Monthly Empties - October 2011

I managed to say farewell to a few friends this month including:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in shade 51: Every time I thought this foundation was finished, I found more and by the end I just wanted it to be finished. As soon as I finished it I went and bought another one though lol. I've reviewed this one before so let's move on.

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation in shade 110 Porcelain: I had such a stormy relationship with this foundation. Hated it, loved it, over it, loved it...by the end though I was definitely a fan. I'd buy it again (especially at US prices) but I find it hard to find the lightest shades of Maybelline in Adelaide - but in Melbourne they were everywhere. Gorgeous matte (but not cakey) finish perfect for weekends but I had trouble getting it to last for work days - but that's just me.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Micro Serum: I picked this up on Snet and just loved it. This was a guilt purchase after deciding that at 36 I definitely need to be using serums. It's a white cream that absorbs beautifully and has no scent. I went to Kiehl's website to buy another one and I couldn't find it. Devastated. :(

Aveeno Ultra- Calming Cream Cleanser: loved it, reviewed it. Enough said lol.

YSL Top Secrets Beauty Sleep Concentrate:  This came in a Beauty Box and I loved it. It smelled fruity (in the same way that Healthy Mix does) and it made my skin feel amasing. I was using this one at night. I went onto a second tube Dee gave me almost immediately but I think this is not a product to be used consistently - although I'm just guessing as there was very little detail on the sample tube on what to do with it. For $99 AUD for 30mls as nice as this was I wont be purchasing the full size. 

Matrix Amplify Conditioner: Meh. Snet purchase, I wouldn't bother. Definitely no to repurchasing.

Too Faced Lash Injection Mascara: I ruined this mascara by opening it a couple of times a month and then putting it away again. So when I actually used it, it was a dry crumbly mess. It's a full tube of killed mascara :( I would probably try this again when I work through my mascaras.

MAC Studio Fix Mascara: I hate the brush on this - it's so spikey it hurts your eyelides when it touches. If you want to try mastering your mascara application by torture give it a go. This is pretty much full - I couldn't stand being pricked by the brush. The formula was average at best. This is no Opulash. Repurchasing only as gifts for people who piss me off.

NYX Doll Eye Mascara Volume: I am a big fan of the lengthening version of this one but this is equally good. I think overall I prefer the effect of the lengthening formula but either way at $9 a pop this is a highly underrated mascara that no one seems to be talking about. The brush has the look of a honey wand (you know what I mean). It's so gentle for sensitive eyes and is almost mistake proof. This is truly a great dry formula mascara that is IMO showing more expensive brands how it's done well. I will definitely repurchase.

Happy Sunday everyone

Jac x

Overview/Review of Aveeno's Ultra-Calming Skin Care Range.

I know I have mentioned before on here how much I love Emilynoel83 on YT - she is in fact responsible for me owning Milani blushes, Pallado herbal lip balms and for my original interest in the Aveeno Ultra-Calming skin care line. At the time I remember checking their Australian website to see if the range was available here, but alas it was not at the time.

Fast forward a few months and I was contacted by a PR rep for Aveeno following up on their generous inclusion of a Positively Radiant moisturizer in the Adelaide Beauty Conference goodie bag. I mentioned that I had tried the cleanser from this range and found it too active for my dry and sensitive skin so she kindly offered to send me the Ultra-Calming range to try instead. As you can imagine I was super-excited as Emilynoel83 (if I remember correctly) had used this when she developed dryness on her face.

I have now spent about 2 months with these products and wanted to share my thoughts. To make this review a bit quicker I'm just going to give a summary for each product and general overall comments for the range itself. This range consists of a cream cleanser, a foaming cleanser and a moisturiser with SPF 15 (yay!).

Firstly the packaging is lovely - the pump of the foaming cleanser and moisturiser worked perfectly and the cream cleanser was easy to squeeze out. I also had no issues with textures (the foaming cleanser feels like it is made of clouds) or smells as this is scent free as far as my nose could tell. Now this range includes the flower Feverfew. Aveeno claim that this flower is known for it's soothing properties and is one of nature's most powerful antioxidants. They also claim that "Formulations with Feverfew are clinically proven to visibly reduce the appearance of redness in as little as one week." With all that covered off let's see how I got on with using these products.