Reviews and Other Stuff

Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Facial Cleanser & Gentle Foaming Cleanser Review

March 20, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey There! Happy Monday. I’ve been testing these two facial cleansers from Clarins which are almost rated 5 stars in Sephora. These are the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Facial Cleanser and the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser. It all started when I received a sample of the Gentle Foaming Cleanser and fell in love with both the scent and the formula immediately. I then decided that I should get the regular size, and while checking out other products from Clarins, I also fell in love with the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser, which basically has the same scent as the Gentle Foaming one, but it has microbeads for exfoliation and orange extracts.

I’ve never tried any Clarins product before, and I’m so surprised by how much I enjoyed their cleansers. They smell fresh and spa-like and they foam very well. The two cleansers I purchased are really great for oil-control while being gentle and exfoliating.

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser – This cleanser was love at first wash. Ha!. I knew I was gonna be crushing on this particular cleanser right from the moment I applied it to my face. Just a pea size and this cleanser foams really well with a fresh cotton scent. Like freshly-cleaned laundry. The scent is strong, but it’s an enjoyable scent. This gentle cleanser takes away excess oil completely, and my face felt thoroughly cleaned and renewed. It has cottonseed for soft smooth skin and Katafray Bark Extract to prevent moisture loss. This is probably one of the best FOAMING facial cleanser I’ve ever tried, and it’s so great to pair with my Foreo.

Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Facial Cleanser – Something about this cleanser that signals a fresh spa-like experience. Which is definitely true, this cleanser is great at gently exfoliating dead skin cells while working deep down into the pores with its silica microbeads and moringa seed extract. But what I love most about this cleanser is that even though this has a very similar scent to the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser above, this one has an additional orange scent to it, which is very refreshing and it works really well to take away excess oil without using any facial cleansing device.

Verdict: I think I will be repurchasing these two facial cleansers from Clarins or might as well replace my favorite cleansers with these because as what I’ve said before, I love how it cleanses my face and controls the oil. I feel like the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser leaves my skin smooth and oil-free without being harsh, while the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Facial Cleanser is for when you need to exfoliate deep down to the pores while still remaining gentle and refreshed afterwards. On top of that, they’re both affordable and comes in a decent size for a cleanser.

To purchare the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser, click HERE.

For the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Facial Cleanser, click HERE.

What’s your fave facial wash?

Ciao for now!

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P.S.. Song of the day: I’m A Believer, Smash Mouth.

YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil Review

March 17, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

What’s Up Everybody! You all know I love YSL lip products and I just can’t get enough of them. As I’ve said before, YSL lippies are very reliable for me and they’re usually the lipsticks that you’d most likely find in my purse. They all have the same flavoring of their lipsticks, glosses and balms. It’s that juicy mango-guava taste that some of you may find to be a bit too much, but personally, it hasn’t really bothered me that much. It may take some getting used to for others though.

This YSL lip product that is currently in my purse is the YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil. It’s basically a very glossy and pigmented gloss that acts as a multitasker. It can be worn alone as a lip conditioner or a lip tint since it’s very hydrating, comforting and very lightweight while leaving a tint or stain of color as soon as the formula settles on your lips. It can also be worn on top of your favorite lipsticks for that added gloss. On top of that, it doesn’t feel sticky at all.

When I first swatched these lippies, I wasn’t exactly sure as to what color I should get. There’s not a lot of shades to choose from at my local Sephora or even online, though there’s more to choose from at YSL’s website. Also, they really seem to come off as very sheer. I also thought that there’s not a lot of colors that may fit my pigmented lips and skin tone. Eventually, I found two colors that I thought would look great on me. The shade No.8 Pink About Me and No.6 Peach Me Love.

No. 8 Pink About Me – This was the shade I’ve been eyeing online before I purchased it at my local Sephora. I thought this would be the best color for my pigmented lips, but it turns out that it’s way too sheer and too similar to my lip’s natural color, even the dry down color or tint is too similar, therefore this shade didn’t really show much on me, except to look more like a gloss. Therefore, a lip gloss it’s gonna be, and it’s a long wearing flattering lip gloss. Not bad at all.
No. 6 Peach Me Love – Love this shade a lot. It’s much much better than the No.8 Pink About Me shade when it comes to its pigmentation and staining ability. This particular color is basically a peachy-orange tone, but it looks more like a mauve-peach shade on my lips specially once it settles, because my lips has underlying pigments. I definitely prefer this shade more than the shade mentioned above as I could not only discern it but also it looks very natural.

I’ve read some comments about the products poor packaging, and that it tends to leak or spill. Hmmm, that really hasn’t happened to me so far. In fact, I find the packaging to be robust and pretty much easy to twist and open. The formulation is very oily for sure, but it’s very light and comforting. Also, it doesn’t make you look like you just drunk an entire bottle of olive oil. No not like that, the glossiness is just enough to flatter your lips, not to mention the pretty tint or stain that it leaves.

To purchase the YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil, visit http://www.sephora.com or http://www.yslbeauty.com

T.G.I.F Folks!

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Sephora Collection Mini Deluxe Charcoal Antibacterial Brush Set

March 15, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

I recently updated my travel makeup brushes which were made by Sephora a few years ago. There were those mini red-handle brushes that came with a tiny red pouch, which is no longer sold in Sephora website nowadays. They were good brushes and they served their purpose. But they were getting old, so it’s time to purchase a new one. Now I got these Sephora Collection Mini Deluxe Charcoal Antibacterial Brush Set for $42, which is a $105 value according to Sephora. I was drawn to these brushes because I needed something really lightweight, tiny and easy to carry makeup brushes for my travels.

These Sephora Mini Deluxe Charcoal Antibacterial Brushes are the compact version of the Sephora Deluxe Charcoal Antibacterial Brush Set which are full-size brushes that retails for $62. I preferred the minis because I have small hands and sometimes I tend to bump my brushes against the vanity mirror due my nearsightedness. It’s hard to be myopic, ya know.

There are 6 brushes in this Sephora Mini Deluxe Antibacterial Brush Set. Each brush is around 3.7 to 4 inches tall, and each brush fiber is infused with charcoal for hygienic purposes. The entire brush set is housed in a compact and bi-fold wallet-looking pouch. Which is cute and practical to carry around.

Large Foundation Brush – A wide facial brush that really works better for applying liquid foundations because it’s dense and flat. I would have wanted it to be poofy so that it’ll also work with powder foundations, but since I use my liquid foundations a lot, well, I think this will be good enough.
Precision Sweep Brush – Love this brush a lot for contouring and strobing.
Angled Blush Brush – Great for applying blushes and could double as an overall face brush or for powder foundations.
Angled Concealer Brush – Very practical for under-eye concealing application or for covering blemishes. I love the angled-shape of this concealer brush a lot.
All Over Shadow Brush – Dome-shaped brush for packing colors on the lid, though the fibers are a bit long and may be tricky to apply for small eyes.
Angled Liner Brush – Great for eyeliner and eyebrow application.

The charcoal-infused fiber of these Sephora Collection Mini Deluxe Antibacterial Brushes is also one of the reason why I was attracted to these brushes. I love the hygienic idea of these brushes and they’re REALLY soft even though they’re 100% synthetic fibers. A lot of people complained that these brushes stink. I also thought so at the beginning and noticed the funky smell. Well, apparently, as I sniffed each individual brush, I realized that they don’t stink at all. No it’s not the charcoal, it’s the carrying pouch that smells like fish or some may say dead rat? Hehehe, probably not that exaggerated, but yeah, the pouch of these brushes slightly stinks. I wish Sephora sprinkled it with some charcoal too. But you can always put these brushes in another container, so don’t worry ‘bout a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be all right…

These Sephora Collection Mini Deluxe Antibacterial Brush Set is available at http://www.sephora.com

and its full-size travel brush-set cousin is also available HERE.

Have you tried these brushes? If you, did you have the same observation as mine? What’s your favorite travel brush-set?

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