February made me sick…literally. I spent so many days in bed recovering I barely got to enjoy the month. However, all that ‘alone time’ gave me a chance to pay attention to products I was using and enjoying. The video above features products I was using in February and my impressions of them. I apologize for the cuts and jumps in the video. It wasn’t like that when I rendered it and played it back. When I loaded it on youtube, it became shaky and unsmooth. I couldn’t get it to sort itself out no matter what I tried. It doesn’t happen too often in the video though. Below you’ll find a product list along with links to available items. Thanks for visiting my humble little blog. If you have a monthly faves video or post, please share it with me as I love reading and watching product reviews.
A few months ago, I began searching desperately for some skin care products that could treat my clogged pores and help with my acne prone skin. I looked on iherb.com and found Adama Minerals ClayMask Purify Deep Pore Cleanser with great review and decided to take a gamble on it. I’ve been using it for a few months. Usually when I do my review I list some pros and cons I found with the item; however, I actually have only one con with this product so I figured I’d get it out of the way now: it’s not available in my local drug store, health store, or beauty store. When I repurchase this, I’ll have to do so online. This can be a bit of a pain since that means dealing with shipping costs and wait time. But besides that…I love this claymask deep pore cleaner!
For starters, this deep pore cleanser, is 100% vegan, parben free, gluten-free, and contains no sulphates. I’m all for products that can be as harmless for my skin as possible and this contains a list of natural ingredients. There’s also no funny smell to deal with either. Does it work though?
IT DID FOR ME
Before I used it, my face was an absolute mess. Grotesque pimples and blemishes had taken over my skin. After the first time I used this deep pore cleaner, I noticed a slight difference in the size of my zits. After continuous use, I noticed I wasn’t getting the giant zits I was before and it’s a great spot treatment when I do get hormonal pimples. My skin is so much more improved—smooth, less blemishes, fewer breakouts, and it controlled my oily skin problem.
It’s very easy to use, and a little goes a long away. I’ve used a lot of clay masks, some more expensive than this but this one is my favorite. It doesn’t irritate sensitive skin and does what it claims to do. My pores feel less clogged and I have noticed the minerals that are meant to firm the skin has also helped me look younger.
The price varies depending on where you purchase it, thought it usually runs between 12-16 dollars. To me, it’s worth it and cheaper than some of the other products out there that claim to do the same thing.
I use it about 2 or 3 times a week and I always notice an improvement after each use. All those months of hunting for a great mask was worth it. I give it a 4.5/5.
There are a number of benefits to cocoa butter for the skin, but after seeing a video from miagirl on youtube discuss how she uses it for her hair I was curious as to whether or not it would help tame my mane. You can view my review of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula in the video below.
The Aubrey Blue Green Algae Soothing Mask is toted as being an organic facial mask that will sooth stressed skin while gently exfoliating. I’ve been using it for a little over a month and wanted to share a review highlighting some of the pros and cons of this facial product.
PROS:
No skin irriatation: Over the past couple years, my skin has become sensitive, breaking out over virtually every product. I’m happy to say however that Aubrey’s blue green algae soothing mask does not irritate my skin at all. Instead, it makes my skin feel soothed and suble.
Moisturising: This product contains grapeseed extract and that may count for the fact that this product is not drying on the skin. Unlike other facial masks that dry hard like clay, this one is very creamy and does not dry out. While on, my skin feels very moisturized and warm (the product feels like a warming mask).
Soothing:While I wouldn’t say this product is a miracle product that gets rid of acne or blemishes, it does not add to pre-existing ones. The mask opens up the pores and gets out impurites which helps to improve the look of the skin. I find the benefits are subtle. It’s the type of mask that you add to your ongoing skin care regime, but I wouldn’t use it alone to tame skin problems. It works well with other products and helps to change the texture of your skin in subtle ways so over time your skin looks and feels better. One thing I will say is it did greatly reduce the size of my pores!
CONS:
I didn’t have any real cons with this product, but if I had to choose I’d have to name price as a factor. It often sells for 10+ dollars and can really only be found online so you’d have to consider shipping costs. But you can find it on vitacost and get a couple dollars off. Those who are looking for a product that dramatically improves their skin may also be a little disappointed because this product, while helpful, does not immediately change your skin.
Overall: I love this product! Personally, I find it works great as part of my skin care regime. It’s easy to use. Contains no harmful products and I consider it much more cost friendly than other products that perform similarly and/or contain the same ingredients. I wish I could get it locally, but I am willing to dish out the shipping costs to have this product. I recommend it to anyone looking to add an organic mask to their facial care regime.
While browsing throw iherb.com, a website that sells organic and cruelty free products I found a box of cleaning wipes on sale. I don’t usually use make removing/cleaning towelttles because I don’t wear much makeup, but they were on sale for only about $3.00 so I thought I’d give them a try. Below is a review of the Blum naturals daily cleansing and makeup remover towelettes.
Pro:
Affordable: Even when this product is not on sale it’s still a lot cheaper than say M.A.C’s makeup remover wipes. The 30 pack is 7.49 on their website. But the pack I got, which had 10 individually wrapped towelttes, is only 2.84 on iherb.com.
Cleans well: While it doesn’t remove every trace of make with one sheet, it does do a good job of getting most of it. The sheets are thick and have a texture that helps to gently scrub away dirt. My face always felt clean after use.
Non drying or irritating:
Some wipes make my face feel really tight and dry after use, but this one contains grape seed extract, aloe vera extract and chamomile extract all organic and I think they add the benefit of preventing the face from feeling dry. It made my face look alive and hydrated and it was non irritating.
Cons
Although I like how each toweltte is indiviually wrapped (you can pop a couple in your bag) I hated the packaging! Without scissors it was almost impossible to get open.
This was not a con for me, but some may not like the smell. My family said it smelt like baby wipes and that turned them off from using it. I personally wasn’t bothered by it, but it is something to keep in mind.
I wish the 10 pack was 15. I would be willing to pay a little more for a few more wipes since 10 isn’t quite enough especially if you are sharing them with your house hold.
Overall, I’m a new fan of this product. I like that it is natural, gets the job done, and is afforadable. If you don’t mind the scent and don’t use heavy makeup then I definetly recommend it. 4/5
For those that don’t know, LUSH cosmetics is a bath and beauty company that focuses on homemade and natural products. They offer a variety of products from skincare to bath and shower, and just about everything in between to keep you clean and looking fresh. My favorite items from them are there gifts sets because they give me a chance to try new products or get prepackaged old faves. Above is a video of a giftset I got as present. It’s special for two reasons.
1) It is a re-vamped of an old gift of the same name “Hello Gorgeous”
2) It has a product in it that can only be found in the giftset.
Check out the video to see my unboxing and review.
To view the old giftset for fun. (it can no longer be purchased) check out the video below.
The Style Trenches 