Tag Archives: Boots No7
VIDEO: My Top 5 Foundations – Dry/Combination Skin
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. 🙂
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Use Up 2015 – Conclusion
This past year, I chose ten products I wanted to finish up and get them circulated out of my collection. They weren’t necessarily products I disliked, just that they were old enough that I needed to finish them and move on.
Here’s how I did:
I started out with a relatively brand new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light. I had used it a bit, but not with any kind of regularity. (And no, I didn’t notice myself look ethereal at all!)
And here’s the usage after a year of dipping into this product.
Things I’ve learned:
- I don’t need or want powder on my face.
- It makes my foundation look too cakey when applied overtop.
- It also takes me forever to get through a powder!
Although I didn’t use this daily, I did apply it frequently enough throughout the year. I expected to be done with this product since I know people finish up powders relatively quickly, but nope! I’ll keep plugging along with this product, but since I noticed no difference in my skin with this ambient lighting powder, I’m unlikely to buy another one. I also don’t think I’ll be picking up ANY face powders at all since I just don’t need it on my face.
The Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Beige was a bit of an unfortunate choice for this project. I’ve grown to really dislike the Color Tattoos because they make my eyelids look kind of crepey. I had expected I could at least get through this tub though since it’s such a neutral colour that it could be used as a base.
Alas, no. Although the Color Tattoos have EXCELLENT staying power (seriously, I went swimming in the ocean with them on before and they stayed put) I just don’t enjoy using them. This one got so stiff over the course of the year that I just gave up on it. It’s now gone straight into the garbage. 🙁
I have a few MAC shadows that are quite old, so I figured it was time to move them out of my collection.
I managed to completely finish Club! Woohooo! Fade actually crumbled and fell apart on me, so I just pitched out the remains. Cork and Print however… while I used them a bit, it wasn’t enough to finish then. I’ve recently recommitted to wearing Cork more often through my crease now I’m hoping to kill that one over the next few months! Using Print again reminded me a lot of my early twenties since I wore it a lot back then.
This Revlon Papaya lipgloss is such a beautiful colour – but I’ve had it for a few years now, so it was time to move on. They also don’t make this line of glosses anymore (which is a damn shame!) so it’s not like I can even encourage you to go buy it!
Unfortunately, despite using this guy consistently, he’s still kicking out product! It’s getting a bit sparse through the tube (you can see the cracks of the product separating from itself) so I at least know I got through a bit more of it. But the smell has gone a tiny bit off so I’m just straight out pitching it now.
This was an ambitious move for me. I decided I wanted to get through three foundations this year (I only chose one last year!)
And finish all three I did! The Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla was the first to go since it’s more of a summer shade for me. Once that was done, I started in on Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 52 Vanilla and once that was done I cleaned out the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51 Light Vanilla.
I was so surprised I got through all of these foundations because I’m not a daily foundation user. I loved these so much and I have actually repurchased them (sooooo what was the point of the Use Up? lol). You can see all three foundations mentioned in my recent Empties video.
So that was it for 2015! All in all, it wasn’t hugely successful. I got through about half of the products I wanted to get through, so that’s not amazing. Although I love watching “Use Up” projects, I don’t think it’s a viable thing for me anymore as a blogger. I try out so many products now (both a blessing and a curse) that it makes it near impossible to stick with even just ten products throughout a year. I hope you enjoyed my Use Up 2015 roundup, and since I do love reading about them, please tell me what products you’re trying to use up!
What I Bought This Month – October 2015 Haul
There’s some exciting things in this haul! I got a bunch of stuff from overseas and that’s always enough to make me start squealing!
This Neutrogena CC Cream was such a surprise to me – it was in my Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon goodie bag! At first I thought it was just sunscreen, but nope – it’s definitely a tinted cc cream. SO COOL! I’m excited to try this one out.
Time for my yearly repurchase of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge! I’ve started picking them up whenever IMATS happens, but they were only taking cash at the Farley Co and I hadn’t brought any this year. So anyway, I picked this one up at FTB Beauty and I’ve already started using it. As a note, if you take care of your sponges, they do last a really long time. There was nothing inherently wrong with my old Complexion Sponge as I clean it frequently enough, but after a full year of use, I just wanted a fresh one.
The next few items are via Natalie of Ivory Avenue! She was in England for a little while and she managed to snag me every single item on my wishlist. What a champ!
So the first item of my list was the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation in shade 52 Vanilla. I LOVE THIS STUFF. I ran through an entire bottle this year and when I finished it I was so so sad. This stuff is freaking magic on the skin (full review over here) and I am so happy to have it back in my collection. I still have a few other foundations I want to finish before I get to use this one but YES – SO HAPPY! Also, the reason I asked her to pick it up for me in the UK is because even with our Canadian dollar being pretty shitty right now, it’s still cheaper to buy it in the UK than it is to get it in Canada. How frustrating is that??
The other item I wanted to try was the Bourjois Delice de Poudre. I’m a bronzer fiend so every time I see something new or unique, I want it. Not that this powder is especially new on the market, but since I hadn’t picked it up before, it’s new to me! The powder is supposed to smell like cocoa or chocolate, but honestly? I smell coconut. Lots and lots of coconut. It also comes with a whopping 14g of product (a bronzer normally has 9-10g) and looks like chocolate. Adorable.
Soap & Glory‘s Glow All Out is kind of weird to me. When you open the compact you’ll notice the powder is full on PINK. So I was a liiiitle bit skeptical this would work as a highlighter and not a blush. As it turns out, the pigmentation of the actual colour is fairly weak (which is good!) and it instead packs a bunch of shine. It’s pretty, but more of a subtle highlight.
Annnnd another bronzer. Soap & Glory‘s Solar Powder bronzer has a dark side and a light, but really… I’m just going to end up swirling my brush through both of them.
I had asked Natalie to find me Soap & Glory‘s Sexy Motherpucker in Nudist since I loved my Raplumzel so much. She wasn’t able to, but she gave me HERS instead! I wasn’t expecting that at all and yet I’m so pleased because this colour is stunning on me. It’s a gorgeous translucent nude that adds just a little bit of colours but a whole lot of shine. Plus the scent is to die for. By the way, I don’t know if these are discontinued now, but they’re no longer on Soap & Glory’s UK site and Natalie was saying they were sold out almost everywhere. :s
If you made me pick a favourite foundation I’d be tempted to say the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum…. but this is sliiightly better since it provides a touch more coverage. Boots No7 Instant Radiance foundation is freaking BOMB and you can’t find it in Canada anywhere or at Target in the US (they don’t have the Instant Radiance line). This is the foundation that I always notice makes my skin flawless in photos. I ended up getting Cool Vanilla and Warm Ivory because sometimes I feel Cool Vanilla is too pink. I’m so, SO happy to have these back in my arsenal!
And lastly, a cast off from another blogger’s collection: Wet n Wild‘s Sunset Junction. Not sure what I think about it yet, but hey, I love trying new things.
That’s it for this month! Have you picked up anything exciting recently?