Category Archives: Reviews

Skincare Saturday: Nivea Urban Skin Detox Range

Nivea Urban Skin Detox

Trying out new  Nivea skincare products get me excited because I’ve found that the brand always seems to satisfy my skin. Nivea has recently launched their Urban Skin Detox range, and right off the bat I was loving the updated packaging. It not only has their staple navy blue, but also bright pops of green for a little extra pizzazz. The intent of this range is to defend your skin against pollution, stress and other aggressors while maintaining moisture.

Nivea Urban Skin Detox 3-in-1 Clay Cleanser
Nivea Urban Skin Detox 3-in-1 Clay Cleanser

The first item I tried out as the 3-in-1 Clay Cleanser. This isn’t just a normal cleanser though, it actually has small exfoliating bits in the mix. Interestingly, Nivea says that this can be used as a mask, but I really only ever found myself using it as my morning face wash. I found the texture to be quite thick once you squeezed it out of the tube, but spread very easily onto the skin. The little scrubby bits in the product are quite tiny and very spaced out. They worked well to exfoliate my face, but it was more of a gentle scrub than a deep, down cleanser (which is fine! Makes it good for daily use.). I love, LOVE the smell of this – it’s fresh, and clean without any real hint of that clay (which I don’t love the scent of traditionally).

Nivea Urban Skin Detox Mattifying Peel-Off Mask and Purifying Clay Mask
Nivea Urban Skin Detox Mattifying Peel-Off Mask and Purifying Clay Mask

With this range they’ve also released two masks – a Purifying Clay Mask and a Mattifying Peel-Off Mask.

Nivea Urban Skin Detox Mattifying Peel-Off Mask
Nivea Urban Skin Detox Mattifying Peel-Off Mask

I love any kind of peel off mask, so I was keen to try this one, although I must say that the idea of a mattifying peel off mask was a bit odd to me. The mask uses organic green tea and black rice and forms a peel-off film that removes dead skin cells and refines the appearance of pores. While I did find my face looked slightly more matte after removing this mask, I didn’t notice any long lasting matte effects on my face. I did find that this mask dried down much faster than most peel off masks I’ve used in the past which is much appreciated.

Nivea Urban Skin Detox Purifying Clay Mask
Nivea Urban Skin Detox Purifying Clay Mask

I had a lot of fun with the Purifying Clay Mask! This one smells delightful and gave me an immediate tingly feeling as soon as it made contact with my skin. I really like when I can FEEL like skincare is working, so a mask with a tingle effect brings me great joy. What surprised me about this one was that they encourage you to wear it for only about 5 minutes. That’s some fast masking!

Nivea Urban Skin Detox Night Gel Moisturizer and Day Moisturizer
Nivea Urban Skin Detox Night Gel Moisturizer and Day Moisturizer

The products I ended up using the most were definitely the Night Gel and Day Moisturizers. Both come in a tub and have quite a gelatinous cream texture.

The Day Moisturizer… wow… you need so little product with this one. I found if I over-applied the product I would get a little bit of balling up on my face. So apply this sparingly because it spreads out very easily and you need very, very little to cover your entire face. I found that this one left me with a bit of dewy glow even after a few hours of application.

The Night Gel Moisturizer was definitely my favourite. It’s a touch thicker than the day moisturizer, but not excessively gloppy. It was fantastic for applying at bedtime because it was super hydrating without being too thick. There’s nothing I dislike more than putting on a super heavy moisturizer and then having my face stick to my pillow at night. This one was glorious!

In short, the whole Nivea Urban Skin Detox range is a lot of fun and quite effective. For me, my top picks were the Purifying Clay Mask, the Night Gel Moisturizer and the Clay Cleanser. I love that the products had a new fresh scent for Nivea, and that they easily incorporated into my usual skincare routine.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.

Skincare Saturday: BLAQ Meteor Shower Shimmer Scrub (DO NOT BUY THIS)

Blaq Meteor Shower Shimmer Scrub
Blaq Meteor Shower Shimmer Scrub

This is the WORST product I have *EVER* tried in my history of trying out beauty products over my entire life and I’m simply making this post in the hopes that it reaches someone before they spend their money on this for themselves or for someone else. Or maybe you got this product as a gift and were going to use it.

DO. NOT. USE. THIS. PRODUCT. The BLAQ Meteor Shower Shimmer Scrub is absolute trash.

I was intrigued because it’s a shimmer scrub and I’m easily suckered in by anything glittery and holographic like the packaging on this one. The instructions indicate that the scrub will turn your skin grey but that you shouldn’t worry because it’ll easily rinse off with water. WOW WHAT A LIE THAT WAS.

Behold… my leg in the shower:

This is after I'd scrubbed it into my leg and tried to rinse it off.
This is after I’d scrubbed it into my leg and tried to rinse it off.

This was after trying to rinse it off with just hot water. No dice.

You can actually SEE the beads of water repelling off my skin in the picture above. This is because there’s some kind of oil in the product that makes the black gunk adhere to the skin… essentially locking it in place and forming a waterproof casing on my leg. IT’S LIKE FREAKING TAR.

So I used another sugar scrub to remove it. And my loofah. And soap. And body wash. It was barely moving, and I was fifteen minutes into scrubbing!

This is after scrubbing for fifteen minutes with another scrub and a loofah and more soap to try to get it off.
This is after scrubbing for fifteen minutes with another scrub and a loofah and more soap to try to get it off.

I finally stopped scrubbing, got out of the shower and started towelling off with the hopes that my towel would help me out with removal. All of these different methods of scrubbing did remove the bulk of the product, but I was still left with lightly grey tinted legs. I look FILTHY. Like I’d been rolling around in mud at the soccer field for the last two hours.

This is it CAUGHT IN MY HAIR FOLLICLES on my thigh.
This is it CAUGHT IN MY HAIR FOLLICLES on my thigh.

And to make matters worse? It locks into your hair follicles. The shot above is a close up shot I took with my phone of my thigh. Can you even believe what you’re seeing? That black grit has gotten into my hair follicles!

I’m ENRAGED. In all of my years of trying beauty products (not just in my blogging “career”) I have never encountered a more GARBAGE product than this one. Not only did it stain my skin, but it also ruined my shower loofah (I’ve since thrown it out), stained my bath tub grey (it’s day later and I’m STILL trying to get it out) and all of my towels had to be laundered. How this pure shit of a beauty product made it out of QA testing and out on to the market is an absolute travesty.

DO NOT BUY THIS. DO NOT USE IT. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE BLAQ METEOR SHOWER SHIMMER SCRUB.

Skincare Saturday: Live Clean Deodorants Review

Live Clean Deodorants
Live Clean Deodorants

I can almost hear your voice in my own head… “A post on deodorant? Who is she kidding? How is this even supposed to be remotely interesting?”

I get it. A post on deodorant is frigging boring. And I wasn’t even going to do a post because it *is* deodorant and most people won’t care. But if you’re one of the few that did click through to read what one can only presume would be a boring post then I’m impressed, and boy, do I ever have something exciting to tell you.

Live Clean Deodorants in Cool & Fresh, Fragrance Free, Sparkling Citrus and Powder Clean
Live Clean Deodorants in Cool & Fresh, Fragrance Free, Sparkling Citrus and Powder Clean

Live Clean‘s deodorants are the *only* natural deodorant that has ever worked on me. I’ve tried some of the usual suspects (like Lavanila) but they’ve all done diddly squat and I’ve always gone back to wearing my antiperspirant on the daily. These though? Holy crap, did they ever work.

I was initially skeptical about switching over because you hear about that “detox” period where your body is getting rid of all of the build up from your antiperspirant, blah blah blah. So I went into this thinking that I was going to smell for a few days because of that. I even told a coworker I was switching to this and told her to tell me if she smelled me AT ALL (cuz heaven knows every office has someone who reeks and I did NOT want to be that person). I will admit that the first day I think I smelled (although my coworker said nothing), but it could’ve been the fabric of my shirt which wasn’t especially conducive to letting my skin breathe. But after that initial day? No problems. Seriously… no problems. I’ve been using this deodorant for two weeks now and I’m absolutely blown away.

Of course, since a deodorant is a more gelatinous substance when compared to a white antiperspirant, I do find that sometimes my pits are a touch damp/slick every now and then, but I think that’s mostly just upon application. I’m sitting here typing up this review after a full work day and a workout at the gym, and my pits are completely dry nor do I smell. I also went for a 13k run this past weekend and didn’t smell nor sweat profusely from my pits during that run either. To say I’m impressed would be an understatement!

So if you’ve been looking to switch away from your antiperspirant but found all the other natural deodorant did nothing for you, then I would STRONGLY suggest you take a look at the Live Clean deodorants. I’ve got a whack of antiperspirants in my cupboard, but once those are used up I’m going to be switching over to Live Clean deodorants for everything except the utmost of physical exertions (like running a race, or hiking, or something where I need to be dry for like 24 hours straight).

For those who are interested in the actual ingredients, there’s corn starch to absorb the moisture, as well as baking soda, aloe and vitamin E. There are no aluminium cholorhydrate, propylene glycol, phthalates, parabens, silicone, phosphates, triclosan, petrolatum, dyes or colouring in the formula. The ingredients are 99% naturally derived!

My favourite scent was the aquatic scented Cool & Fresh, with the Sparkling Citrus as a close runner up. There’s also a Powder Clean scent for those who want to smell like baby powder (gag, not me thanks), as well as an unscented version.

Live Clean deodorants can be purchased on well.ca for $7.79 CAD each.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.

Skincare Saturday: MaskerAide Sheet Masks (now with new packaging!)

MaskerAide Sheet Masks

It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since I last reviewed MaskerAide sheet masks (see that review from 2014 here!). The brand has gone through different variations of their sheet masks over the years, as well as a more recent packaging update!

MaskerAide Sheet Masks
MaskerAide Sheet Masks

The formula itself remains the same on the newly packaged MaskerAide sheet masks, so if you loved their masks before, you can rest easy knowing that the product is still the same. I have to admit I’m sad to see that their All Nighter sheet mask has gone the way of the dodo – I *loved* that one!

I’ve admitted quite a few times over the years that I’m not a huge sheet mask lover just because they can feel quite slimy and cold on the skin. Thankfully, the MaskerAide sheet masks are one of the better fits for my face and they have more of a cream textured consistency to the product on the inside. If the mask isn’t a biocellulose format (which these aren’t) then I much prefer a creamy serum so that it doesn’t feel quite as slimy. So in that respect, the MaskerAide sheets masks are one of the better options for me.

Plus, with MaskerAide, you get the added bonus of tossing your coin at a Canadian-Korean brand. It always feels good to support local!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

Skincare Saturday: Thayers Natural Remedies (Toners, Facial Spray & Body Bar)

Thayers Natural Remedies

When I announced that Thayers Natural Remedies products were now going to be widely available in Canada on my Instagram stories so many people lost their shoes (as Hailey would say!). I couldn’t believe the response – I had dozens of people reaching out to ask where specifically they would be available. While I knew Thayers was known for their witch hazel toners, I didn’t realize that they were THAT loved!

So Canadians… get ready to celebrate! Thayers Natural Remedies products are sold in the following retailers:

  • Loblaws
  • London Drugs
  • Rexall
  • Sobeys
  • Walmart
  • Whole Foods

They’re also available on well.ca if you’re more inclined to purchase online like I am.

Thayers Witch Hazel Toners
Thayers Witch Hazel Toners

The biggest thing that Thayers is known for are their witch hazel toners which come in a variety of different scents. These toners have aloe vera in the formula to help cleanse, soothe and revitalize the skin. I found that the toners didn’t tighten my skin and left it feeling supple. No issues applying my serum and moisturizer on top of it either!

Scent-wise, they’re pretty bang on. Almost disconcertingly so. I found the cucumber one slightly awkward to use because the smell is identical to real cucumbers and made me feel like I should be chowing down on a salad or something. For me, the lavender was a clear favourite. Although I hear they’ve got a lemon scented one that I definitely want to get my hands on at some point since citrus makes my heart sing!

Thayers Rose Petal Facial Mist and Body Bar
Thayers Rose Petal Facial Mist and Body Bar

Aside from the toners, I tried out their Rose Petal Facial Mist and Body Bar.

The facial mist seemed more like a “toner on the go” to me. It behaved and performed the same as the toner bottle, just in an easy to spray formula. The rosewater in the formula is full of natural oils and sugars that help restore dehydrated skin (always a plus!) and bring out a glowing complexion.

Funnily enough, while I liked all of the products I’ve featured in this post, the item that I really loved was the Body Bar. I’m not always a body wash kinda woman, and I found myself really just flat out happy to be using this bar of soap. The rose scent was subtle and not cloying like some rosewater products can be. I found the soap was soothing and surprisingly hydrating on my skin in the shower. I know bars of soap don’t really get people excited, but it really was the item that made me smile the most.

Giveaway!

Thayers has generally offered to giveaway one set of all of the products I featured in today’s post!

One lucky person will win:

  • Thayers Witch Hazel Toner in Lavender
  • Thayers Witch Hazel Toner in Rose Petal
  • Thayers Witch Hazel Toner in Cucumber
  • Thayers Witch Hazel Body Bar in Rose Petal
  • Thayers Witch Hazel Facial Mist in Rose Petal

Giveaway Rules

  • This giveaway is open to Canada & USA only. (If you are Canadian, I will need your phone number for delivery in addition to your address – please keep that in mind.)
  • This giveaway starts on March 30, 2019 and runs for two weeks.
  • One winner will receive the prize pack described above.
  • Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
  • Once the winner has been contacted, they will have 48 hours to provide me with their mailing address. If the winner fails to respond within that time frame, I will pick another winner. (And so on.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Prize pack is being provided by the brand.