Category Archives: Reviews

Skincare Saturday: First Aid Beauty

September 19, 2015Events, Reviews, SkincareFirst Aid BeautyChelle

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First Aid Beauty is one of those brands that I kept meaning to try but just never got around to it. Imagine my delight when I was invited to an event at Sephora’s Toronto Eaton Centre location where the actual creator of the brand, Lilli Gordon, was going to be present! An introduction to First Aid Beauty by the creator herself? Heck yeah, I’m in!

Lilli Gordon - creator of First Aid Beauty — Lilli Gordon – creator of First Aid Beauty

The blogger event was for whoever was able to make it during the weekday at midday. I’m lucky that I work in Toronto’s downtown core, so I have easy access to the Eaton Centre at all times! About ten of us got to meet and greet with Lilli Gordon (and fawn over the cute dougnuts) in Sephora’s back room.

As per their web site: In 2009, Lilli Gordon launched First Aid Beauty (AKA FAB). Lilli, a beauty industry veteran, found herself surrounded by products that worked but felt like medicine, felt great but were not effective, or smelled wonderful but made her sensitive skin red and irritated. Lilli created First Aid Beauty to provide highly effective yet luxurious products that treat everyday beauty and skincare challenges.

First Aid Beauty products are free of harsh chemicals and known allergens, including parabens, phthalates, alcohol, fragrances and artificial dyes.

We were gifted their top three best sellers which was not only generous, but also really exciting. What better way to try out a brand than by using their number one sellers?

First Aid Beauty - Ultra Repair Cream — First Aid Beauty – Ultra Repair Cream

Let’s start with the one I haven’t used yet (I’ve got a backlog of moisturizers to get through). This dense Ultra Repair Cream has no scent and provides intense hydration for dry parched skin. As with all First Aid Beauty products, this is safe for sensitive skin. While I’ve not had the opportunity to try it out yet, I will absolutely be putting this tub to work in the winter months when my skin starts to dry out.

First Aid Beauty - Face Cleanser — First Aid Beauty – Face Cleanser

The Face Cleanser is what it says it is – a facial cleanser. It feels very, very gentle when I use it and it doesn’t dry out my skin. I’ve been using it religiously for about two weeks or so now and I’ve not noticed a difference in my face (that’s a good thing – I don’t have bad skin) which is always a plus. It is unscented, however I will say it has one of those weird “unscented” scents. It’s a bit on the sour side which is unappealing to me, but I think I’m just a bit sensitive to stuff like that. It’s not a foul “gone off” smell, just an unscented scent, if you know what I mean.

First Aid Beauty - Radiance Pads — First Aid Beauty – Radiance Pads

The Facial Radiance Pads are the ones I’ve been using the most. They’re intended to exfoliate, tone and brighten your skin. I use them primarily after I’ve removed my makeup with oil and need to still clean up my face. These pads work wonders to remove any remaining bits of makeup and leave my skin feeling fresh. There’s even a scrubby side on one side of the pad which helps really dig into my pores to remove every last inch of makeup (I was actually surprised just how much more makeup came off my face when I started using these – I thought the oil I was using had obliterated everything!). I also don’t feel the need to use a moisturizer after using these, which probably has something to do with the fact that they don’t contain any alcohol.

So that’s my first look at First Aid Beauty products! Have you tried any of their products? Is there anything in particular you really love that you’d like to recommend to me?

This post features press samples provided for consideration.

Lip Balms of the Moment

September 9, 2015Makeup, Reviews, Reviews, SkincareBite Beauty, eos, Labello, Nivea, Nuxe, SoftlipsChelle

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I like lip balms. I like a LOT of lip balms. In fact, I keep a freaking container full of them on my nightstand for easy access when I’m going to bed. Like seriously, look at that jar on the left above – that’s all lip balm!

As someone who wears a lot of matte lipsticks, I’ve found that keeping my lips moisturized is the best way to ensure that I don’t have any flaky patches of skin on my mouth and that my lips can recuperate from being dried out all the time. I tend to wear most of my lip balms overnight so that they can sink in to my lips and not get wiped off by eating or drinking.

So here’s a roundup of all the balms I’m loving right now.

Nivea lip butter in Vanilla & Macadamia, Lobello lip butter in Coconut

So little did I know, but apparently Nivea and Labello are the same company. I picked up the Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia while I was on vacation in Galway, Ireland (and as a result, the scent of it always reminds me of Galway which really just makes it incredibly special to me!) and I grabbed the Coconut scent in Vienna, Austria last year. Both of them have the same very thick, slippery consistency and smell absolutely delicious. I tend to prefer using these overnight because they leave quite a bit of a white-cast on your lips which isn’t so flattering during the day. I love these so much that I’m almost done the Vanilla & Macadamia and I’ve previously finished a Caramel Kiss one!

Now this is a luxurious lip balm! Nuxe‘s Reve de Miel lip balm was such a surprise when I opened it – I was expecting it to smell honey but instead it has a very lemon-y scent. I love lemons though, so that works out of me! With a name like “Dream of Honey” though… the last thing I was expecting was lemon! This balm is wonderful and perfect for the cooler, drier months (if we ever get there that is. Toronto’s been rocking the 30Cs lately. Ugh.) to keep your lips hydrated. It’s thick enough that you’ll actually feel like you’ve got a physical barrier on your lips to keep them from getting wind-burned, but it doesn’t look like you’ve got cakey balm all over your lips. Love, love, love.

eos lip spheres in Coconut Milk and Sweet Mint

Ah yes, the eos spheres. Who isn’t familiar with this insanely adorable round balls? I’ve actually had mixed feelings about these balms for quite some time: I bought and returned Summer Fruit because I could not stand the smell of it. I’ve asked multiple people and most people smell the fruit scent, but all I get off that one is a very plastic, synthetic scent. I swore off them thinking they were all like that… until I was recently sent these two: Coconut Milk and Sweet Mint, and neither of them has that offensive smell that I got off Summer Fruit.

The eos balms are thinner in consistency than the balms I mentioned above, which makes them easier to use on the go. For me, I think “airplane balm” when I use these since they’re convenient to toss in a bag and take with you. Bonus points for not needing to dip your fingers into a pot when you’re travelling! Sweet Mint is my favourite out of the two; it has a refreshing peppermint taste that definitely tingles a little bit. Coconut Milk smells like it’s name implies and it’s just as pleasant on the lips as well.

The CUBES by Softlips are definitely their answer to eos‘ lip balm spheres, but I’m not complaining because they’re just as adorable. Made to look like ice cubes, these balms have the same thin consistency as the eos spheres and like I said with the eos balms, these are definitely travel friendly. Vanilla Bean is my favourite scent, but they also have Berry Bliss for you fruit lovers out there.

And finally, the mother of all lip balms: Bite Beauty‘s Agave Lip Mask in Maple. This is a very recent addition to my balm collection so I’ve only used it a few times. I’m mostly excited to use this during the winter because it has a very, VERY thick consistency (so much so that it’s kind of hard to get it out of the tube). I picked this up because I had wanted to try out the Lip Mask before, but somehow couldn’t justify the price point ($30 CAd *gulp*)… that is… until they came out with the Canadian-exclusive maple flavour! There is a hint of translucent brown colour to the balm so it will add some colour to your lips while wearing it. If nothing else, the scent is divine.

Not that I need ANYMORE lip balm, but what’s your favourites? What did you hate? Tell me!

The eos spheres and Softlips CUBE were sent to me for consideration.

Skincare Saturday: Introduction to eos (Evolution of Smooth)

September 5, 2015Reviews, SkincareeosChelle

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Of all the things in the beauty world, skincare is a category that doesn’t get a lot of attention from me. In general, I’d much rather be playing around with colourful makeup and seeing what kind of fun look I can create, but that leaves out a lot of options to cover on the blog. As a result, I’m creating “Skincare Saturdays”. It won’t be every week, as I certainly don’t use enough new skincare to have something to talk about that consistently. But I didn’t want to detract from the makeup posts either, so that’s why I’m opting to add an extra posting day to my schedule every now and again that will cover solely skincare.

Good grief, that was a lot of preamble. I need to shut up and start talking about the products…

Alright, so let’s cover the basics. I was recently sent some products by eos (which is an acronym for evolution of smooth) and wanted to talk about them. eos is primarily known for their lip balm spheres – you know, the ridiculously cute ones that look kind of like an egg? As it turns out, eos doesn’t just do lip balm.

Who hasn’t spotted these ridiculously attractive bottles of shave cream at the drugstore? These eos shave creams stick out amongst the rest because they’re so damn visually appealing. I like that the tubes are matte and have indents on them as it stays very true to their branding. eos recently reformulated their shave creams and they now contain “a unique ingredient blend of vitamin B3, grape seed extract and green tea to help brighten and improve skin condition, leaving you with more beautiful, more even-toned skin”.

eos shave creams in Pomegranate Raspberry and Vanilla Bliss

The shave creams feels rich and luxurious, just as the advertising indicates. And, frankly, it’s kind of nice to feel like you’re pampering yourself while shaving. For me, shaving is usually an annoying process that I do simply because I like hairless legs and pits, but this adds a little fun to it all. Hey, you might as well enjoying smelling something nice while doing a boring task, right?

Of the two I tried, Vanilla Bliss was easily my favourite (I’m a sucker for vanilla), but the Pomegranate Raspberry scent was very fun and refreshing (something I don’t think I’ve EVER said about a shaving cream before).

The eos shave creams truly are a cream too. I’ve become so accustomed to calling shaving gels and foams as creams, that it took me a second to realize this is way more akin to a cream than anything else I’ve used in the past. The texture is very similar to a thick hair conditioner. Because the product doesn’t “puff up” like a gel or a foam, you may find you need a few more pumps of this to get maximum coverage on whatever area you’re shaving.

Also part of the eos arsenal are the Every Hand Lotions that are probably the smallest dang size I’ve ever seen in a hand lotion. These tiny little.. man, I don’t even know how to describe that shape… oblong? Is that oblong? We’ll go with oblong and call it a day. These oblong little tubes have a nice snap shut mechanism that keeps them from spilling all over the place (and good grief is it ever a satisfying crunching noise when you snap them shut).

eos Everyday Hand Lotions in Cucumber and Fresh Flowers

They contain aloe to soothe, moisturize and heal your skin, oat to protectin delicate, dry, sensitive and irritated skin, as well as shea butter, vitamin E and C to round it out.

But the best damn thing about these hand lotions? THEY ARE NOT GREASY. They aren’t sticky or slimy, so your hands don’t feel like you’ve spread butter all over them. It’s just so freaking refreshing to put on hand lotion and actually feel like you can open a pickle jar afterwards. They are moisturizing, don’t get me wrong, but they sink in so rapidly that you don’t feel like your hands are essentially useless for the next half hour. Hooray!

What have you tried by eos? And what have you liked or not liked?

This post features press samples sent for consideration.

The Body Shop – Vitamin C Glow Boosters

August 12, 2015Reviews, SkincareThe Body ShopChelle

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The Body Shop recently introduced two new products to their Vitamin C product range – the Glow Boosting Moisturiser and the Instant Glow Enhancer. With a pleasant orange scent and glow boosting properties, it’s easy to see why the Vitamin C lineup is so popular.

Two new additions to The Body Shop's Vitamin C line. — Two new additions to The Body Shop’s Vitamin C line.

I’m a very skeptical person when it comes to skincare – if I can’t see immediate results, then I often feel it doesn’t do anything at all (unless it breaks me out, in which case it definitely did something WRONG!). But I keep reaching for these two products, so that means that there’s something about them that I quite like.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser

The Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser is designed to moisturize dull, tired and grumpy skin. As you’d expect from the Vitamin C line, it has a wonderful citrusy-orange scent which has certainly worked wonders to perk me up in the morning. It might be a silly booster, but that scent DOES work to refresh you in the morning after a late night ~~of watching Netflix~~.

The texture of the moisturizer is similar to a gel in the sense that it doesn’t feel creamy – it’s more slippery and smooth. Thankfully, I don’t experience that weird cracking feeling like I do with a lot of gel moisturizers (anyone else? I feel tightness on my face after I wear a gel moisturizer, although it typically disappears within a few minutes.) It dries down quickly and leaves my skin feeling… plump. Saturated, maybe? Whatever the word, my skin definitely feel hydrated.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Instant Glow Enhancer

The Vitamin C Instant Glow Enhancer is intended to revitalize your skin and give it a rosy tint. (I don’t understand how orange = rosy, but anyway…) It doesn’t specifically say it’s a primer, or a self tanner, just that it’s intended to perk your skin up.

There’s no way around it, the colour of the Instant Glow Enhancer is straight up orange and I was terrified to use it. My first attempt was not a success: I made the mistake of not blending the product in enough under my makeup and ended up with an orange chunk that eventually peeled off. Delicious, right?

My second and third attempts were much better. Once blended in entirely, it feels a bit tacky, but then dries down within a minute to a very, VERY smooth finish. I found it reacted differently depending on which foundation I used. With the new Make Up For Ever UltraHD foundation I got fairly oily/shiny within about six hours. With the Boots No7 Instant Radiance foundation I had a lot less oil. But did I notice a different in my skin colour? Not at all. This disappeared completely into the skin (when blended in properly) and didn’t add any of the promised rosy-ness I was expecting.

Final Thoughts

Although the Instant Glow Enhancer doesn’t really DO anything at all on my skin, it’s still fun to use. Is it worth your money though? Probably not, but I’d still recommend getting a sample of it and trying it out for yourself.

The Glow Boosting Moisturiser is a different story though! This beautiful pot of orange goodness hydrates my skin, picks me up in the morning with the wonderful scent and is fun to use (aren’t all gelatinous moisturizers??). The smell is so pleasing that it’s actually made me reach for my Satsuma Body Butter more and more just so I can get that added bit of orange scent on my skin. Love!

This post features press samples sent for consideration.

The Body Shop – Honey Bronze Collection (Review, Swatches & Look)

July 27, 2015Makeup, Reviews, Reviews, Skincare, SwatchesThe Body ShopChelle

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The Body Shop launched (somewhat) recently several additions to their already popular Honey Bronze lineup (made famous by their Honey Bronzer I believe). With these new additions they’re staying true to the golden goddess look that I’m looking for when when it gets sunny outside. Except, you know, without the added sun damage that comes along with looking tanned!

The Body Shop - Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes — The Body Shop – Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes

These were the absolute highlight (GET IT?!) of the collection to me. They’re labelled as the Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes, but they come in three colours that are very clearly suited towards traditional bronzer, blush and highlighter shades.

Shade 3 is the bronzer of the group. It has a red tint on top of the usual golden shade of a bronzer. I appreciate this because I like that edge of “I got slightly burned” without actually being in pain. (I realize that sounds like an odd description, but a bit of red in a bronzing shade is far more believable that outright orange.)
Shade 3 is a pink blush shade with a hint of golden sheen. This is STUNNING on the cheeks. I could wear this shade every day and be perfectly happy.
Shade 1 is a traditional champagne highlight shade.

As I was shooting my photos, Nemo wanted a cuddle. And I wasn’t going to say no to that face!

Annnnd back to the Highlighting Domes. Although the packaging is quite bulky, it makes them look absolutely adorable. The product inside each of them is just incredible. Each dome has the same consistency: they’re a hard cream-like formula with a faint sheen. Since they do have that harder consistency, I use a firm brush to pick up the product and blend them into the skin.

I really can’t rave about Highlighting Domes enough. I love the finished look on my skin. The bronzer looks natural, the highlighter is doing its shiny thang and the blush… oh my god the blush. I can’t get over that blush shade. I love, love, LOVE how that looks on my face and I swear it’ll match any eye look I come up with too. LOVE!

Also part of the collection is the Tinted Face Gel. I was excited, but a little bit nervous, to try this one out. I’ve never really done any kind of self tanning before (aside from actually laying out IN the sun) so this was a whole new world to me.

The gel is really, really dark when you first squeeze it out of the tube. Frighteningly so. Thankfully it spreads out to be a far more subtle shade once it’s blended into the skin.

The Body Shop Tinted Face Gel - Before and After — The Body Shop Tinted Face Gel – Before and After

But… I’m not sold on it. In the above shot, I applied it directly to my face and rubbed it in like a moisturizer. It applied evenly and didn’t streak. However, now that I’m sitting here writing about it, I’m feeling kind of stupid – maybe I should’ve mixed it with my foundation and applied it to my face that way? Perhaps that’d give me a more natural look? I’m too distracted by the fact that my face looks like a completely different colour from my neck. Alright people, how do YOU wear tinted face gels? Give me your advice!

During the summer I often end up with a fairly annoying sock and shin pad tan lines from running and soccer, and they look pretty darn stupid when I’m wearing a dress and have bright white feet or shins. While my tan lines haven’t been extreme this year, I’d still really like to be able to add some colour to my legs while also covering up my usual mishmash of tan lines. The Tinted Leg Mist could be a possible solution to this.

On the left side, I’ve applied several coats of the Tinted Leg Mist. On the right, nothing at all. The difference is subtle, but it is definitely there. I like how natural it is – it really does look like I’d gotten a tan and not like I’d covered myself in self tanner. I will say though, I’m not sure how well this will hold up if you’re sitting down. I would recommend this on nights when you know you’re going to be standing up a lot – at bars, dancing, or an event with a lot of mingling. I don’t feel like this would sweat off, but it does feel like you could rub it off on furniture, etc.

Nemo was all up in these products!

Final Thoughts

The Highlighting Domes knocked it completely out of the park for me! I love how they applied to my skin – all three shades worked well together to create beautiful glowing face makeup. I’m curious to see if The Body Shop will release more shades in this formula – I think it’d be a win for a lot of people.

The Tinted Face Gel was too far off the beaten path for me – although I am going to try mixing it with a foundation the next time I try it to see if I get better results.

The Tinted Leg Mist is very cool, but it’s kind of a take it or leave it product. If you’re in the market for a leg mist, this might be your jam. Unfortunately I can’t compare the longevity of it to anything else on the market as I’ve not tried anything else. But, I do love the natural looking colour it added to my legs.

If nothing else, you need to check out those Highlighting Domes. Serious winners in my book.

This review features press samples sent for consideration.