Using Luxury Cleansers for a Month

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I always think to myself, what would happen to my skin if I used two super expensive cleansers what would happen to my skin. Quite frankly, I had my best friend ask me if I had ever done a comparison and I hadn’t. I decided I would do just that. I bought two cleansers, the Tata Harper Nourishing oil cleanser and the Drunk Elephant Beste cleanser. The main thing I wanted to know was if the clogged pores on my chin would disappear. I will admit, I wasn’t too great at taking progress photos, due to working late and forgetting, to take them I only got for the whole process, but I did take a day 1 and a day 30 photo. 

  • Day 1 of using the cleansers
  • Day 30 of using the cleansers

As you can see on Day 1 of using the cleansers my skin appears to be clear and free of much noticeable texture. Of course, throughout the 30 days I did get my period which I think contributed to the pimples I have on my shin. The second photo is me with all my skincare on hence the shine. I can only tell that I have less texture and what appears to be barely noticeable less blemishes on my cheek area. Let me know what you think in the comments.

my original line up

At first, I found the cleansers to really cleared up my chin dots. However, not so much so that they permanently stayed away. I really enjoyed using the Drunk Elephant Beste no. 9 Jelly cleanser and not so much enjoyed the Tata Harper. The Tata Harper really burned my eyes. For being a cleaner brand, I found that this was the worst part of using the cleanser was the fact that as soon as I would touch my eyes to remove mascara it would be all of the burn and none of the enjoyment. 

the new line up

The more the cleansers progressed, the more I realized that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Tata Harper. It does get my makeup off, but it isn’t as effective as I thought it would be. The burning of my eyes was probably the biggest surprise. I think that it is nice, but that quite honestly it is not better than other makeup removing cleansers I’ve tried. For example, I’ve used straight up almond oil to get my makeup off and that doesn’t burn my eyes whereas this, marketed to be a makeup remover, burns my eyes like no other. Now, am I using it up, 100 percent I am using this bad boy up because quite frankly I paid an arm and a leg for it, but at this point would not repurchase. 

The Drunk Elephant Beste cleanser. Okay. This is nice. I will give it to Drunk Elephant, they are one of my favourite skincare brands and this cleanser is no exception. I find that it does remove mascara and does not leave my skin feeling stripped. There is no burning sensation in my eyes. This is a classic cleanser, but I really don’t think it is any better than Cerave gel cleanser. Now, I will admit, when I don’t use the Tata Harper I find that my skin really loves the gentleness of the Drunk Elephant Beste Cleanser and I would repurchase this purely because it’s a really clean brand and I like supporting female-owned brands. 

Conclusion: my skin does feel a bit less textured, but I do find in any case my skin feels better after cleansing then it does with my normal gel and foam cleanser combination. I think high end cleansers and drug store cleansers to clean your skin the same way, but it all depends on what you are looking for and what cleansing experience you want in your life.

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Monthly Makeup Basket January 2020

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A bit late into the month. 11 days to be exact. I have been busy with work but am back to tell you what is in my monthly makeup basket for this month (excluding lips and mascara because I am always changing it up). I have probably a lot more in my monthly makeup basket than most normal folks out there. But when you are a beauty blogger, who loves makeup, choice is key.

The base products

I am using the Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer and the Nude by Nature perfecting primer. These are two, basic hydrating primers. Along with that, I have four foundations. I have the Nude by Nature loose foundation warm ivory, the Becca Aqua Luminous foundation, Kosas Tinted face oil in tone 02, and the Glossier skin tint in G11. 

I also have the Too Faced sculpting concealer (I’m still going on this) in Snow, and the Glossier stretch concealer in G11, as well as my mini nude by nature concealer ad the Charlotte Tilbury Magic concealer in fair 4. I have almost hit pan on the Hourglass ambient lighting powder in Ethereal Light. I also have the Klairs BB Cream and the Lush powder in Emotional Brilliance for a setting powder. 

Cheek products

I wanted to do creams and powders for the cheeks. I am using two NARS blushes this month, one in orgasm and one in Torrid. The other powder blush I have is the Revlon blush in the naughty nude. I then have all four of my Burt’s Bees cream sticks, Suez sands and Dhalia Dew as well as the two highlighters opal mist and bronze splash. 

My two powder bronzers for this month are the Hourglass Ambient Lighting bronzer in diffused bronze light and the Fenty Beauty Bronzer in in da sun. For highlighters, I have the new Body Shop Powder highlighter that was out for the holidays (no longer on their website) and the Physicians formula butter highlighter in the shade pearl. 

Eyes

Okay. Yes, it is a lot but I have three eyeshadow palettes I want to include. The Natasha Denona Biba Palette, the Tom Ford Coco Mirage powder, and the Fenty Beauty Moroccan spice palette. I did not include singles or toppers because I like to switch those up daily so I really just switch between all of my single shadows and liquid toppers depending on the day. 

*affiliate link has been used for the Klairs BB Cream*

10 Makeup Favourites in 2019

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This year was a different year for makeup for me. I got a new job where, that required a lot of commuting and traveling, which meant I was more tired and thus the time crunch in the morning became more apparent which affected how often I used product, specifically how often I take the time to do a full-blown smokey eye and diminishing the number of shades I generally use. I found this year was really a year of one wash wonders and subtle highlighters. 

Favourite Base products

The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away concealer is the best concealer I’ve ever tried. It is super difficult to open so if the packaging could be change that would really be great. I find that it is really difficult to open whenever I’m using it after I’ve used my base products. I know this is a struggle that the Anna Edit also found with this. Quite honestly, this is the biggest thing making me not want to buy it is how difficult it is to open. 

The Sublt Beauty stack was by far the most exciting makeup product I bought this year and I’ve used their concealer the most. I cannot get over how amazing all of the products in this wee stack are. The concealer is by far one of my favourite concealers that I have tried in a long time. It minimally creases and is easy to set and never looks cakey. I also love the highlighter in this stack, it is literally powdered dew which I love. 

Despite many mixed reviews in the beauty community the Kosas Tinted Face Oil is the best face product I’ve tried this year. Now, if you use too much of this I find that it is way too detectable on my skin, but I use a dime sized amount and it is enough to cover my whole face. I love the finish and the shade matches me quite well. 

Favourite Lip product

The Colourpop lip tints are the best new lipstick that I have tried in awhile. First, they smell so lovely, second they are so easy to wear and easy to us. They come in a boatload of shades and I predict that they could be used in a multistick fashion. I find myself reaching for these over other lip formulas. 

Favourite Cheek products 

I loved the Nudestix nudies highlighter in the shade illuminaughty this year and the Charlotte Tilbury filmstar bronze and glow. Both of these highlighters are used for different purposes. The Charlotte Tilbury highlighter packs a bit more of a punch and is one I wear when I’m feeling like wearing a bit more of a champagne look. The Nudestix one is a glossy, pink-toned highlighter that matches my undertone perfectly. It looks glossy on the skin and stays all day. I also loved the hourglass bronzer this year. I feel like this bronzer is good on its own or great for layering on top of other bronzers for that bronze goddess look. This was also a favourite from last year so you could say I’m a creature of habit. The MAC blush in peach twist is still a favourite. This blush sticks around all day and remains neutral enough to match a ton of eyeshadow colors. This was a favourite in 2018 as well but I cannot get over how nicely this blush sits on the cheeks. It has a beautiful easy glow to it and is buildable which I love in a blush.

Favourite eyeshadow

I am well aware that this cheating because I only got this in November. However, I cannot stop using the MAC Eyeshadow palette from the Christmas collection. All of the shades in this palette work very well together. They are cohesive and you can create quite a dew different looks. I also have been loving the Hourglass scattered light shadow in burnish. Oh my, what a beautiful easy sublte shimmer for the workday. I love throwing this on, it makes me feel like a million bucks. I know these are overpriced for what they are, but something about the little pot gets me everytime.

12 Brands in 2020 I want to Try

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Okay. I failed this year in my attempt to buy less makeup … I’m talking a huge fail. So, in an attempt to curb consumption but also still make my heart happy and have a fun hobby I’ve picked 12 brands that I want to try in 2020. I think that this might help me consume less and impulse buy less. I am hoping to follow this list closely so that when I have that monthly hankering to get something shiny, I have a list in my back pocket with what I want. I also tried to spread out what I’m buying so I’m not collecting too many things in one category. I think my fatal flaw from my post last year was I didn’t consider that (as much as I don’t want to be like this) how often I paroused Sephora and Shoppers, and thus wanted to review something new monthly. This list will hopefully help with this!

Em Cosmetics

I’ve seen so many of my favourite influencers and content creators use this brand. The morning dew gloss, the liquid blush and I knew that it needed a spot on my list. This brand was created by Michelle Phan for anyone. It is a universal brand with a lot of different items but remains curated and I find (at least from what I’ve seen on social media) they don’t release too much which I appreciate. 

Pat McGrath

I know this is a big expensive one. But I have always wanted to try something from the brand, whether it is the eyeshadow palette or the lip gloss. I have those two things specifically on my list because it is what I’ve been lusting over for the duration of my time knowing about the brand. This is a brand created by a makeup artist who is an icon in the world of fashion and beauty. I am really excited to try this one in 2020. 

Armani Beauty

I think my big draw to this brand is really Ttsandra. She is such a classy lady, wearing her turtle necks and bold lips. She is always using Armani beauty including the concealer and the lip products. I really want to try the concealer, the eyeshadow and the fluid sheer. 

Bobbi brown

Again this just feels like a classy lady brand. I find that my work place is really a black jeans and a nice top workplace, so I like to make my makeup to feel a bit more dressed up if you will. I love wearing my Tom Ford to work because it makes me feel classy and powerful. I have wanted to try her primer and the crushed lipstick so that is what I have on my list for this one. 

Flower

This is the only drugstore brand on my list. Flower Beauty was created by Drew Berrymore and is a brand that I think is geared towards a younger demographic, but a lot of my favourite cruelty-free YouTubers love it. I wanted to try a few things from this brand to see what the hype is about. Particularly their blush bombs look interesting as does the highlighter palette. In Canada flower is sold on well.ca

Kjer weis

Again, a brand brought to me by Ttsandra. I really wanted to see what this was about after listening to a podcast with the founder. It is a clean beauty brand, whatever that means, and all of the products are refillable to that lessens waste. I wanted to try the cream foundation and the lip tint. The lip tint can also double as a cheek tint .

Chanel Beauty

I think this is one for me that is just such a classy lady brand that I feel I want in my collection at this point in my life. This is one of the oldest brands, and that started out as a luxiourious french brand. They launched their first lipstick in 1924, which was decidedly more luxe than others on the market. Definetly a brand that i feel has a rich socia history and has beautiful products. 

Persona Cosmetics

Persona was started by content creator Sona Gasparian. To be honest, I don’t watch her videos often but she has great skills and the message behind her brand is something I can get behind. She said she created the brand for women to empower every aspect of their personas they portray in society. I really liked the idea and have seen several people use this brand. I would like to try her eyeshadows and the highlighter! Possibly the lip gloss. 

Zoeva

This is another female owned brand, which we know your girl loves to support. The brand hinges on the founder wanted to help women in crisis which I am all for. She started selling brushes on ebay and then turned her business into a larger market place with palettes, their famous brushes, foundation, and blush palettes. I want to try their brushes more than anything from the collection. I an effort to minimize the amount of eyeshadow palettes I won’t buy one from this brand. Who knows though, I might try one of their blush palettes.

Nabla cosmetics

Nabla is an Italian Indie brand that I first saw Mariah Leonard use and then Jamie Paige Beauty. They are vegan and cruelty free and vegan, and was born from the minds of a physicist, artist and osteopath. They have the same philosophy of other brands and that is makeup as creation and empowerment. I want to try their highlighter and eyeshadow palette, since I’ve seen those two products the most in the beauty community. 

Uoma Beauty

This brand was created by a Nigeran born and “former beauty executive Sharon Chuter, the UOMA Beauty range is rebellious, innovative and created for all”. The brand is intended for everyone and it is intended to shake up the industry to make something that has women of colour in mind which how can I not support that. I wanted to try the concealer, ever since seeing Samantha Ravendhal use it, and the contour stick.

Vapour beauty

Vapour uses plant based ingredients to formulate their products so that they can be sustainable. This is directly from their website: “Inspired by the purity of light and the elemental energy of Taos, NM, renegade natural beauty pioneers Krysia Boinis and Kristine Keheley lead the evolution of clean color cosmetics with Vapour”. This is a “clean” brand and has a lot of products that look like they would be really lovely to use. It is a more luxe brand which I am drawn to, so what else is new. I am always interested in trying a cream multistick so I’m going to try that and I always love a good primer so I will try that as well. I am also highly considering trying their foundation as I only have two so far on this list.