May 2020 - Reviews and Other Stuff

Month: May 2020

Drunk Elephant Kamili Cream Body Cleanser & Sili Body Lotion Review

May 26, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Drunk Elephant recently released their bath and body collection, which also includes a couple of products for the hair. In this review, I’ll be focusing on their Body Cleanser and their Body Lotion. I did have a sample of their Sweet Pitti Deodorant, which I’m still in the process of testing and will update you all soon.

Like most Drunk Elephant products, I was very excited about this release. Who doesn’t love DE skincare? Most of their stuff is really wonderful and you could say truly skin-changing. Unfortunately, upon trying their newest Kamili Cream Body Cleanser and their Sili Body Lotion, I find myself having mixed feelings about these products.

The Kamili Cream Body Cleanser (8.0 oz: 20 USD), though made for all skin types and has totally clean ingredients, is clearly a cleanser made for very very sensitive skin. It doesn’t foam or lather very much, so you’ll need a lot of it in every wash. I do like its very interesting ingredients which are definitely moisturizing on the skin. I like that it has different blends of healthy oils and antioxidants, like Marula Oil, Sacha Inchi Seed Oil, and Omega 3 Fatty Acids, among other things. I also like its cute packaging. However, I’m not a big fan of its scent. It smells like Play-Doh or Elmer’s Glue-All which can be hard to tolerate. Also, since it doesn’t form a lot of suds, it will not feel very good for those who tend to have oily skin, as you may feel like it’s not cleansing very well.

I thought the Sili Body Lotion (8.0 oz: 20 USD) will be quite different from the Kamili Body Cleanser, especially in terms of the scent, but unfortunately, this lotion smells just like the cleanser above. There isn’t much difference. This lotion is also made of clean and very moisturizing ingredients, which is nice, but I find the texture of this to be the type that sort of sits on top of the skin for a few minutes, which I’m not a fan of. I like my lotions to set into my skin easily so that it won’t stick to my clothes. But anyway, if you like a hydrating body lotion that is made for sensitive skin and you can tolerate its weird almond play-doh scent, then you might be ok with this.

Personally, I think there are better alternatives out there. I like my body lotions and body cleansers to have at least a decent pleasing scent, especially if it comes from a certain brand name with a certain price tag. These, unfortunately, aren’t my cup of teas. I believe there are better drugstore alternatives for these out there. Not sure why, I kind of expected a lot more from DE, but I think I can understand. Must be that these were released during this pandemic? Hmmm, I could think of a few correlations :-).

On a side note, please excuse my occasional posts. I will be MIA from time to time for a few weeks because I’m in the process of moving from my humble abode in the middle of this pandemic. I would like to say that it’s not scary or risky, but it is. Wish me luck! Here’s to chasing our dreams in this Covid-19 era! (virtual cheers!).

P.S. If you’re wondering where I got my pair of Carole Baskin-ish espadrilles (lol), it’s available HERE.

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(and the rest of Drunk Elephant’s latest bodycare releases)

Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blushes Review + Swatches

May 20, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

The Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blush (0.28 oz: 40 USD) is a very popular blush that a lot of people swear by, myself included. There is something about the quality of each compact and the shade range that seem to make the blush work very well on each and everyone’s cheekbones. On top of that, the aesthetic of the compact looks very elegant, even though its packaging design isn’t the most ergonomic. The whole look of it is just simply stunning and it’s the type of blush you would want to apply on your cheeks all the time.

The Cheek to Chic blush is very easy to use and each compact has two shades. One is a center shade that is meant to emphasize and color the cheeks, while the outer shade is meant to contour and sculpt the cheekbones. All you have to do to apply is to swish the outer shade across the cheeks and then apply the inner shade for a multidimensional look. Personally, whenever I apply this, I pretty much just swirl both the shades together especially when I’m in a hurry and I’d still get the same depth or effect more or less.

Most of the shades I’ve tried from this particular blush are really well-pigmented and at the same time very buildable and blendable. They really make your cheeks look beautiful and glowy, especially if you find the right tones that complement your skin. For quite some time, the Ecstasy and the Love Glow compacts have been my constant favorites even though a lot of the Cheek to Chic blush shades also look very nice on my skintone. Then the latest Pillow Talk Intense came and it’s also very very good.

Ecstasy – peach pink, adds a nice peachy coral glow for light to medium skintone. Reminds me a lot of the Nars Orgasm blush.

Love Glow – pink with surrounding glowy peach, for those who love a dolly pink blush with some hints of peach.

Pillow Talk Intense – deep rosy pink with very subtle glow, as what I’ve mentioned when I reviewed the new Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Collection (seen here), don’t be dissuaded by the deep tones of this blush. This gives a nice warm berry pink tone that seems to contour the cheeks especially when you’re lighthanded with your application. The original Pillow Talk blush is way too light for my skintone, but this intense version is a perfect blusher for Fall.

I would describe the Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic blush as very similar to Hourglass’, Bobbi Brown’s and Nars’. The type that is finely-milled, super soft, and most of the shades are very beautiful and very wearable. Definitely worth trying and collecting.

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Playa Hair Care Review

May 14, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello. Here’s a hair care brand that’s been popping out of my Insta feed regularly and it’s got a really cool name – Playa. This is the hair care brand I have mentioned in one of my previous hair care posts that seems to be really interesting especially for those who need a boost of moisture for their hair and could also work for those with oily strands.

In this post, I will be talking about Playa’s Instagram-favorite Every Day Shampoo and Supernatural Conditioner. But before that, I would like to mention that this brand has Sephora’s clean seal, so, the products are pretty much made of all-natural ingredients and also cruelty-free. I love their concept of promoting effortless beauty by simplifying the hair care products we use, which I’m all for.

Every Day Shampoo (8.45 oz: 28 USD) – This shampoo is made for all hair types and this has a pretty recognizable coconut scent. I also noticed some hints of honey plus some other natural oils. The overall scent composition gives a very tropical vibe. Not sweet, just sun, sand, and coconuts. The texture of this is like a thick gel and is slightly yellow-tinged. I find this to be foamy and this cleanses really well without the feeling of my strands drying. That’s because this shampoo is a very moisturizing one. The cleansing effect is very gentle and this keeps the hair moisturized without weighing it down. I believe this shampoo is meant for those with dry hair but will probably be a staple for me during the Winter months where my hair tends to experience some dryness. I also think that this is one of those shampoos that you can use every day.

Supernatural Conditioner (8.45 oz: 28 USD) – This conditioner has a very interesting texture. This probably has the smoothest texture I’ve ever felt in a conditioner and most conditioners have a very smooth texture already. Yet this one feels very buttery smooth, yellow-toned, and has an interesting scent of coconut and some other edible oils. This somewhat reminds me of the Kiehl’s Crème de Corps in terms of consistency. I do find that using only a little bit of this is enough to coat and moisturize the hair. As a very moisturizing conditioner, I still recommend this for those with dry hair especially for those with frizz issues. Because of the amazing consistency and how good this conditioner performs, I think this will definitely make you feel supernatural 🙂 and is definitely one of my top picks in hair conditioners out there.

Overall, with the neat packaging, clean ingredients, unique scent, and really good quality of this Playa Every Day Shampoo + Supernatural Conditioner, I think there is a lot to look forward to with this brand.

Have you tried any of these?

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(as well as the rest of my top moisturizing hair care finds)