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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.
What I Bought This Month – March 2017 Haul
My haul is a little bit early this month for two reasons:
- I don’t anticipate myself buying anything more in the month of March (and even if I do, I’ll just hold it over till April).
- I didn’t have a review ready for today, so I thought I’d slot this in early!
The one thing I was the most excited for was definitely the brand new limited edition Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey palette. I have fallen deeply in love with its predecessor, the Peanut Butter and Jelly palette, and I was sooo anxious to get my hands on this one!
It’s an Ulta exclusive, so my wonderful friend Sara in Baltimore picked it up for me as a gift and shipped it up here! Sadly… the quality is nowhere near what the PB&J palette was and although I’ve only used it twice now, I’ve been very sad with how it performed. 🙁 Ah well, you can’t love them all!
Alongside the PB & Honey palette, Sara sent along a few more gift items (we exchange Christmas gifts) and this adorable cupcake bath fizzy was one of them. I’ve always been intrigued by these kind of cake looking bath bombs, but haven’t ever used one yet!
And the last item Sara put in my gift was this trio of Philosophy shower gels. I’ve mentioned before that I definitely do not need anymore shower gels in my life but I had told her how much I loved the holiday Philosophy ones so she grabbed me up a sweet set! I know I’ve used the Candy Cane one before, but I’m excited to try the other two scents since they’re completely new to me!
Since there were a few sales on at Ulta, Sara offered to grab me some items I was after. I think the Real Techniques duo pack of the sponges was around $9, but I’m not entirely sure since I paid her about four months ago for it. I always have a stockpile of these becuse they are the BEST!
Another thing I snapped up (via Sara) when they went on sale for the holiday season was the Too Faced Merry Macarons set (again, another Ulta exclusive item!).
As we’re all aware now, I’ve become a rather rabid Too Faced fan so I kind of feel like I need to own every single palette they put out. (I acknowledge that this is not only an expensive habit, but also kind of ridiculous.) It’s kind of pointless to talk about this item at this point since the holiday season is long gone, but I did buy it and just got it, so it’s worth mentioning!
And that’s it for the month! Looking back, I actually didn’t spent ANYTHING this past month – these items were all either gift products or something I paid for back in December! That’s kind of impressive actually…
Skincare Saturday: Philosophy Take A Deep Breath
Philosophy is a brand I’m only starting to delve into, although I’ve always found myself moderately obsessed with them from afar. Surely someone out there understands what I mean by that… I’ve tried a few samples over the years, always loved their packaging and really liked their holiday shower gel scents, etc., but I’ve never really just gone full in and tried the width and breadth of their products!
But I am now, and I’m enjoying myself! Let’s take a look at two products from their Take A Deep Breath range:
Okay. Let me start this review off with getting something out of the way:
I do not believe in eye creams.
There. I said it.
I don’t feel they do anything for you that your moisturizer can’t already execute on your skin. I feel like they’re just the exact same moisturizer as what you can get in the larger tube jar, just put in a far smaller container with a jacked up price. So, with that in mind, you’re obviously realizing by now that I’m never going to rate an eye cream as anything other than adequate (unless I actually see visible results… which has never actually happened).
So instead, let me tell you what the Take A Deep Breath Eye Cream was like:
- It’s a lightweight gel eye cream that was slippery, smooth and easy to apply.
- It felt nice on my skin and sank into my undereye area and lids very quickly (much appreciated).
- It did not have a scent (unlike its full face counterpart below).
- I like the nozzle tip because it keeps everything sanitary every single time you use it.
- I like the compact packaging – it’s easily squeezable.
My tolerance (or rather, lack thereof) for eye creams out of the way, let’s talk about the product that I *LOVED*! The Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygenating Gel Cream is… (oh god, I’m going to say it… and it’s going to be cheesy…) a breath of fresh air. (Stop laughing at me!) Philosophy‘s site tells me this is a a moisturizer for “all skin types that helps improve the visible signs of aging while restoring and refreshing skin”.
I was actually a bit skeptical about how well a gel cream would work on my drying out autumnal skin, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this was one of the more heavyweight gel creams I’ve ever tried. That’s not to say that it’s thick and oppressive on your skin – it’s definitely not – but it has some decided thickness to it that made me feel good about applying it to my face after a shower. I don’t think this will be thick enough for my dry skin in the dead of winter, but it’s definitely good for spring through autumn!
Unlike the eye cream, this moisturizer does have a scent. It’s a very clean, aquatic scent (my favourite!). If you’ve ever sniffed The Body Shop’s Fijian Water Lotus then you’ll already be acquainted with the scent because I found it to be identical!
So those are my two cents! I can take or leave the eye cream, but the Take A Deep Breath Gel Cream is absolutely wonderful! Let me know what your thoughts are on eye creams because clearly I’ve got a strong opinion on them! Also let me know what you’ve tried by Philosophy – I’m currently dabbling with their shower gels and I’m kind of head over heels!
You can pick up Philosophy‘s Take A Deep Breath range on sephora.ca or on sephora.com.
The products in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Empties – May through July 2014
Garbage time!
My empties bag has clearly since better days. Poor guy.
As per usual, makeup items first.
It’s a mascara graveyard here today. I had so many bite-sized mascara samples to use up and they got completely mauled throughout the last few months.
Anyway, back to the actual product. Benefit’s They’re Real is amazing. I’ve never given in to high end mascara hype because I don’t WANT to love the product. I really do not want to develop a habit of enjoying $30 mascara at all! However… My mom even thought I was wearing false lashes when I had this on. Having used this sample size, I have to say that there’s a high chance I’ll actually end up dishing out the money on this one in the future (once I run through all my deluxe mascara samples!).
Purchase? More than likely.
I used to love this mascara, but this time round the block L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara just didn’t cut it for me. I’ll leave it for a while and then revisit it in a year or so. Maybe.
Repurchase? Eventually.
A surprising favourite out of the bunch. MUFE’s Smoky Lash Extravagant builds up quite well and doesn’t clump. It dried up after a month or two though. I didn’t love it more than the Benefit one though.
Purchase? Unlikely.
No. Just no. Useless and dry.
Purchase? Hah. NO.
Love this. I’m one of the unfortunate people that NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base doesn’t actually work on its own to prevent creasing, but it does work in conjunction with Urban Decay‘s primer potion to kill all creasing so I love it for that reason. Word to the wise though, even when the wand pulls out nothing from the tube, cut that baby open and get out the remainder. There is MONTHS more product in there even after it feels empty.
Repurchase: Definitely.
Absolute favourite. Revlon’s Creme Brulee lip butter is my favourite nude lip. This is my second tube of the stuff and it’s one of the easiest lip shades to wear on my complexion.
Repurchase? More than likely.
*The* eyebrow shade for blondes. MAC‘s Omega has the right kind of grey tint to the powder that makes my eyebrows not look overly ridiculously blonde (not that I have much in the way of eyebrows to begin with). I loved this eyeshadow, but I’m currently plugging through my Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade to try something new because this eyeshadow lasted me longer than a year even with daily use!
Repurchase? Maybe eventually, but for now I’m having fun exploring other options.
Second… third maybe? tube of MAC’s Prep + Prime for lips. Fantastic for preventing lipsticks from bleeding outside my lipline.
Repurchase? Already have!
I didn’t notice Murad’s mattifier working especially well, but then I also noticed the expiry date was roughly four months prior to when I used it. Whoops. It also smelled like glue. Ew.
Purchase? No thanks.
Ohhhh yes. Barry M‘s Diamond Glitter nail polish had a lovely home on my toenails for about six months this past year. The bottle is dead empty now which is a shame since you can’t buy Barry M in Canada!
Repurchase? If I find myself in the UK again, I will *definitely* pick this one up!
I swear Quo is the only brand of nail polish remover I can ever find at the drugstore. I default to this because it’s there, it’s functional and it’s relatively cheap.
Repurchase? Yes, because I don’t know of anything better out there!
No shocker here. Neutrogena‘s makeup removing wipes are the only ones I use now. Definite preference to the hydrating ones.
Repurchase? For sho.
I’ve used several bottles of Neutrogena‘s makeup remover now and have another one cracked open. It doesn’t work as well on waterproof makeup as my Marcelle stuff did so I think I’ll be reverting back to the Marcelle one.
Repurchase? I have an open bottle, but aside from that I think I’m going to try something else out next time.
The foil packets of the lot.
MOR Hand Cream in Kale and Watercress smelled nice, but it’s a hand cream… Nothing amazing here.
Purchase? Pass.
Urban Decay‘s Anti-Aging Primer Potion is basically the same as the Original really. I didn’t notice it really having any anti-aging properties (I basically think that anything that claims that is utter hogwash really) so meh.
Purchase? I’ll just stick to the Original one I normally use.
FCS‘s whipped cream body butter is an awesome formula, however, their Captain’s Berried Booty scent was totally nauseating to me. It’s fruitloops and cardboard, basically.
Repurchase? Not in this scent!
Another FCS whipped cream. I liked their Tick Tock scent quite a bit. I have no idea how the scent relates to the Hunger Games, but anyway… it basically smells like clean laundry to me. Very detergent-y, but it doesn’t bother me.
Repurchase? I liked it, but not enough to repurchase it. There are other things I like more.
Sample size of Tree Hut‘s Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter. This was okay, but not amazing. The smell wasn’t really my cup of tea either.
Purchase? Nope.
This stuff isn’t fancy, or pretty, but oh man does it ever work. Dermal Therapy products are a godsend for anyone with incredibly dry skin. I get pretty scratchy elbows and ankles and this works miracles on them.
Repurchase? Definitely.
And this ganked up nasty jar is Dermal Therapy‘s Heel Care. The best thing EVER for heel cracks. This can repair the Grand-freaking-Canyon of heel cracks and make your heels look baby-butt smooth in the span of a week. I’m not kidding because I’ve seen it happen on me. (You’re welcome for that visual.)
Repurchase? Forever and a day.
Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk Hand Cream smells nice, but it’s super thick and super greasy.
Repurchase? Nah.
One of my usual cleansers. I like how this one has a cool tingle on the skin. I do find your skin gets used to that tingly feeling though, so I tend to swap out my cleansers pretty frequently.
Repurchase? Definitely.
Snagged this from a friend who didn’t want to finish it up. Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser is good but the scent is a little bizarre to me. This may be completely offputting to some, but it smelled faintly like cigarettes. Or like the afterburn of a cigarette. It truly wasn’t as gross as I’m making it sound, but there was that scent to it that was really hard to place.
Purchase? Maybe, if on sale.
FCS‘ first skincare item. I liked it at first, but the scent started to bother me over time. Nicely abrasive though.
Repurchase? Nah.
Another product I swiped from that same friend as before. Philosophy‘s Exfoliati
Purchase? Nope.
Dr. Brandt‘s Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant was AMAZING. It completely cured me of a milium spot I had on my lower left eyelid. This stuff packs a hefty price tag, but I fortunately received this sample size in an Ipsy bag. If I had milia again in the future though, I would absolutely pick this up even at the full price.
Repurchase? If necessary due to skin problems, then absolutely yes!
A staple daily moisturizer for me. The packaging’s all messed up though. I normally get the Radiant one, but this one says Clear Complexion in English… but Radiant in French! What the hell? They’re normally two different types!
Repurchase? Definitely. I’m almost done another bottle in the bathroom already.
I wouldn’t normally post hair stuff, but this came in an Ipsy bag so I thought I’d mention it. This is nothing more than a hair conditioner. I don’t feel it did anything extra special to my hair, even when I left it on for a good ten minutes in the shower.
Repurchase? Nope.
PHEW! That’s a lot of garbage to get through. Looking at some of these products, I kind of wish I’d saved them for Kalyn’s Sample Killah month. Darn!