Mario Badescu drying lotion

Yes, I'm back :)

This time I'd like to write about a rather hyped up beauty item that has gotten a dozens of good reviews and has been a HG for a lot of beauty gurus out there. I'm talking about Mario Badescu's drying lotion.

Basically it's a skin care product to treat acne.

Mario Badescu drying lotion

On the picture you'll see that the bottom is pink and the top has a yellowish clear color.
You don't shake the product before use, but you dip a cotton swab into the bottle and get a little bit of the pink solution (because basically, this is a acne treatment), take it out and you'll see the pink residu has a layer of the yellow oil. You dap this diretly onto the blemish and you'll let it dry, that's it. You do wash it off the next morning, unless you like to walk around with pink dots all over your face :)

This is supposed to be one hell of a product which is suitable for all skin types.
I have to admit, I used it a couple of time, and I must say: this did dry out the pimples I had and it did its job.

Does it work? Yes, it does.
Is it worth the hype? It is a good product, but there are other products out there that can treat blemishes as well.
Will I repurchase? I would if it were easy accessible.

Up to you to decide whether you want to give this baby a shot :)

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 Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

High end brands, they make you feel like a million dollars and they cause your wallet to want to jump out of your purse whenever you walk into a beauty shop.

I tend to use mostly drugstore items, but I have to confess... There are times I become a woos and I splurge.
Last summer I was walking through the beauty alley and I saw that some of the products of Clarins were on sale. Yes, I justified it because it was on sale.

I got myself the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil.
It's a yellow oil that you put on your face to treat your skin. This is towards those with oily or combination skin. You may be thinking: Lily, I already have enough oils on my face going on and now you're saying to slather on some more oil? Really?!?

Yes. I'm telling you to treat your oily faces with oil. as crazy as it may sound, this actually works.

This product is made from 100% of pure plant extracts. All natural for those who are wondering :p

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

After cleansing my face I put 2 drops in my hands, rub it and press it into my skin. If you massage it well, this will sink into your skin. Just give it some time for the oil to do its work.

I do have to mention the rather medicinal scent to the product. For those who don't like heavily fragrances, this may not be your cup of tea. When massages into the skin you can still smell a subtle hint of the medicine.

I have been using this for a couple of months now, and I have noticed less blemishes and less oily skin.

Since you only need a few drops of this, I'm sure this bottle will last me quite a while.
I spent 24€ on this bottle, with discount. Normally I won't spend that much money on something I've never tried before, but ... once in a while won't hurt, right?

Let me know if you've tried this as well. What do you think about this oil fighter?

Colors of the Rainbow TAG

Hi everyone! I've seen this tag going around like a fruit fly smelling sweets :) So I decided to do this as well.

If you don't know what this tag is about, you should basically name a product you like according to the colors of the rainbow. In exception the last 'color' which is a multicolored item you can pick. Without further ado, let's jump right into this tag:

Red

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat

For all those polish junkies out there, this shouldn't come as a surprise: Sally Hansen Insta Dri.

This top coat is hands down one of the best top coats I've ever used.
I like how this covers the mistake you've made with your polish. One coat of this and you'll have a flawless mani! Plus, this baby dries in just a few seconds.








                                                                                        Orange

Bourjois Color Boost: 03 Orange Punch

I would have to mention my Bourjois' crayon in Orange Punch. It's a fat stick that's a tinted lipbalm. It's smooth, gives a subtle color pigmentation and it's from the drugstore. It doesn't give a true orange tint to the lips, it's more of a coral color that leans to the orange side. This is probably one of my best buys of summer '13.






Yellow

Clarins Lotus Face treatment Oil

I haven't shared much about this product, but that's because I'm still trying this out before sharing my thoughts on it with you. This Clarins' oil is for treating the face to get it less oily. Sounds weird? If you'd like me to do a review on it, let me know in the comment bar below.





 




                                                                                                            Green

Macadamia Healing Oil Spray

I've purchased this healing oil about a year ago, but I've only been using this product consecutively for about a month.

I spritz this oil when my hair is damp. This makes it more easy for me to comb through. When my hair's dry I notice my hair's shinier and less dry.

It might be a detail to some of you, but I like it how this oil comes in a spray.







Blue

Clarisonic Mia

I kept thinking what product I could use for my something blue. Looked around my room, checked out of make up collection and then suddenly my little light bulb went on: my Clarisonic Mia is blue!

See it as a electronic toothbrush, only bigger and for the face, haha!

You can use this with your cleanser of choice and go over your face with the brush. It will get the impurities out leaving your face squeaky clean.






                                                                                                            Indigo

Britney Spears: Midnight Fantasy

I was hesitant to put this as my indigo item, because I only use this for special events during the winter.

Since I suck at describing scents, I looked it up:
In the top notes there are exotic framboise, black cherry and plum. Floral midnotes followed by warm vanilla base notes.
It's a quite heavy sweet fragrance, so be aware. But if you like the scent of blueberries and vanilla, this will be right up your alley :) 






Violet

MAC Girl Trouble

This is a silver based lilac with a metal finish.

If you look closely you'll see glitter in the bottle, but rest assured that the glitter is so densely packed that you won't even notice it on your nails when applied.

As most polishes with fine glitter, it isn't easy to take it off. But honestly, the color's so pretty that it's worth fussing about.

                                                                                                            Pink

Fairy Drops Platinum waterproof mascara

Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! If I haven't stressed it enough on my blog, I LOVE this mascara!

This mascara has fibres which will elongate your lashes, and the thick wand has a curve to it too make your lashes curl better when applying mascara. If you want to check this baby out, click this link to get you some.








Multicolor

Batiste dry shampoo

Over the last years dry shampoo has become a staple in my beauty collection. I have very oily roots and dry ends, so I try to avoid washing my hair as least as possible. The last couple of weeks I've been experimenting by washing maximum 1 to 2 times a week and use dry shampoo for those greasy hair days.

Most cans of Batiste have more than just one color, so I decided to put this as my multicolored item.








Try to pick out one product for every color of the rainbow. So... *tick* You're it! Do this tag and share your answers with me! :)

Mini-review Bio-Oil

Well hello there!

Today you'll be reading all about this little bottle called bio-oil.
About a month ago, I had a fresh scar and since I heard a few things on the bio oil, I decided to give this baby a go.
I realize I need to use this product for way longer than a month, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on this product with you anyways.

Apparently it shouldn't only handle scars, but it's supposed to take care of stretch marks, uneven skin tone, aging skin and dehydrated skin as well.

This oil contains plant extracts and vitamins.

On the bottle you'll see it has PurCellin Oil, this means that the oil's consistency makes it light and non-greasy when applying.

I dab some oil on my finger and massage it where I need it for a few minutes.

You'll notice it's not as a greasy as you've first applied it. This is where the PurCellin Oil comes in :)






As for every products, you have lovers and haters.
I'm still in the middle. I still haven't seen any results (which is normal, since I haven't been using this for long), but I'll come back to this review after using it for a few more months.
For now, I've been using, not only on my scar but also on some of my hyper pigmentation. After only using Bio oil for 2 weeks I already noticed that this clogged up my pores :(
I won't be using this for any of my hyper pigmentation, but I will continue using the oil for my scar. We'll just have to wait and see!

Did you know this?

Bio-Oil has won 134 skincare awards and has become the No.1 selling scar and stretch mark
products in 16 countries since its global launch in 2002.

See you in a few months for a more in depth review :)

Butter 'em up please!

Nivea lip butters

Hi everyone!


Recently Nivea launched a few lip butters (I'm sure you've heard of them by now, but I still wanted to give a little review on them). I've heard that these have become a HG for some people out there, so as a huge lip balm freak, I  just had to give these babies a go.


There are 4 different scents:
the original, vanilla & macademia, caramel cream and raspberry rosé.


I got 2 of the lip butters, namely the vanilla & macademia and the raspberry rosé. (2 tins on the right)

Pro's:

• contains shea butter and almond oil, which makes it easy to glide on the lips
• lovely scent
• 4 different kinds to choose from
• although it's a tin, the cap is easy to take off

Cons:

• tin, which makes it quite unhygienic. You have to dip in with your finger to apply the lip balm.
• leaves milky cast which needs to be blend out
• absorbs just a little bit (it's mostly sitting there to protect the lips) 

Maybe these would be even a better success if they would come out in a stick form, since a lot of those beauties are quite fond of their hygiene :p

I must say, I've limited to using these at night because of 1. the milky cast and 2. I like the buttery consistency, but since it doesn't absorbs very easily I rather let them sit on my lips overnight to make them soft to start the day. (and yes, I do' apply other lip balms during day)

As you can see, these have their pro's&cons.
I like them, but I don't absolutely love them

Is this my HG? No.
Would I repurchase them? No.

Overall, they're ok, but not THE best lip balms I've tried :)