Garnier SkinActive Party!

I was sent a Garnier SkinActive Party pack free from Crowdtap in order to review honestly and share with whomever I choose for participating in the Garnier crowd.

My party trying their Garnier gear!

Makeup removed in a single swoop with Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water!

I was sent a box of wonderful goodies including:

• $10 Visa giftcard for supplies
• 11 Product Info Cards
• 1 Pack of QUALITY cotton swabs
• 11 samples of Garnier Clearly Brighter Brightening & Smoothing Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
• 8 samples of Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (Regular)
• 2 samples of Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (Waterproof)

Box packed with quality items!

I was so excited to host my party with my sisters who range in age from mid-30s to young-20s. We all have different skin types from dry, oily, combo, t-zone troubles, hormonal imbalances, etc, so it’s rare to find items that work for all of us…. HOWEVER, both the moisturizer and cleanser worked amazingly for all of us with no irritation!

The Garnier Micellar Cleansing water is extremely different! It requires no rinse and it takes off make up with one swoop of the cotton pad. It moisturizes and doesn’t clog my pores. It brightens my skin and makes it feel supple and brighter. The Waterproof version is a bit more oily in my opinion and my younger sister’s, but my older sisters thought it was perfect for their stubborn eyeliner and mascara.

My party trying their Garnier gear!

The Micellar Cleansing Water attracts dirt and grime from even caked-on makeup from the day before. It swipes it away and leaves your skin fresh, clean, and hydrated! It’s amazing and doesn’t need to be rinsed, as I discussed, so it’s great as a travel companion. It is comparable to luxury brands and at amazing value! Garnier amazes me with their new products at affordable prices. I never really tried them before, but thanks to Crowdtap, I’ve become a lover of the brand!

Wowed by the Micellar Cleansing Water!

Next, we tried the Garnier Clearly Brighter Brightening & Smoothing Daily Moisturizer SPF 15, which is quite a mouthful, but it’s a bargain-ful as well! I usually don’t like SPF moisturizers due to the chemical scent and propensity to bother my eyes. However, this one absorbs so quickly that I didn’t notice a scent and it didn’t seep near my eye area whatsoever. It made my skin feel good and one of my resolutions was to take better care of my skin by protecting from the sun. My sister-in-law especially loved it because she travels to California frequently for business and was looking for an easy SPF moisturizer that had added benefits, Garnier foot the bill! 

Garnier even gained a smaller fan 😀

Overall, all of us were pleased with both Garnier products. We found no pitfalls or disappointments, the products exceeded expectations and we will be trying more Garnier products in the new year!

 

 

 

 

 

What’s a good party? Coffee, Garnier, & sisters 🙂

Silk’n VoxBox from Influenster

I was chosen to receive a complimentary Silk’n Flash&Go Express through Influenster for testing purposes. All thoughts expressed in this blog are honest and my own.

Unveiling the Silk’n VoxBox

I was so excited when I was chosen for the #SilknSmooth VoxBox. If you follow my YouTube, you can see that I have battled hirsutism for quite some time now. My grandmother was fresh off the boat, Eastern European genes, so hirsutism is genetic and the only option was to have laser/cosmetic hair removal since I have already turned down the steroids used to treat my adrenal glands. I filled out the questionnaire and matched the candidate they were hoping would test this product.

Immediately, I began to investigate what this product was. I saw tons of positive reviews from all kinds of people using it for different reasons. It’s a safe, FDA-approved hair removal laser that you can use at home. It can be used anywhere on the body. It has a very small window for precautions, but with enough time, it will dramatically reduce or eliminate hair growth in the areas you target.

To start, I worked on what’s been the most bothersome for me: my chin. 

I jumped on the chance to get rid of any hair. I have been using it for about 2 months now and I’m seeing some results, it’s not completely eliminating, but it has made it less coarse and it seems to be reducing its visibility. I have tried it on my belly and lower extremities, but plan to give more attention and careful treatment after I see great results with my face. I have to say I thought that I would start seeing more by now, but I think I haven’t been using it as much as I should.

The directions state that you must use it on the lowest setting for the first few times and gradually work up to level 5 it has. I did as it suggested and I have been doing it once a week since they said do not do it more than that. Some Youtubers were doing it every other day, which I’m not sure if that’s what’s recommended for thick, coarse hair, but I may boost my treatment times to see better results.

 It’s been extremely easy to use and I use it right after my shower at night so I don’t have any adverse reactions that I may have to deal with. It doesn’t hurt at all and it takes me about 30 second to treat my whole area because you are not supposed to “overlap.” You need to have clean, dry, freshly shaven skin so that the laser can operate optimally. It aims to burn/zap the hair follicle and it’s attracted to the melanin that’s in the dark hair. With 5 levels, it’s still not near what you’d get in a salon because they need to keep this safe and for anyone to use, so you shouldn’t have any worries of burning yourself unless you are holding the lamp right next to your skin and doing “pulsing” treatment, I typically just do the linear treatment and don’t “glide” along my face and keep zapping. It’s easier for me.

I have been updating my Youtube with my treatment/review sessions every other week or so. I also posted a short video on my Instagram. I’m very pleased with the product and hope to get even better results soon. Instagram Review

I love Silk’n as a brand and really enjoy the different products they have come out with. They have wonderful promos going on right now for the holiday, but if you stumble onto this blog after the holiday, go ahead and use promo code “NOHAIR” before 1/30/16 to get 10% off any product. I promise you’ll love it.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Crowdtap

I am in love with this Crowdtap sample! I was shipped Healthy Skin “Clean” Blends powder and “Flushed” blush for free to review honestly.

I expected nothing less from Neutrogena. I use their Healthy Skin foundation and I love how they don’t make me greasy. They even my tone and and the Clean Blends kept it in place. The four tones really didn’t add color but it brought more out of my color matched foundation which is exactly what I hoped for. I will be trying the “Pure” blend soon which is to even tone. I loved what I got with this one.

The “Flushed” blush was very vibrant. I loved it though and balanced with my mineral powder to give a great Flushed glow.

Both samples highlighted my face and made me feel my best. I would give these a 10/10. NEUTROGENA is amazing at targeting what you want out out of makeup while offering that extra buff you didn’t think of.

Clean skin, bright eyes!

I have been using it everyday. It doesn’t clog my pores and continues to give me an extra glow. My only qualm is that it’s rather small for the Blends powder, so I’ll be scouring for coupons so I can  keep this as a staple in my make up bag.

Night out with Neutrogena!

Foundation: L’Oreal Visible LIFT!

Holy Grail for a drug store buy!

Found this on clearance at my beloved Discount Drug Mart. I am always looking for higher SPF foundation and, now that I’m aging, something to help fade the wrinkles I have developed on my poor little forehead. L’Oreal’s Visible Lift Line-Minimizing & Tone-Enhancing looked to be perfect for me. I feel as though I have blotchy skin since I am so ivory colored with bright red patches that sometimes show.

I loved that it had ingredients that helped my skin like the Pro-Retinol A (purely marketed by L’Oreal & ultra fascinating!). I’m not sure if the Octinoxate was in later editions or if this was why it was on clearance, but it hasn’t harmed me, so far.

Applied, cutely.

How I typically apply it everyday. I’m looking to invest in a Beauty Blender, but my good ole fingertips work just right for now. It blends awesomely and the Pro-Retinol A immediately goes to work to fade my lines and tighten my skin. The SPF 17 is awesome as I typically need above a 15 at minimum and I use an SPF primer I will show later.

Finished product, excuse the blah.

My head looks like an alien, but just look at my skin! Incredibly taut and ready for a powder coating. I love how flawless it makes my skin look for a very CHEAP price. I got it for under $6. I wear it to every interview because it makes me look airbrushed after I finish my whole routine. You see no blemishes or red spots and my skin is protected from UV rays.

This foundation really made me believe in L’Oreal products as I fell out of love with them over their mascaras back in the day. I will look forward to later releases of their Pro-Retinol-infused concoctions and recommend them.

I give this product a 10/10. Super breathable and washes off supremely well with soap, not sweat! Doesn’t clog my sensitive, black-head-ridden pores and it covers them with such finesse! I’m ready to try out more with the coupons I get in the paper this week!

Ta-dah!

March BirchBox

I have a best friend who can afford BirchBox and actually loves it.

On the line to update the blog 🙂

We get to update each other via Skype monthly on the wonderful goodies and we try to get my little sister on the line to compare. We’ll do a later edition of the Tay box.

The 5 Items, behold:

Super pumped to open the box and the first item we pulled out was the Temple Spa “Peace Be Still” aromatherapy lotion. As you can see, it claims a lot to pack in an aromatherapy lotion/cream. We tried it on our hands and the scent is the real hit. The cream part is a big miss! It’s basically water and does nothing to moisturize. The scent is awesome, smelling citrus-y and lavender mixed together. I would bet this would be better as a bath bomb.

Balmy

Long hairs, don’t cares.

Next, we tried the Beauty Protector – Protect & Detangle spray. She colors her hair often and she said this product was amazing all around. The only problem was that she didn’t have more! It keeps hair moisturized all day without harming color-treated strands. It smells like a floral type of vanilla, really warm, and protecting, essentially. It also goes a long way in keeping it detangled without the greasy mess of most sprays that have this benefit.

YAASSS

For the face, they included Vasanti “BrightenUp”. She said she felt as though her face just walked out of its own shower. A little goes a long way as it’s an amazing exfoliate properties make you soft as baby butt. To get the effects of microderm abrasion without spending huge bucks, this is the go-to.  She said she would actually go ahead and buy this full product because it’s that amazing. The Amazon reviews speak for themselves as I haven’t come across a face wash this highly rated EVER.

After the face wash, makeup! We got the Jelly Pong Pong “Glow Getter” (keep your eyes out for it! It’s being made since it’s out of stock – that popular!) It’s basically a gel that highlights cheekbones, bridge of your nose, eyebrow bone, top lip (to make your lips fuller), all around highlighter that replaces the regular old powder. It blends much better with foundation and blush as powder usually covers these up. She said it’s her first gel highlight and she doesn’t think she’ll ever go back to powder again. It’s the item I really wanted. A bonus is that she has normal skin and it’s extremely lightweight, didn’t leave her oily or dry. It’s very similar to the Benefit High Beam highlighter, but less expensive for a full bottle.

Tiny bottle goes a long way!

Beauty!

Lastly, they included a new perfume! It’s Harvey Prince’s “Hello”. She couldn’t describe it, but it’s SMELLS AMAZING. Big bonus as Amazon describes: Made with eco-friendly ingredients, this scent has all-day staying power. A top note of Meyer lemon captures the scent of fresh-squeezed lemonade, while Satsuma mandarin adds a double fruity note. Next up, summer forsythia and pink plumeria-traditionally found in Hawaiian leis-give the scent its heady floral layer. I am pumped to try this out ASAP. She did say that it doesn’t last all day for her, she lives in AZ, so the hot weather may play a role, but it’s worth the spritz. She’d definitely buy the bottle  as it’s very original. It’s the same price as a Victoria Secret perfume, but far more original.

So cute!

Overall, we’d give it a 7/10.

When you sign up for BirchBox, they give you a quiz to see your interests and who you are (colored hair, makeup or skin care, etc). She feels they really listened to this as you can see, I would have gotten a completely different set as I don’t color my hair and I LOVE makeup. I might sign up. She said she usually buys 2/5 items which is better than many boxes out there.

You can follow her on Twitter @katejdixon. BFF since 2007. Womb to tomb.

If any of you got a BirchBox, let us know what you thought or what was different! Looking forward to updating these monthly.

Olay Fresh Effects

I’ve gotten to try a product I have been itching for a few months now. It was on clearance at Target foe $3.23 and this was a steal to try out!

I’ve used it a few times with the Shine, Shine Go Away face wash. I love the fash wash and I’m underwhelmed with the BB cream. It’s very hydrating and has a decent scent but it makes me oily as ever and has no coverage at all as it claims. I’m finding myself oiling it off 2 hours into wear. Very disappointed. They say to apply often, but I thought this would be better with the benefits it offers.

Beautiful packaging. It claims to rid you of botches and help tone, but it sacrifices all coverage options for those who are battling a zit.

“All in one solution for instantly brighter-looking, smoother, more even skin tone.”

6 benefits:
Refreshes
Brightens
Evens tone
Hydrates
Smoothes
Protects

I’d give it a 7/10. Not a regular BB cream to me, very hydrating benefits which ultimately provide for facial skin.