Tag Archives: Bath & Body Works
VIDEO: May 2018 Beauty Favourites
Skincare Saturday: What’s In My Bathrooms?
I think we’re all a little bit curious as to what products people keep – be it in their bags, showers, makeup collection, etc. – so I thought I’d take you on a quick tour of my two bathrooms and the products I keep on the counters and in the medicine cabinets.
Sidenote: There’s a lot of PR products in here and most of them I’ve reviewed in the past. I’ll put a star (*) beside each product that was sent to me so you’ll know!
The first bathroom is our guest bathroom and, out of the two we have, it’s the one we use the least (which means it stays clean the longest!).
I like the idea of keeping a fairly clean counter in the guest bathroom (our ensuite is much different) so I don’t have a ton of stuff on display. Tis the season for Live Clean holiday hand soaps, so I’ve got their Vanilla Peppermint hand soap* out for use. I also keep the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Lotion* out in case someone is feeling dehydrated and needs a skin boost.
In my opinion, no bathroom is complete without Q-tips and cotton rounds, so those are there as well!
It’s a little bit empty inside the mirrored medicine cabinet, but that’s fine by me! I’ve got a handy Febreze in there because no one likes to leave a bathroom feeling ashamed (more specifically… in someone else’s house!) and honestly that Febreze is about six years old at this point. Those things last forever!
I’ve also got some QUO nail polish remover – I always opt for the hydrating ones if I can find them. Some more lotion in there – Avon‘s Skin So Soft Aqua Express* (love the smell of this one!) and the Be Delectable Hand Cream. Since I also wash my makeup brushes in the guest bathroom, I’ve also got a huge bottle of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo which is my go-to for makeup brush cleaning.
Time to move on to our ensuite and this one is a lot more jam packed with products! Once again with the Q-tips and cotton rounds, but this time I’ve got a Bath & Body Works hand soap in Crisp Morning Air which is one of my favourite autumnal scents.
To the right of the sink is a lineup of products that I use daily… or that I try to use up (namely some of the hair stuff).
- The Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads* are one of my favourite quick face washes. The pads come soaked with face wash and have a textured side so you can really scrub at your face.
- Dermal Therapy Heel Care is VITAL to me. I get heel cracks and this is the only product that will heal them.
- Bioderma Micelle Solution in Hydrabio* – an absolute daily necessity for me. Helps to clean up my makeup mistakes and great for removing any makeup or oil residue at the end of the day.
- Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Soap – I usually wash my face in the shower (where I keep another face wash), but if I’m not showering that day I’ll reach for this face wash. It’s kinda neat – it foams up like shaving cream, and thankfully does not smell like eggs!
- Infusium 23 Leave-in Conditioner*: LOVE this stuff. I was a huge fan of the shampoo and conditioner, but I used those up a while ago. So now I’m finishing up the leave-in conditioner which I spray on my hair when I’m out of the shower. Helps detangle my very-much-in-need-of-a-haircut, far-too-long-hair right now!
- Sun Bum Sea Spray* – I love using this during the summer to give me some crunchy, salty beach waves!
- Living Proof Instant Texture Mist – Not a huge fan of this one, so I’m trying to use it up. I much prefer the volumizing cream.
- Sunsilk Thermashine leave in conditioner: This is actually a bottle of water that I use to wet my hair if I got a kink in it and need to re-style it. I miss Themasilk/Sunsilk though. They were my absolute favourite hair brand through the 90s and 00s.
- Pantene hairspray – I’m not fussy when it comes to hairspray so I just buy the biggest can out there and it lasts me forever since I only use it when I curl my hair.
Straight into the medicine chests! There’s a hell of a lot in here, so I’ll keep it brief. I’ll also only be mentioning the products that are mine (which uh…. is most of them).
- Secret Deodorant: Spring Breeze is my favourite scent and I haven’t strayed from it in about a decade!
- Sekkisei Enriched Lotion*: Using this as my daily toner. It seems fine, but I don’t notice much of a difference in my skin. I do like using toners for some reason though.
- Lierac Hydragenist Spray*: I don’t use this super often, but it’s a great hydrating spray when you need an extra boost.
- Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Oil: It works really well at breaking up makeup, but I do notttt like the smell of it.
- Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes: The BEST makeup remover in the world, hands down. Been using this for more than ten years and they had better continue to make this throughout my entire lifespan!
- MAC Cleansing Oil: Tiny baby sample I got with one of my orders.
And the last two shelves… phew!
- Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream*: I use it… but I have no idea if it’s doing anything like removing wrinkles. It does help to rehydrate my eyes if I’ve worn makeup too much that day though.
- Bioderma Hydrabio Gel-Creme*: Super moisturizing. I tend to put this on on days where I don’t wear makeup.
- The Body Shop Drops of Youth – Youth Concentrate Serum*: Just trying to use this serum up. It’s okay, but it tightens my pores and I’m not a huge fan of that sensation.
- tarte Lip Facial* and Mary Kay Satin Lips*: Two lip scrubs I just pulled out but haven’t used yet (just finished my Lush one the night before).
- Korres Wild Rose Face Oil*: Almost done with this one and I really like it! It’s lightweight so you can wear this one throughout the summer as well. I usually apply it a few times a week at night.
- Maison Jacynthe Eau Florale de Lavande*: I’m not huge into lavender, but the scent of this is refreshing and soothing. I occasionally mist my face with it in the mornings for a boost.
- Embryolisse Emulsion Hydra-Mat*: This stuff is WILD. Super moisturizing but also mattifying. I don’t know how that works, but it does!
- Bioderma Hydrabio Creme*: Feeling seriously dehydrated? This is the moisturizer for you! I only apply this at night because it’s SO thick and does’t play well under makeup.
- Philosophy Take A Deep Breath*: This is a lovely gel cream that is my current daily moisturizer. It works really well under makeup, smells nice and is hydrating.
- Embryolisse Eclat du Regard*: Super buttery eye cream that I’ve used a handful to times, but will be in full rotation when I finish up the Clinique one
Phew! That’s it! When I thought of this idea for a post, I hadn’t really stopped to consider just how many products I have in my bathrooms! Hope you liked the quick tour of the products I’m currently using on the daily. 🙂
Post contains affiliate links.
Empties – February 2014
Nope, not a La Senza haul, instead this is a product empties post and that big ole La Senza bag just happens to house all of them.
Having never really saved my empty products until I created this blog, I was a bit surprised that I had enough empties for another blog post only three months after my last one. I’m only posting products I’d actually haul – so you’re not going to be seeing shampoos and toothpaste in here.
First up are the actual makeup products, because I know that’s what interests me most when I read these kinds of posts.
These are my two staple mascaras. The CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara is probably my favourite out of the two of them, but even though this is the water resistant formula (a true waterproof one doesn’t actually exist in this formula) is really isn’t water resistant at all. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating, if you get water near your lashes while wearing this, it will definitely run or smear. That being said, the formula really is fantastic and it’s worth wearing – although I stick to the summer months when my eyes are less likely to tear up.
During the winter, or when I need a truly waterproof mascara, I’ll use L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. I always come back to this formula, but I definitely prefer it when it’s in the “wet-er” stages, which is within the first month of opening a new tube. I’m currently using another tube of the L’Oreal one right now.
Verdict:
CoverGirl Clump Crusher (water-resistant) – definite re-buy
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black (waterproof) – definite re-buy
The Revlon Lip Butter in Cherry Tart is a beautiful shade on the lips, it goes on smooth and looks rather glossy. The wear time is about average for a balm (~1.5 hours before you need to re-apply) so don’t expect this to be a particularly long lasting product. I’ve used up as much as I can get out of the tube without actually digging into the bottom of the bullet (can’t be bothered really). While it’s lovely on the lips, I’ve also grown rather tired of the maintenance required with non-long-lasting lip colours so while I like the colour, I just don’t have the patience to keep touching up my lip colour every hour or so.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy
These Ardell 102 Demis are my favourite false lashes to wear and I have certainly worn these to death. I don’t wear false lashes often (once or twice a month, if even) and I believe I got about 8-10 uses out of these. They’re starting to look rather gungy (not to mention they’re also quite old) so it was time to just throw these out and start in on a fresh pair.
Verdict: Definite re-buy – I’ve already got another set waiting in the wings!
This Jack Black balm was included in my Products I Want To Use Up In 2014 post, and I’m happy to have finished it. You can see remnants in the tube, but I really can’t squeeze anymore of it out. This product was… adequate. I don’t feel it did much for my lips, neither helpful nor destructive, it was just kind of there. It was great for protecting against windburn throughout the winter since its main ingredient is petrolatum. The thing I liked most about this product is that it comes in a squeezy tube, which makes it easy to apply. I’m not a germaphobe at all, and double dipping in my potted lip products really doesn’t bother me from a hygienic point of view, but I reaIly wish more lip products came like this if only because it’s so much easier to apply on the go.
Verdict: Unlikely to purchase again
I know sample size empties are hardly exciting, but sometimes they’re worth mentioning for that first impression.
Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer – Won’t buy full size
I used this just for the sake of using it. I didn’t notice it affecting how long my foundation lasted on my skin, but then again I’m not prone to foundation just sliding right off my face in the first place.
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden – not sure what to think…
I’m not sure what to think about this. I started using this primer right around the time where even my Original UDPP started creasing on me (which shocked and frightened me, to be perfectly honest), so my only exposure to Eden is to say that it creased on me. But so did my usual primer at the time. So maybe it was a weird hormonal fluctuation in my skin, but this didn’t work out for me at the time that I used it.
L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond – won’t buy full size
Smelled like almonds and worked well but it’s pricey and not a scent I’d usually pay a lot of money.
Illamasqua Hydra Veil – possible purchase
My first exposure to a gel moisturizer – this felt SO COOL. When I think of gels (of any kind), I think of alcohol, so I didn’t really understand how the heck this was going to moisturize my skin. This felt really neat on the skin and I *loved* the smell of it. However, at the $48 CAD price point, I’d have to be gifted this because I’m perfectly happy with my Aveeno facial moisturizer and that is way too steep of a price in my books.
Laura Mercier Face Polish – won’t buy full size
This felt cool to use, but it’s not something I really need or want. The granules in the polish are so small that they actually feel kind of soothing as you rub it into your wet skin.
Nourish Organic Face Lotion – will avoid for life
The smell became rather sickening after a while and after this dried down on my face it felt like I had a thin mask over my face that I had to crack just by moving my features around. Unpleasant all around.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – won’t buy full size
Just like the Clinique one, I don’t find this foundation primer actually did anything for my makeup. /shrugs
I used the pants out of this China Glaze shade. Kiwi Cool-Ada was a matte neon polish (use a top coat to get some shine) that just glowed in the daylight. Since the polish went on rather streaky, you usually needed about three coats before it looked perfect.
Verdict: Possible re-buy, but I’d rather use up some of my other polishes first.
Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes has been my go-to makeup remover for years and years. It’s an oil-based remover (shake before using) which, of course, ensures that it’ll take off any and all waterproof makeup. I find this works just as well as MAC‘s makeup remover (the one in the red/pink tube), if not better, and at almost half the price. Since the Marcelle normally runs around $15, I usually wait for a sale at Shoppers and/or buy it when it’s in the larger bonus size bottle (like the one above – 33% more product). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve been using this remover for well over six years now and haven’t found anything better.
Verdict: Forever repurchase
It’s hard to vocalize just how disgusting these Make-Up Cleansing Tissues from Absolute! are. I saw on the Ipsy forums that someone referred to these as smelling like beer… and they nailed it. In my original Ipsy review, I said that they smelled like some kind of alcoholic fruity drink, and I was kind of close, but also off the mark. These smell like beer that has gone rancid. They don’t smell like pomegranate, that’s for sure. And they don’t even work that well either – removing waterproof mascara was a nightmare and I’m fairly certain I pulled out more lashes than I actually cleaned. (Let it be known that it also said on the packaging that it would remove waterproof mascara.)
Verdict: You couldn’t PAY me to use these again – avoid like the plague
The Body Shop Body Butters are legendary – I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard of someone disliking them. They’re thick, moisturizing and these two in particular, Satsuma andCoconut
Verdict: Love these and will definitely repurchase at some point.
I picked up Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre while vacationing in France in 2012 (picked up a few tubes actually, this was my last one) because I’d heard so many people rave about it. And it’s… okay. It’s not especially expensive (under 10 euros I think), which is rather nice, and cheaper, than my usual facial moisturizer. It feels kind of fancy to say you use French skincare that you bought in France… but the reality is that I didn’t notice anything different about my skin after using this cream. It smelled like generic “unfragranced” skincare and goes on smoothly.
Verdict: Will repurchase if I’m in Europe again.
This Bath & Body Works lotion in Midnight Pomegranate took me forever to use up. It’s one of the mini bottles, but the scent was so strong that it was actually incredibly overpowering when I used this a few times at the office (just ask my coworkers from several offices over). I was happy to finish this up (and I’m still struggling with the 3-wick candle I have in the same scent, although I have to say the candle is far less powerful than the lotion) but it’s not something I can say I really enjoyed. The lotion is on the thin side and really didn’t seem to do anything other than fragrance my skin.
Verdict: Won’t repurchase
I was given this Lindesa hand cream as a gift and I believe it came from a German Christmas market. The cream seems to contain a substantial amount of beeswax, so it could feel pretty heavy on the hands. The smell was really nice, although mild, and it was a great moisturizer for when my hands were on the drier side.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy since I have no idea where to even get it!
I never see any Sabon products mentioned in the beauty world but I love their products so much. I first discovered them in New York City about seven years ago by accident. They also have a location in Toronto, but it’s nowhere especially close to where I live. Anyway, this Body Gel Polisher is fantastic, it’s a full body exfoliant, but you don’t need a ton of product to get the desired effect. I quite like the Lemon Mint smell, although I’ve been told my others who got a whiff of it that they can’t stand the smell of it – to each their own!
Verdict: Will repurchase when convenient.
Not an especially exciting empties roundup, but I was happy to empty out my bag of garbage!
What I Bought This Month – January 2014 Haul
I know what you’re going to say. “You said last month you weren’t going to buy anything makeup-related until March!” I know I did, but I’ve got an excuse! My birthday was this past month and I was gifted almost everything I’m about to include in this post. Everything will have prices just so you’ll have an idea if you’re interested in some of them, but I’m only taking blame for some of these items! 😉
On with the loot!
This item was actually a replacement (in my eyes) for my returned Illamasqua palette. I’ve been wanting to pick up a 3D, disco-like glitter for ages now. I had wanted MAC‘s 3D Silver Glitter, but never got around to picking it up. I saw this while at Sephora and decided why the heck not and picked up MUFE‘s Glitter in 13. I am eternally in love with this kind of silver glitter with a rainbow sparkle to it. This is the kind of glitter I always have painted on my toes and I definitely wanted something similar to use on my face. I’ve not had the opportunity to use it yet, but I’m excited to!
I picked up this Joe Fresh Beauty Rose Gloss in Peach while I was out one day and didn’t have a lip balm on me. THIS THING IS AWFUL. Run away. Run FAR away and never ever buy one of these. First of all, it smells horrible. Fake, plastic and completely unpleasant. It also clumps up on the lips and causes horrible strings when you open your mouth. This gloss has no redeeming factors whatsoever. I mean, just look at this horrible picture. It looks like something out of a horror movie. Ugh.
I quickly depotted it and threw the contents out. I’ll use the pot for something else. Bleugh.
I spotted these Neutrogena wipes on sale so I snatched them up. Adding to my stack of four other unopened packs of wipes in my bathroom linen closet. /facepalm
This stuff is amazing. A dear friend of mine made some body butter for me! (You can find her at www.alidoesit.ca, or you can find a direct link to her recipe here.) The label rubbed off, but I believe she said it was Orange Whip Lotion. She also indicated she “messed up” the recipe and it came out thicker than she intended. Well to hell with her mess up, because I really love just how thick this moisturizer is! It’s far closer to a body butter, which is just all the better in my opinion. To me, I don’t get so much of the scent of orange, but I do get the scent of a million wildflowers rolled into a single mason jar. It’s as if you got dumped into a field of flowers and sniffed them all up at once. The smell is incredible. Not to mention it feels wonderful on the skin. Because the ingredients are all natural, it won’t last as long as some storebought lotions simply because it doesn’t have all the chemical additives in it. That being said, it won’t matter because I’m about halfway done the jar already!
This is definitely one I bought with my own money. This Physicians Formula Shimmer Strip in Sunset Strip was marked down 60% off and the tag indicated it was on clearance and their stock wouldn’t be replenished. Having always wanted to pick up one of these but had always balked at the enormous price tag in Canada (seriously, these are over $20 at the drugstore here), I panicked and purchased this because I was worried I’d never get the opportunity to test it out since it was on clearance.
Having a rather nice gift card to Sephora, I picked up a few items I had been lusting over. The first was this Living Proof Full Thickening Cream for hair. I had used a small sample of it and loved the effects and the smell of it. I then went into the Sephora, picked it up, brought it to the counter and was floored at the price tag. $32 for this thing and it is SMALL. I should’ve photographed it against my hand to give you an idea of size… but seriously, it is really dinky. I do love it, and I’ll use it up, but I’ll have to see whether or not it’s worth repurchasing at that steep price.
Another one I picked up from Sephora and my very first NARS product is an eyeshadow duo in Mediteranee. I’m curious to see how NARS compares to other brands I’ve used especially when I consider the sticker price. I’m a sucker for oranges and the shade on the left is slightly gold tinted so I’m excited to use this one.
Annnnd my next item from NARS (from Sephora). This one was absolutely necessary – allow me to explain. In the last two weeks, I don’t know what the heck has happened, but suddenly my Urban Decay Primer Potion doesn’t seem to be working as well as it used to. I’ve had a few days in a row where my eyeshadow almost completely creased off by the end of the work day. I’m in kind of a slight panic about it because I’m used to being able to put on eyeshadow at 7 am with UD‘s primer and have it last until midnight if it was a particularly long day.
I’d heard that NARS‘ primer was the absolute best for oily eyelids so I figured this must be a step up from UDPP. I don’t have an especially oily face really – I don’t powder my face, I don’t even usually have to wear foundation or anything mattifying, but I figure I must have oily eyelids to cause all my eyeshadows to crease. I’ve only tried it a few times with inconclusive results (some days it didn’t crease, some days I had minor creasing). I really, REALLY hope this works for me because having to worry about creased eyeshadow after having had years of no problems with UDPP is making me really, really nervous.
I was in Winners one day and stumbled over some Real Techniques with amazing price tags attached to their shiny packages. I’ve mentioned my lack of brushes previously and had intended to pick these sets up while in the US, but when I saw that these were cheaper than even what they sell in the US, I decided it wasn’t worth waiting to spend the money.
Everyone’s seen these, so I’ll be brief. This is Real Techniques‘ Travel Essentials set. It includes a foundation brush, an eyeshadow blending brush and a large powder brush.
RT‘s Starter Set includes two eyeshadow blending brushes (seriously, they’re too fat to do anything other than blend stuff on your face), a very small detail brush, a liner brush (there’s no way you can use this one for liner by the way, it’s way too big) and an angled brush that they’ve labeled as one for your eyebrows.
I love my other Real Techniques brushes so I’m excited to use these!
The Summer, Sky and Air scents from Bath & Body Works are a new addition to their regular line although I’m not sure if they’re limited edition. As a result of them being so new, they’re all on sale for roughly half price. I’m not sure how long this promotion will last, but snatch them up quickly if you like the scent. I really love the one I grabbed which is the Violet Lily Skyscent. I’m not even going to try to describe it other than to say that I really like it. I picked up the diamond shimmer version because I’m a sucker for anything with sparkle or glitter. Unfortunately, I’ve been wearing it the past few days and the scent disappears really quickly which is frustrating (it seems to be gone after an hour or two). The small sparkles stick around for a while on your skin though, so that’s quite nice.
If you’re familiar with B&BW‘s previous shimmer mist, then you’ll wonder if the new bottle (this time labeled Diamond Shimmer Mist) is actually bigger. I know it sure looked bigger to me, but as it turns out both bottles have 236ml of product, so you’re still getting the same amount, despite the change in packaging. I will say that the previous Shimmer Mist I had, the Warm Vanilla Sugar one, lasts a lot longer on the skin and I think the shimmer particles are slightly larger than the new diamond mist ones. Either way, it’s a fun product to have!
For a “no buy” month I sure did end up with a decent number of products!