skincare

2017 Empties: Skincare

Published on January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 by Demetra MarieLeave a comment

Hello lovelies! Happy 2018! I know I fell off close to the end of Blogmas, but as every holiday season things became incredibly busy and I felt that I needed to spend time with my family instead of holed up in my room working. I’m back and it’s time to share my empties for most of 2017. I know I had planned on doing one of these posts about quarterly, but I think in the new year I will do it whenever my bin fills up with stuff. Also to keep this post from getting ridiculously long, I’m going to break it up into categories. Today I’m sharing my skincare type empties and whether or not I will repurchase.

MAKEUP REMOVERS

I got a couple of samples of the RMS beauty makeup remover wipe. What it is is a makeup remover wipe that is made up with certified organic coconut oil. The cloth is soft and doesn’t irritate or drag on the skin, and it smells amazing! This takes off makeup including waterproof mascara. When I feel the need to splurge on makeup wipes, I will definitely be purchasing these.

I used up 3 of the Up & Up brand from Target makeup remover wipes. The first 2 packs I enjoyed the third package, I wasn’t blown away by. They say that they are comparable to the Neutrogena makeup wipes. I personally think it is worth the extra couple of bucks on the Neutrogena wipes. They work much better than the Up & Up brand. The Up & Up ones work in a pinch but I feel the need to scrub my face a little harder, which many of us do not want to do.

The last two makeup remover type products are the Philosophy Purity made simple one-step facial cleansing cloths. I’ve talked about these before. I love them! I love using these after the gym to “wash” my face. I definitely will re-purchase these when I use up the other package that I have. Then there is the Sephora Waterproof eye makeup remover. I love this! I have another deluxe sample size that I’ll be using up, and will definitely repurchase.

EYE CREAMS/TREATMENTS

I used up 6 sample packets of the Lancome eye correction creme. I didn’t like this. It was too heavy and had glitter, that I could see after I put my makeup on. It also gave me those tiny, white milia bumps in my under eye area. This also made my eyes water, if I used too much. Another one that I will not be purchasing is the Caudalie Resveratrol Lift eye lifting balm. I liked this, but it irritated my eyes and I would have to wait at least a half hour to put makeup on to let my eyes stop watering.

The next set of eye products are ones that I love and absolutely will repurchase. The Fresh Rose hydrating eye gel cream. I love this a tiny bit goes a very long way. My under eye concealer goes on so nicely and smoothly, definitely will purchase the full size. Next up is the Clinique pep-start eye cream. I’ve had this in my favorites before, and I absolutely love this for a daily morning eye cream. Will definitely purchase. Lastly, the Sephora collection eye masks, more specifically the Pomegranate eye mask. I love these and have repurchased a bunch of them.

CLEANSERS/MOISTURIZERS

The first two items I wasn’t a fan of and just didn’t do much for me. The Korres Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourshing Sleeping Facial. The scent is too much for me, and just too heavy for my skin. Next up is the Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet. The scent I didn’t like and it just didn’t do much for my skin.

Next up there is the Amorepacific Essential Creme Fluid and the Moisture Bound. I liked them but I probably wouldn’t repurchase them. Also, items I probably won’t repurchase is the Mary Kay botanical effects step 2 hydrate, and the Erborian Bamboo Creme Frappe. The Erborian is a good product but I just probably wouldn’t repurchase.

I really liked the Lancome Smoothing & Glow Boosting Liquid Care. I really liked this it was light and moisturizing; will repurchase. The Youth to the People Kale & Spinach Green Tea Hylauronic Acid moisture creme. I love this! I was blown away by this and will definitely will repurchase. Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation facial creme. I love this and will definitely repurchase. I used this back to back with the Kale & Spinach and I felt that I had fantastic skin months! I will repurhcase!

Last two items in this category is the Simple moisturizing facial wash and the First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay. I love both of these cleansers and I will repurchase when I’ve used up a few other cleansers that I have.

MASKS/TREATMENTS

The first product that I was just surprised and blown away by is the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. I used this in the middle of the summer when my skin was consistently oily and I was sweating. This just did wonders for my skin the few times I was able to use this. When I’m able to I will be purchasing the full size of this. Next up is the Mary Kay acne treatment gel. I use this on any blemishes that I may get, and it helps get rid of even my toughest cystic acne. I’ve purchased so many of these tubes, this will probably always be in my skincare arsenal. Then we have the Clarins Mission Perfection Serum, which is a dark spot corrector. I feel like this somewhat worked for me but I feel like I need to use it more consistently and longer in order to really see the results. I won’t be repurchasing this.

For masks, I’ve used up the Karuna Clarifying face mask. I didn’t see much of a difference which is hard to tell with a one time use sheet mask. I would consider repurchasing this mask and try it out again. Lastly I have used up the travel size of the Glamglow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate and the full size of the Supermud Clearing Treatment. I enjoyed both of these, however I wouldn’t repurchase the Tinglexfoliate mask, it slightly irritated my skin and I just didn’t enjoy the tingling sensation. The Supermud Clearing Treatment I would definitely repurchase. It is definitely worth the hype and the $68 price tag.

That’s everything! All of the skin care that I’ve used up in the last 9 months or so. I hope you enjoyed this post. What products have you used up in the last year. Anything that you would repurchase or maybe not? I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. I hope that your 2018 is even better. Have a great day and I’ll see you in my next post.

Christmas Gift Guide for Him

Published on December 3, 2017December 3, 2017 by Demetra MarieLeave a comment

Hello lovelies!! Here is the post that many of you requested. The gift guide for the lucky men in your lives. Just like my gift guide for the ladies, I will provide you with some general ideas that range in price ranges. For most of us, men in general are easy to buy for. They’re into sports, or a techie, or arsty, or the love being at home. Let me share with you what I think are same great gift ideas.

wine tour

bar ware

bath & body care

game tickets

sports gear

kitchenware

homeware

art mediums

video games

Apple products

cooking classes

dvds & blurays

tools

Those are my ideas to gift your men. If you know that they are looking for something more specific or you are really unsure as what to get them, giftcards are always a great idea. I personally think that giftcards or gift certificates are great gift ideas because while you know they like certain things they can go and pick out exactly what they like and be appreciative that you thought of them. That’s everything! If you’re still trying to figure out what to get the men in your life, feel free to send me an e-mail. I would love to help brainstorm gift ideas for you. Have a great day! I’ll see you in my next post.

September: The loved and unloved

Published on October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 by Demetra Marie1 Comment

Hello lovelies! I’m starting something kind of new. The loved and unloved is going to be my favorites series. I haven’t decided on how often I will do this type of post, but will do this at least on a monthly basis. My intention with this type of post is to share with you the things that I am loving the most. When it comes to the things that are considered to be unloved, they are going to be comprised of things that are good products but didn’t work for me, and products that just didn’t work for me and I think wouldn’t work for anyone else. If you love any of the items that I’m not a fan of, let me know how you use it! I may be using it completely different and that could be why it won’t work for me. Now that I’ve given you all of that info, let’s see what I’ve been loving and not loving for the month of September.

THE LOVES

First up I have the combination of Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in the Matte+Poreless and the Dewy+Smooth formula. More often than not when you hear someone mixing foundations they are two different brands and two different formulas. For me this combination is amazing. I put the a very small amount on my forehead, chin and a bit on either side of my nose. The rest of my face I’ll use the dewy+smooth formula. I’ll apply both formulas with a beauty blender and sometimes use a brush when I’m in a rush.

Next up is the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion. I forgot how much I loved this liner. It is super black and lasts forever. Sticking with eyes, I am also loving the E.L.F. HD Under Eye Powder. This keeps my under eye concealer on all day, it doesn’t allow the concealer to crease, and dare I say it my holy grail?! For lips I have been loving the Maybelline Color Jolt Intense Lip Paint in 05 Stripped Down. This color is the perfect, my lips, with a hint of pink, but better shade. It lasts a decent amount of time and fades nicely.

The last two items are a perfume and a hair product. The perfume I have been loving the last month is the Dolce and Gabbanna Light Blue. The scent is light, flowery yet has a deep, sexy scent within it, creating a nice day to night balance. Now for the hair product, I have absolutely been loving the Bumble and Bumble Don’t Blow it (H)air Styler. I have never loved a hair product so much in my life. I’ll be honest with you guys. When it comes to hair, I just don’t know what to do, or I’m lazy, or a combination of both. So when I decided to pull the Don’t Blow It styler out of my stash, after the first time I used it, I knew I was going to repurchase it in the full size when I used this small tube up. This is the only thing that will keep my hair in its natural state all day and easily into the next day. I have been searching for years, and I mean well over 10 years for something like this.Thank you Sephora Play box for this little gem!

THE UNLOVED

Since I talked on and on about everything that I loved I will keep my unloved short and sweet. First up is the Lancome Visionnaire Yeux Eye on Correction eye balm. It’s a nice eye cream, however it’s too thick for my under eyes and there are small particles of glitter in it that you can see on your skin. So for that reason I would not repurchase this. The other eye area product that I am not a big fan of is the Maybelline the Falsies Pushup Drama Mascara. The formula itself is not clumpy, but when applying it clumps my lashes together. The other issue I have with this is that when I try to apply on my outer lashes or close to the root, almost always there is mascara on my cheek or my eyelid, or I poke myself in the eye. Ouch!

The last couple of products are for the face. There is the Farmacy Skin Dew and the Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial. There are a couple of reasons why I am not a fan of the Farmacy Skin Dew. For one, the spray is fairly aggressive, and leaves quite a bit of the product in large droplets on my face that take awhile to sink in to the skin. If you use this to refresh your makeup, it will ruin your makeup by leaving droplets all over your face. Now for the Korres sleeping facial, this is heavily scented and it lingers on your skin all night. I use this only at night and when I go to sleep I can smell before I go to sleep and when I wake up in the morning, the scent is still there.

Well that’s everything that I have loved and unloved for the month of September. What have you been loving this last month? What should I try out? Are some of the products that I’m not a fan of your favorite? Tell me how you use it and why you like it. I would love to hear from you. Have a great day and see you in my next post.

Happy Fall!

Project Pan Update #2

Published on October 6, 2016October 6, 2016 by Demetra MarieLeave a comment

Hello lovelies! Today I am updating you on the products that I have been using as part of my very first project pan. I’m just going to say it…I am horrible at using the things that I own, especially when it comes to hair products. I do have to say that I have done a little better than the last month. I have made some more progress on a few items. There are no new products that I finished.

To review, I have finished the Vaseline Spray & Go in cocoa radiant and the Garnier Blackhead Eliminating Scrub.

I’m almost done with the Aussie Sprunch Spray, NYX butter gloss in creme brulee, Blistex Silk n Shine lip balm, Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub in Tropical Mango, and the Smashbox eyeliner in Onyx.

The rest of the items, will hopefully be done by the end of the year. I have made a little progress on the Marc Jacobs perfume and it’s a 10 leave in conditioner. The Buxom lip gloss, I have used easily 10 times in the last month and there is hardly any progress. It looks as if I haven’t used it at all.

That is all for this update. I will hopefully have used up a few more items in my next update. The goal is to use up at least 10 of the 15 products by the end of the year. I am on a no buy as well til next year. Bring on the hauls in 2017! I hope you enjoyed this little update. Have a great day and see you in my next post!