Category Archives: Reviews

Skincare Saturday: Lierac Skincare Review

September 30, 2017Reviews, SkincareLieracChelle

Lierac Laboratories

Lierac is a brand I’d heard nothing about, but was pleased to find that they have an ENORMOUS skincare range with a lot of options for everyone. I was sent a ton of items from their Hydragenist range (for my dry-combination skin) to test out, and I’ve got some thoughts, so let’s dive in!

The first part in your morning skincare routine suggested by Lierac is using the Hydragenist Morning Moisturizing Mist ($45 CAD). The mist is intended to rehydrate and replump your skin (as is the whole range, really) once you’ve woken up. The idea behind it is that it can erase pillow marks while replumping your skin. I think that’s cute, but I’m not generally covered in pillow marks, so I couldn’t tell you if it removed them. What I can tell you is that this is one of the most uniquely textured face mists I’ve ever tried. It’s intensely hydrating, which I wasn’t expecting given that it’s a face mist. The texture of it is like a liquid gel – you spray it on your face and then you’ll need to massage it in. For me, while this ended up being a nice refresher in the morning, I didn’t love it as part of my morning routine (honestly, it was a bit TOO hydrating and I don’t feel the need to use it before my morning shower either), but I did love it later in the evening combined with something else (I’ll get to that later).

The next step was to use the Lait Micellaire ($29 CAD) to cleanse my face. While this does incorporate some makeup removal aspects, I’ve only ever used this as a face wash. And my face washes don’t need to remove my makeup as far as I’m concerned (I’ve got oils for that!) so I was really pleased with how gentle this felt on my skin. I’m a fan of milky cleansers anyway, and this Lait Micellaire combined with a konjac sponge was really, really nice at scrubbing away the sleepies on my face in the morning.

Lierac Laboratories - Lotion Gélifiée, Hydragenist Moisturizing Cream and Moisturizing Serum — Lierac Laboratories – Lotion Gélifiée, Hydragenist Moisturizing Cream and Moisturizing Serum

With my butt out of the shower, it’s time to keep going with the other aspects of getting my skin prepped and ready for makeup.

The Lotion Gélifiée (which is your toner) is very similar in texture to the Morning Moisturizing Mist, only slightly thicker overall. I started out by applying it to a cotton round to apply to my face… but gave up on that quickly once I realized the texture was more akin to a serum than a toner. Overall, this one isn’t one of the products I’m that enamoured with. It goes on okay-ish, but I felt like it did more to dry out my skin than hydrate it. Which kind of makes sense given that this product is intended to tighten your pores.

You can, however, skip the Lotion and go straight to the Hydragenist Moisturizing Serum, which I felt was better for my skin overall. This felt like a dream on my skin – quite relaxing and smoothing. Personally, if you’re picking and choosing from this range, I’d opt for the Serum over the Lotion!

The last step is, of course, moisturizer. And I gotta say, the Hydragenist Moisturizing Cream ($70 CAD) is no freaking joke. This cream is targeted towards people with dry to very dry skin so you know it’s going to be extra hydrating. For me though, this was too much in the mornings. It’s a LOVELY cream and it does the job, but for my dry to combination skin this was overkill in the mornings. I instead opted to wearing this at night alongside the Moisturizing Mist. I’d squirt a few pumps of the mist onto my face at night, massage it in, and then follow it up with the Moisturizing Cream and wear it as an overnight face mask. I think this’ll work for EXCEPTIONALLY dehydrated skin on a day to day basis, but for me this was something that was a tad too heavy for day to day wear.

Lierac Laboratories - Moisturizing Rescue Mask — Lierac Laboratories – Moisturizing Rescue Mask

And lastly, if you need a quick hydrating boost to your skin, look no further than the Moisturizing Rescue Mask ($47 CAD). This one was very similar to the moisturizer, except you get it done faster by wearing this for about 20 minutes or so. I used this immediately once I got back from our 24 hour travel time from our trip to Australia and I didn’t suffer from the dried out skin issues that I usually do the few days after I’ve been off a plane. Success!

This whole range by Lierac is scented with rose, jasmine and gardenia. Hilariously, I don’t like ANY of those scents, but each of the notes is not so pervasive that they stand out. For whatever reason, once they’re all combined, it’s just a “nice” scent. Not overpowering and not cloying, which I highly appreciate.

Top picks for me?

Moisturizing Rescue Mask – that thing is a total winner and a skin saviour as far as I’m concerned!
Lait Micellaire – super nice face wash. Love this one!

Let me know if you’ve heard of Lierac before and if you’ve tested out their products – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Lierac can be purchased on beautyboutique.ca and on lierac.ca.

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

Skincare Saturday: Aveeno Haul + Favourites

September 2, 2017Reviews, SkincareAveenoChelle

This post is sponsored by iHerb.com.

Oh Aveeno – the very first brand I ever tried skincare from, and to this day it’s at the top of my most trusted brands! My skincare story with Aveeno is a long one – when I first moved to Toronto I discovered that the air was a lot more dry than Ottawa and suddenly I found myself needing a facial moisturizer. My mom went out and bought me she had loved – the Aveeno Daily Moisturizer – and even though it’s 15 years later now, I still love the brand so very much!

This post is a combined haul featuring some of my favourite products by Aveeno, alongside some new-to-me items that I haven’t yet tried by the brand via shopping at iHerb. Let’s dive in!

Although it seems excessive, I do actually use all three of these Aveeno face washes, albeit at different times throughout the week.

For day to day face cleansing, I usually opt for the Positively Radiant Brightening Cleanser – it’s a thicker face wash that looks like a soft shimmery golden gel when you pump some on to your hand.

If I need something because I’m getting a hint of a breakout, or if I really just want to switch it up to a more foamy wash, I’ll switch to the Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser. I’m pretty sure this is the exact same formula I used in my late teens/early twenties and I still appreciate just how light and fluffy it feels on my face.

To exfoliate my face once or twice a week, I’ll opt for the Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub. I realize it says daily scrub, but for me I don’t generally want to use something abrasive on my face every day so I space it out a bit during the week. The granules suspended within the formula are very fine and yet granular enough to help slough off dead skin.

Aveeno moisturizers have never steered me wrong!

Ah yes – my old faithfuls! I’ve been using these two moisturizers since (what feels like) the dawn of time. The Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer is my absolute FAVOURITE product that Aveeno makes. It used to be that Aveeno didn’t make moisturizer with sunscreen in it (which is how I prefer it), but at this point, this is the *only* remaining moisturizer sans SPF that they make. For me, I prefer to apply my own additional sunscreen if I’m going to be out in the sun, so for day to day wear, I always try to hunt down this particular moisturizer. And yes, this works just as well to hydrate my 34 year old skin as it did back when I was 19!

If you’re looking for SPF to be built into your moisturizer (as I do on days I know I’m going to be out in the sun), then every other Aveeno moisturizer has you covered. The one I’ve opted for has a higher SPF (30 versus the 15 you can sometimes get). Due to the sunscreen, the Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer will have a bit of that sunscreen smell, but it’s masked well by Aveeno‘s regular skincare scent (which I really, really love). Rest assured that this sinks in fast and feels incredibly lightweight. I’ve even used it in a pinch on my arms while on vacation in Florida and it worked wonders – extremely lightweight, and kept my protected from the sun!

New to me: Aveeno's tinted moisturizer! — New to me: Aveeno’s tinted moisturizer!

On to the items I haven’t tried out yet but can’t wait to! I decided I wanted to try out the Positively Radiant CC Cream in Fair to Light (also contains 30 SPF) – I’m anticipating this to feel exactly the same as the previously mentioned sunscreen, but with a hint of coverage. As you can see from the swatch, the fair to light shade does lean a bit warm, and was a bit darker than I expected. I think if you’re a MAC NW20 and up, you’ll be fine to wear it, but you may struggle if you’re paler than that.

These two are also ones I hadn’t tried before this sponsored purchase, but was definitely eager to try!

I’m always willing to see how a brand’s makeup removing wipes will perform, so I plunked the Aveeno ones in my cart right away. (Not tried them out yet, but will report back in one of my upcoming Empties videos!)

And the item I hadn’t tried, but dug into IMMEDIATELY once I got it was the Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads. I was sooo curious about this enormous tub! As it turns out, the tub contains 28 self-foaming dual-textured pads. It’s essentially pre-soaked cotton rounds that contain a facial cleanser. The pads are so large and lather so well that I would suggest you cut them in half because you really don’t need a whole one to clean your face with, so you might as well save yourself some money. The pad lathered up well on my face and rinsed off easily when I was done. I liked that there’s a slightly more abrasive side so you can really dig into your pores if you need to. This one was an enormous winner for me and would be great to bring if you’re going camping and need something quick and easy to wash your face with.

If you’ve read some of my iHerb.com posts before, you know the deal. However, if you’re new to them, it’s definitely worth repeating: they sell over 35,000 products and ship to over 160 countries. And? Their shipping is INCREDIBLY cheap, even to Canada! For an order around $60, the shipping cost is coming out to about $9 CAD and that includes pre-paid duties when you choose to ship via DHL. You also have the option to choose $0 shipping, but you do run the risk of getting hit by Canadian customs when it clears the border. As a Canadian, I cannot STAND paying exorbitant shipping fees and iHerb ensures that I don’t. iHerb.com is also a Google trusted store and their Customer Service team can provide support in 10 different languages.

Even better? Get a 10% instant discount on your next Aveeno order via iHerb by clicking here!

Skincare Saturday: Skincare Routine featuring Neutrogena!

August 5, 2017Reviews, SkincareiHerb, NeutrogenaChelle

This post is sponsored by iHerb.com.

There are some brands on the market that I always come back to for their staple products, and Neutrogena is definitely one of my top skincare picks that fit into that bucket. I know their products are always going to work for me and provide me with the results I need! For today’s post, I’ve teamed up with iHerb.com to give you a look at a full face routine using Neutrogena as a cornerstone for good skincare.

My first step towards prepping my skin for the day is face wash (as I would assume it is for just about everyone!). It totally depends on what I’m feeling that morning, but I’ll either opt for a gentle cleanser or for a more vigorous scrub a few times a week to slough off any dead skin from my face.

For days when I just need “the usual”, I’ll opt for Neutrogena’s Natural Purifying Facial Cleanser. In terms of face washes, this is one of the most basic I’ve used, and therefore one of the ones I appreciate the most. I don’t need bells and whistles when I’m washing my face – I just need it to the job, and do it well. And that’s exactly what the Purifying Facial Cleanser does for me: it washes away the sleepies from the night before and invigorates me for the day.

Sometimes I do like a more serious scrub on my face (usually about once or twice a week) and lately I’ve been trying out the Neutrogena Acne Foaming Scrub. I am not prone to acne in the least, but I do find I end up reaching for acne scrubs the most – perhaps as a preventative measure? Either way, my skin is being kept clear of acne and it’s getting a slightly deeper cleanse with the little scrubbies suspended within the product.

From here, there’s really two ways I can go with my skincare routine. If it’s a work day, I’ll opt to apply moisturizer and primer before going in with a full face of makeup. The Neutrogena Healthy Skin Primer comes with a built in sunscreen with 15 SPF. So for those of you that don’t like SPF in your moisturizer (I’m one of them), this is a great way to get that extra boost of skincare coverage you’ll need while commuting to the office.

I definitely apply moisturizer before I apply my primer, but I wanted to stop for a moment to appreciate this particular moisturizer. The Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hylauronic Acid has become one of my absolute favourite skincare products in the last year or so. I first reviewed it in April 2016 and I have been completely enamoured with it ever since. I am absolutely in LOVE with this product! This is a really slippery gel cream texture moisturizer that feels incredible on the skin. I was astonished that such a thin formula could actually keep my dry skin hydrated all winter – but it DID! Winter or summer, this moisturizer is an absolute dream on my skin and I cannot recommend it enough!

The other way I’ll take my skincare is if I’m heading out for a run or to soccer on the weekends. I don’t need the facial primer, but I DEFINITELY need sunscreen on my face and body. One of the more comfortable sunscreen formulas on the market is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 55. It’s one of the least sticky formulas I’ve tried and leaves me with the very thinnest film possible on the skin (because let’s get real – no matter how much we want it, there isn’t a single suncreen on the market that is going to feel like you’re touching your own skin). It sinks in fast, and is water and sweat resistant – which means it’s not going to be seeping into my eyes while I’m out for a run or playing a game on a hot summer day.

And if you need to clean up quickly? Grab your Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes and give yourself a pat down. I’ll never be more grateful than when I rediscover a packet of Neutrogena wipes in my bag. Whether your hands are sticky, or your face feels greasy (or heck, even your hands from having just applied sunscreen!), these are always here to save the day.

I’ve mentioned iHerb.com before and I just wanted to make sure to reiterate a few things: they sell over 35,000 products and ship to over 160 countries. And? Their shipping is INCREDIBLY cheap, even to Canada! For an order around $60, the shipping cost is coming out to about $9 CAD and that includes pre-paid duties when you choose to ship via DHL. You also have the option to choose $0 shipping, but you do run the risk of getting hit by Canadian customs when it clears the border. As a Canadian, I cannot STAND paying exorbitant shipping fees and iHerb ensures that I don’t. iHerb.com is also a Google trusted store and their Customer Service team can provide support in 10 different languages.

Even better? Get a 10% instant discount on your next Neutrogena order via iHerb by clicking here!

Do you have a typical skincare routine? Or do you shake it up? What brands are your favourites?

Skincare Saturday: Dew Puff Konjac Sponges

July 1, 2017Reviews, SkincareDew PuffChelle

Dew Puff Konjac Sponges

A few months ago, in a favourites video, I mentioned how much I was loving using konjac sponges in my face washing routine. You do need to replace them every three months or so, so I was really happy when these Dew Puff ones arrived in my mailbox just as I was needing to replace the one I had been using!

For those unfamiliar with konjac sponges, they are a 100% plant based sponge. Dew Puff has only one ingredient – konjac root – also known as elephant yam or kon-nyaku in Japanese. The sponge is rock hard when it’s dry, so you soak it thoroughly in water and it becomes a puffed up, squishy sponge that’s ready for use. I especially like using them with creamy face washes – there’s something about the combined texture of the sponge and the creamy face wash that is exceptionally satisfying. I really feel like the sponge is pushing the face wash into my face and getting a deeper clean (even though it’s exceptionally gentle). Make sure you let your Dew Puff dry out completely before you use it next (keeps the sponge healthier). There’s a handy thread woven through the sponge so I just hang it from a rack in the shower when I’m done with it.

Dew Puff comes in three different varieties:

Original: for all skin types and is even soft enough to be used on a baby’s skin
Asian Clay: for dry and aging skin
Bamboo Charcoal: for blemish prone skin

One of the aspects I like about the Dew Puff version of the konjac sponge is that it’s really quite large. You can cover a lot of ground with the size of these sponges! I really only stick to using it on my face, but they can be used all over the body as well.

The Dew Puff sponges retail for roughly $8 USD each and can be purchased on dewpuff.com or on amazon.com.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Affiliate links may be used.

Skincare Saturday: SweatBlock

June 24, 2017Reviews, SkincareSweatBlockChelle

This post is sponsored by SweatBlock. And once you read about how well this worked for me, you’ll see why I’m more than happy to be doing a sponsored post!

Suffering through hyperactive sweat glands was an ENORMOUS cause of personal strife for me when I was a teen. My favourite shirt colour was white, but I could barely bring myself to wear my white shirts because I would end up sweating through the armpits of the shirt I was wearing. And of course, sweating through white always causes that horrible yellow discolouring. I didn’t want to raise my arms in class in case I was sweating (made even worse if I was wearing a light grey shirt because those sweat stains ended up looking BLACK!). I felt like I always had to keep my arms at my sides at all times, which is quite a stressful feeling when you’re in high school trying to fit in.

I hated it so, so much. I even remember looking into possible surgeries at the time to remove my sweat glands in my armpits. (Hey, when you’re ashamed of something, you’ll try to find any kind of solution.)

Thankfully, I did eventually find something that would solve my problems – Drysol. It was this tap on bottle that contained liquid that would help stop sweating, and it worked, but it was so, SO painful. The kind of pain where you want to just scratch off your armpit and draw blood in the process – truly horrible. But hey, anything to solve the sweating problem right?

So when I discovered that SweatBlock was another option in the same vein of Drysol, I was more than eager to give it a go. I was very intrigued by SweatBlock as it comes in far more manageable packaging – you get eight thoroughly pre-soaked towelettes per box. They come in those sample size foil packets which makes it extremely easy to travel with (I’m in Ottawa right now and I packed one with me just in case I need it).

Sweat Block towelette — SweatBlock towelette

Aside from the grab and go accessibility of the little towelettes, the biggest selling point for me with SweatBlock is how this feels on my skin when it’s doing its magic. I dab the towelette onto my underarms at night before I go to bed and then hit the sack. I no longer experience that unbelievable itching pain like I did with the Drysol (and I really cannot stress enough how insanely itchy that stuff is – it’s absolutely unreal) and can sleep without constantly waking up needing to scratch my pits.

So how does it work? For me, very, very well. From previous experiences I know I am extremely susceptible to the active ingredient in these kinds of products, so I can get away with using one towelette per month. My husband is an excessive sweater and he found he got a solid 2-3 days without dripping armpits (which honestly, is kind of unreal). Results will vary depending on the person (as with all skincare and beauty products really), but for me this is a winner. It’s also listed as the number 1 best-selling antiperspirant on Amazon (there are a plethora of 5-star reviews on there) in case you want to check out what others have to say.

One box will set you back $17.99 USD on the sweatblock.com website, and it gets cheaper as you buy more. In case you’d like to pick some up with a discounted price, you can use muyourmind20 to get 20% off your orders until July 20, 2017! (I make zero commission off of this by the way – just save yourself some cash!)

Since I’ve told you my story, I’m curious about you! Have you ever suffered from too much sweating? If you’re comfortable sharing, let me know in the comments!