skincare « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘skincare’

Naturopathica skincare regimen

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: beauty, brands, cleansers, exfoliators, moisturizers, naturopathica, organic, products, reviews, serum, skincare, winnings

16 May 2013

Awhile ago, I mentioned the Naturopathica skincare set that I had won. I got the products for normal to oily skin, since I’ve been dealing with breakouts for quite awhile. It includes the Oat Facial Polish, Rosemary Oil-Reducing Moisturizer, Aloe Cleansing Gel, and Plant Stem Cell Serum. The first two you use in the mornings and the last two you use at night. All of these products are really soothing and gentle on your skin. I haven’t been following the regimen strictly, but nonetheless I’ve seen impressive results!

First is the Oat Facial Polish, which I actually got a deluxe sample of in my Yuzen Spring box. It is smooth and creamy, with bits of oat and jojoba beads to gently exfoliate your skin. It feels very moisturizing and I swear I can feel it seeping into my skin to hydrate it. After washing my face with it, my skin feels so soft and supple. It’s quite refreshing!

Then there’s the Rosemary Oil-Reducing Moisturizer that is a nice light formula. It also absorbs well into the skin and feels rather healing. It’s apparently an astringent blend, but it doesn’t sting at all! I never knew astringent and gentle could coexist in one product, so this is great. I love the light feeling and how it’s not oily at all – perfect for my combination skin. I use this to prevent my face from overproducing oil and it definitely calms things down.

My absolute favorite product of the set is the Aloe Cleansing Gel. At first, I didn’t really pay attention to it. It was just a soothing face wash that was calming and gentle on my skin. But then I noticed that I was about to break out one day and after washing with the gel, nothing happened. I have NEVER found a face wash that does that. Amazing! Since then, I’ve been washing my face with it exclusively, since I always seem to have a new breakout about to happen. Now I can actually prevent breakouts with a sulfate-free cleanser. It’s my new holy grail.

Rounding it all up is the Plant Stem Cell Serum, which is a bit richer and thicker than the moisturizer. It’s organic and meant to slow down the signs of aging. At this point I don’t exactly have wrinkles, age spots, or other signs of aging, so I can’t tell if it’s working. All I know is that it, like all the other Naturopathica products, is smooth and gentle on my skin. It absorbs well and feels great! I feel confident that I’m giving my face some great preventative care when I apply it.

All in all, I am SO glad I was able to try these products. I probably wouldn’t have thought to buy the kit for myself, but now that I’ve tested the products, I am definitely going to be a Naturopathica customer as my current products run out. I’ve got my eye on some of their other items that I’d like to try as well!

Mask me up! Murad Clarifying Mask

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: acne, breakouts, experiences, facials, impurities, kaolin clay, masks, massage envy, murad, pores, products, reviews, skin problems, skincare

06 May 2013

I got a facial at Massage Envy a few weeks back – my first one there – and boy have I been missing out! They use Murad products for their facials and between the products and the esthetician, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I came out with fresh, soft skin and for the first time, I actually noticed that my pores (particularly on my nose) looked smaller! After reviewing some of the products my esthetician during my facial, I decided to buy the Murad Clarifying Mask for use at home as well. I mean, this is right when I was getting fascinated with kaolin clay, so when I found it was one of the ingredients, I couldn’t help myself. I need some gentle skin purification!

I’ve used the mask a bunch of times since then and I’m really enjoying it. You don’t need much to cover your face, so the bottle will last a nice long time, even if you use it frequently. I am still struggling with acne and consistent breakouts at this age (whyyy?!), which this has helped calm down. My skin is clearing up and if I do get another breakout here and there, they are much smaller than before. Perhaps I should use the mask more than once a week to get that under control. Immediately after wiping off the mask, I always feel great – my blackheads have diminished, my skin is very soft, and overall my skin feels healthier. It’s great!

So if you have oily or combination skin, breakouts/acne, blackheads, or large pores – give this product a try. Let me know how it goes!

Will you BB mine?

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: bb cream, beauty, bzzagent, garnier, pictures, products, reviews, skincare

04 May 2013

[Disclosure: I was provided a full size product for free in exchange for feedback as part of a BzzAgent campaign. All opinions are my own and I am not being compensated otherwise.]

I had just started to hear about BB creams and was considering buying some when I got invited to the BzzAgent campaign for Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free BB Cream! What perfect timing. I got a chance to try out this new BB cream product by Garnier and experience what the craze is all about. This is just the kind of product I need, since I have no patience for a skincare routine that requires half a dozen steps each time.

The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free BB Cream is meant for combination to oily skin, which is exactly what I have. It comes in three shade options: Light/Medium, Medium/Deep, and Deep. I opted for the Medium/Deep since I’m not fair-skinned but I’m not very tan or dark either. When I first tried it, it blended really well and I was happy with the results. Immediately, you could see improvement: my face no longer shiny, my skin tone was evened out, my blemishes and redness were less visible. All in all, I looked like I have a lot healthier skin.

I love that I don’t have to worry about my skin when I’m out and about during the day. With this BB Cream, my skin is hydrated, protected from the sun with SPF 20, pores are minimized, skin tone is evened out, and shine is controlled. It’s not greasy and super lightweight too, so you won’t even remember you put it on – it’s amazing how natural it feels. Once you put it on, you’ll see your skin has a nice matte finish, with all those skin problems evened out. The bottle is quite large, with a full 2 fl oz worth of product. It’ll last me a long time!

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free BB Cream contains a mineral called Perlite, which is superb at absorbing oil and water (twice its weight worth!). It’s also non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic, aka it won’t clog your pores or cause breakouts! And of course the oil-free formula is important for those of us with combination or oily skin. If you’re a dry-skinned person, then they have a different formulation for you. Either way, you’re covered! The coverage lasted well for me, even during a very active day out. I was so glad I didn’t have to think about how my skin looked as I met new people and had a bunch of pictures taken. 🙂 While you probably still want to use concealer on trouble areas, the BB cream will help even out everything else.

The only thing I don’t like about the product has nothing to do with its performance on my skin – rather, it’s the design of the tube. Since the cream is rather liquidy, it comes out quickly and sometimes I get too much. The hole is too small to try to get the cream back in effectively, so I either waste some or try to find more areas to slather it on. If I leave the tube on its head, I’m guaranteed to get too much when I open the cap. I think they could improve this by either making a pump top to dispense the cream in a more controlled fashion, or change the shape of the tube so you can keep the cap side facing up (which right now you can only do if you have something for the bottle to lean against).

Still, overall I do love my BB cream for giving me the confidence to go out in the world without thinking about how my skin looks. It makes skincare so easy that even I can do it!

365great Day 47: Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, burt's bees, healing, insect repellant, nature, outdoors, pictures, products, res-q ointment, skin conditions, skincare

30 April 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

I first learned about this product from a cousin in China, actually. Apparently it’s all the rage with her friends. And truly, Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment is a hidden gem of a product. If it weren’t for my cousin’s obsession, I never would have thought to give it a try – it seems to be just a rub-on insect repellent (which isn’t all that exciting). But oh boy, is that wrong! In fact, this Res-Q Ointment is like a miracle worker for just about any sort of skin irritation you might get, including insect bites, bruises, cuts, scrapes, rashes, and the like.

I get these red bumps from sensitivity when my hands get extra cold and dry, which is soothed and healed with this balm. I’ve had bruises that itch that I used the Res-Q Ointment on so I wouldn’t scratch them. It’s even helped me with the occasional cut or scrape, making the healing process faster and far less uncomfortable. I mean, it’s amazing all the things that one little balm can do. Plus, you barely need any to cover your irritation, so a small tub will last a really long time. This is perfect for kids or those of us who are still klutzy (I feel ya). Try it! It really is great.

Yuzen October 2012 edition

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: beauty, chocolate, eco-friendly, food, fruit snacks, green, health, lotion, mango, massage oil, moisturizer, pictures, products, review, shampoo, shaving cream, skincare, snacks, yuzen

29 April 2013

Alright, it’s time to continue this game of catch-up and go through the treats that came in the Yuzen box for October. 🙂

Yuzen is $26 per month and comes with around 5 or 6 eco-friendly beauty, skincare, food/snacks, and home products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. Sometimes there’s a waitlist to get the subscription. They do not offer a referral program.

*Disclosure: As a super fan, I was invited to be the Yuzen Ambassador to help them spread the word about their brand. Starting with this box, I began to receive them for free. I was not compensated otherwise and all opinions are my own, irregardless of my relation to Yuzen. I just happen to think they’re awesome (as does everyone else I’ve heard from). 🙂

collage of products included in the october 2012 yuzen box

They actually sent me two boxes since they were trying out a new packaging method and wanted my feedback.

Click on the pictures for the full sizes so you can enjoy all the details of each product! You can even zoom in to read all the messaging.

Eco-Armour Shave with Benefits – Bergamot & Pink Grapefruit Luxurious Botanical Shave Foam: There are a lot of things I love about this product! It smells great and feels so smooth on your skin. It works really well and makes shaving such a breeze! Plus, it’s got an awesome foaming dispenser (and I love a foaming product), which also means that you can bring it with you on the plane! And did you know that you can actually put it on your razor blades to extend their life?! HOW AWESOME!

Nova Monda Cacao & Chocolate – Cacao Indio Jar Chocolate: Chocolate in a jar? Wow, the possibilities! You can eat it straight up, melt it to use as ganache or fondue or even pour over ice cream for a fantastically yummy shell. This is such a fun way to present chocolate for consumption. Definitely gets your creativity going and encourages new ways of enjoying a classic treat. Plus, it’s all ethically sourced so you can really enjoy this treat guilt-free.

red flower – plum blossom silk cream & yuzu mimosa sea algae wash: These products feel really luxurious. The lotion truly is silky and rubs on so well. It’s got a sweet, flowery scent that is lovely. The body wash is pretty silky too and it has a nice mildly citrusy smell. I really love the use of various botanical elements to create these products!

Matt’s Munchies – Mango Premium Fruit Snack: Ok, I actually don’t eat mangoes, so I did not try this snack, but my mom gobbled it right up so that’s got to be a good sign! And hey, even my cat gave it a sniff of approval… 😉 I was expecting more of a dried mango snack, so it was interesting opening the package to find cute little fruit leather squares. Definitely a nice treat to bring along anywhere and you don’t have to worry about getting your hands messy trying to rip off a piece.

JAMU Spa Organics – Island Fruits Massage, Body & Hair Oil: I’ve discovered a love for massage oils. I don’t think I ever used a massage oil before this, but the hydrating feeling in the dry winter weather was just amazing. I loved the subtle sweet scent of the oil, which wafted up here and there when applying. The one thing is that the bottle starts to get a little oily on the outside after awhile, you should be careful where you put it (and wipe it down after use).

HollyBeth Organics Luxury Skincare – Rose Geranium Face Moisturizer: This is the thickest face moisturizer I’ve ever used. Kind of waxy, almost. It felt weird at first putting something so dense on my face, but it hydrated well and kept my skin from drying out. Excellent for colder months, but I’d switch to a lighter cream for the summer months.

AVEENO® POSITIVELY RADIANT® Intensive Night Cream

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: aveeno, cats, free stuff, influenster, opinion, pictures, products, reviews, skincare, voxbox

27 April 2013

My very first Influenster VoxBox was this lovely AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, which I’m loving!

influenster voxbox with aveeno positively radiant intensive night cream and eye mask

It even came with a matching eye mask! How cute and considerate.

Just a quick background: Influenster is a site where you share your opinions and get to help influence brands. They send out VoxBoxes, which are filled with FREE products that they send out based on the brands’ target audience. We, as the members of Influenster, get to try out products and give feedback to the brands. If you want more information, their About page covers it pretty well. Want to join? Just let me know and I’ll invite you! 🙂

Ok, so back to the product that has changed my nighttime routine and improved how my skin feels when I wake up. To be honest, when I first got the complimentary product to try, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to notice any results. A night cream’s just something you put on your face so it doesn’t dry, right? Well, happily, I can report that I’ve felt so great that I’ve used it every night (which is no small feat for me, since I usually forget to use skincare products).

Let’s review some facts about AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream:

“The AVEENO® POSITIVELY RADIANT® Intensive Night Cream, formulated with ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex and vitamin B3, helps to reduce the appearance of discoloration, uneven tone and blotchiness, revealing healthier-looking skin.”

~Contains a proven concentration of ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex boosted with vitamin B3 to help visibly diminish the appearance of dullness, blotchiness and brown spots

~Oil-free, hydrating formula penetrates deep within skin’s surface while you sleep revealing an even, more radiant complexion

~In a clinical study, women saw improvement in tone and discoloration

~Gentle enough for everyday use

AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream addresses the 5 factors of radiance (tone, dullness, brown spots, texture, blotchiness) to brighten tired and dull-looking skin.

Upon opening the night cream, I got a whiff of a really nice, subtle scent. It’s a little bit sweet and very fresh, which I love. The cream is a nice consistency that’s rich and thick but not clumpy. It smooths on really well and leaves your skin feeling softer and hydrated. When I apply it right after washing my face, I get a little warming, tingling sensation that makes me feel like the product is really working on my skin. Maybe that’s the Active Naturals Total Soy Complex doing its thing!

I’m really fascinated by this product because it’s the first time I’ve seen a skincare product with soy as an active ingredient. I’ve heard of the health benefits from consuming soy and soy products, but I hadn’t ever considered it for skincare. In my search to learn more about it, I found an article from LiveStrong detailing how soy is great for combination skin (hey that’s me!) and evening out skin tone. There’s even a portion about reversing skin damage, which touches on blotchiness and discoloration. Totally lines up with what the AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream is meant to do for us!

The morning after my first night using my new night cream, I was surprised at how refreshed my skin felt! Usually my face feels grimy or oily in the morning, but the night cream worked some magic to prevent that from happening. Since it’s oil-free, it is great for oily skin and not only does it not make your skin feel more greasy, it somehow manages to reduce the oil your face produces. Amazing! Overall I do feel like my skin has improved and my appearance is more radiant, though I suck at pinpointing exactly what improved. I’d love to say my skin tone and texture improved, but truthfully, I don’t even know what that means. All I can say is that my skin feels much better in the mornings now and that’s all that matters. 😛 Also, I love how the tub will last me a really long time too – I’ve used it every night and barely made a dent!

If you want to get in on the conversation about AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, just jump on your favorite social media channel and use #RadiantWithAVEENO, or search for it to see what others are saying.

applying aveeno positively radiant night cream with cat

I apply Aveeno Positively Radiant Night Cream “war paint” to battle dullness as my cat Missy shows me how positively radiant she is. 🙂

365great Day 41: facial wipes

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, beauty, convenience, facial wipes, la fresh, pictures, products, skincare, yuzen

24 April 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

I only recently started using facial wipes and I wish I had gotten into them sooner! They are a fantastic way to refresh your face during the day or even help wipe off everything at the end of the night. I’ve always hated the “water dribbling down your arms” part of washing my face, so this is a great way to “wash” my face without all that messiness. Plus, you can use it on the go – even better. For me, it started with the samples of La Fresh wipes that I got in a Yuzen box. I probably wouldn’t have tried them otherwise, but hey, I had samples already… and so I did, and loved how refreshing it felt. I then went on the buy the full packs, which I pull out every now and then when the day’s really been wearing on me. A simple, easy, effective way to freshen up? That’s great. 🙂

365great Day 35: LUSH

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, brands, companies, company, england, experiences, pictures, products, skincare, study abroad, uk, united kingdom

18 April 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

I first came across LUSH when I was studying abroad in England. It was love at first smell! I mean, so many of their amazing products look so good you just want to eat them. Plus, they smell lovely and they’re made from natural ingredients. Add to that the fresh and handmade factor and I was totally sold (in theory – I was still to cheap to actually buy anything, much as I wanted). After returning to the US, I sorely regretted not getting that charcoal face soap I’d been eyeing.

A few years later, I was thrilled when they finally opened up shop in the LA area! This time I finally got to use some of their products and it’s always so fun since it feels like something you could just cook up in your own kitchen. Lately I got into solid shampoos and of course, LUSH has those too. I’ve got a lovely bar of that at home that I’ve been using and it’s perfect for travel. LUSH is one of the earlier eco-friendly, socially responsible brands I’d heard of and it still retains a special place in my memories. Their products are pretty great!

365great Day 30: kaolin clay

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, blemishes, cleansers, facial masks, impurities, kaolin clay, masks, massage envy, murad, pictures, pond's, products, skincare

13 April 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

One of my newer obsessions when it comes to skincare is kaolin clay. I first encountered it when browsing BzzAgent campaigns; there was a campaign for Pond’s Luminous Clean facial cleansers and I was sooo intrigued when I read that it could “Gently draw out trapped impurities & makeup to brighten dull skin.” Draw out impurities? Yes please!

Not long after, I had a facial at Massage Envy in which they used Murad’s Clarifying Mask, which also had kaolin clay to help draw out impurities. My face felt and looked amazing afterwards – it was the first time that I saw any effect on my blackheads. I was sold! Between the purifying effects and the oil-absorbing benefits, this is seriously exactly what I need for my skin. Plus, kaolin clay is gentle on skin so anyone can use it and that’s great!

365great Day 25: foaming cleansers

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, beauty, cleansers, foaming cleansers, pictures, products, skincare

08 April 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

Maybe it’s just me, but foaming cleansers bring a smile to my face every time. Whether it’s hand soap or face wash, there’s something really fun about pumping out a handful of suds. It might just be a gimmick since they can get away with a lower concentration of cleanser to water, but for the enjoyment, I’m okay with that. Supposedly, foaming cleansers give you a deeper clean? I guess I do feel “squeaky clean” after using one, but I get the same feeling with a bar soap. Anyways, this made my 365great list purely for the fun factor! After all, a basic skincare product that can make me happy just by pumping it? That’s pretty great (and rather cheap entertainment).

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((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘skincare’

Naturopathica skincare regimen

Mask me up! Murad Clarifying Mask

Will you BB mine?

365great Day 47: Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment

Yuzen October 2012 edition

AVEENO® POSITIVELY RADIANT® Intensive Night Cream

365great Day 41: facial wipes

365great Day 35: LUSH

365great Day 30: kaolin clay

365great Day 25: foaming cleansers

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