Too Faced Hangover Primer

I'm all about that base and I'm always looking for that something to give me that perfect base to apply my makeup on.  I love pore minimizing primers but sometimes you just need something else.  Needless to say when I came across the Hanover Primer by Too Faced, I just had to try it (and I also admit that the name got me hooked).

So what does this Hangover Primer do exactly?  It's a hydrating primer that gives your skin an extra oomph when you need it.  The substance is very light and really sinks into the skin, giving it an overall healthy look.  Perfect for those dull skin days.

The primer comes in a tube with a pump, which I love.  It's clean and one pump will get you enough product for the whole face (but I admit that some days I just need that extra pump).

I really like this primer but I'm not sure I'll re-buy it.  There are just so many primers out there to try and even though I really like this one, I'm sure there are plenty others out there that do the same.

Where to buy:

You can buy Too Faced Hangover Primer at Sephora.fr, a tube of 40ml costs 31€ (I do have to mention that since you don't need much this will last you a long time).

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè

It's been a while since I tried out a 'normal' hydrating cream.  I feel like the last few years every product going on my face (or eyes for that matter) is anti-aging.  Yes, 40 is approaching fast and so are the wrinkles...

I was looking for an all round hydrating cream to put in my make up kit and since so many make up artists swear by this cream I wanted to give it a try.

I ordered it at boozyshop.be, delivery was fast as promised and I tried it out immediately.  I have to say that I can see what the buzz is all about.  This is just your basic moisturizer that does exactly what it says.  I can imagine it working for every skin type, I have dry to normal skin and I use it as a mask on my days off (putting on just a bit of a thicker layer than normal).  If you intent to use this under makeup I do think you have to put on a thin layer and really massage it into skin because it can leave a bit of a slippery layer otherwise (and we don't want slippery where makeup is involved do we?).

When I read that this could also be used for removing makeup I immediately thought of Madonna.  Remember her docu-movie Truth or Dare (don't make me feel old here)?  There is a scene where she's taking off het makeup and I remember her putting a white cream on her face and using it as a makeup remover.  I always wondered what that was and I don't know if it was Embryolisse but I guess it could've been ...

So I tried removing my make up with this cream and I swear, this works wonders!!! I had a full face of makeup on and when I say full face, I mean full face.  I put the cream on my face en rubbed it like I would a moisturizer, when I looked in the mirror the cream had turned light brown from all the makeup on my face.  I rinsed it off and my face was clean and felt really good! I still had to remove my mascara and a bit of eye pencil with a separate eye makeup remover but everything else was gone.

If you're looking for a versatile product that hydrates, makes your skin feel smooth and removes makeup all at once than this is something worth looking into.

Where to buy:

I bought my tube of Embryolisse at Boozyshop.be and paid €18,50 for it. 

Pharmacy must have: Homeoplasmine

I've been obsessed with pharmacy brands lately.  I recently had to purchase a new cleanser and day cream and my search started and ended at the pharmacy.  Truth be told, their products are usually just as good if not even better than the big cosmetic brand products and they have something for every problem you may have with your skin.  And most of the time you pay only a fraction of the price then you would buying at a beauty store.  One of the products that's been with me for a few years now and that I totally swear by is Homeoplasmine (by Boiron).

I carried this with me at my MUFE course and one of my model friends had really dry lips, they weren't really split but she did have some dead skin on there.  Before I started applying makeup I put some Homeoplasmine on them and by the time I had to put on lipstick her lips were as soft as a baby's bottom.  And last week I went to dinner with a friend who had really cracked lips, I mean really cracked to the point it hurts.  She already tried everything and anything so I suggested trying Homeoplasmine and a few days later she texted me that the cracks had almost completely gone.  

Homeoplasmine is a treatment for irritated skin.  It works when you have that red flaky nose we all get when we have a cold, it works for dry spots on your face and it works wonders for lips.  I mainly use it for my lips but sometimes I get dry spots near my eyebrows, I just put some on at night and the dryness is gone by the time I wake up.  

It has a very thick and tacky substancy so it's not something you just put on your face or lips during the day so I do recommend using it at night.  It's also not meant to be used all day every day but more as a treatment when you have local dry spots.

And the best part?  The price!  One tube costs €6,66 (price at newpharma.be) and you get 40ml of products.  So imagine Elisabeth Ardens Eight Hour cream (which costs €35,50 for 50ml at Sephora.fr) without the smell, maybe even better working and at a fraction of the price and you know what Homeoplasmine does.  A real must have in any makeup kit or skincare collection if you ask me.

Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector

Since I emptied my Smashbox photo finish face primer sample last month, it was time to try out a new one.  Enter Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector.  I bought it a few months ago when I was in Antwerp with my bestie and we made our usual pitstop at Kiehl's.  There are a few reasons why I love to go to a Kiehl's shop.  One, they always make time for you.  Two, you always get good advice. And three, you get so many samples so you can try what they recommend before actually purchasing it.  

Aside from Kiehl's I also love pore minimizing products (like Benefit's the Porefessional face primer) so when I saw this Micro-Blur Skin Perfector, I just had to try it.

The Micro-blur Skin Perfector is described as a 'lightweight skin smoother to instantly refine skin texture and minimize the appearance of pores while improving skin's quality over time'.  A mouthful to say the least.

The first time I used this I knew I was hooked.  You only need a pea size amount to cover your whole face and the effect is instant.  But it's the feeling of the product on my face that surprised.  It feels light, you hardly feel it's there, and it somehow feels 'refreshing'.  It's the perfect primer to use under your foundation but it's also great to use just over your moisturizer without using anything else (for that my skin but way better look).

I've always been a big Porefessional by Benefit fan but if I have to choose between the two I really feel like Kiehl's would be the winner.  

Since I've only been using this for two weeks I can't say anything about the promise of 'improving skin's quality over time' but so far my skin feels great!

And just in case you're wondering: the pictures are totally real.  The only thing that I adjusted was the light since they were both a bit too dark.  No other special effects were added.  So you be the judge!

Where to buy:

You can buy Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector at your Kiehl's store/counter or online.  For Belgium and The Netherlands that would be Kiehls.nl and a tube of 30ml costs 28€.

Emptied and replaced in October

October went by fast and I have a feeling November is even going to go by faster.  Just 3 more weeks of work and then I'm off to somewhere sunny for 10 days.  Much deserved, even if I say so myself ;-)

Anyway, I was on a roll in September, emptying a lot of products and I'm forcing myself to continue this process.  So here's what I emptied out in October and what I replaced it with:

Facial care:

I used up my Neutrogena Alcohol Free Toner and replaced it with Body Shop Vitamine E face mist.  Technically not really a toner but it works the same to me and since I had half a bottle left I decided to use it and not buy a new toner until the face mist is empty.  Also my much beloved Neutrogena Raphid Wrinkle repair moisturizer has been emptied.  I'm so bummed by this, it's not available in Europe and I love this one so much (I do need to put a hydrating serum under this).  Yet another reason to plan a trip to the US soon.  I replaced it by Vichy Normaderm Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating care that I found laying around, I think it was in a Deauty box at some point.

Body care:

Bath and Body works time!!  I finished the Beautiful Day hand cream and got started on my tube of Crisp Morning Air Handcream.  The Maui Mango Surf body cream replaced my Love & Sunchine body cream.  I also found this Clinique Water Therapy foot smoothing cream somewhere in the back of a closet, it was almost empty, I only got 3 more uses out of it and I replaced it by the Body Shop's Spa wisdom honey & beeswax hand and foot butter that I found in the back of the same closet.  I remember I was hooked on this stuff at one point and then they stopped selling it.  So I'm kind of hoping I don't get hooked again since it's no longer for sale.

Makeup:

My sample size Photo finish primer by Smashbox lasted until the end of the first week of October and I replaced it by 2 primers.  Kiehl's Micro Blur Skin Perfection (which I love by the way, you can find a review of this on the blog real soon) and Too Faced Hangover replenishing face primer.  I intended to alternate between both but I'm loving the Kiehl's one so much that I haven't tried the Too Faced primer yet.  When it gets colder I probably will start alternating more because the Too Faced one is more hydrating and that's what my skin needs in winter.  And than there's my Guerlain Lingerie de Peau bb beauty booster ... this one got me through 2 summers.  It's so lightweight it feels like a bb cream but gives a foundation like coverage.  I'm happy this one is now empty.  As much as I loved it, I was so sick of it by the end, I really wanted to try something new and the damn tube kept producing product. I'm now using the Cover Girl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation in the color 110 as my everyday foundation, especially for workdays.  It's very lightweight and gives you that pretty healthy finish.  Another Neutrogena favorite is their Healthy Skin foundation (shown here in 110 Classis Ivory), since the formula is a bit heavier I  currently only use this one on special days or if I'm going out at night. And last but not least one of my all-time favorite Mac eyeshadows: Satin Taupe, that one got replaced by itself.

Nail care:

There they go, my two favorite nail care products of all time, in the bin: trend nail balsam and nail repair.  Trind products are definitely among the best nail products on the market and I already have backups of them at home but I decided to go with Sally Hanssen Vitamin E Nail & cuticle oil and nail hardener and I'm liking them so far.

Miscellaneous:

I've been a very good girl lately cleaning my makeup brushes every sunday.  I usually use the same colors every day when I'm working so it wasn't really necessary color-wise to clean them often but of course it's more hygienic to clean them regularly.  So on sunday I clean brushes!  I emptied my Mac brush cleanser and replaced it by a new bottle.

And that's it!  I'm liking this process a lot: empty out one thing before opening another.  It's working well for most products but in case you're wondering; I'm not even going to try to implement this in my nail polish and eyeshadow collection because I'd never be able to write a post like this if I did that ;-)

H&M Beauty Dead Sea Minerals mask

I'm a mask lover.  Coming home from work, making dinner cleaning up ... when all that's done it's time to take of my makeup, clean my face, put on a mask and make myself comfortable on the couch.    A mask to me is the synonym to downtime.  

I tend to bring some variation into my masks, one day it'll be hydrating, next day it might be cleansing and this time it was time for a reviving mask.

I have normal to dry skin, mostly dry on my cheeks and normal on my chin and forehead and sometimes my skin looks a bit dull so I was very curious to test out this mask.  It is described as 'a reviving mask with bergamot oil and focus seaweed for tired skin.  This natural, clay mask with stimulating dead sea minerals and seaweed extract works to revive tired skin.'

I was really surprised when I opened the package.  Dead sea, clay, seaweed ... I was expecting a grey clay mask but no, it is bright blue just like the sea.  The smell was ... well, let's say when I first opened it I thought it smelled fresh, when I was applying it to my face I changed my mind from fresh to toilet freshener.  Thankfully the smell fades away once it's on your face.

I applied a royal amount to my face after I cleaned and dried it and left it on for 10 - 15 minutes as instructed.  It's one of those masks that hardens so you'll know when you have to take it off.  Afterwards my skin was soft and looked good though it was a bit dry so I did have to hydrate it immediately.  

For the price of €2,99 you get 10ml of product.  Enough to pamper yourself at least twice.  Aside from the smell I did like this mask.  I don't know if I'll be buying this one again but I now am very curious to learn more about the other masks.  Especially the Coconut Water mask, that combination just screams tropical escape to me.

Where to buy:

You can buy the H&M beauty range at selected stores or online at HM.com.

My evening skincare routine

After doing a morning skincare routine a few weeks ago (you can find the post here), it’s time to show you my evening skincare routine.  I’m a big fan of double cleansing.  I take my make-up off first and than proceed with this routine.  So what I’m showing you here is what I do after I take my make-up off.

First, cleansing.  If you’ve read my morning skincare routine you know I’m a big Neutrogena fan so it should come as no surprise that you’ll find a lot of Neutrogena in this post. For my evening cleanse I use the Pore Refining exfoliating cleanser.  It contains Alpha and Beta Hydroxy acids and also contains little beads for a scrub like’effect.  The beads aren’t harsh in any way but they do make your skin feel really clean and ‚new’.  

One thing though: this really hurts when you get it into your eyes.  I know, you’re not supposed to get products in your eyes but when I rinse this off and open my eyes to grab a towel, somehow I always get some in my eyes and it really stings.  

Next up: toner.  At night I like a toner that’s not as soft as the one I use in the morning.  I’m currently using the Pore Refining Toner by Neutrogena.  You can just feel it working without drying out the skin.  It feels like it does more than just take away the leftovers from the cleanser without being aggressive.  My skin feels thoroughly cleansed after this step.

Under my eyes I use Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye.  I’m a firm believer of eye creams and this one is great to use at night.  It’s a very creamy substance that really needs time to sink in but it makes my under eye area feel really hydrated at morning.  Does it do something for my wrinkles?  Well, yes and no.  If you have wrinkles around the eyes, they always seem ‚better’ when you use a good eye moisturizer.  Dry lines just seem so much worse than they really are.  So yes, it does something for the lines around my eyes but I don’t feel like this one really ‚battles’ them (if that’s even possible).  

For my face I start off with a hydrating serum, currently loving the Indeed Labs Hydraluron serum.  I’m so into the retinol and acids these days that I sometimes forget that I have a normal to dry skin.  My forehead and chin are normal and my cheeks are dry.  My day and night creams all have their purpose but they aren’t moisturizing enough for my cheeks so I use this serum at night, on my cheeks mainly.

Last step is my night cream.  This Retin-oc correction nourishing anti-wrinkle cream by ROC is a joy to put on.  It makes my skin feel really good and smells really good (according to the man sleeping next to me at night).

I also put on a really moisturizing lip balm at night like Rosebud salve or Bite Beauty’s agave lip mask.

So here you have it, my daily nighttime skincare routine.  To be honest, I think I need to do this again in a few months because I’m running out of Neutrogena products and the way things are looking now I won’t be going back to the states in the next few months so I’m going to have to do some research as to what to replace them with.  If you have any suggestions you can always leave them in the comments down below.

My morning skincare routine

A few years ago I read an article on allure.com about creams that contain retinol and a dermatologist recommended the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair range saying it was the best drugstore buy and even better than some high end creams.  Naturally my interest was sparked, especially since you can’t find the Neutrogena skincare range in Europe (well, you’ll find some product lines in Boots in the UK but not all of them).  I only knew Neutrogean from their very moisturizing, very effective but also very no-nonsense hand creams so learning about their skincare range made me very very curious.

Back to spring 2014 when we went road tripping in the USA.  First stop as usual: Walmart, first beauty product I bought: Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair night cream and eye cream.  I remember putting on the eye cream and the wrinkles around my eyes actually started to tingle. Tingle is good I thought, that means that it works.  And so it did.  After using the products for a few weeks I saw myself in an elevator and thought ‚where are my wrinkles, my skin looks good’.  Of course the lighting had a lot to do with that but nevertheless, my skin looked good.  Ever since then , Neutrogena has become a regular in my skincare routine and every time I visit the USA I bring home a new supply.

So, my morning skincare you wonder?  Well, I start by cleansing my face with the Neutrogena Pore Refining daily cleanser.  Aside from wrinkles, I don’t like big pores and for that I love to incorporate my Alpha and Beta hydroxy acids.  

This cleanser is a gentle one though, it doesn’t make my skin feel dry in any way and I feel really fresh and clean after using it.  

Next up: toner.  In the morning I try to use more gentle products than at night just in case my skin turns a little red.  I do not want to go through the day with a red face, if it turns red at night at least there are 8 hours left for it to calm down before anyone sees me.  This Alcohol free toner is very gentle, it’s a very watery solution, not at all creamy like some toners are.

Step 3: serum.  To stay true to my Neutrogena love I put on the Rapid Wrinkle Repair serum.  I put my contacts in while this sinks into my skin.  It doesn’t take long before it’s almost completely gone.

Serum is on, contacts are in, time for some eye cream.  As I mentioned before I love the Rapid Wrinkle Repair eye cream, I still have a new tube in my closet yet I’m currently using something else.  Simply because I had it, it was open and it would be a waste to not use it before it turns bad.  So I put on the Kiehl’s Eye Alert eye-cream.  Made to combat puffiness and dark circles, now dark circles I have not but puffiness is a bit of an issue.  So does this one work, not as much as a gallon of coffee does but it does freshen up the under eye area.  

I finish with my Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair moisturizer with sunscreen (spf 30).  After that I start my daily makeup routine.

I’m very strict about the steps of my morning skin care routine, the products may vary over time but the ‚system’ stays the same.  I never skip this, if I ever skip something it’s usually my evening routine.  I know, I know but hey, sometimes I feel like I’m sleepwalking to my bedroom and taking care of my face is the last thing on my mind when I’m in such a state.

So there you have it, my morning skincare routine.  Later this week you can expect my nighttime skincare routine to pop up on the blog.

Post flight face pampering

I just got back from a 3 week trip to the USA (I love the USA!) so I thought I’d start with a post flight skincare routine now that it’s still fresh in my mind.

I’m afraid I’m not a brave person when it comes to skincare on a plane.  There are tons of blogpost on the net on inflight skincare routines but seriously, who does that?  „I take of my makeup, I put on a facial mask, I put this or that product in my hair” … really??  When I’m on a long haul flight the only makeup I put on is mascara, I wear my glasses instead of my contacts and I make sure I’ve put on my moisturizer.  That’s it.  I do have some samples of facial creams with me and when I feel the need I might put some on during the flight. That’s as brave as I get.  I don’t pull out a gazillion products which is a shame really.  Because there is nothing to do on a plane but read, sleep, watch a movie … it makes sense to use that time to create your own little spa up in the air.  But not me, I’d get self-conscious and wonder what people would think (which is ridiculous I know, just look up the passenger shaming account on instagram and you’ll see what I mean). 

So my face might not agree that what I do after a flight is pampering, it would probably consider it more a ‚feed me, rescue me’ kind of routine.  

First off I’ll start with a gentle facial scrub, there are many out there but two of my favorites are the Clinique 7 day scrub cream or Roc Gommage doux lissant (which I received as a gift by an order of Roc facial cream on the Belgian webshop iu).  I somehow always feel ‚dirty’ after a long flight so this helps me get rid of that feeling and of the old skin cells on my face.

Next up is moisturizing and I love using the hydraluron moisture boosting sheet mask by Indeed labs for that.  Now, you don’t want to put one on when you’re in the same room with someone you hardly know but then again, why would you have someone you hardly know in your room??  It looks kind of freaky and the first time I put one on my man laughed so hard he almost choked.  Needless to say I never put one on again in his presence for a while.  But all that changed when we were on a holiday and he burned his face a little.  He was a bit hesitant at first but his skin just sucked up all the product and all that was left was a sheet and I mean a real dry sheet, the same texture as the one you put in a printer.  He’s been a fan since and that’s a good thing because now we share.  I put on the mask and after my 15 minutes, he’ll put the other side on his face.  There’s enough product on there to do so and most sheet masks aren’t cheap so it makes sense to get as much product as you can out of it.  Another great one is the Dr.Jart+ water replenishment cotton sheet mask, which I got in Sephora during my last trip to the USA.

It takes my skin a few days to recover from a long flight so the next days I’ll put on a normal moisturizing mask.  A real favorite is Kiehl’s Ultrafacial overnight hydrating masque.  I love this!!  But don’t let the name fool you, you do not (and I repeat do not) want to put this on overnight.  I did because well, that’s what it says right?  I was afraid to move and slept on my back all night.  The stuff is sticky, the kind of sticky that when you would turn around you’d have your pillow stuck to your face.  So, overnight mask?  Not really, but a great moisturizing mask nonetheless.

Where to buy:

• Clinique: at your local beauty store

• Roc: at your local pharmacy 

• Hydraluron moisture boosting mask, indeed labs 19.99£: boots.com (shipping is 9.99£ but they have special offers all the time that can make up for the shipping costs, or you can order together with your bestie and share)

• Dr Jart+: beautybay.com or boots.com although neither of them sells the sheet masks

• Kiehl’s ultrafacial overnight hydrating mask: kiehls.be (or your local Kiehls online shop)