Look, we all want to believe in the magic of French skincare. Because when you think of French women, you think effortless beauty. You think glowing skin, chic fashion, and somehow making a baguette look like a healthy life choice. Enter Avene Micellar Lotion, which is supposed to be the key to unlocking that flawless, *je ne sais quoi* clean girl skin. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s just say I’d rather ruin my lipstick by eating more beets than waste money on this again. The Quick and Dirty Summary Packaging: Plastic with a flip top cap so
Tag: beauty
Cosmetic Ingredient: Cyclopentasiloxane
Cyclopentasiloxane? Sounds like a mouthful! Does it go by any other name? Yes! It is also referred to as decamethylcyclopentisiloxane. I bet you thought it’d be something simpler, eh? Never fear, it is also abbreviated to the humble “D5” thankfully. Cycloblaaaaaah–What is it? Cyclopentasiloxane is yet another version of silicone you can find floating around in skincare and haircare products and is part of the broader cyclomethicone category. Its main purposes are as an emollient, lubricant and a solvent. But what’s the main point of it being in skincare? Unfortunately, cyclopentasiloxane doesn’t have much benefit when it comes to the
Trash Talk, August 2020 (Empties)
Yes, what you are seeing is my attempt at a YouTube video. If I get one like, I will consider it a tremendous success! For those who aren’t into YouTube, let me share the products with you below: Elta MD – UV Clear Broad Spectrum SPF 46 – Tinted I’ve already shared my thoughts on this kick ass SPF here. It’s a 10 – Shampoo, Deep Conditioner, and Oil Treatment The shampoo and conditioner definitely did their thing, but of the three, the oil treatment is the one that I might go back for. I only had sample packets and
Blogs & Vlogs – BASE and ThisThatBeauty
I’d like to bring “Blogs and Vlogs” back to once again highlight some of my fave people to check out on the interwebs. Although a full 50% of those highlighted have been women of color, unfortunately none of them have been black. I’d like to correct this omission and reveal two who have had me addicted to their blogs for the last year. BASE – aka Beauty and Style Edit Although this site was built for and caters to women of color, I’ve been enjoying it for months. I’ve particularly enjoyed their recent series in which they ask various women
Finchberry Soapery – Sweet Dreams
This has got to be the most fancily packaged soap I’ve ever had in my vicinity. Suffice to say, this was gifted to me and what a wonderful little gift it was! Doesn’t the package scream “CUTE”? I held on to this longer than necessary because sometimes just looking at it gave me a happy little thrill. Talk about being a sucker for packaging! When you pull the soap out of the ridiculously adorable packaging, you find a sophisticated bar of soap that is mostly classy but is just girlish enough to add glitter on the top. YES, GLITTER. Granted,
Cosmetic Ingredient: Cyclomethicone
Cyclomethicone is a common ingredient in the beauty industry. The products you can find it in run the gamut of deodorant and antiperspirants to sunscreens, hair care products, moisturizer, perfume and more. Let’s get into it! What is it? Cyclomethicone embodies both multiple and/or individual cyclic siloxane materials. It is derived from both silicon and oxygen. This ingredient is in the form of a clear liquid. It contains no alcohol and has no smell. Why is it in my beauty products? One of the benefits of cyclomethicone is its ability to provide a smooth texture that glides on skin in
Five Favorite Things – February 2020
My Kitten Callie – I adore her. She has conversations with me and demands to know where I am if she can’t find me. She’s obsessed with giving me cuddles and likes sleeping on top of my head. She loves her sister and makes everyone happy with her instant purring! My Kitten Evie – Evie just wants to make sure every one is happy. Furthermore, she likes to sleep in my bed under the covers with head poking out and everything. Do you know how insanely adorable this is?! She greets me with a giant “MEOW!” every time I come
Cargo – Blush in “Catalina”
Pale girls, look no further. I have found your blush. It’s this sweet baby doll pink that can either give you that just-been-out-in-cold-weather flush or that healthy coloring that tricks people into thinking you work out and eat healthy. It’s great because you have to try really hard to overdo this. Like REALLY HARD. It definitely fits the “buildable color” category more than the “intensely pigmented” side of things. I love that I can slap it on in the morning, without having to be careful with it. Ive reached for it every day this past month, and I’m falling more
Trash Talk #2
Guess what?! I have more empties and garbage to show you! Skin&Co – Truffle Therapy Cleansing Oil I was sooooo upset with myself because I didn’t fully seal this bad boy and it *somehow* tipped over in the middle of the night (I’m blaming the fiancé) and a third of it’s contents were lost to the bathroom counter! I know I have too many products anyway but I was actually thoroughly enjoying this oil! It was taking off my makeup and dare I say leaving my skin moisturized at the same time?! This was definitely good to both me and
Paula’s Choice – RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion 10% AHA
I’ve mentioned before on here that I have heinously dry skin. My legs are usually in a state of red alert because I’ll scratch them bloody without even realizing it. Part of this is due to medication and part of it is due to sensitivity to lavender which finds its way into all sorts of skincare products but hides itself behind the ingredient “fragrance”. Ugh. My skin is doing much better due to this lotion BUT, I’ll have to be honest. At first, I didn’t think it worked all that great. And I was all bummed because I was going