Nicoleabouttown
Member Since: October 22, 2014Reviews
Aveeno® Calm + Restore Daily Face Moisturizer Mineral SPF 30
While I tend to love Aveeno products, I have to admit that I was hesitant when it came to the new Aveeno® Calm + Restore Daily Moisturizer with Mineral SPF 30. I tend to like my sunscreen and my moisturizer as separate products, but that is more... +
While I tend to love Aveeno products, I have to admit that I was hesitant when it came to the new Aveeno® Calm + Restore Daily Moisturizer with Mineral SPF 30. I tend to like my sunscreen and my moisturizer as separate products, but that is more of a preferance than any kind of rule. The other thing that gave me pause is that this is a Mineral SPF, and I really haven't had any good experiences with Mineral SPF's as a WOC. So when this arrived on my doorstep, I opened it with some trepidation, but I am happy to report that after using it for a week, I am pleasantly surprised.
First, this is supremely gentle and non-irritating to my skin and eyes. That is a huge thing for me because sometimes my skin decides to act up and Aveeno has provided another product that won't irritate it in the form of the Aveeno® Calm + Restore Daily Moisturizer with Mineral SPF 30. I've said that I typically don't have good experiencnes with Mineral SPF, and they usually tend to leave a white cast on my skin. This is 100% not the case with this product. While there is a bit of a tint to the product, when it is rubbed into the skin, there is no white or grey cast left behind on the skin. This is hugely important to me as a WOC because not all products containing sunscreen were made with us in mind. It's a huge relieft to be able to apply this and re-apply it as needed and not have to worry about looking like a powdered doughnut.
While I do tend to like my sunscreen and mositurizer as a separate product, I can't deny the convience of having both in one. It really makes the reapplication of sunscreen throughout the day easier. It does kind of act like a bit of a primer on my skin. I'm not sure that it's actually evening out my actual skintone, but it does help to make my skin into a smooth canvas and my skin looks good bare, or with a full face of makeup. There is absolutely no pilling when I wear it under makeup and it doesn't rub off on my clothes when I am wearing it on it's own.
I have super dry skin, so the only improvement would for it to be more moisturizing. Don't get me wrong, this does provide mositure, but I tend to like a lot of moisture, particularly in the harsh winter months. This would be perfect for warmer weather as it is 100% non-greasy and won't leave your skin looking like a glazed doughnut.
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La Roche-Posay Ultra Micellar Water for Dry/Reactive Skin
I can't stress just how amazing the La Roche-Posay Ultra Micellar Water for Dry/Reactive Skin is. I've been using other Micellear waters for years now, and this one blows them all right out of the water. It is the only micellar water that doesn't... +
I can't stress just how amazing the La Roche-Posay Ultra Micellar Water for Dry/Reactive Skin is.
I've been using other Micellear waters for years now, and this one blows them all right out of the water. It is the only micellar water that doesn't leave my skin feeling dry and parched when it's all said and done. It also takes very little of the product to get the job done, and cleans off makeup like a dream. It is also non-irritating to my very sensitive and reactive skin.
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Vichy Pureté Thermale Cleansing Foam Radiance Revealer
My skin, that has been giving me problems on and off since January, needs something that is going to not only clean it, but won't leave my skin feeling like it's gone through a battle every time I wash my face. This is where the Vichy Pureté... +
My skin, that has been giving me problems on and off since January, needs something that is going to not only clean it, but won't leave my skin feeling like it's gone through a battle every time I wash my face. This is where the Vichy Pureté Thermale Purifying Foaming Radiance Revealer comes in. Now I normally stay away from any kind of foaming face wash cleanser as they tend to be on the drying side and leave the already dry parts of my skin feeling so tight that my skin is about to crack. Well that's not the case with the Vichy Pureté Thermale Purifying Foaming Radiance Revealer. Not only does it do a wonderful job of cleaning my skin, it leaves it feeling so soft and amazing. Plus it is so gentle that when I accidentally got it in my eye the other day, I only experienced a very mild irritation. I use this twice a day with my FOREO Luna Mini 2 (review to come) and my skin thanks me for it. Vichy Pureté Thermale Purifying Foaming Radiance Revealer is super, super foamy and quite honestly, a lot of fun. It's designed for those with sensitive skin and it shows because it is super gentle and non-irritating which is exactly what my skin needs. -
Vichy Thermal Spa Water
I'm afraid this one is a miss for me. All it did was leave my face wet, which is totally not what I was going for at all. While the price point is good, the lack of product effectiveness killed it.
I'm afraid this one is a miss for me. All it did was leave my face wet, which is totally not what I was going for at all. While the price point is good, the lack of product effectiveness killed it. -
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream
Now selecting the right face cream is always such a tricky thing. My skin is sensitive and reactive, but it is also very oily on my forehead, dry on my nose and chin, and normal on my cheeks. So as you can imagine, what works for one area of my... +
Now selecting the right face cream is always such a tricky thing. My skin is sensitive and reactive, but it is also very oily on my forehead, dry on my nose and chin, and normal on my cheeks. So as you can imagine, what works for one area of my face, doesn't always work out for another area. It's maddening I tell you. But the reality is that I need to deal with the worst issue, which would be my dryer areas. For the past two weeks I have been using the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream twice a day, so let me give you the lowdown. This face cream is designed for super dry skin, and it shows. While I like it a lot, it is far too heavy for me to use in the morning during the summer. I think it would work amazingly during the winter seasons as my everyday face cream, but for now, I will be scaling this back to use as just my night cream. I would be interested in trying out some of the lighter versions they have of the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream as I think that they would still be as super moisturizing as this one, but a little less on the thick side. -
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick
Next up we have the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction™ Revolution Lipstick in Mrs. Mia Wallace. Ever since Urban Decay released the Revolution Lipstick formula last year, this has hands down been one of my favourite lipstick formulas. I love it so much... +
Next up we have the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction™ Revolution Lipstick in Mrs. Mia Wallace. Ever since Urban Decay released the Revolution Lipstick formula last year, this has hands down been one of my favourite lipstick formulas. I love it so much, that I own every last lipstick they have in this formula. Well this Limited Edition offering is no different. The formula is amazing as one would come to expect from the Revolution Lipstick formula.
Mrs. Mia Wallace in particular is described as ‘blood red’ and it is a spot on description. This is an unbelievably flattering shade of red for absolutely anyone. I would wager that even those people who say that they ‘can’t wear red lipstick’ would find Mrs. Mia Wallace to work for them. Seriously, this may just replace every other red lipstick I own and turn into my go to red lipstick this fall and winter. The wear time for me is 8 hours. Really, it stayed on until I had to take it off. There was no feathering or bleeding on my lips, and when it was time to take it off, it hadn’t dried out my lips.
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NARS Nail Polish
Up first we have WRONG TURN which is described as graphite. I wouldn’t say that this is a graphite really as in my opinion that would imply that this one is much more grey than it is. To me, this one has more of a blue undertone (my mother... +
Up first we have WRONG TURN which is described as graphite. I wouldn’t say that this is a graphite really as in my opinion that would imply that this one is much more grey than it is. To me, this one has more of a blue undertone (my mother thinks it’s green), but unlike most blue nail polish this one is entirely wearable. I tend to find most shades of blue nail polish look super juvenile, but not this one. WRONG TURN is clearly for the grown and sexy and I am clearly going to be rocking this one, even in meetings this Fall! The formula of this one is pretty amazing. In the picture below you are looking at one coat of nail polish. You really don’t need more than that at all. The polish is seriously opaque and applies like a dream, even on my oddly shaped nails.
Next we have the very amazing SHUTTER. This one is described as a black sea green and it is spot on! Green is also normally a shade I avoid when it comes to nail polish, but not this time. This time I am all over green like you wouldn’t believe. SHUTTER is the least opaque of the three shades I tried, but it is still opaque. In the picture below you are again looking at just one coat As long as you get a good amount on your brush, you only need one coat. I think with how dark this one is, if you go with more than one coat, you have the potential to miss the green in this amazing shade!
And finally we have CROSSROADS. This is what I would call the ‘sleeper’ of the bunch. Described as African Violet, CROSSROADS is indeed a deep, dark, rich purple that brings a lot of class and sophistication to your nails this fall. In the photo below you are once again looking at one coat of nail polish. CROSSROADS is also very opaque shade and with this one, in order to catch all of its deep purple goodness, less is more!
WRONG TURN, SHUTTER, & CROSSROADS all have fairly large applicators. Normally I wouldn’t like this at all, but the larger applicator in this case really helps with getting a nice even polish application with just one coat. Just a tip! These polishes are really dark and you absolutely need a base coat before applying. They will stain your nails if you decide to go without it and that is not a cool look at all.
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Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick
“Every time I try to leave, something just keeps pulling me back…” Why yes, I did just quote song lyrics. Don’t judge me! But in all seriousness, that is how I feel when it comes to the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick... +
“Every time I try to leave, something just keeps pulling me back…” Why yes, I did just quote song lyrics. Don’t judge me! But in all seriousness, that is how I feel when it comes to the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick. I’ve already told you of my love for Melted Ruby and Melted Fig; well I’m right back here again to tell you of my love for Melted Berry!
I am not going to go into the formula because I have already done that in previous posts. What I am going to focus on today, is the colour! Melted Berry is described as ‘berry red’ and that very small description is pretty much spot on. Where Melted Fig was a cross between pink and purple, Melted Berry is a cross between Pink and Red. This makes me so happy because I have been looking for a colour like this one for a long time and haven’t managed to find it…until now that is.
The wear time on this one, like all of the shades from this range I have tried so far, is phenomenal. We are talking 8 hours. Really, it lasts until I decide to take it off. Even though there is a little fading in the centre of the lips after some time, the shade is such that the fading is not noticeable on my lips unless you look closely. It can be a little drying, but I find that using a little of Benefit’s Bene Balm over Melted Berry when it gets a little dry, softens it right up and doesn’t negatively impact the lipstick at all. I experienced absolutely no feathering or smudging of this shade. Once it was on, it was on and surprisingly there wasn’t a lot of transfer either while drinking and eating.
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Make Up For Ever Artist Liner
Launching this month, MAKE UP FOR EVER has released their new Artist Liners. Described as ‘a twist-up, gliding eye pencil that delivers intense colour payoff in a range of shades’ I have to say that I was super eager to try them out and put them... +
Launching this month, MAKE UP FOR EVER has released their new Artist Liners. Described as ‘a twist-up, gliding eye pencil that delivers intense colour payoff in a range of shades’ I have to say that I was super eager to try them out and put them to the test. Today I will be taking a look at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liner in I-22, Iridescent Turquoise.
First up, let’s talk about the formula. The Artist Liner has to be one of the most creamy eye liner formulas I have ever had the pleasure of using. It just glides right on with crazy insane colour payoff and there is no tugging at all. Considering just how irritated my eyes have been as of late, the no tugging during application is very appreciated.
When they said that the Artist Liner’s deliver intense colour payoff, they certainly weren’t kidding around. Before I even applied it to my eyes, I swatched it on my hand and I couldn’t get over just how bright it was. I-22 really lives up to the name Iridescent Turquoise and has a little shimmer that really works to make the colour pop out even more. Personally, I love this liner as an accent to an otherwise neutral eye and love applying it along my bottom waterline and lash line as my sold focus of colour on my eyes. The fact that while it is smudge proof, it can also be blended out upon application to create a smokey eye is a huge bonus.
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Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer
A few weeks ago I was roaming around my local Shoppers Drug Mart and I found myself stopped in front of the Rimmel London section. Up until then I had never really paid Rimmel London or their products any mind. I mean I know the brand spokeswomen... +
A few weeks ago I was roaming around my local Shoppers Drug Mart and I found myself stopped in front of the Rimmel London section. Up until then I had never really paid Rimmel London or their products any mind. I mean I know the brand spokeswomen is Kate Moss, which is enough for me to pass them right by, but their products have just never interested me. They have always struck me as particularly ‘cheap’ looking when it comes to packaging. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with things actually being cheap in terms of the money I need to spend to acquire it, but I do have a problem with the stuff I acquire looking cheap. So it came as a bit of a surprise when I found myself actually picking up some of the Rimmel London Apocalips to try out.
I selected three shades to test: 301 – Galaxy, which on me is a nice cool toned pink; 400 – Big Bang, which is a hot red; and 601 – Light Year, which is a very subtle neutral. While I love all three shades and can safely say that they look very good on me, what is a real let down for me is both the texture and the wear time. The texture makes me feel like I have plastic on my lips and every time I wear one of the Apocalips shades I end up checking and re-checking my lips throughout the day because I feel like it is getting all over the place. Basically, this stuff does not settle into the lips at all and just sits there on top. It also tends to move and I frequently find myself with lipstick where I didn’t actually apply it. Likewise, it transfers onto absolutely everything.
That also brings me to issue number two which is the wear time. For me, I am lucky if I am able to get three hours use out of these before I have to re-apply. I mean I always carry whatever lipstick I’m wearing with me so I can do touch-ups and reapplication as needed. I, however, have never had a product before that needed constant re-application like the Apocalips formula does. Frankly, it is quite annoying.
All in all, even though these only retail for roughly $11 CAD, I won’t be picking up anymore and more than likely throwing away the ones I do have. They formula is just far too problematic for me to keep trying to make use of them.
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