Ghosts of Beauty Products Past #2

It feels like I just wrote the original Ghosts of Beauty Products Past post, you'll probably see some repeat offenders that I just can't get enough of, I'll post them but won't go into too much detail so if you want to see what I really thought of them you can refer back to the original post!

Hair Care

It seems I've been finishing off a lot of products that have been on the go for a while now so I'm super stoked to share some of these gems with you guys! Everyone knows my love for Batiste dry shampoo so I won't go into that, BUT I've finally finished some of my favourites that I've been using for about a year now.

Difiaba Hydressence Conditioner:  I've been using this conditioner for over a year now and I adore it! It's super hydrating without leaving your hair feeling heavy, has the most amazing scent and is perfect for any heat junkie, styling addict or just general hair abuser that needs a little help getting those locks looking luscious again, this will definitely be a repurchase. You can find it here!

Difiaba Luminessence Hydrating Serum: This is an amazing treatment I use once a month, a combination of hair care and aromatherapy. I follow up my shampooing with a vial of the hibiscus scented hydrating serum, comb through and leave for five minutes before rinsing. For $36 here you get enough to last you a whole year! I've already placed an order for more.

Skin Care

MAC's Lightful Cleanser and Lightful Softening Lotion are staples in my skin care routine so clearly it's not a surprise to find them in another GofBPP post...

Delarom Revitality Cream: I used this cream for three months and when I first talked about it back in my What's My Age Again? post I thought I could never live without this cream but since finishing it off I'm not so sure I still feel so strongly about it. While I did notice a slight improvement in the fine lines on my forehead whilst using this product, I've found that since I've stopped using it my Keihl's Powerful Strength Line Reducing Treatment does just as good of a job at keeping the lines at bay, if not better and only for a fraction of the price! Needless to say I will not be repurchasing.

Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm: This is a product I have yet to mention on the blog because I've been so on the fence about it and I still can't decide if I like it or not even after finishing the pot and here's why: the thermal mud is packed full of mineral rich goodness and because it's a cleansing balm it makes removing make up and cleansing the skin a piece of cake which is what everyone wants after a long day, is it not? So then you
may ask why aren't I head over heels in love? Well for starters it's £46.00 for a 50ml pot that barely lasts a month, which if it did amazing things for my skin would make it a little easier to justify but the fact is it just doesn't. I wanted to love this product, I've tried so hard to love this product, but in the end, I just can't. It's definitely worth a try (and if you're curious you can find it here) but it's not something I will be repurchasing. 

Body Care

Nuxe Huile de Prodigeuse: This is the third bottle of this glorious oil that I've finished off in the last six months and I've already cracked my fourth. For a full review of this product click here.

The Body Shop's Body Butter in Coconut and Chocomania: As far as I am concerned there is no other body butter in the world, or at least none that can compete with the Body Shops, I've already restocked my cupboards with four more of these bad boys!

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Body Lotion in Sleep:  I talked a little bit about this guy in my Night Routine post, and since finishing it I've realized two things about it; 1. It's not the most hydrating lotion and 2. The scent was way more relaxing than I had noticed, since finishing I've found my mind doesn't relax quite as quickly, hopefully my Aromatherapy Associates Relax Body and Massage Oil shows up soon so I can go back to sound sleeping!

Caudalie Divine Oil:  I first mentioned this in my recent post about beauty oils and when I wrote that I mentioned it was heavier than Nuxe's and almost sticky, but since switching it to an evening use only product, I've fallen in love. It hydrates scaly spots on my legs, tames parched hair and smells just heavenly. You can get your hands on a bottle of your own here.

Hand Care

Tokyo Milk's Tainted Love Hand Cream: While it smelled absolutely amazing it wasn't the most hydrating for my seriously dry hands, I think in the future I'll stick to the perfumes from Tokyo Milk because those never disappoint. 

Sanoflore Miel Nourricier Hand Cream:  I mentioned this in my January Favourites post after returning home from a romantic weekend in Paris with the boy. This was definitely a gem that I stumbled upon whilst ravaging the French pharmacies and am glad to have someone back in France to mail me some when it runs out because woah man is this stuff awesome! Smells amazing, super hydrating and calming if your hands are sensitive like mine and just all around amazing! There may be a tube of this sitting in my goodie box waiting for the next giveaway.... just sayin.

Holey Butt'r:  This product is designed for stretched earlobes, which is why I have it but it is good for so much more! It contains a blend of Karanji seed oil, Jojoba seed oil, Soy butter, soy wax, Candelila wax and Neem seed oil which are a potent blend of moisturisers and emollients to hydrate and heal dehydrated and stressed out skin. I like to put this on my elbows, knees, knuckles, heels and anywhere else feeling particularly crocodile like.

Make Up

L'Oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara:  I mentioned this in my February Favourites post as it was something I picked up from Boots on a whim whilst in Brighton back in January and I'm so sad I didn't pick up another because now that this one is done I can't seem to find it here back in Canada or anywhere online, we all know I'm queen of online shopping, and I'm struggling to replace it. There is a mascara shaped void in my life now...

MAC's Studio Fix Powder in NC15:  This has been a staple in my make up bag since I was about 13 but since my skin shifted more to the drier side I had been avoiding using it, now that I've got my skin back under control, a light dusting of Fix powder with a fluffy MAC 187 Duo Fibre Face Brush over top of my Jouer Matte Moisture Tint creates the perfect finish.

Bath and Shower

LUSH's Snow Fairy Shower Gel: I've ranted and raved about this stuff multiple times so if you want to see more about why I love it you can check that out here and here.

Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Scrub: This stuff is amazeballs. Like seriously. I went into raptures here about my nostalgic love for this product and why I was so happy to see it back in Canada. If you're looking for a good scrub look no further!

Tokyo Milk's Tainted Love Shower Gel: This faired much better than it's hand cream partner I mentioned earlier in the post; it has that amazing combination of dark vanilla bean, orchid and sandalwood that lingers after the shower is over.

Pure Potent Wow Muscle Soak Bath Salts: If you lift heavy weights you're going to feel it the next day, and since I'm constantly lifting weights or running my muscles are always aching and sore and this stuff definitely helps me keep moving. I'm always trying out new bath salts so the chances of repurchasing this aren't very likely but if you're someone that enjoys a good bath on the regular these are a must try!

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Hits & Misses

When you're in the habit of trying new things you're bound to discover some real gems, but not without bumping into a couple of duds along the way; I'm always a sucker for recommendations from other bloggers and for the cute mini versions of popular products that you'll find when you're queuing to pay at the shops.

Photo courtesy of: www.soapandglory.com

Product Name: Soap and Glory Trick & Treatment Concealer

Love: I loved that the one colour took the guess work out of figuring out what colour to buy (although this could prove tricky for others no doubt) and that it had a full coverage but easily blendable formula.

Hate: The formula was quite dry for an under eye concealer, considering under eye skin tends to be a bit drier and delicate than the rest of the face, I found that after a couple of hours it wasn't just settling into fine lines but it was also flaking right off my face.

Overall Rating: Miss.

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads

Love: N/A

Hate: TMI WARNING! So I get really bad ingrown hairs in my bikini area, I'm talking really bad. Waxing is no fun, shaving is even worse and due to some tattoos laser is completely out of the question so when I heard great things about these I was so excited to have possibly found the solution to all my problems, alas that was not to be. I bought the smaller 10 to try them out and found they made absolutely no difference for me whatsoever, so for now I'm still on the hunt for a good in grown hairs solution, if you've got one let me know!

Overall Rating: Miss.

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Love: FINALLY! An under eye concealer that actually works for me! Full coverage and so creamy and hydrating it doesn't crease or flake, no one has asked if I'm tired since I've picked up this bad boy which is massively impressive thanks to some sketchy genetics.

Hate: I mean the $32 price tag is less than desirable but since it's taken me so long to find an under eye concealer that does the job, I'm not about to complain.

Overall Rating: Huge Hit!

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder

Love: N/A

Hate:  So I went into Sephora looking for a new dry shampoo and the girls there were ranting and raving about the new Bumble and Bumble one and while the $31 price tag was significantly higher than the $8 I usually pay for my Batiste dry shampoo, I've loved everything of Bumble and Bumble's I've tried in the past so I figured I'd give it a try. It's the absolute worse. Fails as a dry shampoo - I started with just a little bit, did nothing, so I gradually added more and eventually wound up with a greasy mess full of powder. It added no volume, if anything it weighed my hair down, extremely unimpressed with this product.

Overall Rating: Massive Miss!

Photo courtesy of: www.firstaidbeauty.com

Product Name: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

Love: I've been putting off trying this for ages because I have so many hand creams and none of them seem to help my dry, itchy alligator hands, but I finally caved and bought this a couple weeks ago and I'm so in love! It's super hydrating without being greasy and has made the scaly rash on the backs of my hands disappear, thank god!

Hate: That I didn't try this sooner.

Overall Rating: Hit!

Photo courtesy of: www.ebay.com

Product Name: Tarte Maracuja Oil &Tarte Maracuja C-Brightner Eye Treatment

Love:  I picked up the mini set of these from Sephora because well, miniature and Tarte, need I say more? The Maracuja oil has since replaced my normal facial oil in the morning and I love it so much because it's super hydrating but sinks into the skin quickly so it doesn't affect the wear of your foundation.

Hate: Unfortunately the extreme amounts of Vitamin C in the C-Brighter Eye Treatment severely irritated my sensitive eyes so I can't attest to whether or not it really helps with dark circles but if you're a sensitive sort like me proceed with caution.

Overall Rating: I chucked the C-Brighter in the bin but went and bought the large Marajuca Oil, so a little hit and a little miss.

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March Monthly Favourites!

Monthly favourites are some of my most enjoyable posts to write because I get all excited talking about the things that I've been loving this month, who doesn't like talking about things they really love?! But every time it comes to write another monthly favourites I have this thought pop into my brain, "holy hell! It's almost (insert next month here) already?!" and it instantly makes me feel like my grandma who's constantly wondering where the last 20 years have gone. This month I got a promotion at work (just an itty bitty one but hey, I'm movin' on up!) and also received my acceptance letter for school, both of which make me really excited for the future.

Kookoo for Kiehl's...

I have been loving Kiehl's so much this month it's a little bit ridiculous; at the end of February I gave into curiosity and went in to Kiehl's to see if I could get a sample of the Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado after seeing how much Estee from essiebutton loved them, that girl has yet to let me down with a recommendation! First of all, if you're ever interested in trying something from Kiehl's go in and ask for a sample, they're super generous with their samples and always recommend amazing things. Clearly I fell in love with those two products and ended up buying the full size versions and when I purchased the Midnight Recovery Concentrate the lovely gal helping me gave me a sample of the Powerful Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate which clearly I also fell in love with because I'm pretty sure Kiehl's can do no wrong.

I talked a little bit about why I love the Midnight Recovery Concentrate here but when I wrote that I was just starting to try out the eye cream and let me just say that stuff is the bomb! Good bye scaly alligator eyes (thank you!) and hello happy soft eyelids, never thought I would be talking about my eyelids like this...

In The Shower...

I first stumbled upon the Soap and Glory brand five years ago when I was living in Ireland, I was hooked. Sexy Mother Pucker turned out to just be a gateway lipgloss into a downward spiraling addiction of fantastically scented and adorably package cosmetics and skin care.

When I lived in Ireland my roommate and I were hooked on the Sugar Crush Body Scrub, we would buy them in bulk when Boots had them on offer and stockpile them in our bathroom; needless to say I was ecstatic when the Soap and Glory line available in Canada expanded and this became readily available once again. It's such an amazing fresh sweet lime scent, and the almond oil makes it quite nourishing as well. I think this for me is more of a nostalgia item because every time I use it I instantly feel like I'm back at our little flat on College Road.

The Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub is a newer discovery for me, I picked it up from Boots back in January and have been using it sparingly as it hasn't made it's way over to Canada yet; UK friends I have a Boots shopping list if anyone loves me enough to go on a wee little shopping trip and send over some stuff! I mentioned here that as soon as I saw it was Maple scented I was a goner, it's a Canadian thing.

LUSH's Snow Fairy shower gel is another thing I buy in bulk every year; I usually buy one right when it comes out and then I wait until they have their online sale on Boxing Day when it's Buy One Get One Free and I order like six to get me through the year. It's got a really sweet almost cotton candy like smell and like I mentioned before when you use it with American Cream Conditioner your hair smells like strawberry shortcake!!

The last wee little thing in my shower right now is a trial size of Tokyo Milk's Tainted Love Shower Gel that I got in a travel pack at Sephora that contained the shower gel, a roller ball and a hand creme. I loved this scent because it was the perfect mix of floral and warm musky fragrances with a combination of vanilla bean, orchid, white tea and sandalwood, to say this fragrance is sexy would be the most family friendly way to describe it...

Hair Care

There's not too much in the way of hair care this month as I've really been liking the products I've been using the last couple of months, you can check out my February Favourites to see what I've been using. But one thing I've had to change up since getting my hair done a couple of weeks ago is my hair mask. When I deep cleanse my hair once a week it lifts the purple out of my hair which then needs to be touched up. Instead of paying to get my hair touched up every two weeks or faffing about trying to re-colour the one section myself I've brought back an old favourite from when I had pink hair, which is a colour and conditioning hair mask combo! I do this every two weeks to prevent my purple from looking a bit dodgy. I mix half a tub (for my short to medium length hair) of La Riche Directions Hair Colour in Violet with a dollop of the Klorane Desert Date Hair Mask and apply it to DRY hair, twist it up into a bun and leave it on all day (this is clearly done on a day off) and rinse before bed.

I use the Klorane Hair Mask weekly on it's own as well, it's a wonderful mask - super hydrating and doesn't leave your hair limp.

Fragrances

These two aren't particularly new to me but I found myself reaching towards them the most this month out of my perfume collection. 

The first one is Fleur de Vanille by Fragonard, this fragrance holds a very special place in my heart. I found it back in January when my boyfriend and I were in Paris, we stumbled upon a little market on our way to Notre Dame and I insisted on sniffing every fragrance and soap that this little flower stall had (because I have a severe addiction to perfumes...) I didn't think much of the perfume as I already have so many vanilla-y perfumes but I spritzed it on my wrists out of habit and we began to walk away. I kept sniffing my wrists and thrusting them in Pete's face demanding he sniff them as well, this perfume was simply amazing and like nothing I'd ever smelled before; it vanilla alright but with ylang-ylang, heliotrope, rose, chocolate, cocoa and musk. It's a rich warm scent but refreshing all at the same time. I've been using it sparingly, mainly when I miss Pete insanely as it instantly takes me back to Paris, because when I first got home and looked online I couldn't find it anywhere! Imagine my joy when I stumbled upon a website that ships to Canada just now whilst looking for a link for this post! Pete can attest I just sent him the most overly excited text message haha.

The other is probably a more recognizable perfume it's Princess by Vera Wang, this is a fragrance I remember smelling when I was a teenager and falling in love with it. I never purchased it back then but on a recent trip to the States my mum saw it for a ridiculously good price at the Duty Free and remembered that I was pining after this (good memory mum that was over 7 years ago!) It's a much more floral fragrance than I typically wear but I found with spring approaching (not that you could tell from here, it's snowing as we speak) I was looking for fresh fragrances than my typical musky vanillas. I was still pairing this with an amber body spray to tone down some of the floral and it's actually one of my favourite fragrance pairings nows! I'm all about layering your scents to achieve a more personal scent.

Bit's and Bob's

First of all is this gorgeous statement necklace from Zara; if you follow me on Instagram then you probably saw me post this exact photo the day after I purchased this. I fell in love with this at the store but wasn't sure if I loved it enough to part with $50 for a necklace made of shiny metal so I kept the receipt in case it wound up just collecting dust. Now let me walk you through the conversation I have with myself every morning as I'm getting ready for work "Oooo maybe I'll wear my necklace from Zara today, it would look great with this outfit. But I just wore it yesterday.... Maybe I'll wear a different necklace today and I can wear this one again tomorrow. But I really want to wear it....But I can't wear it four days in a row..." and so on and so forth, needless to say I've already got my $50 worth out of it and threw my receipt into the bin with vigor!

Television: Well I should say Netflix since I don't ever really watch television. I don't know what it is with me and British period dramas but I'm hooked. January was Downton Abbey, February was Call the Midwife and March has been a case of binge watching Foyle's War and The Bletchley Circle.

Tea: Just like switching up the fresher fragrances for spring I went into David's Tea looking for a new more spring like tea than the rich black tea's I've been drinking lately. I left with Green Seduction, which is a green tea flavoured with bits of pomegranate and rosehips, it's EXACTLY what I was looking for and I've already drank my way through 100g....

Blogger/Vlogger of the Month: The adorable little Brit Suzie or better known as Hello October. I found her blog via Bloglovin' one day and after reading her blog for a couple weeks I made my way over to her YouTube channel and I've just fallen in love.

Book: The past couple months I've dedicated to reading the books on my "To Read" shelf and not allowing myself to purchase any new books until I've gotten through the ones I already have (doesn't mean there isn't a list of books to purchase scrawled in my daytimer...) I picked up The History of Love by Nicole Krauss well over a year ago when I had a giftcard for a small local bookshop, I don't know what originally attracted me to this title but I know I've spent the last year and a bit skimming over it on the shelf thinking it sounded a bit too airy-fairy and that I wanted something a bit more mentally engaging. Whilst going through Pete withdrawls a couple weeks ago I was in the mood for some mind numbing romantic blather and without any Nicholas Sparks on hand I figured I'd give this a go. Boy was I wrong for skipping this book for so long! If you're a Nicholas Sparks fan then sorry guys but this isn't the book you're looking for, this is so much more. I haven't felt this emotional invested in characters before, it wasn't a romance book at all but like the title states, it's a history of love, love in every sense of the word. There's no way I can give you any sense of plot because it's not a linear story, you just need to pick it up and give it a read!

What have you guys been loving this month? I'd love to know, leave some suggestions for me in the comments!

If you guys' haven't entered the giveaway contest yet, click here for details! It's open until April 4th.

IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!

AND THE WINNER IS: Kelsey Anderson! Check your email for further instructions! Thanks everyone for entering and supporting my wee little blog. 


So I'm probably more excited about this than you guys haha! I've been threatening a giveaway for months when the Facebook Page hit 50 likes and as of right now we're still a couple away from that goal, BUT I decided to go ahead and do this as a thank you for the massive amount of support everyone showed to my Food, Beautiful Food post.

I've been collecting bits and bobs for so long I actually have THREE boxes worth of stuff for this giveaway which means that once a winner is selected I can create your own little box of goodies based on your personal wants and needs. I decided to only show you one of the three boxes so that I could still keep some of the surprise.

In your winning box you will find a collection of full size products and deluxe sample sizes of some of the more pricey products I wanted to share with you guys. These products may have appeared in my blog previously (I'd be glancing at my monthly favourites posts for January and February to get some ideas of what you might be seeing...) or may be a completely new surprise!

Brands you may see in your box include:

Fresh

MAC

Sanoflore

Yves Rocher

David's Tea

Kiehl's

My Beauty Diary

Etude House

Bison

FaceQ

Dermal

LUSH

L'Occitane En Provence

The Body Shop

and more...

All you have to do to enter is click the link below and follow the instructions:

Enter the Giveaway!

The Process: My Morning Skin Care Routine

So a couple of weeks ago I had a request to share my skin care routine, I started off with my evening skin care routine which might seem a little odd but washing my face at the end of the day is one of my favourite things in life, I look forward to it as soon as I leave work. So today I thought I would bring you my morning routine!

The Process:

In the Shower...

Step 1: MAC's Lightful Cleanser I should seriously have stocks in this products or something for the amount I talk about it, but seriously this stuff is the bomb! Perfect for a nice refreshing morning cleanse and works wonderfully with my Clarisonic. You can read more about it here, here and here, told you I am kinda obsessed...

Step 1.5: Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub My boyfriend used to tease me that if you wanted to sell something to a Canadian all you had to do was make it smell/taste like Maple Syrup; clearly Soap and Glory caught on to this tactic because I AM HOOKED! I picked this up on offer at Boots back in January and while I've got a bazillion tubs/tubes/bottles/bars of shower stuff on the go this is one of my favourites. A nice thick scrub that smells just like maple syrup and leaves your skin soft and smooth.

Step 2: MAC's Lightful Softening Lotion Here's another old favourite you guys are probably used to hearing my rave on and on about. I love this particularly in the morning because when you splash some on a cotton pad and run it over your face it removes dry skin instantly making the texture of your skin softer and easier to apply make up to. You can read more about it on my blog here and here.

Step 3: Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray I absolutely adore using this spray before applying serums or moisturizers, I find it really opens up the pores and allows what you apply afterwards to really sink in. This is another one that has gotten quite a bit of publicity on my blog you may have seen it here, here and here. Clearly with that much love you might be surprised to hear that once I finish this can I am actually going to be trying a new spray, what blasphemy right?! I've finally given in and ordered the Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist that was on my Wishlist.

Step 4: Finally some new products you haven't heard me ramble on about yet!! In the palm of my hand I like to mix a little bit of the Kiehl's Powerful Strength Line- Reducing Serum (I've also added this into my evening skin care routine as well) with 2 drops of Fresh's Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil and massage that into the face and neck, you want to let it sit for a couple minutes to really absorb before applying any moisturizer. 

Step 5: While my serum/oil concoction in sinking in I like to apply my eye cream, Caudalie's Vinosource S.O.S Morning Eye Rescue. I have super sensitive eyes; sensitive to eye creams, if I have a minor food allergy my eyes are the first thing to swell up, they're just a pain in the butt. Not only does this not irritate my eyes at all but it also helps bring down my puffy eyes after someone has fed me mushrooms when I told them I was allergic... but that's another story! This stuff is also hydrating without leaving a sticky residue that will interfere with eye make up.

Step 5.5: I like to prep my lips by applying a nice thick layer of NUXE Reve de Miel Baume Levres Ultra-Nourrissant Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm so that they're soft and moisturized come time to apply lip products.

Step 6: While letting my face soak up all the good stuff I've just slathered it in I like to move onto moisturizing the rest of the skin on my body, right now I'm loving The Body Shop's Coconut Body Butter (It's on sale 50% in stores and online so now would be the perfect time to stock up on body butters!!) I've grown up using The Body Shop's Body Butters on and off since I was probably ten and I just keep coming back to them; amazing texture, wonderful fragrances and they really do hydrate all day long! I'm particularly obsessed with anything coconut right now because it reminds me of summer and well, I live in the land of endless winter, seriously - it's still snowing...

Step 7: I've usually got pretty good skin but around the same time every month a couple nasty little spots decide to creep up on my face, last week I went to Murale in search of an answer to my problems. Having dry, sensitive skin makes blemish spot treatments pretty tricky but she suggested Blemish Gel 5% by B.Kamins, this is the first thing I've tried from this Canadian skin care brand and I'm loving it! It dries up the blemish without drying out your skin and can even be worn under make up, every girl needs to have this on hand!

Step 8: This is usually the part of the morning where I would go stuff my face with delicious breakfast but for the sake of this post let's just skip on to the next bit. Moisturizers! I'm still using and still loving my Delarom Revitality Cream (I even dedicated a whole post to it here if you want to read about the vanishing forehead wrinkle) and considering I've been using it for three months now it makes the $107 price tag a little easier to swallow, but with the pile of creams I brought back from Paris I still have to work my way through it'll be a little while before I'm replacing this bad boy after it finally runs out.

Step 9: This is a more optional step but on the mornings I've got some extra time or I really feel like pampering myself I like to massage some Nuxe Huile de Prodigieuse into my appendages, it just feels so luxurious and smells fantastic. This is clearly another one of my favourites, you can read more about it on my blog here, here and here.

Not quite as extensive as my evening routine but pretty dang close! What are some of your guys' favourite products and is there something you think I would love? Let me know in the comments, clearly I love to try new things!