Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution, a love story.

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

It's no secret that I have a bit of a thing for micellar waters. Bioderma is my first love when it comes to this type of product, but since it is so damn hard to get your hands on in the U.S. & I don't have the luxury to hop on over to Europe whenever I need to replenish ..I've been left to my own devices. For a while I was buying it from Amazon, which wasn't bad, but a reliable seller that was always in stock when I needed them to be proved to be more difficult to find than I thought it would be. So after doing the Amazon tango with Bioderma, I decided to go on the hunt for something that was more easily accesible but still a great quality. My first stop was Caudalie's version. While this one is probably the closest in comparison with Bioderma, I still had to order it from online since the brand is not stocked locally for me & the price point was MUCH larger. Scratch. The when Sephora released their own offering & it was available in my local Sephora at a lower price point I nearly jumped out of my pants at the prospect of finding a winner. Unfortunately, the formula wasn't that great. There was something in it that made it smell soapy & it burned my eyes. Strike two. Then came Vichy's offering. Newly available in Ulta & also a French brand, I squinted my eyes and crossed my fingers as I handed over my bank card to the cashier. The Vichy one was great. The formula is right up there with Caudalie's. While not identical to Bioderma, they are still great. Once I started to dissect the price per ml math though, the affair came crashing down around me as most affairs do. Even with shipping & the pain in the ass tracking, Bioderma came in at a cheaper price. Like cheap enough to make me want to hunt it down again. Hunt it down is exactly what I did. I found a great price for it on Amazon, so I snatched up two this last time. Boy am I glad that I did. The formula is still the more superior one of all that I have tested & since the bottle's so big & I have two of them I don't have to worry about constantly replacing it. Of course I will always have Caudalie & Vichy there as back ups just in case I can never find this again. Bioderma, if you're reading this, PLEASE start selling in the states!

NARS And God Created The Woman Palette

Top L-R: Night Clubbing, Coconut Grove, Galapagos
Bottom L-R: Kalahari, Bellisima, Alhambra

Since right around Christmas time, I developed a new love affair for eyeshadow palettes. It started with the Naked Basics Palette, then a Christmas gift of the Naked 2 palette set me on a path of no return. After that came this. The NARS And God Created the Woman Palette. It came with a mini Pro-Prime Eyeshadow base, which has been a long time favorite & the #3 Eyeshadow brush which is also nice. This palette is a beauty. It has several NARS eyeshadows in it that I had been tossing & turning with in regards to trying such as Coconut Grove. Lately the light pink shade Alhambra has been a big favorite. I wear it as a highlight on my inner corner & just on the center of my eyelids for a simple & glowing eye look. Overall, this is a great versatile palette. It has just about everything that I need & would be enough for me to take this alone on a weekend trip. I love good neutral palettes & this is most definitely a keeper. The consistency of NARS eyeshadows is a little harder than Urban Decay or Burberry, but they are one of my favorite formulas out there.

This was purchased at Sephora for $59 USD.

Origins Zero Oil Oil-Free Moisturizer

Origins Zero Oil Oil-Free Moisturizer

Do you have oily skin? Or combination skin that has oily zones? Is your skin prone to breakouts? Is your skin sensitive? If you answered yes to some or all of the above, I sugest this little diddy from Origins.

Now it's no secret that Origins is perhaps my favorite brand when it comes to skin care. They just nick all of the right boxes for me & they don't bother my skin. This moisturizer in particular has been a Godsend for my skin. It is my favorite to use underneath foundation because it is oil-free. With the added Saw Palmetto & Mint that is good for breakouts, it is a great option if you are suffering from a breakout. It doesn't have any added APF, so I always try to be sure that whatever I'm using with it contains the extra SPF that I need. I mainly only use this for day time as I find that it is not rich enough for night time use. It also works well with primers even though until recently I had never really used it with one. It doesn't change the natural wear time of my makeup, meaning that it does not make it wear longer or make the wear time shorter either. This is a good one to give a try if you find that you suffer from any of the above skin conditions that I listed.

I purchase this from an Origins counter for $26.50

Deborah Lippmann Ridge Filler

Deborah Lippmann Ridge Filler

I have a love/hate relationship with Deborah Lippmann. The products are amazing, but they tend to do a little chipping. Not much, but enough for me to question if they really warrant their steep price tag. Her ridge filler is one that I've recently fallen back in love with. I have been trying to take care when it comes to my nails. I was having a lot of problems with them peeling. While they're not back to 100%, they are in MUCH better health than before. The ridge filler is the perfect thing for my nails right now. It gives them a protective top coat & one coat of it makes them look healthy. I warn though that more than one coat of this & they begin to look a little yellow. This has made an appearance in my favorites in the past & I'm willing to bet that it will make many more.

Ole Henriksen Blue/Black Berry Enzyme Mask

Ole Henriksen Blue/Black Berry Enzyme Mask

You all probably know that I love the REN Glycolactic Mask, but I am not in love with it's price tag. A few weeks ago, when I was  pumping out my last bit of the mask with all of my might, I decided to go on a quest to find something new to replace it. I started with the trusty Sephora site and after loads of research, I settled on this gem from Ole Henriksen. I was nervous about trying it out because any time I try to vary things up in my skincare routine, my skin revolts. Alas I persevered. This mask will be especially awesome in the summer time. It is a clear gel like consistency. It has an immediate cooling effect & smells of lavender. So in the summer time, right before bed...check! It gives the same tingling effect that the REN one does & acts in the same way. This is not only more gentle on the skin, but also on your pocket book. It's also a little more than double the size of the REN. This mask has made me want to try out more of Ole Henriksen's skin care. Next up on my list, Vitamin Plus.

I purchased this from Sephora for $32 USD. The REN Mask was also purchased at Sephora for $55. Glycolactic

Initial Product Rave: Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation in 825 Buff Beige

I'm pretty hesitant to write this, almost as hesitant as I was at trying this product out. I don't have a good track record when it comes to drugstore foundations. The only one's that I can usually find a good color match in is Revlon, but the brand also happens to break me out, even though they have some great foundations. I had heard the ruckas in regards to this product when it first released this spring. Without thinking, I went out to Ulta to purchase it. Once I had it though, I was scared to use it. Did I really want to get into a tug of war with another drugstore foundation? To me, it usually is a waste of money to try out drugstore foundations. I have a high end one that I am perfectly happy with & my record with drugstore foundations is so dirty I don't even know why I bother anymore. There was something about this one that pulled me in though.

I finally caved today though. It has been sitting at my makeup table for a few weeks now almost begging me to use it. Now it will take a few more uses to know if it will break me out, but there is no initial irritation to report. The wear & coverage of this is nice though & I only needed to add some under eye concealer. It doesn't have a matte finish, nor does it have a dewy finish. It is a satin almost skin like finish. The color match isn't as great as my beloved Clarins or NARS, but it's actually not too bad. I was torn between two shades in the shop, so if this doesn't break me out, I will probably try out the other shade I was debating on to see if it's a better match. I have been wearing it for a good three hours now & there is absolutely NO signs of fading or splotching. It looks as if I just applied it. The coverage of this is great. I applied one layer with the Sephora Mineral Foundation Brush, then added a little extra in my problem zones. No extra concealer was needed. I didn't use a primer or moisturizer with it this time. I'll keep you posted on it & let you know how it works out, but I am personally keeping my fingers crossed that I have found a good drugstore foundation.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Finland

I've mentioned this product time and time again. Now that I've purchased my second tube of it, I thought that it was about time that I did a full review on it. To date, this is my favorite tinted moisturizer & I do love me a good tinted moisturizer. My skin has always been sensitive to two things: moisturizer and SPF. I have found tinted moisturizers that work okay for me, but none that also had an added SPF in them. That is of course until this little beauty came along.

This is not advertised as an oil free moisturizer, but I have combination skin & I don't find that it makes me particularly oily & lasts decently. It fades down nicely never making me feel splotchy. For someone that feels as if their skin is considerably oily, you may want to get a tester of this first.

This gives a sheer coverage that even verges slightly upon the medium territory. I find that it's decently build-able which is rare for a tinted moisturizer. It blur imperfections decently & on good skin days I often find that this & some under eye concealer are all that I need. There is no shimmer within the product, but it manages to brighten the complexion nicely without making you look like a disco ball. The color match is one of the best for me. NARS never lets me down when it comes to color match. To top all of this off, there is an SPF of 30 in it. The old packaging claims that it is SPF 30/PA +++ & the new package simple says Broad Spectrum SPF 30. I'm not sure if there is much of a difference between the two, but the ingredient listing is the same on both. When I use this on a regular basis, I feel like my skin is in its best shape. There are lots of skin care benefits behind this tinted moisturizer that make it seem almost similar to a BB cream. I have been using this for a little over a year & although there are a couple of others on the market that I really want to give a good go (can we say Jouer & Hourglass?!), it is very hard for me to pull myself away from this one. Maybe one day soon, I'll get the courage to step away from this to try something new, but for now I am happily content.