So ..... not sure about repurchasing this one, but it's okay.

Fails

1. Telluride Eye Shadow Palette by Bobbi Brown $52
This was such a huge disappointment, not least because it is super pricey for what you get. This palette features seven eye shadows in beautiful neutral tones. However, I was only able to ever use five of them because although I kept ordering more, every single palette was delivered from Nordstrom with two of the shadows already cracked and crumbled. Shame on you, Nordstrom, for your pore quality control when shipping these out. There must be some quality issue with the formula of these shadows, since it was the same two colors that arrived crumbled every time. The colors are so pretty though. But they have terrible staying power, a shit-ton of fallout, and low pigment. I was so sad to finally give up on this and even now am thinking I should try it again with different primers, etc. to hopefully make it work .... we'll see.

2 Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12 hr. Smoothing Eye Primer from Tarte
Well, it lies: this did not keep my eye shadow creaseless. It also did not seem to smooth my crepey eyelid skin, either.  The only good things about this are that it does apply smoothly and the color match is good for my skin. But while so many other people online have had great success with this product, it just didn't cut the mustard for me. :(  The search continues for a reliable primer.....

3. Photoready 3D Volume Mascara by Revlon
I like the sleek and stylish packaging and love the small-bristled, plastic wand on this mascara, but it didn't really create much volume, and it didn't last all day. You would have to reapply quite a bit to have it show up at all, so this really did not do the job.

4. Very Emollient Cream Shave in Mango Vanilla from Alba Botanica
This did not work well at all. I bought it because the packaging was charming and I liked the scent. Plus I was drawn to the idea of it being very emollient. I didn't even use this all up, however. It doesn't spread onto your skin easily so you end up using a lot of product to shave your legs. And the thick lotion clogged my razor, so I had to rinse out the razor after every stroke. Very annoying!

5. Shadowlock Eyelid Primer by Elf
This is a white goopy liquid that did not spread well on my eye lids, and there was very little product in the vial. It also did not improve the look of my eye lids, or the performance of my eye shadows. Total Fail!

6. Ole Henricksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster
Bummed that I didn't like this serum. It's pretty pricey. And I thought it would give me some beneficial Vitamin C on my skin. But the texture is that goopy liquid/gel that I hate, it is bright orange, comes in a clear glass bottle (thereby putting the ingredients at risk of degradation from light), and has a super strong fake orange scent. All in all, very unpleasant to use, so I just gave up on it. Not sure if it did anything for my skin or not. If so, it was negligible.

7. Get Big! Lashes Volume Boost Waterproof Mascara by Essence
This mascara was disappointing on so many levels. Firstly, the brush was huge and clumsy to use, and with my eye shape, this meant that every application was messy with the mascara getting all over my lids and under my eyes. As far as volumizing, it was just so-so, and it definitely was not waterproof, ending up smeared under my eyes after just a few minutes in a swimming pool.

8. Prime Time Eyelid Primer by Bare Minerals
My complaints about this shadow primer are pretty much the same as the one mentioned above. It did not spread easily, or improve the look of my eyelid skin. It made it more difficult to effectively blend eye shadows, and it did not prevent creasing.

Favorites

1. Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub
Ah Lush cosmetics, I love you so! Their products are pretty pricey though, which is why I try not to go into their shop more than once or twice a year. I might have to make an exception for this product, however. It is sooooo pretty, in that Caribbean Sea blue color, and the smell! I Die! I love it so much. Apparently, it is a mix of orange blossom and mimosa. Whatever it is, it smells sweet and fresh, and happy and reminds me of my beloved Tinkerbell Perfume that I had as a child. This shower scrub is finely grained salt, and it works nicely to soften your skin. It doesn't leave any kind of residue on your skin, though, so you still need moisturizer after you get out of the shower. But anyway, this is a definite favorite!

2. The Blacks Hydrogel Eye Patch from Banila Co.
Wow! Fantastic results from this sheet mask. It is a hydrogel mask, so it fit my eye area very well, and stayed on even when I was walking around. It was not super drippy, however, it is fragile and ripped easily, so take it out of the package very gently. It feels much thicker and heavier when it is on the face, but I loved the results which were better than the average sheet mask. My fine under eye wrinkles looked smoothed and plumped out, and my skin looked dewy and fresh. I would use this before a night out. Will definitely purchase again.

3. Hyaluronic Acid 3-Go Mask Sheet from Urban Dollkiss
Another fantastic Korean sheet mask; I especially love the funky packaging. The mask itself was very wet and drippy, so you do have to lie down while wearing it, but it stayed on well, fit my face, and felt good while on my skin. There is a very faint, pleasant fragrance, and upon removal, there was a lot of the liquid still sitting on my face, that I had to pat in to absorb.  However, it did provide moisture to my skin for several hours afterward, so I think that's a success. I would get a few more of these and keep them on display because they are so edgy/cute.

4. Eglips Muli Unique Sun Block SPF 50 +++ $8
This is a fantastic facial sunblock from Korea. It is a lightweight lotion that blended in very well on my skin, and left no white cast. Apparently, it contains aloe and rosewater, but I can't tell you what the sunscreen ingredient is though, because the packaging is all in Korean. I am pretty sure, though, that it is a chemical sunscreen, not a physical one, because of the sheer texture. There was no strong odor, and it never pilled or balled up under my make-up. It also did not cause breakouts, or sting my skin or eyes. Downside is that it is not that easy to get. I found only two places online that carry it, shipping directly from Korea. But it was a real pleasure to use, and a definite re-buy.

5. Argan Wear Argan Oil by Physician's Formula
I really enjoyed using this pretty facial oil with gold glitter in it. It has a nice texture and scent, and really pretty packaging that looks exotic, with a golden glass bottle and an eye dropper dispenser. Of course, if you don't want glitter on your face, this is not for you.

6. Sea Moss Black Sand Body Scrub by H2O+
This scrub contains black sand, but also sea salt. The scrubby particles are fine, and suspended in a lathering gel. It has some cool-sounding ingredients, like Irish moss extract, aloe, vitamin B5, and water lily. The scent is light and pretty, and it worked well to exfoliate my legs. It does leave the black sand on your shower floor, however, and it is not an oily scrub, so you will need to moisturize once out of the shower. This is my fourth tube of this product and I will probably purchase it again. I enjoyed it!

7. Jasmine and Vitamin E Moisture Cream from Alba Botanical
I love this lightweight moisturizer! The texture is a lovely and soft gel/lotion hybrid, and the scent is so pretty. Better for use in summer as opposed to winter, because it doesn't offer deep hydration. But it is very pleasant to use, and I will likely purchase it again. Wish it wasn't in a jar, though. I tube would be more sanitary.

8. Essential-C Sun Balm Broad Spectrum SPF 35 PA +++ by Murad
This is a fantastic balm-textured sunscreen that is very emolient and has Vitamin C in it. It comes in a soft textured stick formula, but you don't get a lot of product for the money. It is pricey. It works great and spreads easily on the firmer parts of my face like nose, forehead, chin and jaw, but I have to warm it between my fingers then pat it on to my delicate under eye area because it is a solid stick sunscreen. Once under my eyes, however, it works fantastically to moisturize and blend away the fine lines. Although it is a bit oily, it does not clog my pores or cause breakouts. People who sweat a lot or have oily skin might find it too emolient for them, but for me it worked great, even under make-up. One of my favorites that I've already purchased multiple times.

9. GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Treatment
This is a mud mask that you leave on your face for a bit, then add water to it to dissolve it and then it turns into a gentle scrub with fine scrubby bits. I really liked this. It did tingle a bit, which I've read is not supposed to be good for your skin because it means there is probably something like menthol in the product, which can irritate skin. However, I did not experience any irritation. There also seems to be bits of seaweed in the mud, which I really liked. I think this did provide a nice glow to my skin, and of course, the other benefits of a mud mask. I only use this when I can wash it off in the shower though, because it gets really messy when you are rinsing it off, and can be hard to remove unless you use a ton of water. 

That's all for this month. Please comment below and share what favorites and fails you've had so far this spring.

Beauty Favorites and Fails: February 2016

This month's favorites and fails ran the gamut from hair care to body products, and include lots of Asian beauty products, too. Let's get started:

Beauty Favorites from Clinique, My Beauty Diary, SkinFood, and Gilchrist & Soames.

Favorites:

My Beauty Diary Aloe Mask, $14 for 10 masks
This mask is made by a Taiwanese company, and is now widely available at places like Target and Walmart. It claims to be soothing and moisturizing, which I found to be true. Aside from the aloe, this mask also has hyaluronic acid. The shape of the mask was rounder and shorter than most I've tried, and this made it fit well for me. I didn't have to fold the excess under my chin. It felt soothing and cooling. I imagine it would be nice after a day in the sun. It dripped a little bit around my jaw as I lay with it on, but not too bad. And my skin did indeed look moisturized after I took it off.

Gilchrist and Soames Spa Therapy Moisturizing Sea Moss Conditioner $28
This is my favorite rinse-out hair conditioner for every day use. I discovered it when it was stocked in my hotel room in La Jolla, and then I purchased it from Amazon when I got home. I love the turquoise color, it smells nice, and it leaves my hair very manageable, soft and shiny. I find the bottle a little tricky to use and squeeze out the product when my hands are soapy and wet in the shower, and I wish it dispensed with a pump, but other than that, I love this and will definitely repurchase it after I use up some other ones I have. (Ps: I just noticed when I linked to the website, that they do now sell it in a pump dispenser. Yay!)

Clinique Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Targeted Protection Stick, $21
I love this stuff and have purchased several. I use it on my nose, the space between my eyebrows, the naso-labial folds, upper lip and on my lips. The reason I don't use it every where on my face is that it is in stick form, so you really have to drag it over your skin. I can only use it on the places on my face where my skin is taut. It is too hard for the delicate under eye area, for example. That being said, it is really great in those places I do use it. I love the emollient texture, and it never breaks me out. It gives good sun protection and also moisturizes. It feels really good on my skin. If you have oily skin, however, you would probably find this greasy. It's great to carry around with it because it is compact and of course, will not spill.

SkinFood Platinum Grape Cell Emulsion, $24
This was just a tiny sample size packet with enough for two applications, so this review is really just a "First Impressions." But as far as that goes, I really liked this. This contains grape cells and platinum, as the name would suggest, and is supposed to brighten and firm skin. It had a light, pleasant slightly fruity scent, and lightweight gel/lotion consistency that spread on my face easily with no tugging, and absorbed quickly, and it did lightly moisturize my face. After getting through all my other serums, I will buy a regular size of this one and try it out over a longer period of time.

Products that were just okay, from Olay and Bath and Body Works.

Just Okay:

Bath and Body Works Snowkissed Sugar Ultra Shea Body Cream
I bought this around the holidays last year, mostly because I loved the packaging, with its blues, violets and pinks, topped off with glittery silver snowflakes. It is a seasonal scent, so it is no longer available from the store, unless they release it again next holiday. But the formula is apparently always the same. I found that the lotion worked just fine: it spread easily on my skin, and absorbed quickly. The scent is nicely light, with coconut, vanilla, musk and plum, according to the description. The only negative was that the scent dissipates within minutes of wearing it. Although, some people might think of that as a plus.

Olay Total Effects CC Cream, $20
This was an okay CC cream. The pros were that it did not break me out or leave me looking either dry or greasy. It was easy to spread, but it did occasionally streak. I wish it had a higher SPF, and I also wish the color was a better match for my skin. Like most CC creams, the coverage is light, and I made it even lighter by blending with my sunscreen. If you need more opaque coverage, this is not for you. It did not sting my eyes, which is good, however, it claims to minimize pores, but I did not notice any difference. It was fine, but I will keep looking for a BB or CC cream that makes a noticeable difference in my skin's appearance. This did not.

Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Serum - Fragrance Free $25
I found this serum pleasant to use. There is no yucky smell and it spreads easily. I like the dispenser and the packaging, which are both very easy to use. It did not irritate my skin. Did I see a difference in my skin? I'm not sure.... I may have to use it for a longer amount of time. But it does have good ingredients in it, like niacinimides, peptides and anti-oxidants. I may try this again after I am done using all the other serums I have stored up.

This month's fails, from Innisfree, SkinFood, E.l.f., Clarins, and Sonia Kashuk.

Fails!

SkinFood Omija Whitening Mask Sheet, $5
I love the SkinFood brand, but this sheet mask was a bit of a disappointment. I did not purchase this individually, but instead received it in one of my Beauteque Mask Maven packages. It's kind of gimmicky because you really can't get any whitening (or dark spot reduction) just by using a mask once. Omija is apparently a mountain herb with anti-oxidant properties. Obviously, I saw no improvement in the number or darkness of my age spots or freckles after using this mask, but I did find that it was moisturizing. There was barely any fragrance, and the liquid in the mask was a white, milky lotion, rather than the watery essence usually in Korean sheet masks. I didn't like that this mask stung a bit around my eyes, or the fact that there was a ton of lotion left in globs on my face after I removed the mask: It didn't seem to absorb very well, so I actually had to remove the excess lotion with a cotton pad afterwards.

Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask in Lime, $1.20
This very inexpensive mask, made for brightening the skin, was pleasant to use because it smelled very nice: a very light lime scent. The fit was okay, but again, you would have to lay down while you are wearing it, because it is slippery and drippy. But the end result was poor. My face actually had lines and wrinkles in it after taking off this mask, that weren't there before! This mask has niacinamide, japonica leaf extract, grapefruit extract, and some other fruit extracts, but also alcohol! Another favorite brand, but alas, another mask fail.

And Three Eye Shadow Primers That Did Not Work! 

Ugh! Still searching for that eye shadow primer that will lock down my shadows and prevent creasing. And I also expect that, even if it can't improve the texture of the skin on my eyelids, it will at least not make it worse. Over the last two months, I have tried three different ones, and all were fails. I'm so bummed at spending money on these. I used to not even wear eye shadow primer, and yes, my eye shadows faded away to nothing by the end of the day, or they creased. But at least I hadn't spent money on a primer to get those results. The three I tried were:  Sonia Kashuk Extreme Wear Eye Primer $10 (light beige in color, comes in a tiny jar, thick and hard to spread, really difficult to get out of the tiny jar). E.l.f. Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer $2 (white in color but disappeared once on the skin, applied with doe foot applicator, did not spread easily, kind of goopy, very tiny amount of product in the tube). And the expensive Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base $25 (medium/light pinky beige tone, spreads easily, comes in a tube, emphasized the crepiness of my eyelid skin). None of these were effective in keeping my eye shadow looking good all day. So annoying!

So I hope these reviews and opinions are helpful to you. Please leave me comments below telling me about your recent beauty favorites and fails. And stay tuned next month for more reviews....

Beauty Favorites and Fails: December 2015 to January 2016 (Product Reviews incl. Korean Beauty)

 This month, my skin has been rather challenging. I've noticed new under-eye wrinkles that weren't there before, and also been having some more pimples (around my chin and jawline) than usual. I am not sure whether to attribute these things to being almost 51 now, and the hormonal challenges happening, or if adding several new things, like different face oils, Retin-A, and BHA to my routine have caused some upset. Aside from these challenges though, I have enjoyed some wonderful new products and of course, experienced some big time loser products. Let start with the good news:

Favorites of the Month

Favorites

1. Happiness is ..... Real Art Moisture Cleansing Oil from Etude House! Oh how I love this oil cleanser!!! There are not superlatives enough in the world to describe my affection for it. First off, the light lemon scent is so lovely and soothing. I looked forward to using it every night, and found it very calming. The oil feels so good on my skin, and is great in removing all make-up, and giving enough slip for a gentle facial massage. Then when you add water to your face, it emulsifies perfectly and removes completely, leaving a soft and clean skin. Not to mention, the packaging is cute and the pump works really well. That is another thing I'm finding with Korean beauty products: the pumps on the containers always work great, which is so different from the American products, where 50% of the time, the pump is broken (I'm looking at you, Body Shop Grapefruit Shower Gel!). Also, this product did not sting my eyes, clog pores or cause breakouts. Love!

2. L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess Mascara in Blackest Black. I really enjoyed this mascara. I think it lived up to its claims of volumizing lashes without big clumps. It was nice and wet and very black. I had no trouble with flaking, and it stays high-powered until I took it off at night. No fading during the day, or the need for reapplication. Note that I do use all mascaras with the Estee Lauder Little Black Primer now, because I have a big problem with mascara transferring under my eyes, due to the shape of my eyes/face. The wand on this mascara is good: big and fluffy but not so much that I poked myself or couldn't reach smaller lashes. I would definitely buy this mascara again, after I use up all the others in my stash.

3. Kings and Queens Chinese Princess Jasmine Shower Gel. If you like prettily scented shower gels that don't dry out your skin, and with a scent that stays with you for a few hours, then I can definitely recommend this one. I love the scent, and the way it left my skin feeling. I also love the packaging in the pretty pink bottle. Only downsides: the lid breaks easily, and this brand is hard to find in the U.S. I originally bought it at Target, but they stopped carrying it, so now I have to get it ordered from Europe, because it is made by Korres. Still, I think it's worth it for the lovely scent. A perennial favorite! (Postscript: This might be discontinued! Oh No!)

4. Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara. Although it probably can't live up to its claims to make your lashes grow, because it's not a medical product, this is a very nice mascara. It was nice and black and it did lengthen and volumize my lashes. I used this on my natural make-up or light make-up days, because it wasn't as volumizing as the other mascara I was using (see above). But it did seem to moisturize and condition my lashes, which I enjoyed. I experienced no flaking, clumping, or irritation. I would definitely buy this again. 

5. Pixi Glow Tonic toner. I think this really did work to make my skin look glowy, because when I visited my aunts in Florida, they remarked on my glowing skin. This toner has a nice moisturizing feeling, a pretty, girly, light fragrance, cute and efficient packaging, and is readily available at Target. It is a little higher priced than the typical Target product at $29 for 3.4 fl oz, but it seems to have a good complement of ingredients, like Witch Hazel, Aloe, Glycolic Acid, and Biotin, and there is no alcohol, so it is not drying. After using up my current toners that I am trying out, I will definitely purchase this one again.

Some okay products I tried.

Good, Nice, but Not Sure if  I Will Buy Again

1. Olay Regenerist Regenerating Serum Fragrance Free. I liked this serum, mostly for the consistency, which is more like a light lotion, than a gooey gel or a liquid. It was very easy to apply and it didn't cause any irritation. But did it change my skin for the positive at all? I don't know. It has good ingredients like niacinamide, peptides, and silicone for a silky texture, but I'm not sure I saw any difference in my skin from using it. I can probably do better.

2. Redken Diamond Oil High Shine Gel Conditioner. This is a very lightweight conditioner. It did add some shine to my hair, and it did detangle it, but it doesn't work as well to keep it soft and easy to style (i.e. manageable) as some of the other conditioners I am currently using, so although it is not a "fail," I would not bother purchasing this again.

3. Etude House Collagen Moistfull Emulsion. Again, nothing wrong with this product: the smell is faint and delicate, the texture is nice, it didn't irritate my skin. But, it's not a must-have product for me. This is a very light lotion, so it did not deliver the moisture that I need on my skin, which is mostly dry, except for my T-zone. The website describes it as "rich" but I would disagree, and say it is very light hydration. Also, the bottle and cap design make it very hard to get the product out. You have to hold it upside down and tap it out, and it comes out slowly. Annoying!

4. The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso Foaming Facial Wash. I really enjoyed using this cleanser, but it is in my "just okay" pile because, contrary to what it says on the bottle, it did dry out my under-eye area. If your skin doesn't have dry patches, though, you might love this. The packaging is really nice in that it dispenses easily, and keeps the product from exposure to light, moisture and air. The foam is really soft and soothing to put on your face, and the scent is very mild. It felt very mild in general, with the licorice extract and the glycerin, but still did a good job in cleansing. I used this as my second step in my evening double-cleanse.

5. MAC Lightful C Marine-Bright Formula Softening Lotion. This is called a lotion but it's actually a toner. It has a watery consistency that make it easy to apply and spread with a cotton pad. I liked this, but again, not sure if I saw any difference on my skin while using it. It had no fragrance, that I could detect, did not irritate or cause redness, and it felt like a good final step in my cleansing routine, to make sure every last trace of dirt and make-up was removed. Aside from that though, it didn't seem particularly "Wow" and I feel like the Pixi toner was better.

Products I disliked.

Ugly Fails

1. Sephora Sheet Masks (including the Rose Eye Mask, the Lingzhi Mask, and  Lotus Mask). Wow, were these ever bad! Maybe I am so disappointed because my expectations were so high? I had heard that these were really popular and sold out frequently, and their packaging, though simple, was really appealing, arranged in the store in a rainbow of colors. But all of these failed me. I still have a few more that I've purchased to try, including the favorite Pearl variety, but so far, so bad. The Rose eye mask had an odd shape, like a checkmark, that didn't fit well under the curve of my eyes, and had a chilling sensation, rather than soothing. There was no noticeable scent, but after removal - horrors! - my under-eye area was reddened and saggier looking. It was wet, but not moisturized. The Lingzhi mask had a yucky smell, but it fit well. After removal, my face was flushed, which at my age, with broken capillaries galore, is not a good thing. Maybe if you are very young and very pale, you would appreciate a pink glow, but I do not. Also, any moisture was absorbed very quickly after removal of the mask, and I wasn't looking any more youthful. The smell, however, lingered. And the Lotus mask had a lingering, "off" odor as well. The fit was bad on my face: I had to cut it across the bridge of the nose to make it lay flat, but it did leave my face looking moisturized. All in all, these masks had very mediocre results, and were unpleasant to use.

2. S.W. Basics of Brooklyn Exfoliant. This is a product I picked up at Target from a line of beauty products that was new to me. They are all natural with simple ingredients. I love the concept, and the ingredients are only organic oat flour, organic almond flour and sea salt. So conceivably, you could eat this stuff. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for me as a beauty product. I followed the directions of wetting a small amount and rubbing it on my face, but it just kind of clumped up and dropped off into the sink in gobs. I also tried mixing it with a cleanser, but in the end, just decided it wasn't doing much for me, but make a big mess. I am going to throw it out in the garden, knowing it will decompose naturally. At least that part is nice! Also, you could just make this yourself at home, and save yourself a lot of money, because this was NOT cheap, at $24 for 3 oz.

3. SkinFood Rose Essence Soft Cream Blusher. I received this as part of a gift set from Beautique, during their Black Friday sale. I love the pretty, retro, feminine packaging with the nice mirror, and the soft rose scent that smells like a child's perfume. The color is also pretty: a delicate, girly pink. However, the formulation of this did not work for me. It is a very soft cream, but when you apply it to your cheeks, it is matte and opaque, unless you rub it in. When you rub it in, it virtually disappears from your skin, except to settle into any fine lines or large pores you may have. So either way, rubbed in or not, it is not flattering on the skin. Really bummed about this one because I wanted to love it, and I'm trying to think of some way to keep it and make it work, but I'm at a loss. I wish I knew a little girl who likes to play with make-up, because it would be nice for playing dress-up.

4. L'Oreal Magic Lumi Highlighter. This is a cream highlighter that comes in a wand and looks like a concealer. It claims to lighten dark circles, but I found it was too transparent to achieve that. The packaging is attractive with a slim, gold metallic wand. It looks a lot like the YSL Touche Eclat concealer. However, the twist mechanism that oozes the product up onto the attached brush is messy and frequently dispenses too much product. This stuff has a blech chemical odor. It is very pinky in tone, and there is a subtle sparkle to it, but it doesn't compare to the wonderful Hourglass Ambient highlighters in quality, or the glow that it adds to your face. For me, there were not enough pluses to warrant keeping it in my collection, especially since the odor made it unpleasant for me to use.

5. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product. No miracles here. I got this deluxe sample free as a gift with purchase from Ulta, and am very glad I didn't actually buy it. It is a light spray in conditioner that did detangle my hair, however, it didn't add any shine, bounce, repair damaged hair, or prevent breakage, as it claims to do. And my hair needed washing after day two instead of day three, like usual. And, no, I didn't apply too much. It was just kind of gunky in my hair.


That's it for this month's beauty round-up of favorites and fails. I hope this was helpful to you. Please leave a comment with your recent favs and fails. xo

Beauty Favorites and Fails, including Korean Beauty Products : November 2015

Here are some of the beauty products I've used over the past month, divided into things that I loved, and things that were fails.

This month's favorites

Success Stories
Tony Moly I'm Real Sheet Masks: Makgeolli Skin Purifying Mask Sheet, Aloe Moisturizing Mask Sheet $3 - 4 for each for one mask.
These were the first two sheet masks I ever tried. They were good; gentle and soothing. My skin definitely looked moisturized right after use, but as with most face masks, the look did not last into the next day. It is a temporary fix but helpful on days when your skin feels really dehydrated and dry. Using sheet masks feels a bit drippy - you are trying to lay a soaking wet piece of paper or fabric onto your face, and then you lay still for up to 30 minutes. So I don't always feel I have time for a sheet mask, but when I take the time, it is relaxing. I would use these again. I liked them! (Makgeolli is rice wine, by the way).

Sheet masks look pretty scarrrrry!

 Lush Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub: $22 for 4.2 oz.
First of all, don't use this on your face! It is way too harsh to use on delicate facial skin. That issue aside, I loved this scrub for my body. It is a fine-grain salt scrub with a pretty blue color (created by food coloring, unfortunately) and a fabulous scent that is fresh and lightly floral. It did not leave an oily or colored ring in my tub, unlike other salt scrubs that I've used, and it did a good job of smoothing my rough skin areas. It's pretty expensive, like most Lush products, at about $37 for 8.8oz, so it is an indulgence. But I would buy it again because it is a "lush" experience to use.

Klorane Shampoo with Desert Date $15 for 13.5 oz.
This was a "deluxe" sample I received from Sephora. I was only able to wash my long hair once with this sample, but I did really like it. The scent was subtly sweet, but not too strong, and it left my hair in nice condition, soft and manageable. I wasn't particularly wowed by it, but I would like to try this again if I have a store coupon, or it's on sale.

SkinFood Strawberry Black Sugar Mask Wash Off: $17 for 100g
This product calls itself a mask, but it's really a facial scrub. This is a variety of the very popular Brown Sugar scrub by Skinfood. I liked using this, mostly because of the cute packaging, pinkish color and the fun strawberry scent that is reminiscent of strawberry candy. I can't really categorize this as a favorite or a fail, though. Like I said, I enjoyed using it, but its shortcomings, in my opinion, are that there were not enough scrub particles to make it really effective, and the ones that were there were not fine enough - they were like strawberry seeds (maybe there WERE strawberry seeds, I don't know), but I like very fine scrubby bits in my facial scrub. So, it was nice, but I would not purchase it again. I am now in the process of trying lots of other facial scrubs, in search of THE ONE SCRUB TO RULE THEM ALL! Stay tuned ...

Lush Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask
This is a long-time favorite of min! The smell is AMAZING! Very gentle and soothing, I will definitely repurchase this one, as I have many times. This is pricey, again, at $22 for about 4 ounces (I say "about" because many Lush products are sold by weight and so their prices vary slightly, depending on how much is scooped into the container), but it is a worth-it indulgence. It is fine-textured, with a very slight grit to it, so some manual exfoliation happens when you wash it off. I think it gives my skin a nice glow, and using it is enjoyable.

Lush Oatifix Fresh Face Mask
Have you ever been making oatmeal cookies, and had the urge to spread the dough onto your face? If so, than this mask is for you, because it smells and has the consistency exactly like oatmeal cookie dough! This is another of the products from Lush that are fresh and need to be refrigerated. Like Brazened Honey, above, that means that it expires pretty quickly, so don't buy more of these products than you can use up before the expiry date. This is another gentle, soothing mask with a wonderful scent: the oats plus smashed banana and ground almonds. I enjoyed using it, and I think it did it's work of soothing and softening. I would recommend this and probably purchase again. My only negative is that it is a very heavy, gloppy mask and large chunks of it tend to drop off. It doesn't spread on thinly, in other words. $8 for approximately 2 oz.

This month's fails

Beauty Fails

Lush 93,000 Miles Shower Jelly: $7 for 3.5 oz.
My main problem with this shower jelly is how to use it effectively. It is basically like a Jell-o Jiggler in consistency, and in ease of handling. I tried ripping off bits of it by digging in my fingernails but always got too much or too little product. I tried picking up the whole blob of jelly and rubbing the blob over my skin, but I kept dropping it because it's slippery! I tried smashing it into my scrub mitt and rubbing it on my body in the shower, but globs of it would always fall off onto the tub floor. Eventually, I found that the best way to use it was to wet a sponge or shower pouf, and rub them over the surface of the jelly several times to pick up the product as it melted with the water. Anyway, I decided in the end that it was too much work for what is basically highly scented, gelatinous soap, and I didn't particularly like the strong scent, which struck me as medicinal. The fragrances include cinnamon, peppermint, eucalyptus, and mint. I like all those scents on their own but don't like them all together. The name is a reference to the fact that this shower jelly is supposed to soothe tired, achy muscles that have been overworked by exercise. I didn't sense any such effect.

Clairol Perfect 10 by Nice 'N Easy in Lightest Cool Brown. $14 for one box
I was kind of shocked at how bad this was. The idea is fantastic: only 10 minutes wait time (after applying color) to cover my grays in between salon visits is very appealing. But this product just failed. First of all, it was very drippy and got everywhere in my (ALL WHITE!) bathroom. After I finished coloring, rinsing and blow-drying my hair, I was at first happy with the shade it turned out, and that it seemed to cover the gray hairs well. Fast forward to three days later, and after the first shampoo, I was bummed to see that the color had faded enormously and was much lighter on my brown hair, and my grey hairs were exposed. This color is supposed to be permanent and just grow out, but it seemed much of it had washed out! Waster of time and money.

CeraVe Sunscreen in SPF 30: $14 for 3 oz.
This has a long name: the rest of it says, "Broad Spectrum Face Lotion InVisibleZinc. I was really surprised this didn't work for me because it got great reviews on Beautypedia, and lots of positive reviews online. This is a mineral sunscreen, with both Titanium and Zinc Oxide. There was a slight white cast after application, but it mostly dissipated, except in photos, of course. It spread pretty easily on my face - not too much skin dragging. But the bad part was that after a few hours, it crumbled up on my skin and left white specs all over my face. (See photo). Fail! In the trash this went!

White specs of CeraVe sunscreen on my face (and collar!).

Tony Moly Delight Tony Tint in Red. (It also comes in Orange ChaCha and Cherry Pink). About $5 for 9ml
Tony Moly is a very popular Korean beauty brand with reasonable prices and fun, cute packaging. It is becoming more and more available in the U.S., with some products available at Sephora, and Ulta, and others easily purchasable online from many sources, including Amazon, Soko Glam, and Memebox. The packaging on this lip tint is adorable. I love the see-through tube that shows the pretty, glowing tint, and I also love that the end of the tube is in the shape of a heart. The applicator is a nice, angled "doe-foot". The smell is like strawberry candy. The color of the tint in the tube looks like strawberry jam. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. Upon application, the color turned orange-y (at least on my lips), and was super wet. The applicator deposits way too much product onto the lips, so I had to just dab on a bit in the center of my mouth, and then use my finger to spread the rest. It dyed my finger orange. Really, the color ends up being just like you sucked on an orange popsicle. The lip tint dried quickly to a like-skin finish, which is okay, but it was also drying. I needed to apply lip balm shortly afterward. I also needed to scrub the skin around my mouth a bit, too, because the color bled a little bit outside of my lip line. This product is long lasting, though, and I had the same stain on my mouth and finger by the time I went to bed, although it did not wear evenly. Final verdict: I would not purchase this, and I also won't use up my tube. This is pretty junky stuff.

Benefit Air Patrol BB Cream Eyelid Primer: $29 for .13 oz.
The fall was hard on this one! I REALLY wanted it to work. I want to like Benefit products because I'm a huge fan of their packaging design. I love cute! But I've never had one of their products be anything more than mediocre for me. This was another example of mediocre. The packaging, while cute (made to look retro aeronautical) was kind of annoying. You twist the bottom of the tube and primer in light beige oozes out a little hole in a rubbery tip. Then you are supposed to spread one click's worth of the primer on each eye lid. But it dragged my eyelid and did not spread easily so I had to use my finger or a brush. And there was always a little extra product sitting in the hole it oozes out from, getting dry and cakey. Yuck! And as a primer, it did not work either. It made shadows harder to blend softly, and it creased almost immediately. So it didn't work at all to prevent my shadow from ending up in my eyelid crease by the end of the day, and this was expensive. Sadness! Please let me know if anyone has had crease-free primer success with a drugstore brand.

That's the round-up for this month. I hope to have many more beauty favorites to report on next month. Happy Holidays!

Friday Favorites and Fails: Product Reviews November 2015

Fails

Fails from Paula's Choice, Kiehls, and Pixi

(sorry about the weird formatting on this post. Blogger is being crazy).
Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Ripe Raspberry : $8
I expected more moisture from this since it has shea butter in it, but it felt dry on my lips. Also, this color was very "candy" pink and bright, and it looked too juvenile and bright on my face, and it did not melt into my lips, but kind of sat them in a dry way. I will use this up, but will mix it with other colors and a lip balm to make it behave nicely. I will not purchase this again. 

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Purely Natural Toner : $20
I was so onboard with wanting Paula's Choice products to work for me, but so far, I have not had success with anything of theirs that I have tried. This toner left my skin feeling tight and itchy around the eyes. Paula's Choice products never have a fragrance in them, so sometimes the yucky smell of the ingredients come through. This had a milky texture, which some people may like. I prefer a watery texture, plusI didn't notice that it did anything positive for my skin. I did not finish this because I have so many other products I actually enjoy using as a toner.

Kiehl's Calendula-Rosemary Foot Repair Cream (might be discontinued because it wasn't on their website)
This has a very balmy texture that was soothing, but it didn't particularly help my feet any more than any other lotion would: i.e. no lasting change; just temporary moisturizing. It claims to help prevent cracks and calluses, but it did not do that. And the smell: I didn't like it. The rosemary scent is very strong, and not really pleasant, in my opinion. It's medicinal and reminded me of hospitals. I found myself dreading using it.

Favorites from Clarins, Nyx, and The Leakey Collection

Favorites

Nyx The Skinny Mascara : $7
I really enjoyed using this mascara. The brush was skinny (hence the name) and easy to use because you could really reach close to the lash line without poking yourself in the eye. The mascara went on nice and wet, without clumping up, and it delicately lengthened and darkened my lashes. I used this beneath another mascara that added more fullness. This mascara is best for an everyday, natural look. I will probably purchase this again once I've gone through all the other mascaras in my stash.

Clarins UV Plus Anti-Pollution Ecran Multi-Protection Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Oil-free Sunscreen : $42
I received this sample size with a purchase from Sephora, and I just loved it!!!! I will definitely purchase this next time I need sunscreen. There was no bad smell. The lotion spread easily on my skin without dragging, even in the delicate under-eye area. Almost no white cast, and what little there was, quickly disappated after a few minutes, and the lotion felt great on my skin. This is a hybrid chemical/physical sunscreen, with titanium dioxide, homosalate, octocrylene, and oxybenzone. It did not irritate my eyes, or cause breakouts. Loved it!

Marula - The Leakey Collection Pure Marula Oil : $78
Although you can get marula oil for a lot less money, I really love this version. The scent is very soothing to me. I really enjoy using it. However, if fragrance annoys you or you are sensitive to using it on your skin, than this is not for you. I have tried the less expensive, unscented marula oil that you can get from Whole Foods, but this version feels silkier and more emollient to me. Apparently, it is very high in antioxidants and omega acids, as well being very moisturizing. I also love the attractive packaging, and the pipette. Although this is pricey, it will last you a very long time. You only need to use a tiny drop at a time, either alone, or mixed with your other face products. I like to apply it before I go out at night because it moisturizes my under eye area and smooths those fine lines so they are less noticeable. I think it makes me look more youthful!

Sephora Friends and Family Sale Haul: Too Faced Le Grand Palais and Le Grande Chateau Mini Reviews

Le Grand Chateau and Le Grand Palais

Because it was so adorable, I couldn't help myself, and I purchased BOTH Christmas in Paris palettes available from Sephora: Le Grande Chateau and Le Grande Palais. My picture above shows the three mini palettes that came in the Grand Chateau box. They have gift tags printed on the backs, so you could give them to different people as stocking stuffers, if you wanted to. Cute idea! Le Grand Palais also comes with lipgloss, mascara and Shadow Insurance and sells for $58. Le Grand Chateau comes with mascara and is $49.

On the right in my picture above is the palette that came in Le Grand Palais. The reason I photographed them in this way is because there are tons of photos online showing them in their cute packaging, but I wanted to break it down to just the palettes so you can see the shadows and blushes you get with each set. To see the sets complete, here are the Sephora shop links.
Le Grand Palais
Le Grand Chateau
Unfortunately, I think Too Faced spent a little too much money on the design of the packaging, and too little on the quality of the eyeshadows. The biggest disappointment is with the sparkly shadows: they are severely under-pigmented and have a ton of fall-out.

Here above are swatches on my hand of two shadows from Le Grande Palais. The one on the right is "Midnight in Paris", the sparkling blue, and on the left side is "Eiffel", a gorgeous sparkling moss green (which looks black in this photo, but is really green). One the bottom is the color swatched on my hand, dry, straight from the palette. On the top is the same shadow mixed with either the Shadow Insurance that came with the palette or MAC Fix+ that I happened to have on hand. As you can see, mixing the shadow with some kind of primer is basically the only way these shades are usable. But even so, there is still a ton of fall-out, and I guarantee you will have glitter and shadow all over your cheeks, if not everywhere on your face, within an hour of application.

The colors from Le Grand Chateau seem to be a little more everyday-wearable, and there are some nice ones, especially "Oui", a gold-flecked, dark brown, "Parfait", a pastel pink shimmer, and "Moi", a rose gold shimmer. I love my shimmers and glitters!

So, to sum it all up: the quality of these shadows are not great. The blushes are nice, but they don't last on your skin either. The packaging is amazing! The colors are gorgeous. You will be able to create many, many looks from all the colors in the two palettes, because of the extreme fall-out from the eye shadows, you will have that "partied too hard and still wearing last night's make-up, but now it's under my eyes" look within an hour of application.

Here are my eyes one hour after application, in natural daylight. Lots of fading and lots of fallout under my eyes.

Would I buy these palettes again? Truthfully, even though I am disappointed in the quality, I WOULD buy them again. The palettes are just sooo pretty! They are like that hot boyfriend who's kinda a jerk, causes lots of drama, but you just can't bear to leave him, and you don't regret a single moment!

Gone Crazy for Beauty Products! Many Reviews Forthcoming!

I've gone a little bit crazy with new beauty products recently. It's become more of a fun hobby than just simply a practical every-day usage. I have purchased and tried so many new beauty products, including American brands, Japanese Brands, British and mostly, Korean brands. I think it has to do with turning 50 this year. Suddenly my feelings about skincare have become, "This shit just got real!"

I had been kinda lazy about my skincare up until now. Yes, I have been wearing sunscreen daily since my early 30s, after I had a pre-melanoma spot removed (from my lower abdomen, which never sees the sun! Go figure). But aside from that good habit, I had lots of bad habits; the worst being going to bed with full make-up sunscreen on! Gasp!

Anyway, having rediscovered Beautypedia.com, the scientifically-oriented critique website for beauty products, along with the explosion of the availability of Korean beauty products in the U.S., I have found a new love for taking care of my skin. So let's get on to the first review:

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Hydropeptide Solar Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen, $44
This sunscreen looks sooo good on paper. I was really excited to try it. It is chock-full of lots of helpful ingredients. Here's a link to the description on the company website. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. First impressions: I loved the look of the tube container with the pump delivery system, but it seemed like you would waste a lot of product because the pump was not very efficient at getting the lotion out of the tube, and there was no way to open the tube and scoop out the product if you needed to. The lotion seemed lightweight (a plus) but had a scent that reminded me of melon flavored candy, and had a slightly lavender cast to it (a con). It spread on my face reasonably easily, without my having to drag my skin around too much, and it looked good in the mirror, UNTIL I checked my 10x magnification mirror! Then I saw that it left behind a white cast and didn't fully blend in to the skin, and was streaky. And it feels a little greasy on my face. Boo! So, I will continue to use up this product, but only on my neck, chest, arms, etc. Not good for my face. And I definitely will not purchase this again.

If you still want to try it, it is widely available online, including here at Nordstroms for $44 including free shipping, which is where I bought it (because I love Nordstroms' great customer service and they are part of Ebates, so I get some money back). 

The First One-Minute Review: SkinFood Platinum Grape Cell Toner

As you know from previous posts, I have gone crazy lately for Korean beauty products. Maybe it's my mid-life crisis, since I turned 50 this year. I don't know - but whatever the cause, trying out these new products has given me a little something fun to dwell on and has made my beauty routine, a little less "routine."

I have either purchased or received free-with-purchase, many, many samples of beauty products, so I thought I'd start a series of posts called "One-Minute Review" to give you my first impressions of the samples I try. The sample sizes usually contain enough of the product for one or two applications, so these will not be in-depth reviews. I will give you info on the product from the manufacturer, where you can buy it online (that delivers to the U.S.), and my initial thoughts on using the product twice.

First Product: SkinFood Platinum Grape Cell Toner
I was really predisposed to like this toner because SkinFood is one of my favorite brands. They have fun names, enticing-sounding ingredients, and lovely packaging that remind me of the beauty products aimed at teenagers, that I use to love in the 70s and 80s. Here is a picture of the sample size I received:

I really tore into it!

And here is a picture (from the web) of the full size product:

(Photo from Amazon website)

The appealing aspects of this product are that it contains wine grape in it - everyone knows wine grapes have anti-oxidants that are good for you body, in and out. And how cool is it that there are little flecks of platinum in the toner. Unfortunately for me, right off the bat, I did not like the texture of this toner. My personal preference is for a watery toner, and this one has a goopey gel formulation. I didn't notice any strong smell, and the platinum specks dissolved immediately (I don't understand how!), so it won't leave your face sparkly. But the other thing I didn't like is that it left my skin really shiny, and a bit tacky. I like it when a toner leaves my skin soft, supple and with a matte finish, after it dries.

As far as performance, after using only twice, I can not really speak to that, but my one-minute review is that, no, I will not be purchasing a full size of this product. So sad! I really wanted to like it! If you think the Platinum Grape Cell Toner is something you might like, you can purchase it through Amazon for $28.96 with free shipping, or from TesterKorea.com for $19.26 (at current Won to Dollar conversion rates). (There is free shipping at TesterKorea after you order a certain amount.)

Product Review: Hello Fresh Meal Subscription

I recently tried out the Hello Fresh dinner ingredient delivery subscription, in my effort to eat more healthy, home-cooked meals, with minimum amount of work, and here is my review. I tried the service for four weeks, and I would still be using them except for one big problem.

My first box arrived from Hello Fresh. (I covered my address, of course).

I first found out about Hello Fresh because of an ad in my Facebook feed. It offered the first week half off, so I decided to check it out. The website is very easy to navigate, and they are good at keeping you posted with communication via email. I thought the $69 a week rate for 3 meals for 2 people each, was pretty reasonable, and sure enough, during the weeks I used them, I did reduce my grocery bill because I wasn't going to the store as often, and indulging in all the impulse buys that I usually do. Also, I mostly get my produce from Whole Foods, because they have the largest selection of organic produce, and the best looking produce of all the grocery stores in my area. And everyone knows how expensive they are, so yes, I did actually save money using Hello Fresh.

Here's what it looks like when you open the box. Everything well packed and labeled. The only downside is there is a lot of non-recyclable packaging.

In addition, I liked that most of their dinners were dairy free, which is really hard to find in this I-Love-Cheese country that we live in. (I avoid dairy products because I am lactose intolerant, they make me feel phlegmy and I also hate them). There was a very good variety of dinners during that four weeks that I used the service. There are three meals per week that are the default meals, and two alternative meals that you can choose if you don't like some of the default ones.

All the food items seemed to be good quality and very fresh.

Hello Fresh took away a lot of the parts of making dinner that I don't like: planning, shopping, and the waste that comes from cooking for just one or two people. (I live alone and my adult son sometimes comes over for dinner). If my son wasn't joining me for dinner, I saved the leftovers from one night's dinner and had them for lunch the next day. So I was really getting 6 meals.

My first recipe: A delicious chicken salad with beans.

All of the recipes, I found, were easy to make. I have been cooking dinner for 20+ years, but am not an expert chef, by any means. So I like simplicity. All of the meals ranged from good to excellent. There were a couple that were a little bland for my taste, but most of them were super yummy. And you get to keep the recipe cards, so I can make some of them again on my own in the future. The service provides all the ingredients, in the right quantities. You just cut them up and mix them together, following the recipe, which gives complete nutritional information.

Another recipe: Shrimp skewers with avocado/pineapple relish and herbed rice.

So with all that wonderfulness, why did I stop my subscription? Well, there was a big problem: delivery. Delivery cost is included in the $69 a week, which like I said, seemed really reasonable to me. The deliveries were made by UPS, BUT it was not reliable. During the first week, I received my box on Wednesday around noon. Great! I quickly unpacked everything, which looked very fresh, and stuck it all in the fridge, until I was ready to use them. During the second week, the delivery was supposed to come on Wednesday (the company promises Wednesday delivery between 8:30am and 8:30pm), but it didn't come and it didn't come. I called the company (very good phone customer service) and they said UPS claimed it was delivered! It was not! In fact, I didn't get the box until FRIDAY afternoon! By that time, all the meat products were spoiled and smelled so gross! They had been in the box for at least three days! Yuck! I called the company again, and they gave me a credit for the next week's box. I was so disappointed. And I had nothing for dinner that week.

Another delicious salad.

For the third week of my subscription, the box arrived on time, Wednesday afternoon. Phew! I was happy again! But for the fourth week - again no box on Wednesday! I called the company the next morning and they told me there was a delay and my box would arrive that day (Thursday). But the delay had ruined my Wednesday night plans when I had no dinner, so I told them then and there to cancel the subscription. It's not useful to me if I can't rely on it! When it didn't come, my whole schedule had to be altered to account for meal planning, shopping, etc.

A beef and rice entree.

I'm sad because I otherwise really liked Hello Fresh. Maybe they are a newer company and are experiencing growing pains? Maybe they will get their delivery issues worked out? I don't know, but in the mean time, I am going to try a competitor of theirs, Blue Apron, and see if they are any better about reliability. Stay tuned!

Soma, You Depress Me

On my recent trip to Sarasota, Florida, I had to stop in to the Soma lingerie boutique and try a bra fitting. I had done one bra fitting before, at Intimacy in Chicago, with unpleasant results, but that was several years ago, and tempted by the desire to have a perfectly fitting bra, I decided to go for it again.


Well, it was even worse than the last time! It was really depressing and kind of insulting. When I tried Intimacy, (on the suggestion and recommendation of Oprah, by the way), the parts that were disappointing were that (1) they told me I wasn't the same size in every bra company bra, so that kind of defeats the purpose of getting a bra fitting, and finding out YOUR size, because you still have to try on a bunch of different sizes to find one that works for you. And (2), the salesperson only showed me certain bras that she picked out for me. I couldn't just look around and pick out the ones I liked. The salesperson would bring a handful of bras to my dressing room, where I was trapped, topless, and then I would try them all on and say "yes" or "no." And (3) the bras were extremely expensive - like $150 each, expensive!  Obviously, I guilt-bought a couple of bras out of a sense of obligation from having used the salesperson's time, and never went back.


Anyway, on to Soma. I had high hopes because my aunt shops there and loves the store. BUT - my aunt is small chested and slim. I, however, am a 40" band, and either an F,G, or H cup, depending on the brand. But I liked that Soma just sold Soma bras, so hopefully, once they figured out my size, I could just pick any bra I liked and get it in my correct size.


Well, the first thing that I didn't like about the fitting was that their only way of measuring you was to measure underbust and full bust, and then subtract. Well, I can do that on my own! What do I need a Professional Bra Fitter for? Even the HerRoom website's bra finder (which is wonderful, BTW!) does a more comprehensive job, involving fullness, shape, etc.)

So on to the depressing part: The (very young, gorgeous, tall and model-slim) salesperson that measured me told me I was a 40G in their sizes, and then told me they had the 1" and the 3" minimizers in my size. (Sad face) Minimizers?! My boobs are one of my favorite things about my body, and something I am proud of, and Soma wants to MINIMIZE them? Seriously, those were my only choices in bras in my size. (Please note, that there is ONE pretty balconet bra available in my size from Soma, but only online). I was offended. Big girls don't always want, or need, to be Minimized. And you should have seen the ugly, pre-formed, can-stand-up-on-their-own, heavily padded, matronly, bland bras she brought me. Just two choices, and they both looked sad, and not at all sexy.


When I responded less-than-enthusiastically that I didn't want those heavy duty, old lady, cow-like bras, but wanted something colorful, lightweight, sheer, lacy, and sexy, the salesperson's eyes clouded over as she realized she had nothing for me, and was not going to make a sale. She basically shrugged and left my dressing room in annoyance.

To be fair, another salesperson, (who I took to possibly be the store manager, due to her air of authority) was more sympathetic; acknowledging the company's lack of choice for larger busted ladies, and suggested I try Sea Cup and Up for a better selection. But anyway, I left the store feeling shunned for my size, and insulted that Soma - a company that specializes in lingerie and should be in touch with women's needs in that department - was basically telling me "Yeah, you're not the kind of customer we want." I promptly returned home and purchased four beautiful, unlined, lacy, pretty bras, that fit wonderfully -  in purple, yellow, cafe au lait, and red - from HerRoom. I love you HerRoom, and all the other lingerie companies that GET IT, and embraces their customers of all sizes and shapes.