Skincare

Worth it? Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

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I’ve never shared a proper review, but I have mentioned my holy grail makeup wipes countless times – they’re the Pond’s Original Wet Cleansing Towelettes if you haven’t been around long. I love them – one gets the job done, they’re effective even on stubborn eye makeup, and they don’t leave a gross film like some wipes do.


 Pond's Original Fresh Facial Wipes

One thing that I would change, though, is the scent. Although my skin isn’t sensitive, I don’t want scented skincare. The Ponds wipes’ fragrance isn’t offensive, but it is a little potent at first, and it lingers. On top of my own preference for scent-free facial products, I tend to use these to remove makeup and clean my face before bed and the smell, unfortunately can be an irritant to my fragrance-sensitive husband (and to me if I’m having a migraine).

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

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Sunscreen Saga – Finding Biore Aqua Rich

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Although facial sunscreen is very important, I don’t talk about my whole sunscreen saga often. Two reasons:

  1. I haven’t found one I actually care for which leads to…
  2. Being a lazy jerk about application despite it needing to be a priority for me.

Body sunscreens are fine and I have zero issue with them. I have two Hawaiian Tropic favorites (this SPF 50 one glides on and moisturizes beautifully, and this SPF 20 one is shimmery). For a while, I pursued moisturizers with at least SPF 15 sunscreen in them and hated every.single.one. They smelled weird. They left a white cast. Regardless of being oil-free, they left my skin with an awkwardly shiny sheen and worst of all? They broke me out.

And what do we say to the product that’s causing breakouts?
Not today.

So, like an ass, I had forsaken the effort for a while and relied on my foundations and whatnot for protection, and the sunscreen saga was at a halt. Then, my mom received a melanoma diagnosis (she’s OK! – she paid attention to her skin and saw a dermatologist when she noticed a change in some moles she had [for the love of cats please go if you notice such a thing]). They caught it early enough that a couple relatively simple excisions were all that were necessary, though she does have to go back every so often because sufferers are at increased risk in the future. I stopped tanning (but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t miss it), and I got serious about sunscreen. After all, a few blemishes and effed up, scaly-textured skin between your eyes, even if you have them perpetually, are far better than having to contend with melanoma.

Sunscreen Saga - Walgreens Dry-Touch Sheer

For a long time, I was using an SPF 50 Walgreens-branded (oh snap, yes, generic!) variant of a popular Neutrogena sunscreen (I am unsure of which one, but I think it is a Dry Touch one, maybe this one?) – but the reviews were fantastic, the price was nice, and it was accessible. I actually mentioned it in my old Skincare Basics and in an old Favorites. It didn’t keep me in a perpetual state of blemish-dom, but my skin wasn’t happy with it – and it wasn’t my own overt scrutiny; my husband noticed the change in how the skin on my face appeared.

The sunscreen itself is GOOD – it absolutely does its job. No sunburn, even out all day, including through peak sun at an amusement park in July. It took me all this time, and this product, to realize that I have some kind of sensitivity to many readily available sunscreens. Honestly, I’m not sure which component doesn’t play nice with my skin, but after doing some research about my complaints and situation, I came across several recommendations for a Biore sunscreen.

Sunscreen Saga - Biore AQUA Rich Watery Essence

While I used to be a pore strip loyal, my mind hasn’t been blown by Biore for years. Or, more specifically, Biore US. You see, Biore is owned by the KAO Corporation and originated in Japan. They are actively doing business in Japan and enjoy success there – and they don’t indulge in shenanigans the way their US counterpart does. Sunscreen is serious business in Asia, and I learned that many formulations over there differ significantly from our thick, smelly, stark-white pastes…and in fact tend to be kinder to skin. Dozens of testimony lead me to stray from the beaten path of western sunscreen and down the rabbit hole that is asian items.

First stop? Biore AQUA Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+ PA++++. It just came in the mail from Amazon and I’ve never been so excited about a sunscreen – I so hope it’s the right one for me, I’m really looking forward to discontinuing use of stuff that makes my skin unhappy. What protection efforts are you making for your skin?

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm

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I’ve admitted before that I’m a lip balm junkie. For me, the gold standard is a sub-$2 tube of Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Yes, still. Judge all you like.

But I don’t always want to use it (especially now that the rights to it are changing hands and who knows if it will retain its glory?) – maybe I don’t want the tint. Maybe I want something thicker if my lips are really struggling. My fall-back is good ol’ classic Cherry Chap-Stik, even though it is more of a barrier and less of a moisturizer.

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning

It was time to buy a new tube, and a friend recommended Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm with Kokum Butter. I used classic Burt’s Bees when I was a teenager and liked it alright, so I figured if this was anything similar it should be a good try.

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January 2015 Favorites

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January 2015 FavoritesJanuary 2015 Favorites
1. bdellium tools 714 Flat Definer, $8 / 2. L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess Mascara, $8 /
3. Nail Tool Kit (from Amazon 3rd Party Seller), $12 (varies) / 4. Tree Hut Tropical Mango Sugar Body Scrub, $7

We’ve made it through January despite cold weather, colds and sinus fun, and so-so moods – here’s what made into my list of January 2015 Favorites.

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Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X

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Many moons ago, I was the happy owner of an Olay Pro-X Facial Cleansing System. Then, in late 2013, I upgraded to a Clarisonic Mia 2. Before I took the leap, I searched for a good, in-depth review of both systems so I could gauge whether or not it was worth bothering to shell out the money. I found a lot of, “Well like Clarisonic is just, you know, better. And it’s rechargeable. And sonic…but the Pro-X is nice if you’re on a budget!”

So, since I have experience with both, let’s pit the Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X. Be warned, this is a very text-heavy post.

Clarisonic Mia 2 Olay Pro-X
Price $150 $30
Power Rechargeable w\ induction charger AA batteries (included)
Included Heads 1 1
Brush Head Price 1 for $27 (multiples cheaper) 2 for $12 (Amazon)
Included Cleanser 1 oz Clarisonic Gel Cleanser

.68oz Exfoliating Cleanser

Personally, I wasn’t impressed with either included cleanser so that much wasn’t important to me, but the investment in the Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X is very different. The initial output is higher, and the heads are more expensive. I buy packs of four once a year at a discounted price and try to find a decent promo code (like at least 20% off that) and stack it with a great cash-back offer from eBates. Batteries, on the other hand, aren’t cheap – I recommend investing in a set of reliable rechargeable batteries to offset that cost.

Let’s look at the devices themselves:

Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X (Olay pictured left) - backClarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X

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Noteworthy and New at Sephora

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I was browsing, as I often do, and came across some noteworthy and new items on Sephora.com. I haven’t tried any of these products, but they’re interesting enough to talk about.

New at Sephora - Kat von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

Kat von D Shade + Light Contour Palette, $46

The KvD-branded makeup line has released a contour palette new at Sephora ostensibly as an Anastasia contender. It only comes in one set of shades (more similar to Anastasia’s lighter palette) and has spectacular reviews so far. Curiously, the darker pans (for carving out cheekbones and whatnot) contain more product than the highlighting/setting pans. KvD/Sephora also released this dual-ended HaC (that’s Highlight and Contour) brush to go with, priced at $36, though any you prefer, of course, will do.

New at Sephora - Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palettes, $58

It is no secret that Hourglass repeatedly produces things of beauty. And I don’t mean beauty products; the products and packaging are beautiful, elegant, amazing. Their new eyeshadow palettes are features housing similar to their highlighter and blush trios, and the panless presentation of shades is a sight to behold. The collection, which is currently only available to VIB Rouge members, includes seven palettes with five shades each. I don’t think I could justify this purchase for myself, but they’re really fantastic to stare at.

New at Sephora - Benefit Puff Off!

Benefit Puff Off!, $29

I can’t shake the, “Oh look, another gimmicky item from Benefit!” feeling I get when I look at this. This eye gel has a cutesy clothes-iron-shaped applicator for, “ironing out,” any fine lines or puffiness. Personally, I’ll leave my skincare to the skincare companies, but this will be at home in the collections of Benefit fans. This isn’t only new at Sephora; Ulta has this, too.

New at Sephora - The Stunningly Ridiculous and Actually Kind of Offensive $675 of Christian Louboutin Nail Polish

Christian Louboutin Starlight (via the Wayback Machine), $675

OH LOOK, more nonsense from the shoe brand. How lucky that they have a few shoe models in such a low, low price-point! Aside from its mere (annoying) existence, this item’s ridiculosity (yes) is compounded by the fact that the polish is the very same that I wrote about a couple months ago…its just that the bottle is adorned in Strass crystals. Not diamonds or anything, just…swarovski. So not just nail polish, but tacky nail polish in a gift box. Yay! Seriously, seeing this stuff on sale at Sephora makes me roll my eyes. How many of these are they actually selling? It has to be the single most expensive item they carry (not talking about sets or kits).

New at Sephora - YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil

YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil, $32

A new twist on lipcolor, Yves Saint Laurent delivers color suspended in oil as an alternative to a more-traditional gloss. Surprisingly, a lot of the reviews report that it is actually drying. Not sure what to make of that – I’d certainly have expected it to be hydrating. I wonder if other brands will enter the fray?

New at Sephora - BITE Smashed Agave Lip Mask

BITE beauty Smashed Agave Lip Mask, $26

Bite’s highly-touted lip treatment now in a rosy-red hue. I’d probably go for the original because I’d wear it to bed (don’t want pinkish red on my pillowcases, after all) but it is really nice to see brands responding to what consumers have been asking for.
 New at Sephora - Dior Cheek & Lip Glow

Dior Cheek & Lip Glow, $37

Look! Dior’s making Benetint! Just kidding. I’ve never tried Benetint, but I know if this product preforms as well as the Dior Addict Lip Glow appears to (at least according to sales), it’ll have a cult following in no time.

And, let’s end on a positive note, because that’s a nice thing to do…

New at Sephora - Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation

Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation, $24

That’s a mouthful, but this is Sephora’s foray into the serum-foundation game (like bareMinerals bareSkin, Perricone No Foundation Foundation Serum, YSL Fusion Ink, etc). Sephora foundations, at least since I’ve been paying attention to prestige-level makeup, have gotten pretty good reviews and at only $24 the price is pretty damn nice (especially considering that some drugstore foundations are as high as $15 now). My main complaint is that currently this is online only – makes getting a color match pretty difficult. I’m not sure if this serum foundation’s shades are configured for ColorIQ matches, but I intend to find out because I really, really want to try it. It’s honestly my favorite (taking into account I haven’t tried any of this) of what I’ve found new at Sephora.

Have you seen anything new at Sephora – or anywhere else! Anything beauty-related – that was noteworthy?