Origins Ginger Skincare Review

I have had the Origins Ginger bath products for awhile but just recently started using them....and I am in LOVE!

The Origins Ginger Burst Savory Body Wash is so delicious and fresh smelling! It has a ginger scent but it is not overpowering. It does not smell like the ginger you cook with or like candied ginger. It smells like ginger mixed with a clean, crisp, fresh scent...yeah I know that sounds confusing but it's hard to describe! This lathers extremely well and leaves my skin feeling silky soft. The ginger fragrance lingers slightly, but does not interfere with any other fragrance you layer on afterwards.

The Origins Ginger Souffle Whipped Body Cream is also very luxurious. The scent is a lot stronger and longer-lasting than the body wash, so if you aren't keen on the smell this isn't for you. The texture is a bit thick and very moisturizing, which is why I haven't used nearly as much as I have of the body wash. This is better suited for the winter when I need a thicker moisturizer.

Overall, I love both but am most excited about the body wash. I know it is pricier than drugstore body washes but  it feels so good when I use it that I feel it is worth the splurge.

Have you tried either of these ginger products?

February 2012 Favorites

This February I discovered a couple amazing new (to me) products, and fell in love again with some classics:

1. Lush The Sacred Truth Fresh Face Mask - I have used this before and it's definitely my favorite mask from Lush. Although I can't vouch for its anti-aging benefits, this leaves my skin super soft, moisturized and smooth, not tight and dry. 

2. Gud by Burts Bees Hand Cream in Floral Cherrynova - I love how fast absorbing this cream is, yet it still manages to infuse a solid amount of moisture in my skin. When I use this at night I wake up with super soft hands. I love floral scents and this smells soooo fresh and floral, but there are other scents available too. My full review of this line is here. 

3. Sue Devitt Gel-to-Powder Blush in Marion Reef - This blush is AMAZING! It has a velvet feel to it and it applies like a gel/cream but sets on the face as a powder. It feels so silky and lasts ALL day on me. I normally layer powder blushes on top of cream blushes but I don't have to with this because it is so pigmented and long lasting. I will do a full review soon. 

 

4. Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - This is such a popular product in the blogosphere so I just had to try it for myself. My verdict? It does live up to the hype! Nars has done a great job with the shade selection and the formula sets beautifully. Although it is called sheer glow, it has medium coverage and a natural finish. I will do an in-depth review of this product too, but so far I am loving it.

5. Kirkland Makeup Wipes - I have re-discovered my love for makeup wipes and these are by far my favorite. I love the thick texture, the moistness of each towelette, the fact that one towelette removes ALL my makeup (including mascara and gel eyeliner) and the price! Check out my full review here. 

Hope you all had a great February! I am glad it's over because that means we are one month closer to spring and warm weather! Oh, and in other news, the Too Faced Vintage Sale started today so check out the Too Faced Website for some great deals on soon-to-be-discontinuted products and sets.

Finished in October

I am not going to do a monthly favorites post for October because there was really only one product I kept using, MAC's Face and Body Foundation, so I will do a separate review of that. But I did manage to finish 3 products last month:

1. Philosophy Purity Made Simple - My Holy Grail (HG) cleanser. This is the only cleanser that removes ALL traces of my face makeup, doesn't leave my skin feeling dry or like it has a film on it, and it just works. I professed my love for it here.



2. Phyto Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm - The last time I got my hair cut my stylist gave this to me to try out saying it is the best for calming frizzy hair. She is African American and swears by this product, and I thought if it works for her hair, it will definitely work for my hair! Wrong. My hair is really dry and this stripped all moisture from my hair, and it didn't add any softness. I didn't notice my hair being any straighter with this compared to my beloved Moroccan Oil, so back to the oil it is!

Bobbi Brown Instant Long Wear Makeup Remover Review

Lately I have been on a fall-cleaning spree and am trying to use up all my half-used products and trial sizes so that I can make space and get better organized. I just finished up using a trial size Bobbi Brown Instant Long Wear Makeup Remover and wanted to share my thoughts on it:

This is a duo-phase (oil phase and water phase) makeup remover that you have to shake to mix up the phases before getting on a cotton pad. I prefer duo-phase removers because I think oil is necessary in removing long wear eyeliner and mascara. 

Although I used this up, I don't like it enough to repurchase. It does remove long wear makeup, but it kind of smears it around as I rub it on my eye area. I often felt like I had to get some of the makeup off, then use a new cotton pad with more makeup remover in order to remove the makeup that was smeared around. It might work better for those who simply wear regular eyeliner and a bit of shadow and mascara, but I like to use long wear liners and lots of mascara, so this isn't powerful enough for me. 

Do you ever try using up products or do you simply toss them?

June Favorites

Here are my favorites from the past month:

1. Kirkland Daily Facial Cleansing Towelettes - These are so effective at removing makeup and cleansing my skin, and they are SUPER affordable! I switch it up between these and MAC wipes, but this was a coupon item at Costco during the last coupon book period so I couldn't help but purchase them again. I LOVE them! My full review is here.

2. Origins GinZing Eye Cream - This eye cream has been a lifesaver the past month. Life has been super busy recently and this magical cream makes it look like I have been relaxing on vacation! It reduces puffiness, helps brighten the under eye area, and helps my concealer from settling in to the fine lines around my eyes. I love this little jar and will be doing a full review soon.

3. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - So after taking care of the skin around my eyes, I have been using this concealer to conceal my dark circles. This stuff is amazing and I already said everything I love about it in my original review. 

4. MAC Technakohl Liner in Smoothblue - This is one of my summer must-haves. I love using this to line my upper lash line and then add mascara. It is such a quick and easy eye look and adds a pop of color for the summer. Even my hubby loves when I wear this "blue stuff" on my eyes. 

5. Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base - I have mentioned this in the past, but this truly is one of the best eye primers out there. It prevents shadow from creasing and fading, and it is invisible on the skin so you can use it under any color shadow. This is especially great for summertime when it is hot and eyelids tend to be oilier than normal.

What products have you been loving recently'?

Does Nars Eye Makeup Remover Live Up To The Nars Reputation?

I received a travel size Nars Eye Makeup Remover in a travel set a few months ago, and although I was saving it to use for future travel, I decided to just go ahead and use it. 

I am so glad I tried this now because I would have been cranky if this was the only eye makeup remover I had on a trip. I generally like these type of duo-phase oil and water makeup removers that you have to shake and mix up before using. I find that oil-based removers really do the best job of removing eyeliner and mascara. However, this one did not live up to my expectations. Why? Because it removed all of my eyeshadow, but I really had to rub my eyes a LOT to remove my eyeliner and mascara. It was a pain to have to physically rub my eyes for a longer-than-normal amount of time and also I try to avoid rubbing my eyes a lot because it contributes to the aging process. 

Overall, I think there are much better duo-phase eye makeup removers available like Lancome's Bi-facil, MAC's eye makeup remover (the pink bottle), and the Neutrogena eye makeup remover. 

What is your favorite eye makeup remover?

My Addiction With Costco (and Kirkland Makeup Wipes Review)

If you have been following me for awhile, you know that I am OBSESSED with Costco. I love shopping at Costco, I love browsing at Costco, I love eating at Costco, I love samples at Costco, and I even look forward to getting my monthly Costco coupon book. Yes, I need CA....Costco-holics Anonymous.

Back to beauty.

After reading all the rave reviews of Costco's makeup wipes, the Kirkland (Costco's brand) Daily Facial Cleansing Towelettes, I just had to get them for myself. 

So after trying these out for a few months, what's my verdict? These wipes make me love Costco even more than I already did! Here's why:

1. The wipes take off ALL makeup, including waterproof mascara and long-wear eyeliner
2. The wipes are thicker than most so they hold up well and don't rip easily
3. One wipe is more than enough to take off all my makeup, even stubborn eye makeup
4. The wipes have a fresh scent, similar to a light cucumber smell, that is clean and refreshing
5. The wipe amount in each package is varied...the Costco box includes 4 packs of 30 wipes and 2 packs of 15 wipes......ideal for traveling
6. The wipes are cheap! You get a total of 150 wipes for about $11! And some months there is a coupon for the wipes!

So will these permanently replace my beloved MAC wipes? Maybe. There is only one thing I don't like about these wipes: the packaging. The opening is supposed to work like this:

However, I keep ending up with this problem:

The little plastic piece keeps coming loose, and often slips off the package entirely, meaning the package is exposed and the wipes could dry out. Now, I travel a lot and my wipes packages get tossed all over the place, so that might be why I experience this issue. If you only use these at home and keep them on a countertop, you probably won't have to deal with this. It's just a bit frustrating because I don't want my wipes to dry out, and I never had this problem with the MAC wipes. My MAC wipes would get tossed around as well, and since I used to use the 100 pack of MAC wipes, as opposed to the 30 pack of Costco wipes, one pack would last longer and endure more tossing around. But I still never had packaging issues.

All in all I probably will keep purchasing the Costco wipes and just hope they improve the packaging.

Kajal Couture Rating: A