product review – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

In the beauty cabinet – face time product review!

I love a tinted moisturizer for winter.

This is a follow up to my recent post about BB creams (beauty balms). I’m now going to speed things up a bit & fast forward to the latest face craze – the CC cream. Basically the beauty companies have added color & correction to the mix. Confused? You would have to try several brands to know the difference.

I have now had the opportunity to test out the Olay Total Effects CC Cream – 7 in One Tone Correcting Moisturizer with Sunscreen (Light to Medium) for a.m. use only.

It is said to fight the 7 signs of aging: ~~only 7?~~ 1) reduce the appearance of fine lines, 2) nourishing moisturization for a radiant, healthy-looking glow, 3) subtle lifting & hydrating for firmer skin appearance, 4) brightening which improves skin surface dullness, 5) improves texture for smoothe and even skin, 6) minimizes the appearance of pores and finally 7) tone enhancement which helps to balance color and reduce the appearance of age spots. A lotta claim for one 50 ml. pump bottle.

I can’t vouch for all seven claims but I was pleasantly surprised by this product. It appeared to match my skin tone very nicely as it melted right in, it moisturized well & covered tiny imperfections. The added SPF is a bonus – for winter it should be sufficient. Anything below SPF15 doesn’t really do anything. Anything above 30 isn’t necessary. Of course I still needed to use a little bit of primer (for shine) around the nose area but it covered better than any of the BB creams I tested. It was similar to the BB’s in hydration and coverage but appeared to brighten & camouflage more like a tinted foundation. The price is very reasonable and the company has been around for a long time. Their product line is impressive as far as drugstore selections go and ‘as good’ or ‘better’ than many department or beauty store brands.

There may be something better out there in the CC department but right now I’m satisfied with this product. Let’s face it – there is no “one” magic do-all face cream is there? If you know of one please tell me. In the meantime this does the trick (almost) for my sensitive combination skin.

$22.00 at drugstores like Walgreens in the U.S. and approx. $25.00 in Canada.

The best deal: Costco now has a special two-pack on for about $35.00 which you can split with a friend.

Directions: apply liberally and blend evenly with your fingertips for natural, sheer coverage. Use it alone or layered under your favorite foundation for more coverage if need be.

Have you tried BB’s or CC’s? Which do you prefer or can you even tell the difference?

FUN

Drug Store Delights- dry oil product review

FRUCTIS TRIPLE NUTRITION “Miracle Dry Oil” by Garnier

Not “just” another product for the bathroom shelf – although I was a bit skeptical. Take it for what it is:

A miracle multi-use dry oil enriched with olive, avocado and almond oils that seems to deliver rapid nourishment to hydrate dry hair and skin without the oiliness. A lot of bang for your buck – it only costs about $6.00.

Perfect for traveling as it comes in a 5 fl oz. (150 ml) plastic spray bottle. It smells really nice (a bit floral + bit fruity) but it’s light and not overpowering. I already use an oil for face but for dry areas it seems to work & sinks right in. Do not spray directly on face – spray onto your palm first & use sparingly. For legs & arms it absorbs great.

Haven’t tried it on my hair yet but it probably works as well as the Moroccan oil I have. In any event for the price it’s definitely worth trying. Wouldn’t you agree?

Bio-Oil – the true “Miracle” Oil?

Bio‑Oil has won 135 skincare awards and has become the No.1 selling scar and stretch mark product in 16 countries since its global launch in 2002.

We’ll see as I’ve been testing it out for about a month now on my knees (which were badly scraped from a fall last summer). It seems to have helped to reduce the scars which now appear more faint. It would have helped more to use it immediately after but better late than never.

The *Bio‑Oil formulation is a combination of plant extracts and vitamins suspended in an oil base. It contains the breakthrough ingredient PurCellin Oil™, which changes the formulation’s overall consistency, making it light and non-greasy.

*You can buy this product at Costco too (comes in a two-pack, one large & one regular size) which will last you a lifetime – even if you live to be 200.

FUN

P.R. – I like to put Cake in my Hair

Product Review – Cake dry shampoo.

I love cake in all its forms – flourless, vegan, fully loaded, red velvet & with lots of icing. Now I can put cake it in my hair.

Tell me you haven’t tried dry shampoo! Maybe you haven’t found the right one yet. Who washes their hair every single day anymore? We’re constantly on the go, washing daily will dry out your hair and styling all the time is a pain. Enter dry shampoo – not like the old days.

I think it’s a must unless of course you break out a sweat like crazy. For non wash days I just sprinkle a little cake satin sugar glistening dry shampoo on my roots, work through a little with my fingers & let sit a few minutes before brushing out. It doesn’t really clean your hair but it will take away the greasy look for emergencies or just days when you want to give your hair a rest. It also smells nice – a bit like icing sugar. The packaging is very so-so but the product works. Available at Sephora for $20.00

Can you believe they have a dry bar at Sephora? I’ve been wanting to try “Oscar Blandi” but the girls at S convinced me that cake works better for less $ – so far so good. This was their TOP pick (at least for now).

If you’re looking for something a little less pricey then try the volumizing spray from John Frieda which works fine for about $7.00.

Have you tried these?

Which ones would you recommend?