Friday, December 23, 2016

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Hair Care Empties ::Empties Week Day 4::

Empties Week is almost over! If you've missed any of the other days, you can check them out here:
Day 1 Mascara
Day 2 Makeup
Day 3 Body & Fragrance



Joico K-Pak Color Therapy Luster Lock

Pros: Hydrating, smoothing
Cons: Price

I won this from a giveaway Joico was doing, and ended up really liking it. Not only did it make my hair smoother, softer, and more manageable, it remained so for a few days afterwards. I'd totally use this again.


Repurchase? Yes

Lador Hydro LPP Treatment

Pros: Hydrating, smoothing, strengthens hair
Cons: Formula has been changed

I really loved this while it lasted, but the formula has been changed according to several bloggers, and it's just not the same. This would have definitely been a repurchase if they hadn't changed the formula since it did do a great job of hydrating my hair and making it feel healthier. The results of the original formula are actually very comparable to the Joico K-Pak Luster Lock, so if you're looking for an alternative, try that.

Repurchase? No.

 Lador Before Care Keratin PPT

Pros: Convenient spray bottle, price
Cons: Didn't give me the desired results

As much as I loved the Hydro LPP Treatment, this just didn't do anything for me. 

Repurchase? No

 Lador Perfect Fill Up Ampoule

Pros: Price, hydrating
Cons: A bit of a hassle

I was surprised by how much I liked this, I didn't expect much. The process is a bit finicky because you have to mix equal ratios of water and ampoule in a bowl to form a cream before you can apply it to your hair. I would prefer it to just come already mixed in a regular conditioner bottle, but this is a great hair treatment, so I'm willing to deal with the hassle. 

Repurchase? Yes

Alchemic Muse Hair Mist Bad Wolf 

Pros: Great way to add scent to hair without dehydrating it
Cons: Scent

If you read yesterday's empties post, you'll recognize this brand as they also make my favorite body butter. I picked up one of their hair mists to try, hoping it would act as a good leave-in conditioner. Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to tame my hair, but it did leave behind a great amount of scent behind that lasted until I washed my hair again. I didn't like this particular scent because it was a bit too outdoorsy/rustic for my taste, but I love the formula of this product as a hair perfume since it lasts such a long time. 


Repurchase? Not this scent, but I would buy others from the brand

Nth Degree Smoothing Moroccan Argan Oil & Keratin Hair Serum

Pros: Scent
Cons: Mediocre results

I loved the scent of this oil so, so much since it reminded me of my favorite Bath & Body Works candle, Black Tea & Lemon AKA London. Unfortunately, the results were just ok. Other than the scent there was nothing about it that stood out to me. It wasn't a bad product by any means, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I much prefer the Verb Ghost Oil.

Repurchase? No

Somang Keratin Silkprotein Hair Essence 

Pros: Price, made my hair shiny and improved my hair texture
Cons: Didn't tame or hydrate my hair enough

I have a full review of this product here, but suffice to say it was yet another hair product that failed me. It did make my hair softer and shinier, but it didn't do much for hydration or make my hair more manageable, which are two things that are very important to me in a hair product. I think this would probably work better for thinner hair as it's lightweight, but for my thick, unruly hair, it wasn't enough.

Repurchase? No

Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Shampoo

Pros: Smells nice, sulfate free
Cons: Expensive

I feel like this post is becoming a total bummer because it's basically a list of products that failed me, but at least it might prevent you from feeling the same disappointment if your hair type is similar to mine. I picked up a travel size of this shampoo after hearing Casey Holmes rave about how well it helped to detangle her hair. Unfortunately for me, this didn't do a damn thing to help my hair. It's nice that it's sulfate free as sulfates can be drying and irritating, and it does smell pleasant, but other than that, this is a total flop for me.

Repurchase? No

Beaver Hydro Shampoo

Pros: Are there any?
Cons: everything. 

I hated this shampoo. However, I know other people love it and felt it made their hair soft. For me this made my hair feel greasy and stringy. I didn't like the scent of it, the brand can only be found at Birchbox as far as I know, and while I would normally appreciate a brand putting the pH of their product on the label (pH is important for healthy hair too!), the fact that they gave such an enormous window of 5.5-6.5 has me giving them hella side-eye. This shampoo marked the beginning of the end of my love for Birchbox, and with good reason. I feel like this is a sub-par product that shouldn't have been in a Birchbox to begin with considering it doesn't really fit with their brand, but like I said, some people seem to like it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, as always. 

Repurchase? No


Sorry to end the post with such a shitty disappointing product, but at least they weren't all bad. If you have thick, damaged, unruly hair, there are some great recommendations here, so hopefully you don't have to deal with the same long list of disappointments that I have. Only one day of Empties Week left, and I think I've saved the best for last! Until then, thanks for reading :)

-Cristine

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Body and Fragrance Empties ::Empties Week Day 3::

Hello friends and welcome back for day 3 of Empties Week! Today is all about fragrance and body products, one of my favorite categories!


 Bath & Body Works Rain Kissed Leaves Shower Gel

Pros: Calming, clean scent
Cons: Price

I love Rainkissed Leaves, it's one of my all-time favorite scents from Bath & Body Works. It's such a calming, fresh scent. It's what I always reach for when I'm in a bad mood or feeling sick. It's earthy without being a dirty hippy smell, it's like grass but more sophisticated. Bath & Body Works shower gels are totally overpriced, so I always buy them on sale.

Repurchase? Hell yes

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle Twisted Peppermint

Pros: Festive, sweet scent
Cons: Polarizing scent

I absolutely love Twisted Peppermint in all if its forms, but my sister hates it, so this is definitely a polarizing scent. She says it's too minty, whereas I feel the opposite is true, for me there's too much vanilla and not enough mint. This year I picked up Peppermint Marshmallow instead, and she likes that one much better. To be honest, I kind of do too because I like marshmallow better than peppermint, but I'm totally picking up a smaller size of Twisted Peppermint during the semi-annual sale and burning it when she's not home!

Repurchase? Yes

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle Pomegranate Prosecco Punch

Pros: Fruity, not too sweet
Cons: kind of lackluster

I bought this one last year when they ran out of Champagne Toast, which I love for its bubbly scent. I was hoping this would have the same effervescent quality, but with a fruity twist. Unfortunately, it lacks the bubbly scent of Champagne Toast, but it is a nice pomegranate scent, just not something particularly unique.


Repurchase? No

 Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle Autumn Sky

Pros: Fresh, clean scent without any sharp notes
Cons: none

If you want something fresh, but you don't like the typical lemon cleaner or fresh linen scents, try this. It makes your home smell clean in a nice soft, subtle way that I think a lot of people would like. It's very much a "clean air" type of candle that doesn't really smell of anything specific, just a general freshness.

Repurchase? Yes

 Bath & Body Works Shower Gel Georgia Peach & Sweet Tea

Pros: TEA!!
Cons: Currently MIA

This was a seasonal peach scent that I haven't seen them bring back. The other peach scents from Bath and Body Works are ok, but this one was something special because of the tea note. Often tea notes barely make an appearance in a scent, even when they're listed, they just tend to fade into the background. In this scent, there's a perfect balance of peach and tea, which keeps it from smelling too sweet and gives me that tea note that I just love. I have another one of these stashed under the sink right now, I hope they bring this back before I run out!

Repurchase? Yessssss

Dove Dry Spray Antiperspirant Chamomile and Cucumber Scents

Pros: No white marks on clothing, doesn't ball up or feel gross, hydrating
Cons: Price

These are a bit more expensive than a regular stick of deodorant (but cheaper than the "clinical" ones), but so, so worth it. I've loved Dove deodorant for years because it's one of the few brands that makes a scent I can stand (I hate powdery scents!) and it works great for me. I was skeptical of the "dry spray" type deodorants but got a free can of men's Degree from Walmart. I decided to try it out, and after loving that, I picked up a can of the Dove dry spay. I'll never use anything else. It's quick and easy to use, keeps me smelling fresh all day, works well as an antiperspirant (I know some people have health concerns about antiperspirant, I personally don't), and doesn't leave white marks on my clothes. The soothing chamomile is a really soft, fresh scent that pairs well with all of my perfumes, and the cool essentials scent is mix of cucumber and green tea. Neither are powdery or floral (I was expecting the chamomile to be too floral, but it's actually not, just a really subtle, clean herbal) so I just buy whichever happens to be in stock. I love this stuff and can't recommend it highly enough. 



Repurchase? Yes to both.

Bath & Body Works Lilac Blossom Room Spray

Pros: Strong scent, a small can lasts a really long time
Cons: Too herbal for my liking

I hate the regular air fresheners from the grocery store, something in them just smells off to me and I'm usually not that interested in any of the scents. I use Bath & Body Works room sprays instead. I picked up a bunch on sale and tossed this one in to round out my total even though I'm not that into lavender. Mistake. This one is a really strong lavender to the point of almost being headache inducing. I finished it off, but I would definitely never buy this scent or any variation of it ever again. If you love lavender though, you'll almost certainly love this.

Repurchase? Not this scent. but this product, yes.

Alchemic Muse Body Whip Nevermore

Pros: Very hydrating, non-greasy, supports small business
Cons: Have to buy it online without being able to smell it in person

I found out about Alchemic Muse through a beauty forum a while ago, and after seeing everyone there so obsessed with it, I decided to make an order myself so I could see what all the fuss was about. I get it now. The scents are creative and the formulas are outstanding. This is the best body butter I've ever used. It's nice and thick, but doesn't feel heavy or greasy. It made my skin feel soft and hydrated in a way that most body butters don't. I didn't really like this scent because it had too much of a spice note for my liking, which is why I didn't completely finish it before it expired. The fact that I was still reaching for it even though I didn't like the scent really says something because I actually hate putting lotion on, the scent is usually the only thing that motivates me to do it. I'll continue to purchase body butters from Alchemic Muse, I just wouldn't purchase this particular scent again.

Repurchase? Not this scent, but yes to this formula.

Giorgio Armani Si (Scentbird)

Pros: Very feminine scent without being too immature, most people like it
Cons: Price

Si is one of those scents that most people just love, I get complimented on it all the time. It's a fresh, juicy floral with a bit of sweetness that gives it a very feminine and romantic feel. Like most designer perfumes, it's expensive, so I purchased a vial from Scentbird to give it a long test drive before deciding whether or not I wanted to purchase a full size. I'm still kind of on the fence about it even though I love this perfume because I switch fragrances so frequently depending on my mood, the weather, where I'm going, etc. that I'm worried it would go bad before I got through a whole bottle. I'm thinking I might just buy another vial of it from Scentbird, especially since I love to travel with this scent. If you wanna learn more about Scentbird, check out the link in the sidebar, which will get you your first month free. 

Repurchase? Yes

Another batch of empties down, woohoo! Only two more days left of Empties Week. What are you looking forward to more, skincare or haircare? Let me know in the comments down below.

Thanks for reading!

-Cristine

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Monday, December 19, 2016

Mascara Empties ::Empties Week Day 1::

Welcome to Empties Week!


So... you see what happened was, I went through my makeup stash and was trying to use up a bunch of products so I could streamline my collection before we moved back in October. I was also close to finishing several products, so I ended up with a whooole lot of empties. The plan was to do empties week back in October, so I wouldn't have to move all of my trash to the new house. I even took all of the photos, but then I got sick and whatever free time I had before the chaos of moving overtook my life, went poof! So much for that plan. Now that things have settled down and I've got a bit of time off from school, I can finally get back to writing these posts. I've broken them down into categories to make things easier to digest. Today we'll be talking about all of my mascara empties.

Tuesday will be the rest of my makeup.
Wednesday will be body and fragrance products.
Thursday will be haircare.
Friday will be skincare.


Thursday, December 15, 2016

Recent Favorites + A Flop

It's been a few months since my last favorites post, but they're some of my favorite posts to write. I've got some great products to share with you today that I've really been loving (including some non-beauty favorites!). Hopefully you'll love them too!


Sunday, December 11, 2016

[Review] Sunday Riley Power Couple: Luna Sleeping Night Oil and Good Genes Treatment




The Sunday Riley products I use are by far the products I get the most questions about, and understandably so. The entire Sunday Riley brand has a cult following and hype galore, but it also comes with a high price tag and a bit of controversy regarding some of the ingredients such as dyes and fragrant plant oils. Today, I'll be giving you my take on these two products and their ingredients, and my personal experiences with them. Keep in mind, I'm not a skincare expert, a cosmetic chemist, or anything in that realm, I'm a Communication Sciences major who just happens to enjoy getting nerdy (nah nah nah nah nah nah-nah gettin' nerdy wit' it) with cosmetics. The information provided in this review is a combination of my personal experiences with these products, and information from trusted sources such as skincare professionals and academic research.

Just a quick little disclaimer before we get into it: I don't think you need to buy expensive products to have good skin, nor do I think expensive products work better than less expensive ones. Good skincare isn't about money, it's about finding products and ingredients that work for you. Don't feel like you need to buy expensive products, or like you're doing something wrong if you can't afford to buy whatever product happens to be trendy at the moment. Just focus on finding what works for you. Alright, PSA over.

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me with my own money.