Spring Beauty Favorites: Better Late Than Never
I honestly cannot believe spring is over (or rather has been over for over two weeks.) It barely feels like it was here to begin with! We had snow in April and then it quickly sky-rocketed into the 80s aka full-fledged summer. R.I.P. spring, you shall be missed.
And since spring is over, that means it's time for my spring beauty favorites aka the products I've been loving for the past 3 months!
$45.00 via Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Beautylish, Cult Beauty, & Charlotte Tilbury
Ingredients: Talc, Mica, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Dimethicone, Silica, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Zinc Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pei-10, Propylene Glycol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax, Tetrasodium Edta, Aqua/Water/Eau, Dimethiconol, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, [May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 44791, CI 77492, CI 77499).
I've always loved Charlotte Tilbury's packaging, but for whatever reason, it took me a while to get around to trying their products. I haven't had the best of luck with their lip products, but I bought a few of their base products this year and have fallen in love! The star of the show has definitely been this finishing powder.
Let me just say, I'm not a big powder person. I have dehydrated skin PLUS I'm brown so many powders make me look like a shriveled up ghost. It's not the look I'm going form. But 👏 this 👏 powder 👏 y'all. It's so good it makes me say y'all.
First off, it isn't heavy at all. I don't feel like I'm wearing any powder on my face. It has a very soft, fine texture to it. It doesn't do much in terms of oil control which I like! Like I said, my skin is dehydrated so uber mattifying powders are a no go. I also don't mind a bit of sweat peeking through because I like a natural glow. It lightly blurs my pores and helps prevent my foundation and/or concealer from sliding around, disappearing into my crater-sized pores, or rubbing onto the neck of my shirt.
It doesn't have a strong tint to it so it works for a variety of skin tones. The powder is a tad lighter than my face but it doesn't create any white or grey cast thankfully.
Packaging wise it's okay. From a visual perspective, it's stunning (albeit a bit of a pain to keep clean.) It's lighter than it looks. It comes with a mirror which is very handy! I'm too afraid to pop it in my bag because I've heard too many horror stories of it shattering. I don't think the pan is all that deep.
Ingredients: Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin
I've been wanting this essence ever since spying it in a Gothamista video last summer. But alas, the $100+ price point held me back from purchasing it. When I saw it pop up on Octoly (a platform that connects bloggers with brands), I knew I had to apply to try it! At first I was skeptical because the one other super duper essence I tried (also as a PR gift) was lackluster as hell (the SK-II facial treatment essence.)
It's supposed to help with "skin clarity, texture and elasticity." If you check out the AmorePacific site, they go into all the fancy schmancy details on how they grow and nurture and cultivate the tea leaves which are the star ingredient of the essence. In a world where many companies are focusing on producing larger and larger quantities in shorter and shorter time periods, I appreciate their commitment to slowly aging the tea leaves and spending over 100 days to properly age each bottle of essence (not to mention the time it takes to grow enough tea leaves to make each bottle.) Long story short, I get why it's so expensive.
After a few weeks of using this essence at least once a day, I noticed my skin looked a lot less dull! It didn't work to brighten my individual acne scars so much as it gave my entire face a somewhat glow.
My favorite thing about it is how well it hydrates and layers. It has a watery consistency yet it's just as hydrating as a thicker toner. I can easily layer 3 layers without getting a sticky face-- even in 70% humidity!
Although I love it, I can't say if I would repurchase it because the price tag is higher than what I've ever paid for a beauty product. Only time will tell! In the meantime, I'm enjoying my current bottle. I was worried it would finish too quickly but it's a little goes a long way sorta product.
Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Aqua, Cetearyl Olivate, Sucrose Laurate, Benzyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Olivate, Sucrose Palmitate, Parfum (Natural), Geraniol, Dimethyl Sulfone, Citronellol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Lactobacillus/Cucurbita Pepo Fruit Ferment Extract, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Sucrose Stearate, Linalool, Retinyl Palmitate, Ci 77491, Jojoba Esters, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate
The fact that I managed to finish so quickly is a true testament to how much I loved it. It usually takes me a year to use up a proper full-sized cleanser but I went through this one in about 6 months!
Let's just say it's worth all the hype that the British bloggers give it! It's gentle, has a lovely scent, and leaves my skin feeling so soft. It's a gel to oil formula. When dispensed, it's a thick gel with a light rose scent, and when you apply it to dry skin it easily melts into a luxurious oil that easily spreads out. Sometimes I'll keep it on my skin for a few minutes before rinsing it off, sorta like a quick mask.
It's the perfect morning cleanser because it works when my skin is dry or somewhat oily. It never dries out my skin, if anything it leaves it hydrated (but with no film!) And when my skin has a bit of an oil slick, it's able to cut through yet still keep my skin soft and hydrated.
It can also be used to remove makeup but I find I have to use quite a lot to remove it all (I'm pretty heavy handed with my oil cleansers as is.) Since it's a pricier product and not targeted as a makeup remover, I would use it as a morning cleanser/ occasional second cleanser instead.
If I didn't have 15 other cleansers unopened, I would repurchase this in a heartbeat.
Ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, TEA-Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Piroctone Olamine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Alcohol, Magnesium Nitrate, Magnesium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, 2-T-Butylcyclohexyl Acetate
To be honest, it's been a hot second since I've tried a dandruff shampoo despite the fact that my dandruff was still there. At best, they helped my dandruff while stripping my hair and at worst, they did nothing while still stripping my hair. I've been burned so much I instead stuck to a routine of gentle SLS-free shampoos and scalp scrubs. While that worked to an extent, I still suffered from an itchy scalp.
This shampoo is an all-around hit. It lathers up gently so it's easy to apply and rinse out. From my googling I've found out that TEA-Lauryl Sulfate does have the potential to be drying, but I personally don't find it to irritate my scalp or dry out my hair like SLS. And most importantly, it's been really working on my dandruff!
Before using this shampoo, I had to use scalp scrubs at least once or twice a week. If I didn't wash my hair within 3 days, it would start becoming unbearably itchy. While my routine got rid of my dandruff post wash, it wasn't very successful at keeping it away. But this shampoo changed all that! Now even if I don't wash my hair for a week, my scalp doesn't get itchy. I still get the occasional flake here or there, but overall my scalp health is much, much better.
I should also mention that I seldom go a whole week without washing my hair. That totally works for some people, but it doesn't work for me and I'm beyond trying to force it! The mainstream rhetoric these days seems to be washing your hair more = bad which I think is a load of bullshit. If you're using gentle cleansing agents and your hair + scalp needs to be washed more frequently, for the love of god wash it!! Only you know what your scalp needs. Rant over.
I've been using my bottle about 3x times a week for 2 months and am a little over halfway through. So while it is pricey, a little goes a long way and the bottle lasts for quite some time.
Even though this is always applicable, I'll put out the reminder anyways that beauty is always YMMV! Dandruff isn't a one size fits all issue-- people suffer from it for various reasons. If you seem to be constantly plagued my dandruff, I recommend tracking which active ingredients you've tried out. There are a ton from coal tar to pyrithione zinc to salicylic acid. This shampoo, in particular, Piroctone Olamine which seems to work fabulously for me!
Ingredients: Water, Homosalate, Butylene Glycol, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Behenyl Alcohol, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Niacinamide, Betula Alba Juice, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Thermus Thermophillus Ferment, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Asparagus Officinalis Stem Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Leaf/Stem Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Chloride, edta, Propanediol, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Lecithin, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Lysolecithin, Phytosterols, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Polyacrylate, PEG-8, PPG-1-PEG9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, Phytic Acid, Calcium Gluconate, Gluconolactone, Hyaluronic Acid, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance (Parfum)
Wowza that's a long ingredient list! But there's nothing in it that irritates my skin (knocks on wood) so I'm okay with it.
It's that time again where the beauty world is abuzz about sunscreen. Even though we should be wearing sunscreen year round, I guess the emphasis on sunscreen is greater in the summer because we see more sun. Fingers crossed my own sunscreen post(s) go up before the end of summer! I've tried almost 20 within the past year so it'll be a long one.
Every time I talk about this on Instagram I say it's everything I wanted Glossier Invisible Shield to be! It has the same invisible, gel texture as Invisible Shield except that the Make P:rem one isn't a hot siliconey mess that spontaneously pills all over the freakin' place. It wears well with oils and under makeup. The Make P:rem one also provides superior sun protection and is much more affordable from a $/oz standpoint. Like the Invisible sheild, it comes packaged in an airless pump that's travel-friendly and aesthetically pleasing! If you're thinking about trying Invisible Shield, save yo coin and try this Make P:rem sunscreen instead.
Ingredients: Aronia Melanocarpa fruit extract (Black Chokeberry), Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Butylene glycol, Sodium lactate, Licorice root extract, 1,2- Hexanediol, Pullulan, Sodium hyaluronate, Cassia obtusifolia seed extract, Allantoin
I'll be writing a proper blog post on this in a week or two, but suffice to say it's good since it's making it into my Spring favorites post! I've been using it for about 2.5 months now and my skin has been loving it. It totally delivers on its claims to brighten skin.
Aaaand those are all my Spring beauty favorites. We're almost one month into Summer so I guess it's time to start thinking about what my Summer favorites are. Hope you're all having a lovely July so far! Thanks so much for checking in after I haven't posted in so long 🙈
And since spring is over, that means it's time for my spring beauty favorites aka the products I've been loving for the past 3 months!
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder in Medium
$45.00 via Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Beautylish, Cult Beauty, & Charlotte Tilbury
Ingredients: Talc, Mica, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Dimethicone, Silica, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Zinc Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pei-10, Propylene Glycol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax, Tetrasodium Edta, Aqua/Water/Eau, Dimethiconol, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, [May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 44791, CI 77492, CI 77499).
I've always loved Charlotte Tilbury's packaging, but for whatever reason, it took me a while to get around to trying their products. I haven't had the best of luck with their lip products, but I bought a few of their base products this year and have fallen in love! The star of the show has definitely been this finishing powder.
Let me just say, I'm not a big powder person. I have dehydrated skin PLUS I'm brown so many powders make me look like a shriveled up ghost. It's not the look I'm going form. But 👏 this 👏 powder 👏 y'all. It's so good it makes me say y'all.
First off, it isn't heavy at all. I don't feel like I'm wearing any powder on my face. It has a very soft, fine texture to it. It doesn't do much in terms of oil control which I like! Like I said, my skin is dehydrated so uber mattifying powders are a no go. I also don't mind a bit of sweat peeking through because I like a natural glow. It lightly blurs my pores and helps prevent my foundation and/or concealer from sliding around, disappearing into my crater-sized pores, or rubbing onto the neck of my shirt.
It doesn't have a strong tint to it so it works for a variety of skin tones. The powder is a tad lighter than my face but it doesn't create any white or grey cast thankfully.
Packaging wise it's okay. From a visual perspective, it's stunning (albeit a bit of a pain to keep clean.) It's lighter than it looks. It comes with a mirror which is very handy! I'm too afraid to pop it in my bag because I've heard too many horror stories of it shattering. I don't think the pan is all that deep.
AmorePacific Vintage Single Extract Essence (PR gift)
$145.00 via Nordstrom, Sephora, & AmorePacificIngredients: Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin
I've been wanting this essence ever since spying it in a Gothamista video last summer. But alas, the $100+ price point held me back from purchasing it. When I saw it pop up on Octoly (a platform that connects bloggers with brands), I knew I had to apply to try it! At first I was skeptical because the one other super duper essence I tried (also as a PR gift) was lackluster as hell (the SK-II facial treatment essence.)
It's supposed to help with "skin clarity, texture and elasticity." If you check out the AmorePacific site, they go into all the fancy schmancy details on how they grow and nurture and cultivate the tea leaves which are the star ingredient of the essence. In a world where many companies are focusing on producing larger and larger quantities in shorter and shorter time periods, I appreciate their commitment to slowly aging the tea leaves and spending over 100 days to properly age each bottle of essence (not to mention the time it takes to grow enough tea leaves to make each bottle.) Long story short, I get why it's so expensive.
After a few weeks of using this essence at least once a day, I noticed my skin looked a lot less dull! It didn't work to brighten my individual acne scars so much as it gave my entire face a somewhat glow.
My favorite thing about it is how well it hydrates and layers. It has a watery consistency yet it's just as hydrating as a thicker toner. I can easily layer 3 layers without getting a sticky face-- even in 70% humidity!
Although I love it, I can't say if I would repurchase it because the price tag is higher than what I've ever paid for a beauty product. Only time will tell! In the meantime, I'm enjoying my current bottle. I was worried it would finish too quickly but it's a little goes a long way sorta product.
Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel
$48.00 via Net-A-Porter, Cult Beauty, Goop, & Barney'sIngredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Aqua, Cetearyl Olivate, Sucrose Laurate, Benzyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Olivate, Sucrose Palmitate, Parfum (Natural), Geraniol, Dimethyl Sulfone, Citronellol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Lactobacillus/Cucurbita Pepo Fruit Ferment Extract, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Sucrose Stearate, Linalool, Retinyl Palmitate, Ci 77491, Jojoba Esters, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate
The fact that I managed to finish so quickly is a true testament to how much I loved it. It usually takes me a year to use up a proper full-sized cleanser but I went through this one in about 6 months!
Let's just say it's worth all the hype that the British bloggers give it! It's gentle, has a lovely scent, and leaves my skin feeling so soft. It's a gel to oil formula. When dispensed, it's a thick gel with a light rose scent, and when you apply it to dry skin it easily melts into a luxurious oil that easily spreads out. Sometimes I'll keep it on my skin for a few minutes before rinsing it off, sorta like a quick mask.
It's the perfect morning cleanser because it works when my skin is dry or somewhat oily. It never dries out my skin, if anything it leaves it hydrated (but with no film!) And when my skin has a bit of an oil slick, it's able to cut through yet still keep my skin soft and hydrated.
It can also be used to remove makeup but I find I have to use quite a lot to remove it all (I'm pretty heavy handed with my oil cleansers as is.) Since it's a pricier product and not targeted as a makeup remover, I would use it as a morning cleanser/ occasional second cleanser instead.
If I didn't have 15 other cleansers unopened, I would repurchase this in a heartbeat.
Philip Kingsley Flaky Scalp Shampoo (PR gift)
$40.00 via Philip Kingsley, Cult Beauty, Mankind, & SkinstoreIngredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, TEA-Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Piroctone Olamine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Alcohol, Magnesium Nitrate, Magnesium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, 2-T-Butylcyclohexyl Acetate
To be honest, it's been a hot second since I've tried a dandruff shampoo despite the fact that my dandruff was still there. At best, they helped my dandruff while stripping my hair and at worst, they did nothing while still stripping my hair. I've been burned so much I instead stuck to a routine of gentle SLS-free shampoos and scalp scrubs. While that worked to an extent, I still suffered from an itchy scalp.
This shampoo is an all-around hit. It lathers up gently so it's easy to apply and rinse out. From my googling I've found out that TEA-Lauryl Sulfate does have the potential to be drying, but I personally don't find it to irritate my scalp or dry out my hair like SLS. And most importantly, it's been really working on my dandruff!
Before using this shampoo, I had to use scalp scrubs at least once or twice a week. If I didn't wash my hair within 3 days, it would start becoming unbearably itchy. While my routine got rid of my dandruff post wash, it wasn't very successful at keeping it away. But this shampoo changed all that! Now even if I don't wash my hair for a week, my scalp doesn't get itchy. I still get the occasional flake here or there, but overall my scalp health is much, much better.
I should also mention that I seldom go a whole week without washing my hair. That totally works for some people, but it doesn't work for me and I'm beyond trying to force it! The mainstream rhetoric these days seems to be washing your hair more = bad which I think is a load of bullshit. If you're using gentle cleansing agents and your hair + scalp needs to be washed more frequently, for the love of god wash it!! Only you know what your scalp needs. Rant over.
I've been using my bottle about 3x times a week for 2 months and am a little over halfway through. So while it is pricey, a little goes a long way and the bottle lasts for quite some time.
Even though this is always applicable, I'll put out the reminder anyways that beauty is always YMMV! Dandruff isn't a one size fits all issue-- people suffer from it for various reasons. If you seem to be constantly plagued my dandruff, I recommend tracking which active ingredients you've tried out. There are a ton from coal tar to pyrithione zinc to salicylic acid. This shampoo, in particular, Piroctone Olamine which seems to work fabulously for me!
Make Pr:em Capsule Sun Gel SPF 50 PA+++
$32.00 via Glow Recipe & eBayIngredients: Water, Homosalate, Butylene Glycol, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Behenyl Alcohol, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Niacinamide, Betula Alba Juice, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Thermus Thermophillus Ferment, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Asparagus Officinalis Stem Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Leaf/Stem Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Chloride, edta, Propanediol, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Lecithin, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Lysolecithin, Phytosterols, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Polyacrylate, PEG-8, PPG-1-PEG9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, Phytic Acid, Calcium Gluconate, Gluconolactone, Hyaluronic Acid, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance (Parfum)
Wowza that's a long ingredient list! But there's nothing in it that irritates my skin (knocks on wood) so I'm okay with it.
It's that time again where the beauty world is abuzz about sunscreen. Even though we should be wearing sunscreen year round, I guess the emphasis on sunscreen is greater in the summer because we see more sun. Fingers crossed my own sunscreen post(s) go up before the end of summer! I've tried almost 20 within the past year so it'll be a long one.
Every time I talk about this on Instagram I say it's everything I wanted Glossier Invisible Shield to be! It has the same invisible, gel texture as Invisible Shield except that the Make P:rem one isn't a hot siliconey mess that spontaneously pills all over the freakin' place. It wears well with oils and under makeup. The Make P:rem one also provides superior sun protection and is much more affordable from a $/oz standpoint. Like the Invisible sheild, it comes packaged in an airless pump that's travel-friendly and aesthetically pleasing! If you're thinking about trying Invisible Shield, save yo coin and try this Make P:rem sunscreen instead.
Cosrx Triple C Lightning Liquid (PR gift from Sokoglam)
$27.00 via SokoglamIngredients: Aronia Melanocarpa fruit extract (Black Chokeberry), Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Butylene glycol, Sodium lactate, Licorice root extract, 1,2- Hexanediol, Pullulan, Sodium hyaluronate, Cassia obtusifolia seed extract, Allantoin
I'll be writing a proper blog post on this in a week or two, but suffice to say it's good since it's making it into my Spring favorites post! I've been using it for about 2.5 months now and my skin has been loving it. It totally delivers on its claims to brighten skin.
That's A Wrap!
Aaaand those are all my Spring beauty favorites. We're almost one month into Summer so I guess it's time to start thinking about what my Summer favorites are. Hope you're all having a lovely July so far! Thanks so much for checking in after I haven't posted in so long 🙈