Skin Care

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Shiseido Facial Cotton

September 19th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

The Unsung Heroes series highlights some of my ALL-TIME favorite permanent collection products from all sorts of brands.

Dang, I had my heart set on being crabby about these Shiseido Facial Cotton pads, because girl, they’re $10, and you only get 165 of them, which is craziness to me because you could roll up to Target right now and get a massive pack of 300 up & up brand cotton pads for $5.

But ugh, these Shiseido ones are so good!

I didn’t expect to be bougie about cotton pads, but I’m there, man. The Shiseido ones are the softest, most velvety facial pads I’ve ever used, and once you’ve felt their caress (it was unmistakable when they touched my delicate water lines), other cotton pads will feel like rough metal scouring pads. NO JOKE. Even Q-tips.

OK, that was a joke…but you know hear I mean’. The Shiseido Facial Cotton pads feel SOFT. Q-tips used to feel like tabby tum fur to me before I got spoiled by these.

I mostly use them to remove eye makeup, but you can use them like any other cotton ball or cotton pad. They’ll apply toners or liquid essences after cleansing, remove face makeup, and they’ll soften the edges of your blush, eyeshadow or your bronzer perfectly well.

I guess you could also use them to remove nail polish, but I won’t be using them for that. My fingers and toes just wouldn’t appreciate how soft (or pricey) they are.

A single pad can remove all of my eye makeup and face makeup, then STILL have enough oomph left to apply toner.

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Is Lancôme Bi Facil Face Makeup Remover a Lazy Girl’s Dream Come True?

September 1st, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

lancome bi facil face makeup remover review — Lancôme Bi-Facil Face Makeup Remover

It’s micellar, micellar, everywhere! Yeah, here’s another micellar makeup remover, this one from Lancôme.

We JUST talked about micellar magic a few days ago in that post about the MAC Gently Off Wipes + Micellar Water Wipes, which… Ah! So pink!

Lancôme Bi-Facil Face Makeup Remover ($40) combines an oil-based makeup remover, like the one in the original Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover (which is EPIC!) — with micellar water. You shake the bottle to mix the oil and water, soak a cotton pad with said elixir, then wipe your makeup off your face.

The oil is supposed to whisk away face makeup (even the most stubborn kind) while the micellar magic cleanses your skin. Two in one.

Sounds like a lazy girl’s dream come true, right?

NOPE, I’M HELLA CRABBY.

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The MAC Gently Off Wipes + Micellar Water Bulk Wipes

August 29th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

mac gently off wipes micellar water k1 — Pink and black!

What do pastel pink and black have to do with removing makeup?

Good question.

Maybe it’s a subliminal reference to black liner and pink lipstick…? I don’t know, but the new MAC Gently Off Wipes + Micellar Water ($29 for 100 wipes and coming to MAC counters in September) is working its voodoo charms on me.

Freakin’ pink and black, man! Yeeeeah, I’m a sucker, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Pink and black gets me every single time. 🙂

MAC’s first micellar wipe remover

They come out next month, but micellar cleansers in general have been around for at least a decade. I know I’ve been talking about them since 2007… They’re a specific type of gentle liquid makeup remover, and “gentle” is the key word here, which uses oil to remove makeup, dirt, grime, kitty kisses, etc.

The oil is encapsulated in water, so when you apply the liquid to your face with a cotton ball or, in this case, a pre-soaked wipe, you can take off everything without stripping your skin.

Now about that pink again…

mac gently off wipes micellar water k2 — I can’t handle it.

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Lancôme Miel-en-Mousse Foaming Face Cleanser & Makeup Remover Is Pretty Sweet

August 23rd, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

lancome miel en mousse — Spa session in your bathroom in three, two, one…

No matter how tempted you get, do not — I repeat, DO NOT! — put any Lancôme Miel-en-Mousse Foaming Face Cleanser & Makeup Remover ($40) into your cup of tea, and you can forget about smearing it all over a piece of toast, man! Sure, it might look like honey and smell like honey and, yes, it even has honey in it, but no, it is absolutely, positively 100% not edible.

Follow the instructions for this two-in-one makeup removing cleanser, and you’ll be fine. Apply 2-3 pumps to dry skin, then gently massage it all over your face to begin dissolving your makeup. Marvel at how it feels thick like honey, but isn’t sticky like honey (weird!), and feel your tense shoulders begin to reeeeeelax as the product ever-so-slightly warms up as you work it into your skin.

Feels like you’re at the spa, doesn’t it?

At this point, if you want to take a moment to wonder why it doesn’t sting your water lines and lash lines (I usually do), feel free. Whatever you do, though, resist the temptation to lick it off your lips with your tongue!

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H2O+ Beauty Milk Body Butter

August 16th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Once upon a time, my good friend Cindy dated a boy who she ended up breaking up with because he smelled like milk, and for years after that, whenever I open a carton of milk, I thought to myself, “This smells like Cindy’s ex-boyfriend.”

I wonder if he smelled like Milk Body Butter by H2O+ Beauty, because if he did, he would have smelled hella good! 🙂

H2O+ Beauty Milk Body Butter has been in the H2O+ line for years, but it was recently re-branded. It looks different than it did when I used it in the early aughts. It was my jam one year, but I remember it smelling more milky. This version smells fresher than I remember it, and it has an herbal, lavender tinge.

It’s very cozy! I like it.

Even though it’s called a body butter, the formula is closer to a lotion. The consistency is like the Caudalie and Natura Brasil lotions I’ve been using lately, and it absorbs quickly and doesn’t make the back of my knees or the crook my elbows sticky (always a good thing). For sure, I’ll have to replace it with something richer when fall rolls around, but it’s moisturizing enough for now to prevent tumbleweeds from rollin’ through the dry desert landscape that is my shins.

H2O+ Milk Body Butter is part of the larger H2O+ Milk line that also includes a body wash and a scrub, and it’s made without mineral oil, phalates and parabens.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Brand Spotlight: Natura Brasil, Made From Brazil’s Rainforests‎

August 11th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

Have you heard of Natura Brasil?

New York friends, here’s another store that you can go to on your next beauty shopping adventure, and that I would LOVE to be able to go to as well if I didn’t live 2,903 miles away… It’s Natura Brasil, and it’s at 240 Elizabeth Street in the heart of Nolita.

They’re Brazilian brand, and I’m not sure how long they’ve been around, but they’re new to me. They’re a big deal in Brazil (If you follow beauty news, they might sound familiar because they recently purchased The Body Shop from L’Oreal! So, yeah, that’s $$$ BIG.), and they do body, bath and hair products. They’re also a favorite of many high-profile Brazilian babes, including Adriana Lima and Gisele.

Even if you aren’t planning a trip to New York anytime soon, you can still try their products, because they’re also available on the Natura Brasil website. Most of their products are about $25 each, so right in the mid-range, similar to The Body Shop and Aveda.

Castanha Body Lotion

I chatted with some PR peeps from the brand to learn more. The company is all about using local Brazilian ingredients, and they work directly with farms and families to source things like castanha (commonly known here in the U.S. as the Brazil Nut) and murumuru (a palm tree with edible nuts that are sometimes added to moisturizers).

Cacau Body Butter

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2 Rosy Reasons to Pause at Pixi: The New Moisturizing Rose Caviar Essence and Rose Flash Balm

August 8th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

pixi rose flash balm rose caviar essence — $24 Pixi Rose Flash Balm radiance booster and $24 Rose Caviar Essence moisturizing serum

SPOILER ALERT!

I need a Game of Thrones moment before I get into these new skin care products from Pixi (wasn’t Sunday’s episode righteously epic?!), so here’s a shout-out to one of my favorite fictional families, House Tyrell, and their strong women, especially Olenna Tyrell, who was a freakin’ savage till the end.

The symbol of House Tyrell was a rose, and ‎these two new products from Pixi are roses as well. They’re both $24 each and available now. There’s Rose Caviar Essence — a moisturizing, brightening serum with rose oil — and Rose Flash Balm — a multipurpose moisturizer with rose extract that also works as a primer and face mask.

Both of them are lightly scented like a single stemmed rose. Ah…

Pixi Rose Flash Balm

Flash Balm is Pixi’s version of a cult classic from Clarins called Flash Beauty Balm, a product that I never quite understood. I’ve heard makeup artists say that it perks up lackluster skin, which Pixi Rose Flash Balm is also supposed to do, but eh, I don’t really see the perkiness.

I do, however, like how moisturized it makes my skin feel and that it doesn’t leave an oily film behind. I also think that my pores look slightly less intense when I use it.

Pixi Rose Flash Balm ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Rosa Centifolia Flower Water, Propylene Glycol, Octyldodecanol, Tapioca Starch, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Stearate, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Triethyl Citrate, Aminomethyl Propanol, Sucrose Cocoate, Glycerin, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Rose Extract, Bisabolol, Ethylhexylglyercin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Citrate, Red 40 (CI 16035)

Pixi Rose Caviar Essence

The Rose Caviar Essence, though, is SO COOL! See how the product looks like it has these tiny flecks? Those are flower and plant oils suspended in a weightless gel.

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The Summer of Skin Care! Getting to Know Tula, and Why Are There Probiotics in Their Skin Care?

August 3rd, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

tula skincare review — Hello, Tula! From the left: Tula Skincare Multi-Spectrum Eye Renewal Serum ($68), Pro-Glycolic 10% pH Resurfacing Gel ($34) and Hydrating Day & Night Cream ($52)

If I’m going to name the bald spot in my brow Raul, I should also christen any bacteria that I’m purposefully putting on my face. It’s the right thing to do.

So, every time I use any products from Tula Skincare, I’m going to say hi to Brandon and Brenda — also known as Bifida Ferment Lysate and Lactococcus Ferment Lysate.

“What’s poppin’, Brenda? Hey, hey, Brandon!”

Because Tula products contain probiotics.

What’s Tula Skincare all about?

They’re an NYC-based skin care line, and I think they’ve been around for a couple years now. Their name, Tula, means “balance” in Sanskrit, and all of the products, which range in price from $20-100, contain probiotics.

Yup, microorganisms. Bacteria. They combine them with AHAs, antioxidants, retinols and superfoods to help naturally balance your skin.

tula hydrating day night cream — The Hydrating Day & Night Cream

The line includes a cleanser, toner and a lot of moisturizers and anti-aging products, none of which contain parabens. Some of the products, like the Pro-Glycolic Resurfing Gel (which is a gem, but more on that in a few), and all of which contain probiotics.

According to the website, the line doesn’t test on animals, but they don’t make any cruelty-free claims.

Bacteria in skin care

So what’s the deal? Why are people purposefully putting bugs in skin care? You may have heard about it, because it’s pretty trendy right now.

To clarify, these are the “good” bacteria. The idea is similar to, like, eating Greek yogurt or drinking kefir, both which have “good” bacteria — living organisms to help digest food, reduce inflammation and regulate tummy troubles.

Probiotics in skin care products are supposed to fool the skin into focusing on good bacteria and not the harmful ones that worsen inflammation, like acne and rosacea, but there isn’t a ton of clinical research out there to supports its effectiveness.

Some signs are optimistic.

tula eye serum applicator — The applicator for the eye serum

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