Review: Sunday Riley 5 Stars Eye Serum

What It Is: Anti-aging Eye Serum

What It Does: Prevents the forming of fine lines, crow’s feet.

Active Ingredients: Retinoids, Niacinamide, Asiatic Acid, Red Poppy Seed Extract, Daisy Extract, Ceramides, and Olive Oil.

Verdict: First and foremost, I love how this serum feels, it’s hydrating and thick, and I prefer eye creams on the thicker side, especially for night. I wore this for three night straight though before I started noticing that my eye area was getting dry and the skin had a slight sting to it. I think this serum is best applied on top of a moisturizer to serve as a barrier, because the retinoids in the serum seriously dried out my skin where it was applied. Does it work with smoothing fine lines? Yes, it does. That’s why I suggest to use this serum on top of another eye cream because the retinoids in this are seriously powerful and will work but will leave your skin feeling a bit fiery. If your skin is more on the older side, then you’ll probably won’t have this reaction to it.

Price: $65

Where To Buy It: https://www.sephora.com/

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Review: Christophe Robin Hydrating Leave-In Mist With Aloe Vera

What It Is: Leave-In Mist

Active Ingredients: Aloe Vera and flaxseed extract.

Verdict: First things first: this spray smells what you would imagine Kate Middleton’s locks would smell like – elegant and expensive. Secondly, this spray left my hair feeling incredibly soft that I could help but to want to keep running my fingers through my hair. If you have frizz-prone hair (like I do) this really helps with keeping the frizzies at bay and helps your strands stay smooth as silk. It also helps nourish your hair and prevent split ends if used regularly. If you’re going to splurge on a leave-in spray, then this should be your top choice.

Price: $39

Where To Buy It: https://www.sephora.com/

Nothing but gorgeous hair!
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Review: Glossier Monochromes in Bluff

What It Is: Essential Eyeshadow Trio

Why It’s Special: Three buildable finishes – Matte, Satin, and Metallic.

Verdict: Now I know that Glossier prides itself in being makeup that enhances your natural beauty and that their products are very sheer, however, I was expecting more oomph from this eyeshadow palette and I fear it never delivered how I hoped it would. Is the application easy and silky? Yes. Are the colours vibrant or pop? No. I’m on the constant look out for the perfect matte peach shade and I’m sad to say, this palette doesn’t deliver in that regard. The matte shade in this palette is so sheer that it doesn’t even look like you’re wearing eyeshadow (and it’s not even the variety of “your eyelid only better” either). The frosty shades deliver better in color and pigment, but honestly not enough for me to recommend it as an absolute purchase. Maybe the other palette shades are more pigmented but as far as this one goes, I wasn’t too impressed by the shades, although the quality is excellent as you’d expect from Glossier.*

*I used primer when applying eyeshadows so w/out primer I imagine the colours would be even less noticeable.

Price: $22

Where To Buy It: https://www.glossier.com/

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Review: Hero Cosmetics Lightning Wand

What It Is: Brightening Serum

What It Does: Helps even out skin tone in areas of hyperpigmentation.

Active Ingredients: Tranexamic Acid, Vitamin C, and Licorice root.

Verdict: This dark spot serum hits just the spot (pun intended)! I love that the packaging is a rollerball, so that you can target specific areas of your face (say where you have acne scars or dark spots) to lighten them up. I’ll admit that I don’t have dark spots from the sun, so I’ve used this serum primarily for the acne dark spots that tend to be left behind after having a very painful hormonal zit (sometimes the marks can last up to a week or longer). So this serum really helps speed things up, so instead of having to deal with a dark spot for a week, it’s only 2-3 days before it’s completely gone. I really do think that the packaging makes this ideal for target areas and hand enough for you to slip in your purse and dab it on the go!

Price: $19.99

Where To Buy It: https://www.herocosmetics.us/

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Review: Christian Dior Rouge Dior Ink Lip Liner

What It Is: Lipstain

Verdict: I don’t know where I was when Dior first launched these lipstains seeing that I’m a HUGE fan of lipstains (my only defense is that they were released when I was obsessed with liquid lipsticks). Anyhow, I recently came to know about them because Cyrano star Haley Bennett’s makeup artist Andrew Colvin used these to create Haley’s lipstick look for the NYC Premiere of Cyrano (the result was very gorgeous and I wish I could find photos to share but haven’t been able to). That being said, these Dior lipstains are phenomenal. They’re long-lasting and ultra-precise (they have an ultrafine tip) so even the shakiest of hands can manage to draw a precise line to define. You can then turn the liner on its side and the flat tip dispels more colour on your lips. The only downside is that the lipstain CAN be a little drying but that’s why I always top it off with lipbalm or lipgloss to add some moisture. Other than that, these lipstains are really amazing. Sadly, they’ve been discontinued and you can only find them now on sites that still have them in stock.

Price: $22

Where To Buy It: https://www.fragrancenet.com/

Wearing shade 434 topped with clear lip balm.
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Review: Neolastin Revitalize & Firm Eye Cream

What It Is: Moisturizing anti-aging eye cream

What It Does: Seals moisture, depuffs, eliminates dark circles, and improves the production of collagen and elastin.

Active Ingredients: Matrixyl 3000, Argiriline, Eyeliss, Glucam E-20, Murumuru butter, Isopropyl Isosterate.

Verdict: When it comes to eye creams I tend to favor those that are opulent and thick, especially when I use them as overnight creams. This cream delivers in the sense that it feels both like a luxurious cashmere hug and works in keeping your eye area hydrated well into the night. The price on this may seem a little steep for what it is (I don’t think it works better than less expensive eye creams from Origins or Glam Glow), but it does deliver on its promise of diminishing fine lines and keeping your skin plump and youthful. If you have some extra cash to spend, I do recommend checking this eye cream out, but it’s not a huge game-changer enough for me to want to purchase it as a staple.

Price: $95

Where To Buy It: https://www.neolastin.com/

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Review: Boscia Pro-Retinol Repair + Renew Waterless Advanced Treatment

What It Is: Retinol Treatment Cream

What It Does: Helps diminish the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots

Active Ingredients: 0.6% Retinol, Vitamin C, and Sunflower Fatty Acids

Verdict: For best results, retinol should be used at night. You usually apply this first, prior to any other serum or moisturizer. I’ve used other retinol in the past, and for me, I haven’t seen much difference (then again I mostly use it for dark spots and not really fine lines). But I do like how this retinol has been effective in getting rid of any dark spots (being uber pale as myself can be a curse when you live in a sunny place like So-Cal). So if you’re looking for retinol that does get rid of dark spots and gives your skin a smoother, glowy appearance, then this might work out for you.

Price: $48

Where To Buy It: https://www.boscia.com/

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Review: Burt’s Bees Truly Glowing Gel Cleanser

What It Is: Gel Cleanser

Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid

Verdict: I want to preface this by saying that I love Burt’s Bee products, however I wasn’t a fan of this product. I’m a huge fan of gel cleansers and since I love many of their previous cleansers, I decided to pick this one one, thinking that I’d love it. Despite my enthusiasm, I did not like this product. I wish I could love this cleanser – but I honestly don’t. First of all, it’s not very gel-like but actually very runny and makes pouring a drop in your palm very difficult as you try to wash your face before the product literally SLIDES off of your hand. Another gripe? The scent. It’s terrible. And since the product is difficult to actually apply, I don’t think I get a thorough cleansing experience. For me, this is nothing to get too excited over. They have way better cleansers to choose from than this.

Price: $8.99

Where to Buy It: Target and Wal-Mart

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Review: Colourpop Act Natural Mascara in Black

What It Is: Defining mascara for a natural look

Active Ingredients: 100% Vegan

Verdict: Honestly, this is my new fave go-to mascara. Not only is it smudge-proof, flake-proof, and easy to apply without any clumping, the formula is simply so light that you forget that you’re even wearing mascara. Plus, it boosts your lashes in a way that it makes them gain more volume and length. In a way, it’s almost like your natural lashes, only better (or how lash extensions would look). And the best part of all of this is that its cost-effective. For such a high performing product the price is spectacular. So what are you waiting for? Pick up a tube for yourself, or two.

Price: $9

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

Wearing the Colourpop Act Natural Mascara

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Makeup Look: Autumn Vibes

Fall is in full swing (at least calendar-wise since So-Cal is more cold Spring mode weather wise), but that doesn’t mean that one can’t get into the Autumn spirit anyway! So Pumpkin Spice and all things creepy, makeup looks for fall tend to focus on rich gold and copper colours, and I’m here for that.

For this simple look, I chose to use Colourpop’s Eye Palette Head Capricorn in Charge.

This eye look is very easy to achieve:

Lid: Independent shade all over the lid, then top off with a light tap of Hustle Hard (it’s best to use your finger than a brush for this).

Crease: Use Independent again.

Lower lid: First apply Independent to the lower lash line, pulling the color down. Then use Ambition strictly along the lash line, as a liner.

Brow bone: Use a matte white shadow (I used Lancome’s Daylight).

Waterline: White eyeliner (I used Lancome’s Le Crayon Khol in Blanc).

Mascara: Colourpop Act Natural Mascara in Black

Head Capricorn in Charge Colourpop Palette

You can finish this look with any nude lippie, I’m a huge fan of Maybelline’s Liquid Lipstick in Poet topped off with Glossier’s clear lipgloss! For blush, I’d say go for peachy hues (I actually used a peachy eyeshadow from Lancome as blush).

And there you have it, a simple, glam fall look that takes give or take twenty minutes to complete, leaving you just in enough time in the morning to swing by your favourite coffee shop for the must-have pumpkin spice latte.

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