Review: Rodial Dragon’s Blood Sculpting Gel

What It Is: Weightless gel-like serum.

What It Does: Hydrates, plumps, and soothes skin.

Active Ingredients: Collagener, Volufiline, Commipheroline, and Glycerin.

Verdict: I absolutely love Rodial as a brand, and have been very satisfied with their skincare products in the past. The same can be said for this product. First of all, let me say how much I adore the packaging. The serum inside can stay germ-free because you pump the cream out, super easily by pressing down. I liked this feature very much. Now for the product itself, let’s just say that it truly delivers in a way that other serums do not. It does hydrate and it does plump your skin. It’s light enough to use under foundation if that’s your thing, but I use it at night. The texture is lightweight and completely absorbs into the skin allowing you to wake up to plump, and firmer skin. I really love it and I know this is on the pricier side, however, you only need one pump to cover your face and neck so it’ll last for a long time, so I see it as a good skincare investment, especially since it does help the skin look and feel better.

Price: $108

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Ulta, and https://www.rodial.com/

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Review: JLo Beauty That Blockbuster Cream with Hyaluronic Acid

What It Is: A luxurious moisturizer that intensely hydrates, smooths, and reduces the look of lines and wrinkles for dewy and plumper-looking skin.

What It Does: Hydrates and plumps skin.

Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, peptides, and olive oil.

Verdict: This cream is intensely hydrating, but the consistency feels a bit off. It’s kinda blocky and not whipped as you would expect from the look of it. But when you dip your fingers to take a scoop, the olive oil in it makes it oily and therefore you’re better off using a little spatula in trying to gather this up from the pot. Now, I have oily skin, so I felt like applying this cream was going to head me toward acne-ville. And although it didn’t break me out, it also didn’t feel refreshing. I think this cream is best suited for those that have dry skin and will find the olive oil to be hydrating, and not simply stay on the surface like it did with me. I recommend this cream if you have dry skin and are looking for deep hydration. If you have oily or combination skin, this cream probably won’t be the best for you. I would suggest the Tatcha Water Cream instead.

Price: $59

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Ulta, and https://www.jlobeauty.com/

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Review: Fenty Skin Fat Water Toner

What It Is: Pore refining toner.

What It Does: Helps minimize pores, combat shine/oily skin, and even out skintone.

Active Ingredients: Barbados Cherry, Cactus Flower, Niacinamide, Australian Lemon Myrtle, Japanese Raisin Tree, and Green Tea and Fig.

Verdict: I’m conflicted about this product because I do like it and it does feel good but it’s not enough to warrant paying $34 for toner. I haven’t seen a difference in controlling my oily skin or pores, but like I said, I do like how the toner feels on my skin. It doesn’t sting nor does it feel dry. It feels very soft and nourishing to the skin, so for that, I will say it’s a good toner. It also has some very excellent ingredients and is completely vegan. So for those points, I can see someone wanting to choose this toner over others. But I personally, haven’t seen a huge difference in my skin to warrant that price point.

Price: $34

Where To Buy It: Sephora and https://fentybeauty.com/

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Review: Ice Cream Liquid Lipstick from Dito Cosmetics

What It Is: A vegan liquid lipstick.

Verdict: First things first, the packaging is incredibly adorable, and why I selected it as one of my items for my June Ipsy bag. When you first apply this lipstick, it smells heavenly – like actual ice cream. The lipstick feels lightweight and the colour is really pretty, a berry shade. Now, the issue I had with this lipstick was that after four hours it began to BLEED/FEATHER (what this means is that it began to run over the natural lipline, into the skin). By the time it was 6pm, the lipstick looked like the Harley Quinn smudged lipstick. Usually, all the liquid lipsticks I’ve used from Urban Decay or Maybelline have lasted me from 7am-9pm sans bleeding/feathering, or smudging. So to have this one start to bleed after only four hours, it was such a letdown. So I can’t really recommend this lipstick if you’re looking for longevity, because it’ll turn messy and I’m not a fan of messy lipstick AT ALL.

Price: $35

Where To Buy It: https://ditocosmetics.com/

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Skin Cycling – Discover the Derm-Approved Skincare Routine That’s Gone Viral

Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

What is skin cycling?

Skin cycling may sound complicated, but it’s actually based on a less-is-more approach that helps you achieve healthy-looking skin and protect your skin’s barrier. To start, you’ll follow a four-day evening routine with one key type of product designated for each night.

The rotation begins with exfoliation on the first night, followed by retinol on the second night. The third and fourth nights are dedicated to recovery skin barrier-protecting serums and moisturizers. Then, the cycle repeats.

Every Day & Night: Some products are too essential to skip out on and should be used every day of your routine. This includes serums and moisturizers.

Night One: Exfoliation

Kick off your cycle with an exfoliating formula to help minimize the look of your pores, buff away dull or rough skin, and prep your face to receive the benefits from the rest of your products throughout the cycle. First, cleanse your face and make sure it’s 100% dry. Then, apply your chosen exfoliating product. For this step, some of my favorite exfoliating creams are Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator or Glam Glow Brightmud Dual-Action Exfoliating Treatment.

Night Two: Retinol

The star of night two, retinol is a common yet powerful form of Vitamin A that can accelerate skin renewal and, over time, help reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Just like night one, cleanse and dry your face completely before using your retinol. Then, apply a retinol formula. I personally love Kate Somerville +Retinol Vitamin C Moisturizer, Shani Darden Retinol Reform, and Boscia Pro-Retinol Repair + Renew Waterless Advanced Treatment.

Nights Three & Four: Recovery

On nights three and four, focus solely on recovery with your serum and moisturizer. After cleansing, apply the serum of your choice (my personal fave is Beautaniq Beauty Raindrench Serum) and gently smooth all over your face. Follow with your moisturizer of choice (my all-time fave is Korres Pomegranate Balancing Cream-Gel Moisturizer and my current fave is Keys Soulcare Transformation Cream).

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Review: M.A.C Magic Extension Mascara

What It Is: A fiber mascara.

What It Does: Delivers volume and length, almost giving the illusion of false lashes.

Verdict: I’m on the fence with this mascara because it does deliver in the sense of lengthening your lashes, but I’m not really a fan of the formula. The formula is kinda gloopy and clumpy, and tar-like. I can see this working if you do one coat of the mascara and then use a clean mascara wand to fix up any clumping the mascara creates. Sadly, this is the issue with mascaras that have fibers, they do give you maximum length and volume, but there’s a learning curve on how to apply it without creating a total mess. It also flakes a little by the end of the day or if you nap. I don’t completely hate this, but there are so many other amazing mascaras out there for less price that I don’t necessarily recommend it either.

Price: $26

Where To Buy It: MAC, Ulta, and Sephora.

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Review: The Creme X Hello Kitty Apple of My Eye

What It Is: Eye mask

What it does: Hydrates eyes and diminishes fine lines.

Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen, and Apple Essence.

Verdict: First of all, these eye masks are incredibly cute. Who doesn’t love Hello Kitty, right? Secondly, these eye masks are made in Korea, and when it comes to skincare, Korea knows what’s up. These eye masks did what they promised to do, and that is it left my eye area feeling very hydrated and refreshed. I highly recommend this if you’re dealing with eye bags or need a pick me up. The only con about this eye mask is that I prefer gel ones and these are sheet masks.

Price: $4.99

Where To Buy It: Target, World Market, and Sephora

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Review: Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Bright-Eye Gel Cream

What It Is: A brightening and depuffing eye cream.

What It Does: Brightens, depuffs, and hydrates the eye area.

Active Ingredients: Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Peptides, and green caffeine.

Verdict: First things first, I loved the consistency of this cream. It’s not too thick and not too thin either. But I also wouldn’t necessarily call it a gel, as it is more of a cream. Now, I have no delusions that this cream would solve my dark eye circles because mine are hereditary, but I do like that it kind of helped (or at least they weren’t as noticeable). Apart from this, the cream is very hydrating and you wake up feeling your eye area is nourished and refreshed. I’ve only been using it at night, so I don’t know how it holds up beneath makeup. Although, since it isn’t greasy, I’d venture that it would do well under concealer. I’ve been wanting to try out Glow Recipe products and was excited that Ipsy had this in their Glam Icon Box this month. I did like this eye cream but overall I wasn’t obsessed with it, but for the price point it is a good investment.

Price: $38

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Ulta, or https://www.glowrecipe.com/

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Review: Kate Somerville +Retinol Vitamin C Moisturizer

What It Is: A retinol and Vitamin-C-infused moisturizer that visibly smooths, hydrates, and brightens for radiant, refreshed skin.

What It Does: Resurfaces, firms, and brightens skin during sleep.

Active Ingredients: Retinol, Vitamin-C, and Wild Gooseberry Extract

Verdict: I’m a big fan of Kate Somerville skincare products because not only are they effective but have some of the best ingredients for your skin. This moisturizer is no different. From the very first moment that I applied this I was in LOVE. The texture is rich and hydrating but also lightweight and not greasy. I saw results within a few days where small dark spots from previous blemishes visibly vanished and helped even out my skintone. I know it’s on the pricier side, but at the same time, it’s very effective and you only need a dime-size amount for your whole face. I highly recommend adding this moisturizer as a step in your night time skincare routine.

Price: $110

Where To Buy It: Sephora, https://www.katesomerville.com/

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Review: Milk Makeup Rise Mascara

What It Is: A mascara that weightlessly lifts, lengthens, curls, and adds subtle volume for the most natural-looking lashes.

What It Does: Curls and lengthens.

Active Ingredients: Four vegan waxes wrap each lash for precise definition and weightless volume.

Verdict: Let me preface this by stating that I’m extremely picky when it comes to mascaras. Did this mascara perform the way it should’ve? Absolutely. It did curl and add lots of volume to my lashes, which I cannot deny, however, there were some things I wasn’t completely sold off on. First of all, the formula felt really dry – as in the mascara itself didn’t feel wet, so trying to maneuver the wand through the lashes wasn’t that easy, even because the wand’s bristles were the classic type and not spiky, so there were more instances of clumping. So, yes, I liked how my lashes looked overall with this mascara but the application wasn’t as satisfying because the formula felt so dry and not hydrated at all. If you’re going to purchase mascara from Milk, I would recommend their Kush, mascara instead. I think that one is infinitely better.

Price: $28

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Milk.com, and Ulta

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