Skin Care Sunday | Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker

Hello! I haven't done a Skin Care Sunday post in quite a while! I have SO maybe delux samples laying around and most of them are skin care. I'm going to make an effort to test them out and do mini reviews on here.  

Anyways- I picked up a sample size of the Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker for 100 pts at Sephora. This is a multi rejuvenating nighttime serum-in-cream. I was excited to try this because I currently do not have a night cream that I'm using. 

I'm going to spare you the boring product details on this because let's get right to the point- I did not like this. 

I used it 4 or 5 times and I just didn't feel like it did anything for my skin. I felt like I had to use a ton of product just to make my face feel slightly moisturizered. I guess I could have tried a moisturizer on top since it's a serum in cream, but the last time I used it I was so annoyed that I didn't want to bother. I felt like it just didn't sink into my skin at all. If I rubbed my face, the cream that was sitting on top of my skin would ball up and rub off like dead skin. So this was a big no go for me. I also didn't care for the scent, which wasn't strong but just strange and kind of floral. At least it didn't do anything to irritate my skin. 

I've tried a few delux sizes of Philosophy products and I've never really been impressed with any of them to be honest.

For now I'm going back to my normal skin care routine and in a week or so I'm going to test out a different sample of some sort!

Have you tried the Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker before? If so, leave your thoughts on it in the comments! 

Skin Care Sunday | Eco-Beauty Goodnight. Night Cream + Good Day. DayMoisturizer

Hello!! I've been testing out two face lotions that I've recieved from Ipst bags. They are the Eco-Beauty by La Fresh Goodnight. Night Cream, and the Good day. Day Moisturizer. I got the day cream quite a few months back, and just recently recieved the night cream a month or two ago. Since I just ran out of my night cream and I was bored with my everyday moisturizer, I thought this was a good time to try these out. 

The sample sizes shown above have .5 oz of product, and are $13.99. The full sizes are 1.7 oz and cost $40 each. I've been using these for a good three or so weeks, and still haven't emptied them. 

About Eco-Beauty

Lafreshgroup.com

"Bye-bye damaging elements and old habits that age my skin every day. Hello fresh, youthful looking me! These highly natural skincare products are here to help us maintain a fresh, youthful skin appearance. Made with a natural anti-aging botanical complex of maqui berry, licorice root, ginkgo leaf, grape seed & hickory bark combined with unique sets of anti-aging actives.

Designed for daily use, from morning to evening. Be good and feel good.

These products are made in the USA & free of parabens, sulfates, triclosan, dyes, PEGs, artificial fragrances & animal byproducts."

My Thoughts-

-I initially wasn't excited about these because I'm super picky about what I put on my face. When I got these in day cream first, I just stuffed it into a drawer with my other samples. When I got the night cream, it was just good timing since I just ran out of mine so I thought I'd try them both. 

-I'll start with the good stuff. I love the packaging to these samples. I like how they are in a squeeze package. I think it's cute, but the full sizes aren't like this. They are in your standard jars. 

-Both of these face lotions are super light weight. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the two, other than they were different colors, the day moisturizer had a hint of a minty scent, and the night cream was slightly thicker in formula. They felt the same on my face when I applied them. 

-At first I didn't mind these. They didn't do anything special for my skin so they we're just okay to me. After using them for a few weeks, I've realized these has been causing my face to break out. These are the only things I've changed in my skin care routine so I've determined that these are the culprit. I'm not sure if it's both of them, or one or the other. 

-I do like how these claim to be natural ingredients, that is a huge plus for me. However, these just didn't agree with my skin. I've stopped using them, and won't finish them up! 

Have you tried anything from Eco-Beauty before? If so, leave your thoughts in the comments!   

Skin Care Sunday | BioRepublic Fiber Masks

Hello! I know I promised in my last skin care Sunday post that I would be reviewing a different mask for the rest of August, and I obviously failed to keep that promise. I meant to review two different Michael Todd masks, which I will review someday, and three fiber masks from BioRepublic. Well today I am reviewing the three BioRepublic masks, so at least I didn't totally disregard this months plan to review face masks!

I recieved these in an Ipsy bag a few months back. This was my first experience with sheet masks, and I was pleasantly surprised by them!

About BioRepublic 

From BioRepublic's website 

'BioRepublic SkinCare is a small team of skincare fanatics based out of Atlanta, USA.  Our mission is to create the world's best sheet mask, using only the highest quality natural ingredients and materials.  All BioRepublic SkinCare products are formulated without Parabens, Sulfates, or Pthalates and are 100% cruelty-free'

They also offer a money back gaurentee on their products!

A set of three masks is $14.95, a set of 4 is $18.99, and a set of 8 is 35.99.  They have 4 different masks, so you can get a package of a mixture, or pick one and get all the same. I got to try out 3 different ones that ipsy sent me. 

Also Rescue Revitalizing Fiber Mask. This has vitiman e, aloe Vera extract, and phytocollagen to soothe and hydrate the skin. It also says on the back of the package that it's great for after sun use. 

Green Tea Detox Purifying Fiber Mask. This is made with vitiman e, natural green tea extract and plant collagen. This mask has tons of antioxidants and it also helps soothe and reduce belmishes and remove any excess sebum from your face. 

Cucumber Breeze Soothing Fiber Mask. Also made with vitiman e, natural cucumber extract, and plant collagen. This mask helps to improve your complexion, tighten pores, and reduce fine lines. 

My Thoughts 

-Since this was my first time using a sheet mask I wasn't sure what to expect. The sheet was pretty comfortable to wear. The product holds it to your face so it stays in place and doesn't slip around.

-All three masks seemed pretty similar to me. I tried the Aloe one first and really liked it. I tried the Green Tea one second, and also liked it a lot and couldn't tell much difference in it. The Cucumber one was last and it seemed similar like I said, but I did notice my skin felt more dry and tight afterwards which is probably due to its tightening pores and reducing line properties. 

-I did enjoy these masks but I don't think they didn't anything special for my skin. My face felt nice after I used them but I wouldn't run out any buy these, even though their price is pretty fair. 

Overall if you are in the market for a new sheet mask, give these a go! I would be interested in trying out different brands of sheet masks now that I've dipped my toes into them!

Have you tried these before? What are your favorite sheet masks? 

Skin Care Sunday | Favorite Products for Acne

Hello!! It's been a while since I did a Skin Care Sunday post! Today I'm going to share my favorite products to use for acne. Most of these aren't specifically for acne, but they are what works for me and what I use to keep any acne or belmishes at bay. 

I do like to use mostly organic stuff on my face, but the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser has way less ingredients in it than other non organic face cleansers. I started using this about 2 years ago and it cleared my skin up really well. This isn't my current everyday cleanser, but it'd still one that I love and use quite often. 

The Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel is something I've talked about a lot recently but it also does really great things for my skin. It's very soothing to any problem areas on my face. 

Aloe Gel is a recent discovery of mine (for other than sun burns!) and I started using it as a spot treatment to help the healing process of blemishes. I have stated using it all over my face as well, after I use a toner and before my mousturizer at night time.  

 I have mentioned before that I love Michael Todd Skin Care and I had a set for Acne prone skin that was amazing. In currently using a different one, and it's no where near as good, but the first two products here are what I have left from the acne set. Michael Todd products are all organic and I've had really great results while using them. 

The Jojoba Charcoal Scrub is my favorite face scrub/exfoliater. I use this about twice a week and it's the best one I've ever used. Charcoal is great for your skin to draw out impurities!

The two face masks that I like to use are the Michael Todd Kaolin Clay Mask and the Lush Mask of Magnaminty. Lush also uses all natural ingredients and this is one I've been using for about 2 years also. It's done great things for any acne and oiliness in my skin. The Kaolin Clay mask is super gentle on the skin and always makes my face feel so clean and fresh. 

Spot Treatments

I mentioned that I like to use Aloe as a spot treatment but I wanted to share some other things I like to use too. 

-Face Masks. I sometimes just dab a little bit of either of my face masks on a blemish and leave it on overnight. It helps to dry up the spot.

-Toothpaste is also a good spot treatment that helps dry up blenishes. I leave it on overnight like I would the face mask. This is something I've been doing for 10+ years. 

-If I can tell a spot is infected I like to use peroxide or rubbing alcohol on it. This cleans the bacteria and helps to dry out the spot as well. I know some people say not to do this and it helps slow healing but it has always worked for me! 

What are your favorite products to help treat acne? 

Skin Care Sunday | My secret acne treatment

Hi :)

Welcome back for another skin care Sunday post! I planned to have this up earlier in the day but I wasn't able to post, so this is a very late skin care Sunday!  I titled this 'my secret acne treatment' but I don't exactly think this is a secret LOL. This is just something that I've learned is working to cure my acne spots recently. 

Aloe gel!

Ok I don't know if curing is the right word, but it's definitely helping to heal my acne spots. I use it as a spot treatment at  night time and the next morning the blemish had reduced in size and is a lot less red. Almost all the way gone!

I just thought I would share this skin care tip with you guys, but please keep in mind that we all have different skin so just beacause this works for me doesn't mean it will work for you! Aloe can be used for a wide verity of things, as I'm sure you all already know!

Have you ever used Aloe for acne? Let me know in the comments! 

Skin Care Sunday | Michael Todd Skin Care Haul

Hello!!! It's been a few weeks since I did a skin care Sunday post! Today I have a Michael Todd skin care haul to share. You might remember I mentioned some of their products in my skin care routine post, but I've finished up most of those and decided to try out a different set this time!!

The last set I bought was for acne prone skin and was mostly things with charcoal in it. I really loved it but wanted to try out something different this time to see what I liked best and what worked best for my skin. The acne prone set contined a charcoal cleanser, a charcoal scrub, a clay mask, a toner, and a serum.

 This new set is for normal to combination oily skin and contains a cleanser, scrub, mask, serum, mosirurizer and an eye cream. The cleanser is a two in one toner so that why this set didn't include a toner by its self which is a bummer, but I was really interested in trying the eye cream and moisturizer since the last set didn't have those. 

Here is the Pumpkin face mask and the Tropical Fruit Scrub

These are the Citrus Cream Moisturizer and the Antiox Serum 

And the Cleanse and Tone one step cleanser/toner and the Intensive Eyecream. 

They also always include samples or delux sizes in your order for free and this one is the Jojoba Charcoal scrub. This came in the acne prone set and I really love this stuff so I was excited to get a delux size of it! 

I've tried all these out but the face mask a few times but I'm going to do a more in depth video review on this once I try them more comparing the two sets that I've tried! I've been super impressed with Michael Todd skin care and I love that everything is all organic! 

I hope you enjoyed this skin care haul and happy Sunday! 

Skin Care Sunday | Boots Botanics Haul

Hello! Happy Sunday!! A few weeks ago I started a skin care series here on my blog that I'm going to be doing on Sunday's. I've been slacking and didn't do a post the past two Sunday's (oops!). I planned on doing a review for a skin care product today but I got a little lazy, so I'm going to share a small skin care haul instead!!

So I just went to Target and picked up a few things from the Boots Botanics line. I've always been curious about this line, and since my last skin care post, which was my skin care routine, I've ran out of some of my Micheal Todd stuff. I also mentioned in that post that I was leaning more towards an organic/natural skin care routine. A lot of the Botanics products are organic or more natural so I wanted to try them!

The first thing I picked up is this Rosewater toning spritz that's 100% organic. I ran out of both my toners that I was using so I needed a new one. I picked those Rosewater one because I love rose scented things. This was fairly cheap at $7-8!

Next I needed a new day cream because I'm finally done with the god awful Aveeno one I was using. This is call the triple age renewal day screen with SPF 15. It's suppose to reduce the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles in 4 weeks. I don't necessarily beleive those claims, and I know I don't have aging

skin but it's never too early for aging preventions! I was debating between this one and another aging one, which I now realize I should have gotten the other because this one says 'deep lines' and the other was for fine lines. I don't know lol!! This was a little pricey at $14.99

Last is this Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask. I didn't need a new mask but this looked interesting! It says 'actively removes impurities and deeply cleanses with clarifying willowbark'. I enjoy trying out new face masks and this was one fairly cheap as well at $8-10 I beleive!!

I will definitely have reviews for these products coming up soon!

Have you tried anything from the Boots Botanics line before?? Let me know in the comments!! 

Skin Care Sunday | Current Skin Care Routine

Hello!!! I'm super excited because I'm going to start a new series of blog posts! On Sunday's I'm going to start doing posts all about skin care stuff. I'm calling these 'Skin Care Sundays', and I know I've seen other bloggers do this or something similar before but it's been something I've wanted to start for a while.

I don't know if I will do this every single sunday, but I will do them quite often! 

Skin care is something that is super important to me. I take the best care of my skin that I possibly can. I am not a skin care specialist, but I am a licensed cosmetologist and I do feel like I am some what well educated in skin care. I take a lot of time to research and educate myself because it's something that I've always been interested in!

Anyways- long intro out of the way. I'm going to start by sharing my skin care routine with you guys! These are all products that I've used for years, or have been testing out recently for a few months. My skin is combo oily/normal but does get a little dry in the colder weather months. 

I also want to mention that I've been switching a lot of my skin care products to more natural and organic things. I've been using a skin care set from Michael Todd since December, so a lot of those products will be shown here  (OK now the long intro is done, and props to you if you read all that hahaha). 

Face Cleansers 

This is the Michael Todd Charcoal Detox deep pore gel cleanser, and the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. I've used the cetaphil one for years and it's super gentle on the skin. I usually use this in the Morning when I wash my face. I use the Michael Todd one at night time and sometimes in the morning. 

Toners 

The first one is the Michael Todd blue green algae antibacterial toner. I love this stuff and I actually just finished this off. Next to it is the Olay oil minimizing toner. I used this stuff for years, and it's a good one from the drugstore. I perfer the Michael Todd one now, or some witch hazel but this is all I have at the moment. I tone my face every morning and every night after I wash my face. 

Scrubs and Serums

These are both from Michael Todd and the first one is the Jojoba Charcoal Scrub. This stuff is seriously the best face scrub I've ever used. It's super gentle and charcoal is suppose to be really great for your skin. I use this 1-2 times a week. Next to it is the antioxidant carrot multivitamin serum. This is the first facial serum I've used so I don't have much to compare it to. It came in the set I bought, and I like it but don't love it. It makes my face feel good so I use it every night but it's not something I would repurchase on its own.  

Face Masks 

First is the Michael Todd Kaolin Clay Detoxifying facial mask. This is my new favorite face mask. It doesn't burn your skin like some face masks do, and it always makes my face feel so clean and fresh after. Next to it is the Lush Mask of Magnaminty. I've raved about this mask a lot here on my blog in the past. It's super great and had been a long time favorite of mine. I use a mask about once a week, sometimes two. 

Moisturizers 

I still have yet to find a more natural or organic face lotion that I like. The first one is the Olay Night Cream and I love this stuff. It's seriously amazing and I will probably always use this even though I'm looking for an organic one. Its so moisturizing and I would use it in the day time too if I could haha! Next to it is the Aveeno Positivly Radiant daily moisturizer. Ok I'm not going to lie, I really don't like this stuff. The only reason I'm using it is because it was kind of expensive and I don't want or waste it. It's not bad, I just have used better ones in the past. I've had this stuff for so long and I sware it won't freaking empty. It's driving me crazy. 

Eye Creams 

Ok I know there's a lot here but I freaking love eye creams. The first one is the Tarte Maracuja c-brightener eye treatment, and next to it is the Lush Enchanted Eye Cream. These are both ones I purchased myself, and the other two were in ipsy bags or from my Sephora points. The next one is the Orgins GinZing eye cream, and next to it is the Nourish Organic nourishing eye cream. I'm not going to say much about any of these because I'm going to save that for a seperate post!!!

Ok guys, I know this post was super super long! All of the Micheal Todd stuff is what I've been using the most, and I decided to splurge and get myself some nice skin care stuff. It was expenaive but totally worth it. It's a brand that I highly recommend checking out! It's done amazing things for my skin. The set I currently have is for acne prone and oily skin, but they offer so many other things for all skin types!

I was going to do a review for the whole Michael Todd set, but I got lazy. Please let me know if you want to see a full review for anything and I will be happy to do it!!

Thank you all for reading and let me know what your skin care must haves are in the comments!!