Boots No. 7 Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator

Boots No. 7 is a brand that continues to surprise me. I'd walked past their displays at Target for years, never realizing how amazing some of their products really are. What got me interested in this product was the Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Set, a set of an exfoliant and renewal serum Unfortunately, the extremely small containers and a price tag of $55 turned me off! Now, Boot's skincare isn't that cheep either, or at least some of it isn't, but if you're lucky enough to have some coupons or get their products during a clearance, then you're set!

The product I bought is the Boots No. 7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator, and for $14.99 you get 2.5 oz. That may seem like a lot of money to pay for a drugstore brand, but compared to the MK set, you get more product for less. The MK exfoliator (you can buy the set or get the items separately) is $30 for only 2 oz. And, knowing just how much of a bargain hunter I am, I of course found the Boots version at a much cheaper price. Only $4.99! I have to say, though, that if I could only buy this at full price, I probably wouldn't.

Now, onto the actual product itself. The exfolatior is a cream cleanser with aluminum oxide micro-crystals that act as the abrasive. The crystals are actually a lot larger than I expected them to be. I've used the MK version, and the crystals in it were much finer and gentler. These were a bit larger and therefore rougher on my skin, though not as bad as the abrasive found in the St. Ives scrubs. However, based on the large size of the crystals, I would categorize this more as a scrub than a microdermabraser, but a good scrub at that.

First off, here it is on my dry skin:


Here it is spread:




Just to give you an idea on the size of the crystals, here's a closeup:


You can really see the texture and how large the crystals are. In the MK one, you can't even see individual crystals. It's uniform through out the cleanser it's added to.

Here it is after I ran some water over it and rubbed it a bit:


You can see that the cream cleanser the abrasive is added to is fairly thick, withstanding the water added. If found this to be both good and bad when I used it. It was good because it made my skin feel very moisturized. However, as I have oily skin, about half an hour after I washed my face (for the purpose of the review I didn't moisturizer right after) my skin felt very oily, giving me a very uncomfortable feeling, as though I was going to bed with a dirty face. As much as I don't like this aspect of the product, I do have to say that I am liking it in general because it left my skin feeling sooooooo soft! While it is a bit rougher than I'd like it to be, it leaves my skin feeling as soft as the MK version did. Now, just like the MK one, there is a complementing renewal serum/moisturizer, but I was disinclined to purchase it because it was $21, not something I was going to spend on a drugstore brand product. Overall, as an exfoliant it is excellent and I highly recommend it!

First image from Target.com.

Info:

Price: $14.99 (Retail)

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Alumina, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral oil), Capric/Caprylic Triglycerides, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Petrolatum, PEG 100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium EDTA

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Smashbox Summer: Untamed

Here's Smashbox's summer collection. The description on Sephora states, "The lush, smoldering shades of the tropical African landscape is the inspiration for Smashbox's safari-inspired summer collection. Unleash your new, untamed look." Sounds good to me! Smashbox is a brand that I've just started looking at. For some reason, something about this brand just didn't appeal to me in the past. Whatever it is, I'm over it now, haha! Their eyeshadow's, lipglosses, and primers are awesome! Here's the breakdown of products:

Untamed Waterproof Shadow Liner Trio ($29)
>Savage
>Exotic
Untamed Lip Gloss ($18)
>Flesh
>Raw
Untamed Double-Ended Eye Brightner ($22)
Untamed Highlights Cheek Luminizer ($24)
>Aglow
Untamed Creamy Cheek Color ($24)
>Untamed

Review: L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lipgloss

Some swatches:




First of all, I have to say that spelling the word "infallible" is really a pain in the butt. It's one of those words that no matter how many times you write it, you still misspell it, like "sovereignty" or "accommodate." Really really annoying. Personally, I think the name should be just Infallible Lipgloss. Otherwise the name seems really wordy, and this is just the beginning of the list of things that I hate about this product. I am amazed that so many people actually like this product. I was reading so many rave reviews about it on MUA and Total Beauty, and after I tried it I was like "were they high or something!?" This gloss is probably one of the worst glosses I've ever tried.

First of all, it isn't even that glossy! Here's a few pics:




And here's a comparison of it with my Labello balm:


Huge difference! I don't know how to describe the glossiness. It's more of what a regular gloss looks like after you've been wearing it for a few hours rather than freshly applied gloss. No matter how many coats I put on, I couldn't get it to be more glossy. In addition to this, the texture isn't very appealing. It felt very thick and heavy on my lips, very uncomfortable. I understand that this is supposed to make it adhere to your lips better and promote lasting power, but I felt like I had glue on my lips, it was that tacky.

Next, it doesn't even last that long. I put it on, but less than three hours later I had to reapply. They advertise that it lasts for six hours, which is totally ridiculous. Also, they say that it's supposed to be moisturizing, but I saw absolutely no evidence of that. My lips felt very tight and dry after I took the gloss off at the end of the day, and I didn't like that.

Finally, what I hated the most about this product was the scent. It smells rancid. Usually with glosses you expect a fruity or a vanilla scent, but this was like some chem experiment. Not only that, but the smell lingered on my lips for the better part of an hour. Ugh...

To leave you on a high note, however, one thing that I do like about this gloss is the applicator. It's like the type on Lancome's Color Fever glosses, and I do like it better than the traditional doe foot applicators. If the formula of the gloss had been better, then the brush would have been a huge asset, but because the formula was so sticky, the brush didn't make any difference in my application. With the Lancome Color Fever glosses, the brush allows me to get both my lips in one go, so I don't have to redip, which does save product. Actually, this brush was what had excited me about the product. Here's a pic:

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this product.

Info:

Price: $9.99 (Retail)

Ingredients: Not listed on the product or the internet as far as I've seen.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick

I was at Target a few days ago and picked this lippie up in shade A12, Sugar Plum Ice. It's a very nude, sheer pink, very cool toned. I recently finished a tube of Rimmel London's Dreamy, and was looking for a replacement. I remember watching pinkiecharms rave review of this lipstick on YouTube (you can watch it here), so I was curious to try it out. I myself am not a huge fan of Maybelline, but I'm glad I picked this up because I really like it!





Sorry for the fuzzy pictures--I'm using a new camera, and still haven't figured out all of the macro settings.

Here are some swatches:

The color is very nude, very peachy, and completely different from the swatch on the Maybelline site, which has it as a light purple, almost.


At this angle, you can really see how shiny it is!

Here it is on my lips:

And I know, my lips are in bad condition! I'm gonna exfoliate them tonight, I just haven't gotten the chance to yet. Anyhow, back to the review. I was really impressed with the formula of this lipstick. It went on very silky and creamy, very smooth. The color itself was okay, but it washed my lips out a little. I'm probably going to get a darker shade next time, just so that I don't feel like a ghost, hehe! The lipsticks have SPF 15, jojoba oil, and shea butter, so they are great for your lips, never making them feel dry or flaky. I really like that they have SPF. Not many drugstore lipsticks do, especially at this price, and it's important to protect your lips. Lasting power with this lipstick was okay. I had to touch up in about two and a half to three hours, which isn't bad, but then again, I was wearing a light color. If the color was darker than you'd have to reapply very often,but I don't think you'll have a problem with feathering. The only thing that bothered me about this lipstick is the scent. It smells like watermelon, very strongly. At first I didn't mind, I actually thought it smelled good. But after wearing it for a few days the scent began to be overpowering, sort of sickly sweet. If you discount that, however, you have a great lipstick that I'd recommend to anyone!

Info:

Price:$5.49 (Retail)

Ingredients: Allantoin (0.6%), Octinoxate (7.5%), Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polyglyceryl 2 Diisostearate, Octyldodecanol, Bis Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate 2, Polyethylene, Squalane, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ozokerite, Microcrystalline Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Silica, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG 5 Rapeseed Sterol, Alumina, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Fragrance, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Behenyl Alcohol, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, BHT, Propylene Carbonate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, C12 16 Alcohols, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Lecithin, Tin Oxide, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polymethylmethacrylate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Dimethicone, May Contain (+/-):, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 7, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 28 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 22 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Carmine, Red 36

Disclosure:The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Sneak Peak: Upcoming Reviews

Here's a taste of what's coming! I've really been into lip products lately. Usually I focus on the eyes with shadows and mascaras, but I've been buying more lippies these past couple of weeks, and this is just the beginning! I've also got a couple of hauls to share.



That's it for today,
-Natalie

Labello CareGloss & Shine

I have to say that I am in love with this balm. The reason I love it is because it combines two products into one: gloss and balm. Whenever I wear this gloss my lips never feel dried out, cracked,etc. With many other glosses, after a couple of hours my lips start peeling, and I get these little crumbs of dead skin around my lips(sounds gross, I know), but I never have this problem with this gloss. In addition to this, it is really really glossy, like unbelievably glossy!

Here, take a look:




Isn't it pretty? I have it in Transparent, which is a clear gloss with pink and gold shimmer, so it gives my lips a bit of sparkle as well, which is great because I'm not a really big fan of completely clear gloss.

Here are a few swatches:






Can you see the pretty shimmer? There are only a couple of downsides to this gloss. One, it is a bit on the greasy side, but this is balanced out by the fact that it doesn't leave a sticky film on your lips when it wears off. Also, it isn't sold in the US, as far as I know, but you can easily buy it off line or trade for it through MUA. I have a friend send me some every few months. If you're looking for a dupe, Nivea came out with a line of balms and has a similar product on the market, reviews on those coming soon! The packaging is decent too--the cap stays on, it doesn't leak, and there's a good amount of product in there. Since the formula is very liquid, a little goes a long way so it'll last a while. I would really recommend this balm to anyone, especially as it is winter and and lips are dryer this time of year.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

New Day, New Blog

Hi everyone! It's time for change, so here's a brand new blog. For those of you that haven't read any of my other blogs, here's a little bit about myself:

-I love makeup. This just about sums up this blog in one sentence. I'm hopelessly addicted to cosmetics, especially the ones that come in lovely and chic packaging. Basically what that means is that I can never turn away from my Chanel's, Lancome's, and Yves Saint Laurent's, to name a scant few, and I will share my obsession with you in this blog, give you a glimpse of my collection.

-I love to read and write. I don't know what it is about certain books that fascinates me. I am often guilty of judging a book by it's cover, to use a very dated saying. That's not always a good thing, but I've been reading novels for so long that, just from looking at a cover, I know that I will either hate it or love it. Some of these covers are very misleading, but old habits are hard to break. Reading has given me a greater understanding and appreciation for what it takes to write a book, or just write in general. Like anyone, I have my likes and dislikes, but it is unquestionable that it takes a lot to write a book, which is why I respect the authors commitment. This is why I actually started blogging. My very first blog wasn't about fashion or makeup, but rather books, all kinds of books. And who knows, maybe I'll share a few of them with you!

-Finally, I love to anything Victorian. The entire class awes me. I remember the first time I saw the movie Atonement--I was enchanted by the dress, the lifestyle, and the interior designs, and since then I've been collecting little knickknacks--china, dairies, jewelry--all in the Victorian style. But that's another story!

Anyhow, enough about me. I really hope that you enjoy this blog, and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me!

Thanks for reading,
Natalie