Although I’ve been a big fan of Bioderma‘s micelle solution for quite a long time, it’s only recently that I’ve started to delve into more of their products. I was first introduced to the Hydrabio line by Bioderma via their micelle solution from the same line and so far this Hydrabio Serum is a frontrunner in that lineup for me!
This isn’t a picture heavy post because it really is just a singular product, but man, is it ever a good one. The Hydrabio Serum is designed to retrain the skin to moisturize itself. It has a frothy gel-like consistency that smells AMAZING to me – in fact, the whole Hydrabio line, it has a fresh, aquatic scent that is especially pleasing to me. (Please note the product does indicate that it contains allergen-free fragrance.)
Bioderma Hydrabio Serum with handy pump top!
“Developed in the BIODERMA Research laboratories, the Aquagenium biological patent found in Hydrabio retrains the skin to activate its natural moisturising capacities by stimulating the production of aquaporins, water channels in the skin, and retain the water it needs to be balanced.”
Bioderma suggests you can use this in conjunction with your moisturizer, but I’ve found that it’s not really necessary – the Hydrabio Serum is more than enough to plump up my skin and renew moisture to it. I even love the pump bottle – one pump delivers enough product to cover my entire face.
If you’ve got dry skin and need to bump up your moisture level, I’d definitely give the Bioderma Hydrabio Serum a shot – it’s worked out so well for me!
The product featured in this review was sent to me for consideration.
LOVEFRESH is a brand I’m completely unfamiliar with but it’s one I want to get to know better. I was gifted their Pear Scrub when I went for my waxing at Smooth Wax Bar because they recommended it as a great scrub for keeping my legs exfoliated in the coming weeks.
LOVEFRESH Pear Scrub
I was intrigued by this brand because they’re local to Toronto and it feels important to support the local guy. (They do ship across Canada and the US though!) They describe themselves as “Toronto-based luxury line of fun and natural beauty products that will keep your skin glowing. Lovefresh was founded by Stacey Davis on the premise that you could have beautiful, glowing skin using all-natural products, that would be as luxurious as they would be healthy for the body. What began as a “kitchen chemistry” experiment in Davis’ Toronto home soon evolved into the creation of a complete line of all natural, non-toxic and highly effective body care products – offering an “easy luxury” experience. Every Lovefresh recipe is formulated with the best ingredients from local and global sources, including layered notes of beautiful, fresh-smelling scents.”
LOVEFRESH Pear Scrub
LOVEFRESH has an enormous collection of wonderful sounding smells, but I received the Pear Scrub option. While the scent is not necessarily to my tastes (I’m currently eyeballing the Pink Grapefruit & Tangerine one!), I can definitely vouch for the product itself. The scrub is full of sugar particles enveloped in oil to keep your skin hydrated. It’s gentle enough for daily use and it definitely left me with very soft feeling skin. It’s quite a sticky/solid paste when I first applied to my skin, so I was pleasantly surprised at just how much of the oil ended up adhering to my skin. The oil does linger for a while, but I liked that because it meant I didn’t need to apply moisturizer once I got out of the shower.
I’m also pretty pleased with how enormous the tub of scrub is. It may set you back $30 CAD, but you’re getting 16 ounces of product which is far larger than any other scrub in my household!
Let me know if you’ve tried anything by LOVEFRESH. I’d love to hear about your experiences and favourite products!
All LOVEFRESH products can be purchased on their web site at lovefresh.com.
SABON is not a company I see spoken about often. Heck, I didn’t even know they existed myself until I stumbled upon them one fateful day in New York City many years ago…
That sounds dramatic, but I really just want to tell you a story about how I discovered this brand. I was visiting my university roommate in New York City a long time ago and I was left to my own devices one afternoon. I made my way over to Magnolia Bakery (of Sex and the City fame) for my first ever taste of their much loved cupcakes. I got myself a cupcake and started wandering around the area.
SABON Body Scrub in Lemon Mint
After devouring my cupcake, my hands were covered in icing and I was feeling sticky and kind of gross. I couldn’t touch anything without leaving a sticky smear on my clothing! Suddenly, some woman came out of nowhere as I was wandering down a street and asked me if I wanted to come into her shop and have my hands washed. I looked around slightly confused… I hadn’t been complaining about having dirty hands and I wasn’t wiping my hands off on myself in disgust, so why on earth would she ask me that question? Hell if I cared, I needed to clean my hands!
SABON Body Scrub in Lemon Mint
So this woman invited me in to SABON and did a whole ritual on my hands. She first scrubbed them with a hand polisher, then lathered them up with hand soap, rinsed them and followed it up with a butter hand cream. I was smitten. Not only had this lady helped me in my time of need (seriously, my hands felt so gross) but the products were not only nice smelling, but the packaging was gorgeous. My hands were left feeling clean and silky soft!
And like… just look at this hand washing station:
Photo from novayorkevoce.com
Gorgeous! The whole place just has this old world apothecary type feel that I just love. So that’s the story of how I discovered SABON! Their luxurious bath products are all excellent (I’ve tried a lot of them) although a bit on the pricier side (I don’t care, I’ll gladly pay it!). Sadly, their locations are pretty scarce. There used to be one in Toronto (which I found out when I was in New York) but it’s long since shut down. 🙁
SABON Body Scrub in Lemon Mint
My absolute favourite product by SABON is this Body Scrub in Lemon Mint ($35 USD). The product itself is a wonderfully abrasive scrub that has fine particles in it that help to slough off dead skin. But the scent… the scent is what gets me every time. It smells refreshingly aquatic and clean. It’s so delightful that this is probably my fifth tub of this scrub.
I kind of love how I discovered this brand by accident in such a wonderful way. It was such a random incident and one I’ve thought about a lot over the years. If you ever spot a SABON, go in and get your hands washed. 🙂
So, as I was sitting down to write this post and make sure I had the details right for it, I realized I was actually reviewing a foot scrub that’s part of a whole pedicure set (see that whole she-bang here). But it was the foot scrub that really wowed me, so I’m talking about that aspect of the set!
Mary Kay Into The Garden Foot Scrub
This is Mary Kay‘s limited edition spring 2016 Into The Garden Foot Scrub. And it’s truly like any other foot scrub – it has a thick creamy texture with some medium sized particles in it that help to slough off dead skin. Realistically, this isn’t going to do much on my severely callused and roughed up feet (thank you soccer and long-distance running!), but it does FEEL really, really nice. Anyone with less roughed up feet than mine would find this is a scrub that works well because the beads are abrasive enough without being harmful. I found my feet felt weirdly polished. Not something I’ve ever felt before!
Mary Kay Into The Garden Foot Scrub
The part that really got me about the Into The Garden Foot Scrub is the scent of it. It’s not overpoweringly “I AM OLD WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR” (aka smells like potpourri and cloying flowers) – instead, it smells like a fresh garden grove that leans more towards the scent of grass than it does flowers. And I LOVE that. I personally smell hints of mint and lime, but I can’t find a scent list for it, so that’s just a guess.
The Into The Garden Foot Scrub is actually part of Mary Kay‘s Pedicure Set which also contains foot fizzies, an emery board and toe separators and retails for $35 CAD.
The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration.
There’s something to be said for a place that prides itself on doing one thing, and doing it well. Smooth Wax Bar Toronto in Liberty Village (located at 110 Atlantic Avenue, 416.516.9229) got their roots started in London, Ontario, two years ago and have just now opened their Toronto location. They don’t do anything else except remove hair from your body. No manicures. No pedicures. No facials. Only wax. Do one thing, and do it well, right?
Smooth Wax Bar- Toronto – having my full legs done
I was kindly invited out to have a waxing of my choice done. After perusing their site for a while, I opted for full legs. A bit of background on my body hair (cuz I’m sure you were just dying to know): I have very fine, nearly translucent body hair. I can often get away with shaving once every one to one and a half weeks even during the summer. In the shot above, I’ve actually got about two weeks of hair growth on my legs (as this shot was taken before I got waxed) but you really can’t see anything cuz there isn’t much to see.
Thighs done first!
So here’s how it went down. My waxologist, Liette, was probably the nicest person I’ve ever met (and I’m someone who struggles to talk to hair dressers, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to go). She had this air about her that just made me immediately comfortable. As I’d never actually had a wax before, she walked me through every detail. She started with my thighs, which I was pleasantly surprised to find out didn’t hurt nearly as much as I was expecting. I asked her about this and she confirmed that areas that have more fat deposits on them are places that tend to hurt less. As she moved down my legs, the pain levels definitely went up, but at no point was it even remotely unmanageable. My lower legs, particularly around the ankle, was the most uncomfortable area to wax. Liette pinpointed how it was an “angry” pain that a person feels when that area gets ripped off. And she’s totally right – in that split second when the wax strip comes off, you’re absolutely freaking livid. It was kind of hysterical actually. Overall, I was pleasantly impressed with how LITTLE pain I actually did feel throughout the entire process. She was quick, efficient, friendly and easy to talk to. What more could you ask for from someone who’s ripping your hair out by the follicle?
Lower legs done last
I was also super impressed that my legs never turned red, my hair follicles never rebelled, and I was essentially left with quite content skin. And it may have something to do with their imported waxes from Australia that are “specially made to reduce the ouch. The hard wax is made of all natural bees wax and is infused with the highest quality polymers. It also contains titanium dioxide and Micro Mia for superior skin protection. They carry a second hard wax that we refer to as their Superhero wax because it can remove even the most stubborn hairs as short as 1mm.”
I will say though that since my hair is so fine, the wax that was used on me was not strong enough to pick up some of the tiniest baby hairs, so I was left with a little bit of stubble even the next day. Make sure you let them know what kind of hair you have so they can use the right kind of wax on you! (I didn’t know any better frankly, but I will for next time! I probably could’ve done with growing out my leg hair for longer than two weeks too.)
Wax Bar
Smooth‘s pricing also didn’t make me gasp with shock, so that’s always a pleasant surprise (check out their price list on their site). Additionally, their Smoothaholic Membership gives you 20% off any service and is perfect for those who are hooked on staying smooth all year round. They also have something called a “Bar Tab” that are for people who want savings but need flexibility (if you prepay for six services, you get the seventh for free).
Smooth Wax Bar – Toronto
So here’s the kicker, Smooth Wax Bar has given me a promo code for my readers. If you use the promo code “makeupyourmind” you’ll receive 25% off any service until March 31, 2016. If you were considering getting waxed for the first time, or want to try out a new location, why not take advantage of 25% off? (I receive no compensation for this, this is strictly a freebie for you guys!)
Let me know if you go and give it a shot! And feel free to ask me any questions in the comments. I was a waxing newbie myself, but I feel like I’ve got a much better grasp on the process now!
