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Monday, September 17, 2012

Fixing The Bumps

Hello my Lovelies,

I have been M.I.A. for a while now and I sincerely apologize for leaving you all without notice. I started my Masters not long ago and over the summer it started getting harder and harder for me to balance work and school. I also had a lot of personal issues that needed to be sorted out like moving to a new place, helping my mother move as well, and recovering from a car accident. The accident experience was a lot worse than the damage, thank god, but I just needed some time away to recollect myself. I am back now and happy to share some products I have tried in the past few months. This will be a collective haul and review!

Product #1: Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Facial Scrub 
I have always heard great things about Queen Helene Mint Julep but for some reason the tingling feeling of mint never settles well with my skin so I opted for the Cocoa Butter instead. I must say for the $4.16 I paid for this scrub, I love it!! It compares to the overly priced microdermabrasion products out there. I thought it would be similar to St. Ives scrubs but it isn't like that at all. The grains are very fine and well sorted through the smooth soapy cocoa butter. I use it 1-2 times a week so I don't very dry my skin. It makes my face smooth and soft afterwords. For the price, you can't go wrong.

Product #2: Lush Mask of Magnaminty
I am a loyal customer of Lush and I love a lot of their bath bombs and moisturizers. This is the first face mask I've tried from Lush and at first I didn't really like the consistency of it. It's rather thick and when applied, there's small pieces of red bean that don't always stick to your face so they fall in my sink. I learned that wetting your face or adding a bit of water to the mask then applying helps thin out the texture a bit and makes applying it so much easier. I love the feeling during and after. Like I mentioned, I am not too big of a mint fan, but this product is more like chocolate chip mint and it smells amazing. It really tightens your face and pores while it dries. After it is completely dry or after 15-20 minutes, gently wash the mask off by scrubbing the red bean around and rinsing with warm water. Your face will feel supple and soft after. After using it for a month, I still have 75% of the container left. It definitely made my skin less oily after consistent use. For $11.95, it goes a long way.

Product #3: Lush Jumping Juniper Solid Shampoo
I used the Seanik solid shampoo prior to this and loved how it made my hair less oily after a few weeks of use so I decided to try a different scent with similar qualities. This seems like lemon and juniper, which is lovely for my senses. However, I ran into the same problem I had with solid shampoos in general, the edges start to crumble over time and I end up with small bits of shampoo bar that gets wasted down the drain. (It's $5.95 and its suppose to last longer than a regular bottle of shampoo) It is also difficult to keep try in the shower in my tin so I started taking it out with me every time I leave the shower. Once it gets soaked in the tin, it becomes this soft jelly material that gets stuck on the inside and you can't get the shampoo bar out. Besides the tedious process of keeping it a bar and dry, the results from the Jumping Juniper are very good. It volumizes my hair a lot and leaves a light scent for a day. I use a deep conditioner with it once a week to keep my hair from drying out too much.

Product #4: TheFaceShop Herb Day Cleansing Tissue
These wipes are super moisturizing and refreshing. I love keeping them in my gym bag and using them to wipe away the excess oil and sweat before going home. These are also good for those lazy, stay-at-home days where you end up going out mid-day and need a quick pick me up to palette your face for makeup. It has a fresh floral scent but not too overwhelming. The tissue is soft and non-abrasive and my skin doesn't sting after using it. It has a slightly cooling affect as well. I bought this in NY for $3 and it was the travel size of 20 sheets. I like having smaller packages of wipes so it is easier to travel with. The full size is 70 sheets and around $9.

Product #5: Victoria's Secret So Sexy Clean & Go Dry Shampoo
I really like the concept behind dry shampoos but I have yet to find one that satisfies me. I have very oily hair that starts deteriorating the 2nd day after my wash so dry shampoo, when applied well, helps me elongate my between wash time. I've tried Suave, Oscar Blandi, and Batiste. They all have either left white residue in my hair so bad I looked like I am 100 years old or it didn't make a difference. I had a $10 off coupon for VS so I decided to try their version. It was $14 originally so $4 made it a good deal for me. After the first use, I did notice my hair was a lot less oily. However, it did make my hair more stiff as if I applied hairspray to my roots. It doesn't leave a white coating and it does volumize. It has a heavy perfume/alcohol scent so I am not sure how healthy it is for hair, but overall I am happy with the results it gave.

Till next time :)