josie maran

July 2014 Favorites

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July 2014 Favorites

July 2014 Favorites
1. China Glaze Gelaze, $11 / 2. Maybelline Instant Age-Rewind Concealer, $8
3. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light, $15 / 4. Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray, $29

Just four this month because, frankly, it was kind of a lazy month for me. I didn’t really break away from, “safe,” things in light of my wedding. Afterwards, I decided to give my skin a break, so I don’t have a ton to gush about.

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Birthday Haul

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The last month – sheesh! A great giveaway, my birthday, Independence Day, my freaking wedding, and another giveaway! I cannot believe how busy I’ve been.

Birthday HaulBirthday Haul

Pictures/descriptions aren’t in order. Bear with me!

Sephora Birthday Haul

I had a gift card from a friend that I took for-ev-er to decide what to use it on.

Purity – I’ve tried a tiny sample of Purity cleanser by Philosophy, but I wanted to try it a little more, so I got a little duo of two 2oz bottles to try. So far, I dig it.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light – Because it is summer and I think the regular stuff might be a little heavier than I liked, I got a bottle. I was hoping I can use it for daytime – I can, but not on full-face days.

Benefit they’re Real! Push Up Liner – This is a deluxe sample and I am so dang lucky to have got it before they ran out. I have only tried it once so far, early in the morning and in a rush; but I am really excited to play with it more and share my thoughts with you guys once I have. So far, I can definitely say it is a very unique product.

Deborah Lippmann – in Boom Boom Pow (not pictured) – I didn’t have an obnoxious yellow gold glitter. This one was on clearance for $5, is 3-free, cruelty free, and all that jazz.

Beauty Insider Birthday Gift from MUFE – Unboxed already, they give you an eensy mascara and a little Aqua Rouge lipstick. I like the color, not the formula.

Ulta Birthday Haul

Lorac Pro Palette 2 – You’ve already seen it but though I gave one away, I likely would not have gotten one if not for my (then upcoming) birthday. Really though, it rocks, you basically need it, and congrats x1000 to the winner.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream – in Stockholm (not pictured again because I am a spazz) – This is my third SMLC so far, and I still love how they wear. This one is nude on me without corpsifying my face. Woot!

Real Techniques Retractable Lip Brush – I didn’t have a lip brush! I needed one for tomorrow.

Ulta Rewards Birthday Gift from Calvin Klein – Engineering? In MY mascara? I haven’t cracked this sucker open yet, but the wand has a dial that you can use to change the configuration of the applicator’s bristles. Amazing.

Bonus: Amazon

ORLY Go Deeper (not pictured) – I got this over a teal-blue polish during a recent pedicure, and it is only the second color, to date, that I have purchased due to having had it used at a salon. I. Love. It. I redid my pedicure last night with it. Cameras have a hard time picking up how complex and awesome the glitter is in this ORLY FX polish, and the other great thing is that the glitter isn’t super-gritty – it lays pretty flat, only one layer of top-coat to cover! Basically, you need it in your life if you are into any kind of glitter polish.

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this Birthday Haul post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome. Ethical blogging FTW.

Worth It? Elma and Sana Argan Oil Review

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A couple weeks ago I did a first look at the Elma and Sana Argan Oil, and now I feel as though I can adequately review the product. Fortunately, this won’t be a talk-your-eyes-off-via-text review.

Verdict: Don’t bother with this one, at least not for facial use.

The consistency of this product is thinner, resulting in having to use more product to effectively moisturize. Granted, this is only a 2-4 drops more than you would need to use of the Josie Maran product – but still. On top of feeling thinner, it somehow also feels greasier. Of course it is going to have a bit of slip to it as it is an oil, but it kind of felt like vegetable oil or canola–if I wanted that, I could probably just grab a jug of Crisco. My skin took longer to absorb it – which makes a ton of sense, I know. I used it nightly for two weeks and thought I was crazy for the first few days, but nope – it really did take longer to absorb. The color of the oil is not the same – Elma and Sana Argan Oil is closer to being clear, which suggests additional processing:

Elma and Sana Argan Oil ReviewElma and Sana Argan Oil vs. Josie Maran Argan Oil

On top of that, this oil does have a smell. You will frequently see that Argan Oil on its own should not have a scent. This has a distinct smell, but it is difficult to describe – but it doesn’t smell very natural, and not at all like the odorless Josie Maran. It is neither foul nor particularly offensive, but when you anticipate an odorless product, having an odor is unpleasant.

Furthermore, I feel that this product caused me to break out. It did not cause irritation or redness, but I did develop blemishes during use of it – I typically only get 1-2 small, manageable ones per month (cycle-related), but I have FIVE that are currently healing (non-cycle-related).  My under-eye area is back to being a bit dull.

I’m going back to using Josie! I think this product is an OK body moisturizer is fine for the ends of the hair (if you’re into that – I’m not, but I tried it for science), and it is definitely nice for cuticles, but I don’t recommend it for use on the face. Something about the way they processed this oil doesn’t really let it do what it is supposed to do for your face.

Especially considering the somewhat-illiterate label and website…just pass on this one.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil

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AKA Argan Oil – Is It Snake Oil? Part Two

If you haven’t already, read part one!

Last week, I talked about my initial impressions of the Argan Oil craze. I was ensnared when friends admitted to using the argan produts by Josie Maran and that it seemed to be helping with facial scarring and under-eye blahs.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, 0.5fl oz

The JCPenney in my local mall opened a Sephora in October – on my first trip there, I bought one of the small bottles of Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, 0.5 fl oz. for $14. I have some pretty stubborn dark circles and had a dermatological procedure coming up that would leave me with a facial scar, so I figured the timing was good.

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Argan Oil – is it Snake Oil?

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Last year, I was only just starting down the rabbit hole that is the beauty world and started hearing about beauty oils. It wasn’t gradual, it was sudden, it was frequent, and more often than not it was Josie Maran’s 100% Pure Argan Oil ($49). Although some struggle with the idea that facial skin + oil = unparalled catastrophe, that was not my obstacle. My personal obstacle was wrapping my head around

  • the fact that so many people seem convinced that this is a miracle product and that
  • the purveyors of this bottled hocus-pocus were actually selling it for as much as it costs. “It fixes your hair!” they said, “It fixes your face! It soothes ragged cuticles! It feeds the hungry!”

Okay, maybe I got a little carried away there at the end. It doesn’t feed hungry people, not directly anyway.

Argan Does Feed, Though

That said, it does feed hungry goats. The Argan tree, in addition to producing fruit with nuts inside that we get our so-called magical oil from, does in fact feed hungry Moroccan goats. Evidently, these goats determined that the fruits from Argan trees are outstanding because they climb the trees to eat them. Pics, it happened:

argangoats

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