I hope you had a great weekend and an even better start your week! We have a good friend whom we haven't seen since college, visiting from Hawaii! Thanks to mama nature we have been spending a lot of time hanging around the house just catching up. Its been a seriously cold and rainy couple of days here in Anchorage. I would like the cloud cover to lift for a bit so he can at least catch a glimpse of the mountains before he leaves tomorrow... I mean come on!
Towards the end of August I shared my thoughts on some of the beauty products I had tried during the month (read that post here,) and I thought it was a lot of fun! It's not only helpful for me to kind of take stock in the things I've been using but it's so great to bounce product reviews around with you and grow my Ulta/Sephora/Nordstrom wish list. Seriously, I almost never purchase a new beauty product without first consulting a couple of blogs or YouTube videos to get the scoop. (Am I the only one???)
Since I'm all about putting good juju out into the world wide web, here are the products I tried this month and my thoughts on them.
(Oh! These are mostly skin care products because, well, moving meant makeup wasn't happening on the reg.)
Up & Up Deep Pore Cleaning Strips || I know I've talked about these strips before, but they deserve to be mentioned again! Blackheads on my nose have always been on of my primary skincare concerns. (Gross, I know.) There really isn't much I can do to get rid of them it seems. No scrub, dissolving gel or treatment seem to get the job done as well as these strips do. Now, in this case I'm not simply purchasing the store brand to save money; these work better than the Biore strips in my opinion and the price tag is just an added perk. If you have to deal with blackheads like I do, I highly recommend giving these a shot!
StriVectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner || I'm not much of a primer gal, so when I got this in the mail, I was skeptical. It is intended to be used as the final step in your skincare routine both in the morning before you apply your makeup and night. Generally speaking, I think a simple moisturizer does the job just as well as most primers do. Buuuuut the whole "retinol pore refiner" bit really got me motivated to give it a fair shot. The box claims that over time you will notice fewer fine lines and wrinkles as well as less noticeable pores. A little anti-aging mixed with something that may mask the massive crater sized pores I've got happening around my nose? Yes please! I've literally used this every single day this month, whether I'm wearing makeup or not. It makes such a huge difference in the texture and appearance of my skin making me feel more confident on the days when I choose to forge foundation! I will 100% repurchase this, in spite of its steep price tag. Worth every penny!
Too Faced Born This Way Foundation || This is a medium/full coverage foundation that is infused with coconut water, alpine rose and hyaluronic acid. It's supposed to offer a natural looking finish while simultaneous taking care of your skin. Sounds pretty perfect, right? The reviews I've seen on this stuff have been pretty hit or miss. One of the biggest complaints I've seen is that people are unhappy with the "tone" of the shade range claiming the foundation is too yellow. I freaking LOVE this foundation! A pump and a half covers my entire face damn near flawlessly while feeling like I have nothing on. I set it with this stuff and I'm good to go. With most brands/foundations, I best match to the lightest shade in the line, but that wasn't the case with this. The lightest shade was in fact too yellow for my skin tone, but the next shade darker was a perfect match. So, maybe this isn't a foundation you order online, but I definitely recommend checking it out! (Sidetone: This foundation does not contain SPF so be sure you don't skip your sunscreen when wearing this stuff. I've been loving my R&F face sunscreen!)
Hyaluronic Eye Cream by Mario Badescu || Thanks to my dna (and maybe having two under two has something to do with it as well) the bags and dark circles under my eyes rival that of a 95 year old. Fo real! I'm constantly on the prowl for new, crazy eye creams to work their magic on my face, but every now and then I will reach for something a bit more simple. Enter this Mario Badescu hyaluronic eye cream. My thoughts on this are really just...well, ehhhh. Not bad, especially considering how affordable it is, but also nothing fantastic. There is no fragrance and it is fine to use under makeup/undereye concealer, but I didn't feel it did anything special in the way of hydration.
Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum by Neutrogena || Honestly, I only purchased this because I'm out of the two serums that are included in my reverse regimen but still have decent amount of the exfoliator and toner left so I want to use that up before I reorder. Anyway, I've been really impressed! I use this morning and night and find that it soaks into my skin really quickly and cleanly. A couple of nights a week I use it with my derma roller and can definitely feel this serum doing its thing! Totally a good, drugstore anti-aging product!
And that's all she wrote! What products have you tried lately? If you have a beauty product related blog post, leave us the link!