I had quite a bit of material to blog about during the past two weeks, but life just happened. I don’t think I have been sick in July before, but I caught a mean virus with migraines that didn’t let me get anything done. Fingers crossed, I shall get more productive during the next few weeks. Here’s a brief recap of what I have been using/trialing…
Skin care on trial: Aside from my usual cleanse + hydrate/soothe routine with the Yuli Halcyon cleanser and the Cocoon Face Elixir, I have just started a bottle of Yuli M.E. Fuel face serum. It’s the face serum that Yuli recommends for blemish-prone complexions, and so far, it seems to be working well for me. Things I like about it are: it has a silky texture (from the broccoli seed oil, which gives it a silicone-like consistency), it is not heavy (not too rich, definitely not greasy), it contains top-notch ingredients, which include bio retinols, black cumin, and red raspberry seed. I will be using this for a few more weeks and then I will write a more in depth review about it.
Petit Vour July box: A bit late, but July’s Petit Vour box* was curated by Thoughtfully magazine, and it’s a really, really good one. If you have never heard of Petit Vour, it is a subscription box that selects the best of cruelty-free, luxury beauty and includes four products to try every month, either in a sample size or a full-size. Here’s what I received in my box:
- One deluxe sample of a cream deodorant called, Routine, which smells great. I have only used a few times and while it prevents my pits from smelling like dirty sweaty pits, I am not sure that this scent works well with my body chemistry. I will be using it more and update you later.
- One deluxe sample of an organic, rose water-based toner from a brand called Luxe de Mer. Haven’t used this one yet, as I no longer introduce multiple, new skincare products in my routine at the same time. Have you tried anything from Luxe de Mer?
- One full-size (4 oz.) mango butter-based body butter from Nubian Heritage. This is a lovely body butter, especially considering the price. It usually retails for about the price of the entire Petit Vour box, so it’s definitely a deal! Smells good, and it’s a great moisturizer. However, I do want to mention that it contains Retinol Palmitate, which is a great anti-aging ingredient (stimulates collagen production and skin repairing), but few studies found to be potentially photo-sensitizing. Research is inconclusive, so I cannot recommend for or against it, and you have to make the call for your self. I would, however, recommend not using it before exposing your skin to the sun (just as a preventative measure), or applying a good sunscreen product after the moisturizer has sunken into the skin.
- an Aila Cosmetics nail polish in the shade, Doolish. I reviewed this on Monday (you can see the swatch here). Gorgeous color, shiny finish, and fast-drying. Excellent value on this item, too!
You can purchase the Petit Vour box here, where you can also shop for other Petit Vour-approved products.
Falling in love with the powder puff: Having oily skin, I consider myself a bit of a setting powder nerd. I have applied my setting powders with powder brushes for years, thinking that it was the best way to do it. Every time I opened a new jar of RMS Beauty Un Powder (I have a translucent one and two tinted ones), I instinctively removed the puff and stored in one of my makeup drawer.., until I recently read that Rose Marie Swift, creator of RMS Beauty, uses that powder puff to set makeup on her jobs. I thought, “Wait. Does she really?” But then I thought that it makes perfect sense that she included a tool in the jar that she believed would be useful. Why would an experienced makeup artist like her include it if it didn’t work? So this week I used the tinted un powder in the shade 22-33, applied it with the powder puff, and I have caught myself looking at my skin in the mirror throughout the day thinking that my skin was looking better than usual, especially around the nose and under the eyes. Do yourself a favor, if you threw that puff in a drawer and is sitting under dusty unused makeup, wash it with a drop of shampoo and start to play with it. If you have never tried the Un-Powder you can find it here. If you only need a puff but you already have a powder you can find a pretty good puff here. I also have a post coming up about all my favorite setting powders.
Red Apple Lipstick Summer Collection*: In case you missed this post on Instagram, Red Apple Lipstick has launched six new lipstick shades and two new lip glosses. It’s a really pretty collection. The shades are gorgeous, the textures are slightly different from each other (some more pigmented than others), but all very nice nonetheless. Post with swatches coming soon. In the meanwhile you can check out their lipsticks here.
bLxAllure Arm Candy. Butter London & Allure just launched a limited edition nail polish collection*, which was exclusively designed for Butter London by Allure beauty editors. It’s a really gorgeous collection, and I will be having a giveaway on Instagram, (one person will win the entire collection) so make sure to watch that space for the details. The collection is available at Sephora.
New post tomorrow. Recommended for no-makeup, makeup lovers!
*media sample
