Showing posts with label body care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body care. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

SKINCARE || Top 3 Favourite Body Moisturisers for Dry Winter Skin

Hey guys! I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a huge problem with dry skin, even in the winter months. Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe it's just that I don't spend a lot of time outside, but whatever it is, my skin stays pretty good on most of my body year round. That said, I do get dry patches on my face, hands, and legs. I could also moisturize A LOT more than I do... I hate the feeling of being sticky or greasy all over, so I very rarely moisturize my whole body at once, instead sticking to spot treatments on dry areas or just moisturizing my hands, legs, or arms. Oh, and since I got my tattoo, that left shoulder has been pretty nicely taken care of too...!

So with all of that in mind, I wanted to share with you some of my favourite, go-to moisturizers this winter. Some are great for spot treating dry patches, some are just great at moisturizing without feeling greasy, sticky, or heavy... but all of them are really good, hydrating products I think anyone could use! Now, without any more ado, let's get into the products:

1. Lubriderm Unscented Lotion for Normal to Dry Skin


lubriderm

Pretty basic stuff, I know, but so good at its job! I bought this for my tattoo's aftercare, but I've also taken to using this for any really dry spots. It's a water based lotion, so it isn't greasy, and it's thick and hydrating without being heavy or too much. Plus, it has no perfumes or fragrance, so you can use it anywhere, as much as you want. Aside from Vitamin B5, it doesn't boast any fancy, trendy ingredients, so I feel like many people might overlook this stuff as old-school or too basic, or whatever, but it honestly really does its job well. Apart from my tattoo, I've been using this mainly on my hands and knees, but I've also used it on my lips to great success, and it doesn't taste like anything! I mean, don't try to eat it, but it won't be end-of-the-world awful if you get some in your mouth!

2. Acure Ultra-Hydrating Body Lotion


acure lotion

I've loved both products I've tried from this company so far, and I love their cute, snarky packaging. This was sent to me to test out, but I've honestly fallen in love with it. This one is a fragrance-free lotion with loads of good ingredients like cocoa butter, CoQ10, evening primrose, argan oil, acai extract, chamomile, and aloe, to name a few. This stuff is kinda weird—in a great way!— because it comes out looking like a thick creamy lotion, but as soon as you start to rub it into your skin, it's like it dissolves into this water-like texture and absorbs immediately! And it's super hydrating, my skin feels immediately softer and healthy after using it. It's gentle and soothing, and again I love that it has no scent, so I have no problems using as much as needed anywhere on my body. Since it's healed, I've been using it to keep my tattoo'd skin soft, and to try to get some hydration back into my peeling palms. I think it makes a great hand lotion, also, because of how quickly it absorbs!

3. Jergens Green Tea After-Shower Moisturizer


jergens

I know I've mentioned this one before, but I had to include it in this post, since it's the only moisturizer I can make myself use on my whole body! It goes on right after the shower on your wet skin, so a little goes a long way, it seals the moisture right into your skin, and once it's all rubbed in, you gently pat away any excess water on your skin (don't rub or you'll be taking lotion off too!). It does stay a bit sheen-y and almost oily for a little while, but it isn't heavy and your skin will feel so good you won't mind. It does soak in quickly, though, as the rest of the excess water on your skin air dries. It isn't a heavy moisturizer, and I can even bring myself to use it in the summer because the green tea scent feels light and cooling, but any hydration you can add to your skin in the winter is good too, so I wanted to include this for anyone like me who hates moisturizing your whole body. Maybe this can work for you too! I did receive this product from an LDBeauty event, but the fact that I'm still using it, I think speaks for itself.

***

To be honest, I was going to make this a Top 5 post and include 2 more products, but I realised as I was writing this that I really only had 3 I wanted to tell you about, and to add 2 more I would have been fishing around for products I don't truly love as much. There are a couple of lighter body lotions I really love, but I don't really feel like they're winter moisturizers; maybe I'll try to do another post like this in the summer! So I'm stopping here.

Let me what your favourite moisturizers are for the dry winter weather, especially if they feel light, absorb quickly, are fragrance free, or smell amazing.

Thanks for watching!

Monday, December 26, 2016

2016 Beauty Favourites Round-up!! || + My Top 15 Products of 2016

Hey guys! Once again, it's that time of the year again where all the bloggers and youtubers are rifling through their products to pick out the best of the best to share their favourite picks of the year to share! I already posted a Non-Beauty Favourites for 2016, which you should check out if you haven't already, but now I'm back with a complete round up of all my favourites in lots of product categories. I have done this for the past several years, and I had to do it again!

I've also filmed a video featuring my Top 15 products, if you're looking for only the best of the best, or a more condensed version, so I'll embed that here, but if you want to see all my favourites in skincare, makeup, nails, and beauty tools, be sure to scroll down and check out the whole list!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Skincare:

skincare
  • Makeup Remover: Neutrogena Oil-Free Makeup Remover
  • Face wash: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Face Cleansing Oil
  • Toner Garnier Skin Active Micellar Water (I know, not technically a toner, but that's how I use it
  • Moisturizers:
    • sleep mask -- Freeman's Honeydew & Chamomile Sleep Mask
    • light/daytime -- Clean * Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer

Face Makeup:

face
  • Foundations:
    • L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte foundation
    • Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation
  • Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
  • Concealer: Kat Von D Lock It Concealer
  • Blush: Benefit Coralista
  • Bronzer: Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil
  • Contour: ELF Contour Palette
  • Highlighters:
    • MAC Mineralised Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle
    • Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights
  • Setting Spray: Urban Decay All-Nighter setting spray

Eye Makeup

eyes
  • Primer: Essence I Love Colour Intensifying eyeshadow base
  • Palettes:
    • drugstore/affordable matte-- ELF Mad For Matte palette
    • highend matte -- Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette
    • drugstore/affordable mixed palette -- BH Cosmetics Shaaanxo palette
    • highend mixed palette -- Urban Decay Naked palette
  • Liner Pencil: Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero
  • Liquid/Gel/Cream Liner: Stila Stay-All-Day Liquid Liner in Black
  • Mascara: Maybelline Rocket Volume Express Waterproof Mascara
  • Brow Pencil: CoverGirl Brow & Eye Maker Pencils in Midnight Brown
  • Brow Gel: L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper Gel in Med-Deep

Lip Products

lips
  • Balm: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy
    • Honorable Mention: Burt's Bees Nourshing Lip Balm with Mango Butter
  • Lipsticks:
    • nude -- MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Creme Cup
    • bright -- Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in L.U.V.
    • red -- MAC Viva Glam Lipstick in Viva Glam I
    • dark -- MAC Satin Lipstick in Cyber
    • neutral -- Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Punked Matte

Body Care / Scents / Perfume

body
  • Perfumes:
    • Dior Pure Poison
    • Nina Ricci La Tentation
  • Hand Lotion: Great American Clay Body Creme Souffle in Cucumber Melon
  • Body Lotion: Jergans Wet Skin Moisturizer in Green Tea (not pictured)
  • SPF:
    • body -- Hawaiian Tropics Kids SPF 50+ lotion
    • face -- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face SPF 60 lotion

Nails:

nails
  • Base coat: Essie Millionails nail treatment
  • Colours:
    • light/bright -- nudes, especially OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?
    • dark -- greys, especially Essie Frock 'N Roll
  • Top coat: INM Out The DOor quick dry topcoat

Tools & Brushes

brushes tools
  • Nail File: Burton Crystal Travel File
  • Eye Brushes:
    • ELF Studio "C" Brush
    • xoBeauty Round Top Blender
    • LSigma E40
    • ELF Essentials Smudger
  • Face Brushes:
    • Real Techniques Buffer
    • Real Techniques Contour
    • ELF Studio Complexion
    • xoBeauty Blush
    • ELF Studio Blush
  • Hair Brush Travel Tangle Teezer

***

And that's all! Again, don't miss my 2016 Non-Beauty Favourites, if you haven't read it yet. And be sure to let me know some of your favourite makeup and beauty products of 2016 in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

REVIEW || BVSpa by Bon Vital Body Scrubs and Moisturizers

Hello again! Today I have a review for you of a few really nice products from BVSpa! These products were sent to me for review, but this post isn't sponsored and all my opinions are completely honest. And I'm so glad I got the chance to test these out because I am really liking them a lot!

So I was sent one each of their Sugar Body Scrub and Salt Body Scrub, as well as each two of their body moisturizers: one Body Butter and one Body Lotion. Between the four products, I'm also had a chance to test out all three of the scents they offer... and they're all fantastic!

The BV Spa line is meant to be the at-home line of spa-quality products from Bon Vital, which is used by some massage therapists. The line is now available at Shoppers Drug Mart here in Canada for $11.99 each, which I'm pretty sure applies to both the scrubs and the lotions. All the products are full of good ingredients, and free of any parabens, sulfates, and phthalates, as well, so no worries there!

The Scrubs

scrubs

As I said, I received two scrubs from BV Spa, one sugar scrub in the Pomegranate & Acai scent, and one salt scrub in the Lavender & Rosemary. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the texture of the scrubs, because I think most of the scrubs I have used have used things like seeds and sand(?) as the exfoliators, stuff that doesn't dissolve in water, which can frequently be quite harsh if you aren't careful.

The description of the products I received from their PR was that the salt is harsher, better for one-a-week use, and good at removing dry skin from tough places like elbows and knees, while the sugar is gentle enough for daily use and on more delicate skin, including your neck and chest (which has skin about as delicate as your face). Both scrubs also contain Jojoba, Olive, and Safflower oils to help moisturize while you scrub away dead skin.

After using both scrubs a couple times, I really like them both! I'm not sure I can notice a difference between the two in terms of the harshness of the salt versus the sugar, and I find that both dissolve in the hot water in the shower quite quickly, which is great because you aren't left with pieces of tiny scrubby bits after you get out, which I seem to get from pretty much every other type of scrub... I have used the salt scrub on my chest, and while the sugar is a slightly finer texture, I don't think there is a drastic difference. I wouldn't say that either of these is a harsh product, and I have pretty delicate skin.

Also, the hydration from the oils helps to replenish your skin before it can ever feel dried out or sad from the scrub. But I also find there is no oily residue, so you're left feeling clean, refreshed, soft, moisturized, and smelling fantastic!

And again, as I said above, these smell amazing! The pomegranate & acai is really fruity and summery, and reminds me of a Bath & Body Works scent, but more real, if that makes sense! The Lavender & rosemary I was really excited to try out, and it did not disappoint! I love herbal scents, and mixed with the lavender, the rosemary smells fantastic. But you don't smell like food, just fresh and clean and a tiny bit essential oil-ish, which I love! Also, the rosemary helps to tone down the lavender scent, which on its own can be way too overpowering for me. Both are great options. The grapefruit would probably also smell fantastic, since I'm sure it smells just like the lotion, which I'll talk more about in a bit.

The Moisturizers

lotion and butter

Just like the scrubs, I received one each of the lotion and body butter in different scents: the Body Butter in Pomegranate & Acai, and the Body Lotion in Pink Grapefruit. Sometimes I feel like lotions are body butters from the same brand are a little too similar for there to be a point, but these two products have quite different textures, and I like them both (But I think I like the lotion the most!).

body butter

The body butter is obviously a thicker, creamier product, and it contains cocoa and shea butters to deeply moisturize dry skin. I find this body butter really lovely, its definitely more intense than the lotion, but it still manages to absorb into the skin quickly, with very little left on your skin even a minute later. It leaves skin feeling more soft and supple, and, again, it smells fantastic!

body butter texture

The pomegranate & acai scent comes through in this butter just as well as in the scrub, which is great, since sometimes different formulas can change the way a scent smells on your skin, but these match perfectly, which is great if you want to pair and layer the scents!

lotion

While I do love the formula on the body butter, I love the lotion even more! The texture is much thinner (as you can see in a picture below; the body butter is at the top, and the lotion at the bottom), and it absorbs even more quickly!

compare textures

This lotion contains sunflower oil, jojoba oil, squalane, hyaluronic acid, and aloe, so it's still really moisturizing, despite it's thinner consistency. While the body butter is great for really dry areas or as a nighttime treatment, I think this lotion is great for any time, because it soaks into the skin so quickly and feels so nice.

I also wanted to point out that this bottle's pump twists open and closed easily, so if you want to take this with you on a trip, or need it sealed again for whatever reason, this is way easier than most other body lotion pumps to reclose, which is so super convenient! I know this is a tiny thing that won't matter to most people, but I think it's a great little additional feature. =P

lotion pump

Finally, the grapefruit scent might be my favourite, or at least it's battling for first place with the lavender rosemary scent! It's not a sickly sweet, candy scent... it smells more like fresh, ripe grapefruit: it's sweet, citrus-y, and just a little bitter or sharp, like a grapefruit, and it just smells so clean and fresh! I kind of want to smell like this all the time! I've also tried mixing this with the body butter, and the grapefruit plus the pomegranate acai just smells like the best, most summery fruit salad. So great!

***

So overall, there wasn't anything about these products that I disliked, and I would definitely recommend them! I think they would work well for most people and most skin-types. I suppose if your skin is really sensitive to scented products, maybe this wouldn't work great for you, but I had no problems with any of the scents. I think the scrubs are both not too harsh for dry or sensitive skin, and quite hydrating, while also not being too oily for people with oily skin!

Like I said, these should now be available for purchase at your local Shoppers Drug Mart for $11.99 each.

Have you ever tried any products from this brand? Let me know your thoughts, or let me know your favourite body scrubs and lotions!

Thanks for reading!

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