Review Murad Oil control mattifier

Well hello there, hope everyone is doing well today out there :)

In this blog post I'll be talking about a mattifier, yes... I got another one for try out.

When I buy any beauty item I make sure I do my research on the product: how did other people think of it, can I get it any cheaper elsewhere, will it work for me? All sorts of questions to make sure whether the product will do me good and to see whether it's worth investing my money.
Unfortunately I have had my bad purchases after doing sufficient research, but I got to add great products to my collection as well.

Talked about great products, let's have a chat about the Murad Oil control mattifier. Boys and girls, I LOVE this!!

Anyone who has oily skin out there, not just a little glow on the skin that others call a healthy glow. No no, I get so oily that I can often use 2 blotting sheets. People can make money of my face because it looks like oils are about to burst out any minute. Anyway, you get the point :)

Please do note that this best not for those with dry to normal skin as this can emphasize the dry patches on the face. 

You get 50ml in a tube. And this tube must look like one of the cheapest packagings I own. It's a white plastics tub with some black and blue writing on it.
I do pay attention to packaging, but since this product is so darn good, I don't really care about it. Hey, didn't they tell us not to judge a book by its cover? :)

Once you squeeze a bit out, it comes out quite creamy. Do bare in mind that you only need about half a pea size amount! So I'm hoping that this will last me for a while.
I apply some on my forehead, both cheeks, nose, chin and the remainder I apply next to my nose on my T zone where I get the oiliest the most.

Basically it's a moisturizer with SPF 15 that will reduce shine, read: reduce. This will not suck up the oils out of your face, but it will control the oils for up to 8 hours.

This has done 3 things to my skin:

• oil control
• UV sun protection
• matte finish

After about 6 hours, I checked whether I had to blot, but surprisingly enough I had a subtle sheen on my nose, which people like to call that healthy glow.
And as long as other people's faces don't reflect in the oils of my face, I don't feel the need to blot, haha!

I got mine at FeelUnique for 37€, that's about 49$. You say WHAAAATTT?!? And yes, I have to admit, this is expensive as hell. I'm the kind of girl who almost never invests in high end products, so I thought I could get myself this one. (This might not be a super famous brand, but keep in mind that high end brands such as Chanel, YSL, Dior, ... sometimes just don't work for others)

In spite of the price, I think this product has reached my top items in my beauty collection. I know it's not cheap, but it has be the only product that I have tried that will actually keep me matte throughout the day.

I will be repurchasing this, but I will use this mattifier very sparingly as money doesn't grow on my back :p

Have you tried this? If so, please share your view on it! :)

Review Enzymion

Hey hey there!

A while back I was on the hunt for a birthday gift for a friend of mine. You Lushies probably know that you often receive a sample by choice whenever you purchased something. This time I asked for a moisturiser to combat my oily skin. The saleswoman gave me a little sample of Enzymion to try out.

Lush Enzymion moisturizer

As soon as I opened it, it looked like a quite thick off white cream. I'm not going to lie, I was hesitant to try it out. After contemplating about it, I decided to give it a try and I had my benzoylperoxide right next to me just in case I would break out on the spot :p

It supposedly should give your face a matte finish, while hydrating the entire face.
When I applied it, I didn't really like the thick texture of it. I felt the cream sitting on my skin, which I don't really prefer. After a few minutes this did sink into my skin: my skin felt soft and it looked rather matte.

I checked after 3 to 4 hours and I didn't look completely matte as when I just applied it, but at least my face didn't look like a grease ball. It looked rather matte to dewy, a look I can still handle to see in the mirror.

At the end of the evening, the Enzymion couldn't keep my oils at bay. But hey, I haven't bumped into a moisturizer that does keeps my face matte for the majority of the day. I guess I can use this moisturizer with some blotting sheets on me.

I love how Lush only uses natural ingredients and most of the time, the scents are just invigorating. The thing I disliked about most Lush products is that you have to dip your fingers into the jar to get the product out. And let's face it, Lush isn't cheap.

The main ingredients that kept the face matte are the papaya and the lemon. These key ingredients will suck up all the excess oils on the face.

I have to admit, I didn't expect a good result from a Lush skincare product. I've been hearing so many people talking about how products broke their skin out. Plus, even if I did like it, that means I have to keep spending that much money for product :p I'm glad I expanded my horizons on having an open mind to Lush skincare, but will I totally turn into a Lushie or not?

Review Avène mattifying fluid

Hi beautiful :)

Today I'll be reviewing a moisturiser from the brand Avène. If you haven't heard from this brand before, their products are based on the spring water. This makes sure that the soothing, anti-inflammatory and calming qualities from the water remains in the Avène products. It is mainly for those with sensitive skin who can't really cope with the overkill of chemical ingredients most brands add.

If you have heard from Avène, you're probably very known with the Thermal Spring Water Spray. This is one of their best selling products.

I'll be talking about the Mattifying Fluid, a face moisturiser that will hydrate and mattify your face, so it claims. This product is for people with normal to combination skin, and you all know I have more than enough oils on my face!

When I applied this for the very first time, I was happy with the results. It wasn't too matte and gave it a dewy finish. Unfortunately, this dewy finish became a lot more dewier than I wanted to. My face became quite oily after 3 to 4 hours.

I'm not sure whether my skin still needs to adapt to this products, but I have to admit I'm not very pleased with this moisturiser. I'll give this product another chance to proove me wrong, but so far... I ain't a happy blogger :(

To be continued...

Favorite products of the month: July 2013

So, how did we already pass half summer? Time literally flies by!
But you know what the end of a month means, right? Yup, another listing of my favorite products of the passed month! :)

The month July hasn't been very nice to my skin at all. I had breakouts and I needed treatment, not just for the face, but for the entire body. It's been a while since my body was in such a bad condition...

Let's work from the top down and start with facial products:
Lately the oils in my skin have been going out like crazy. I know during summer my skin has the tendency to go all nuts, but I've been on the look out for good mattifying products to keep my oils at bay.
The Bioderma and the Shu Uemura Pureness mattifying moisturizer have been good to my skin, because they're very light moisturizers but they've been keeping my skin fairly matte.

Left:Bioderma Sébium moisturising mattifying fluid
Right: Shiseido Pureness mattifying moisturiser

Besides that, pimples had several parties on my face. Costume parties. As in, they were everywhere and in all forms. Whenever I'm need of a good zit killer, I take out the big guns: my Benzac Gel. This hydrogel contains 5% of benzoylperoxide. If you haven't heard of this chemical, it mainly dries out the zit causing it for it to DIE, mwoehahaha! Honestly, it's THE bomb diggity to get rid of any breakouts.

Benzac Gel

This passed month I had to go to the dentist, and I had to sit there for about 2 hours with my mouth open. This caused the sides of my mouth crack, and believe you me... it hurts like hell afterwards! I've done some research and I found out that Sudocrem appears to be a very good treatment for healing cracks. After walking around with those cracks for weeks, it healed after applying Sudocrem for just 1 day! Holy moly guacemole, right?
It's known to be a do-it-all for several things, such as soothing a baby's nappy rash, treat dry, cracked feet, get rid of red spots from acne, ... A big plus? It's hypoallergenic, so this will be fighting against those annoying allergic reactions!

Sudocrem

This month I've discovered my epilator and my tweezers again, because you know how we girls be, huh? :) I like to get rid of any excess hair that bothers me, and I have my Tweezerman to thank for. I used to use cheap tweezers and I must admit, nothing beats a Tweezerman. They're so sharp that they can get every hair out, yet they're not as sharp they can cut you. Great stuff!

Tweezerman

If you haven't read the recent last blog posts yet, I've been going on and on about how important SPF is. Recently I've discovered a sunscreen that can keep my face matte, and it has a high SPF factor. It's the Eucerin SPF 50. I'm not going into it too deep anymore, if you would like some more information on it, go ahead and give this one a read.

Eucerin sun fluid SPF 50

As for make up, since this is still a beauty blog, I have 2 drugstore eyeliners, and they're both from the brand Essence.
On the top you'll see the waterproof eye pencil that claims to be: waterproof, partyproof, lifeproof, lasts up to 16 hours and it's sharpenable. It's supposed to stay on NO MATTER WHAT. I must say that this does stay for quite some time.
The second eye pencil is a longlasting one. It's a supersoft eye pencil which is good for precise application.
They're both very good drugstore eye liners that's definitely worth the money! They're cheap (I only paid 1€ for each pencil), they're long lasting, they have a good pigmentation, they're easily accessible (drugstore). Worth giving a shot!

Top: Essence stays no matter what waterproof eye pencil: 01 midnight black
Down: Essence Longlasting eye pencil: 01 black fever

During the summer sales, I often have a peek through the sales boxes and this year I found a YSL cream blush. It's pretty pinkish color that will leave your skin dewy. You don't need too much of this: one or two swipes and hello healthy glow! I'm really glad I found this because I've been on the hunt for a good cream blush and I think I found my blush of the summer.

Yves Saint Laurent cream blush no6

As for lips, I have discovered Bourjois' Color Boost Peach on the Beach. It's a coral lipstick in a crayon form. A great color to wear for those who have been wearing lip balm forever and just started to wear lipstick :) A review of this goodie will be coming up soon!

Bourjois Color Boost: 04 Peach on the Beach

I like bright nail polish colors during the summer, especially for my toes! I've been rocking NYX's hot pink for the entire month of July. It's a fun color that will make your feet look more tanned than they're already are, 2 in 1, yeah baby!

NYX - Dance in Havana

Last but not least, I've been using an oil spray to tame those fly aways down and to make my hair more shiny. I spritz this oil in my damp hair and this makes my hair softer and gives it some shine which my hair has been lacking of. I'm not a fan of the scent, although a lot of those beauty bloggers love the Macadamia scent, but I'll keep on using this because it does the job.

Macadamia - Healing Oil Spray

These were my favorite goodies of the month. Mind sharing yours with me?

Review Bioderma moisturising mattifying fluid

I'd like to speak in the name of most oily-faces girls out there that we're constantly looking for a good matte moisturizer. It's not because we have oily faces that we don't need moisturizer. Au contraire, we need to moisturize our skin as well.We just need to make sure we don't use products that will add oil to out face since we produce enough of our own, but we cannot use too harsh face products that will totally strip the oils of our face. This will cause your skin to dry out for a while, and it may look good for about an hour, but you're giving your skin the message: Oh oh, dry skin? Need to product oil to make it balanced! Do make sure to read the labels very carefully before buying or applying it to your face. I'd say: try, try and try! It's not because a certain product works for your friend that it will work for you as well. Everyone has a different skin type. AND, it's not because one product for person A with oily skin will work for person B as well.

As for my rambling introduction to this blog post, I'd like to give you my opinion on this Bioderma moisturizer:

Bioderma sébium mat moisturising mattifying fluid

If you haven't heard of Bioderma before, it stands for Biology at the service of Dermatology. They have a wide variety of skin range, color accorded. Check out their website to see what colour range you're in.
The first time I've heard of Bioderma was when I was in Hong Kong. I saw these translucent bottles with a red detail (indicates sensitive skin) pretty much everywhere. When I came back to Belgium, I did some research to check out what the fuss was about. Turned out they were micellar solutions that cleanses, removes make up from and soothes the skin. I won't get too much into it, but if you'd like to read some more on it, click here.

During the summer I'm mostly on the look for a gel-like moisturizer because it's lighter for my skin to absorb. But when I saw this, I just had to try it, and I must say...I actually really like this :)

It has the green detail on it which is for those with combination or oily skin. On the bottle it claims to neutralize areas which are prone to shine. Long lasting moisturizing and anti-shine skin care for combination or oily skin. Its fluid texture is quickly absorbed. Does not flake off. The skin remains clear, soft and perfectly matte all day long.

It comes out as a white cream, but it's very light and it sinks into the skin rather fast. I apply it on my T-zone every morning and I have to say that I do stay matte for half the day, not for the entire day as it claims to do. I have to admit I'm quite satisfied with it staying matte for half the day, because most moisturizers force me to blot after 2 hours or so.

Since this product is only available in certain stores, it's quite difficult to get a hold of it in Belgium. If you don't have very oily skin, give this one a try.

I'm quite happy with this, but will continue my search for my HG moisturizer to combat my combination skin to oily skin :)

Favorites of the month: May 2012

Oh May, May, where are thou May? We're already June and that means: monthly favorites...yaaay!

I discovered some things that will last for quite a while in my beauty/skin care routine! Some of you may know that I recently purchased a Clarisonic, I'm liking it so far, but since I haven't been using it for a long period of time, it'll probably pop up in my next fav's. Anyway, less chit chat, more make up!

I'll start off with the eye make up: recently I bought Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. I finally splurged on a must have according to a lot of beauty guru's.

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette

I've written a review on this, so feel free to check this out :) It's a neutral cool eyeshadow palette which contains matte to shimmery shades...LOVE-LY!

Recently I've been experimenting more with make up, but it's been a pain in the but to take the make up off before going to bed. But thanks to the invention of make up wipes, it made the job much easier! I've been using the Yes to cucumbers make up wipes to take everything off my face. These soothing facial towelettes cleanses, removes make up and nourishes the skin...all in one swipe! They remove all of my make up (actually, the remove all of my concealer and setting powder since that's pretty much all I wear). It's so much easier than actually cleansing it with a proper make up remover cleanser. Yes, I am lazy, now you all know :)

Yes To Cucumbers facial towelettes

Let's stick to face, shall we?
I've been using the Nivea Pure effect scrub a couple of times a week. It's a very light scrub with micro beeds in it which makes it less harsh for the skin. Something that got me over the fence of getting this is the matte effect it gives after washing your face, and my face LOVES matte effects :)

Nivea Pure Effect peel soft mild scrub

I have a combination skin (oily on the T-zone and dry cheeks). The scrub is perfect for my oily T-zone but the dry cheeks do require a moisturizer, enter Nivea Pure effect Control Shine mattifying gel. I like using a gel during the warmer months of the year so it's less rich on the face. And you've probably figured out I like using this because it gives me a matte finish. It says on the bottle it doesn't contain any oils, but ocean minerals (but I'll leave that up to you whether that's true). I've been using this gel on a daily base and I thought it deserved its place in my monthly favs :)

Nivea Pure Effect control shine mattifying gel

 
Pretty happy nails for this month! My friend borrowed me her Play Day from Mac, and boy oh boy, did I fall in love with this nail polish! It's a gorgeous coral/salmon color which is bright but not neon-bright. It's the perfect color for summer if you ask me. Only downside to this is that this polish is a LE, booooooo! Unfortunately these were sold out in the first week they came out on the market. MAC, if you read this, please put this one in the permanent line? *puppy eyes*

Mac Play Day

And we're nearing the end of this article...boo!
But not to worry, I'll be posting again soon and before you know it, another month has passed and I'll be writing my FOTM for June! :)