Just Finished

I finished a few products in the last few days so I want to share with you my thoughts.

1. Bath and Body Works Body Butter in P.S. I Love You - I picked this up in one of the semi-annual sales and I think it is an older formula of body butter and a discontinued fragrance since I can't find it on the website anymore. The body butter itself is extremely thick...so much so that it was hard to spread on the skin so I ended up using a lot of it each application. It also took a couple minutes to absorb in the skin, although that is the case with most body butters. I remember B&BW re-vamping the body butter formula last-year so I think it has improved, but I haven't tried the new one. On the other hand, this fragrance was very lovely! It is a mix of rose and amber, but not overwhelming. I really hope they bring this scent back!

 

2. Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser - I received this as a sample and it is good, but nothing amazing. The exfoliating beads are very small, and the cleanser didn't remove all my makeup, so I didn't feel like I was getting a good clean or a good scrub. This may be a good exfoliant for sensitive skin, but it didn't do anything for me. 

3. Origins Starting Over Age-Erasing Moisturizer with Mimosa - This is one of the brand's best-selling anti-aging moisturizers, but I didn't find any improvement in my skin. When I went on my Bahamas cruise last month I wanted a small jar of moisturizer and I had this in my stash and it was only a 1 oz. jar so I decided to use it up.  This has a bit of a citrus scent, which is nice and refreshing, but most anti-aging cremes are very moisturizing and this definitely was not moisturizing enough for my dry winter skin. This is supposed to be effective for all skin types but based on my experience it may be better for oily-normal skin types. I didn't see any improvement in my fine lines, in brightness, or any other aspect. I also wish this had SPF. I really like Origins products (I LOVE GinZing Eye Cream), so I am tempted to try out the other lines of moisturizer and recommendations are appreciated.

4. The Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream - This is a nice hand cream, but I HATE the packaging. I despise the foil-type tubes because they are rigid and get holes very easily. The cream is nice, but after trying the Gud by Burts Bees Natural Hand Creme, I am glad this is finished because the Gud one is sooo much better at moisturizing my hands. 

5. MAC Eye Brows in Lingering - The Eye Brows pencils are twist up, thin, brow pencils that make it easy to draw or fill-in brows. I really enjoy the ease of this pencil, but it gets used up pretty quickly, so now I prefer using a brow powder or shadow and an angled brush. If I was made of money I would definitely re-purchase this. 

Have you tried any of these? What are your thoughts?

Finished in December 2011

I didn't do a Finished in November post, as I didn't really finish anything, but I did finish a few things in December and I wanted to share my thoughts on those products.

1. The Body Shop Body Butter in Passion Fruit - This isn't a permanent scent, but I think it comes around every spring and summer. I usually like the formula for Normal/Dry skin, but this was a bit greasy and took a few minutes to absorb in the skin, which is why I didn't use it up in the summer and waited till winter to finish it. I do like the scent of tropical fruit so I loved the passion fruit fragrance. I really enjoy Body Shop's body butters so I will continue using them, but will skip this one due to the greasy texture. 

2. MAC Lightful Ultramoisture Creme - Do I really need to explain my love for this? I have raved about it many times on the blog. 

3. Bath and Body Works Ile De Tahiti Moana Body Wash in Tiare Flower - This is one of those discontinued lines from Bath and Body Works that occasionally pop up during the semi-annual sales. I LOVE the scent of Tiare Flower, more so after I smelled it everywhere during my honeymoon to Tahiti, but it is just so fresh, floral, and exotic. I think I have one more of these in my stock, but I will be using that preciously as it is my last.

4. Bliss Body Butter in Lemon + Sage - This is the most moisturizing body butter I have used....and I have used a LOT. It is quite pricey, at $28 for 6.7oz, but it really does lock in the moisture in the skin and keeps the skin soft until I shower the next day. That being said, I think I would only re-purchase this as a treat, or if I was loaded, since I think Body Shop and other brands make good body butters that are more affordable. My original review is here. 

5. Stila One Step Correct Face Primer - I have used this in many looks both here on the blog and for others and I have talked about it many times. In summary, I really enjoy this primer. It is my favorite non-silicon face primer and you can read my original review here. 

Did you finish up anything lately? If so, what was it and would you repurchase?

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!

Finished!

As mentioned previously, I am on a kick to finish up my half-used products, and I was successful at finishing 3 things last month:

1. Aura Science Phase One Withdraw Mask - This is a clay mask I picked up a few years ago from Victoria's Secret. I heard that they only sell the Aura Science line in a few states in the US. Personally, I have not seen it in California or Pennsylvania in recent years. I kind of wish they would bring it back because I really liked this mask. A thin layer all over my face and neck really helped shrink my pores and tighten my skin. It was non-drying, but the pore-shrinking effect made me believe it did deep clean all the gunk in my pores. This mask also left my skin super-smooth and soft. Oh well, I will have to find another one....any recommendations?



2. Fresh Soy Face Serum - I had heard great things about the Fresh Soy line, so when I needed a new face serum, I decided to see if it was worth the buzz. OMG, this product smells like rotten cucumbers! I can't believe I actually used up this whole bottle. Really speaking, I would have returned it but I couldn't find the receipt, and couldn't bear throwing it out, so I just used it in the morning when I knew I would be wearing makeup after my skin care so the smell would get covered up. Aside from the smell, I don't think this serum did anything great for my skin. It didn't reduce the size of my pores, and I didn't notice any brightening effects. I don't think it hydrated my skin very much, and I definitely didn't notice any anti-aging effects. My skin was softer with this serum, but that is about it. I highly recommend that you stay away from this product and the whole Soy line.

3. MAC Select SPF Moistureblend Foundation - This is another product that is now discontinued. This foundation was replaced by the Mineralize Foundation SPF 15 that comes in a compact. I really liked the Moistureblend formula so I had a couple back-ups and the one I just used up was the last of my stock. I used it sparingly, mostly when traveling, but I loved it because it was so easy to use and blended in with my skin flawlessly. It looked like I wasn't wearing makeup at all, and it was very hydrating. I guess now I will have to venture out and try the newer Mineralize version.

Have you used any of these products? Have you finished anything recently?