April Favorites

Ever since buying a couple of Lush items last month I have been obsessed with wanting to try out more of their products. About 2-3 weeks after trying their Dark Angel cleansing scrub I went out and got another one of their cleansers called Herbalism. This product along with the other stuff I got from Lush is for people with oily skin, this one is more targeted for more acne prone skin and break outs. I was reading reviews on this product and there wasn't anything negative anyone had to say. Since I have more acne prone skin I thought why not give this guy a try. At first I was debating whether I liked it or not. I had gotten a small break out along my jaw line but wasn't sure if it cleared up because of this or with time. I began using my Dark Angels cleanser and pushed this to the side and then got a small break out on my neck so I decided to start using Herbalism every other day. I began to notice the break out to slowly disappear. Since Lush is all organic I don't expect their products to be so powerful and work over night. I was very happy when I started to see my skin clearing up and I love how this leaves my skin feeling after I am done washing my face. I have been changing up my skin care a lot and adding more Lush products so I am planning on doing a updated skin care routine soon that way I can go more in details with some of these newer products. Overall I am really enjoying Herbalism and very satisfied at how my skin has been looking since introducing this into my routine.

I love the brand Pixi, and like I said on my March favorites I have yet to try a products of theirs that I don't like. Earlier this month I was browsing through the Pixi section at Target. I've always been interested in trying out some of their facial sprays but wasn't sure if they would work on my oily skin. I had heard great things about some of them and how one even came close as a dupe for Mac Cosmetics Fix+, which I love, but once again wasn't sure it if it would be too dewy for my skin. Finally during that Target trip I decided to pick one out and give it a try for myself. I ended up purchasing the Makeup Fixing Mist. This spray contains rose water which I love and green tea. On the back of the bottle it says 1. This mist can be used before applying your makeup which will prolong the wear of it. 2. Used after you're done with your makeup and it will set it along with giving it a soft focus finish look, and 3. You can apply anytime throughout the day and it will hydrate your skin. It also mentions that it is good for all skin type. I have been using this mist for a little over three weeks off and on and I am very satisfied with it. My biggest surprised while using this product was that it actually made my makeup last since I have oily skin. I usually use this once I am done doing my makeup, so as a setting spray. I notice that it really does give off a "soft-focus finish" as stated on the bottle and I really like that. I haven't tried using this before applying my makeup since I never do that with any facial mist. One thing that I don't really enjoy from this spray is the scent. I thought since it's made with rose water that it would have a rose scent kind of like my Mario Badescu rose water spray, but it doesn't. This smells like a mixtures of baby powder and a perfume a older woman would wear. Its strange for me to describe but the scent just isn't my cup of tea.

Easy this month I was using a lot of facial masks since I was going to be going o vacation I wanted my skin looking its very best. One face mask that was new to me is this Boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding mask. I believe I got this deluxe sized sample from Sephora sometime in March or maybe even February however I didn't really use it as much as I did this month. Since I have large pores I enjoy using a charcoal type mask at least once a week and of course that is what this mask is. As you can see this mask has a swirl mixture of white and black. The black is the charcoal and the part is actually a moisturizer. I have heard that a lot of people complain about charcoal masks that it can dry out their skin a little bit. I have never experienced that but this mask is made for detoxifying your skin while also hydrating it at the same time. I thought that was a really cool concept and once I heard Sephora was giving a good sized pot of this for free I quickly got online to make sure I got my hands on one. This really does a good job detoxifying my skin while still keeping it hydrated. It's also said that this mask is suppose to help shrink your pores too.

I was at Disneyland all of last week and lucky me that was the week it was the hottest. I believe most days it was in the late 80's to early 90's so it was HOT!! Whenever I go to L.A. I like to bring with me a setting spay that will really hold my makeup in place all day especially in really hot weather. On my previous trip to L.A. in February while I was at Morphe Brushes I saw that they carried this makeup setting spray called Model in a Bottle. I always hear girls raving about this setting spray and saying how its super glue to your face, will keep your makeup in place all day no budging what so ever, and that they always use this spray on Brides. I had always wanted to try it but I don't even know why I never ordered it online. Of course since Morphe had it I had to get myself one and give it a try for myself. Like I have said a million times already I have oily skin so on warmer weather its had for my makeup to look good by the end of the day without making me look like a grease ball. I had used it a couple times at home while out running errands but I really was able to put this to the test while I was at Disneyland. I'm not even joking when I'm telling you guys my makeup look just as great as it did in the morning! I'd be done doing my makeup by 8 am and when we would go back to the hotel to rest around 2-3 pm it still looked amazing. Keep in mind it was really hot too. I couldn't believe it and I got the same great results all week. By 8 or 9 at night when I was about to take off my makeup I did notice my nose was very slightly oily, the smallest amount ever but my skin looked so good!!! It actually just gave my skin the most beautiful glow. I'm beyond impressed with this setting spray and will definitely repurchase from here on out. I highly recommend this to anyone with oily skin or just anyone that is looking for a setting spray to really hold their makeup in place all day. This will give you a matte finish and they also sell this same spray in a sensitive version which is really nice for those of you who have more sensitive skin.

My last favorite of the month is of course another Lush product. What was a monthly favorite before Lush products? I was in the market for a new face serum. I was using a beauty oil from Boscia for almost a year but like I stated on my skin care routine post I couldn't really notice if it really did anything to my skin. A few times I was even thinking it was causing my neck to break out since I would apply some of that on my neck. I stopped using it earlier this year and never purchased a substitute. Since I have been really into Lush I decided to do some research and see if they had any beauty oils. I originally heard of this serum from Samantha of Batalash and she said nothing but great things of this product. This is the Full of Grace serum. It comes in that really weird/cool bar and all you have to do is rub it into your hands and the warmth of your hands will melt it. I had heard this is very veryy hydrating and moisturizing to the skin so I knew it wasn't something I would wear throughout the day. Luckily I wanted something more for my night time routine. I apply this at night before my night time moisturizer and I can already feel the hydration. When I wake up in the morning my skin is literally glowing, feels and looks so soft. I took this with me last week to L.A. and for some reason at night after I showered and took off all my makeup my face felt so dry. (I'm thinking this could possibly be because of the Model in a Bottle setting spray?) I applied a little more of this to my skin than usual before going to sleep in hopes that it will rehydrate my skin and it did exactly that. My skin would be back to its normal self every morning so it really came in handy. A really good thing about this product is that it helps maintain the elasticity of your skin and is a soothing facial treatment. One of the employees at Lush told me while I was purchasing this that you can also use them underneath a face mask and it will help that mask really get deep into your skin. That will cause for better results, so I was told I have yet to use it aside with my mask.

XO
Juliana