L'Occitane Lavender Hand Cream

L'Occitane Lavender Hand Cream

I never heard of this brand before and I had reservations about the lavender smell. But I have found that is one of my favorite hand creams I have ever tried. It has a pleasant scent and it is not greasy at all. It absorbs into my skin really quickly and I now keep a tube in my night stand and use it nightly. I honestly can say I have fallen in love with this French company and I plan on going to one of their actual stores really soon. Hopefully I can visit one of the stores in France when we visit Paris next year.

Final opinion: I will be buying this and stocking up whenever I can!

Delizioso Skincare Mangosteen & Acai Super Anti-Aging Facial Cream

Delizioso Skincare Mangosteen & Acai Super Anti-Aging Facial Cream

 I don't know how to put this but the smell is sickeningly disgusting. At first I thought okay maybe it is just the mangosteen in it and the smell will fade. No, it doesn't! It lingers forever on my hand and doesn't wash off and since it is a face cream I could never use it on my face. I honestly can say I have no clue how it works because the smell is so bad that I couldn't even use it. And this sample was supposed to be worth almost $20 and in my opinion it is worth less than a dollar. I guess I will have a nice little jar for other samples once I get rid of this stuff.

Final opinion: I will never buy this.

Freeman Beauty Feeling Beautiful Cucumber Peel Off Mask

Cucumber Peel Off Mask

 This is a product that I got interested in after reading a fellow blogger's review. So when I was in my local Wal-Mart I found the travel size packet which looked like it could be use once or twice and I bought it. I went home and tried it that same day and I was thoroughly surprised at the consistency of the mask. The mask is very thick and sticky almost like honey and has a nice cucumber scent. The mask was a little tricky to apply at first because I started out with it going on too thick but once I figured out it, it got easier. As the mask starts to dry it gets really shiny like your skin is made of plastic. Once it dries completely (dry to the touch and no longer sticky) it is time to peel it off. I will say that this is the most entertaining face mask I have, even my husband gets a kick out of it. I start peeling it off (it is the most fun part) and I go fairly slowly because it does grab on to any hair it can find (no matter how hard I try to avoid my hair line and eyebrows.) After the entire mask is removed a quick rinse and my face feels so refreshed, clean, and soft.

Final opinion: I will keep buying this I already found a BOGO sale and picked up two full size tubes. This will definitely stay in my skin care routine unless I find a better mask out there.

Masqueology Pore Minimizing Mask Review

Masqueology Pore Minimizing Mask

clickR Skincare Acne Spot Serum Review

clickR Skincare Acne Spot Treatment

CEW Insiders' Choice Beauty Box

This box is packed with so much stuff I couldn't actually believe it, not everything is high end product but most of it is stuff I wouldn't have tried just browsing at my local drug store. Several of the items included things I was really wanted to try but couldn't justify the price point (what if I didn't like it?) Other items I wasn't too sure about until I could try them. I think the best part of this box is that most of these items can be picked up at your local drugstore and the prices aren't too bad.

So here is what was in the box:

Beauty Army June Box

July Beauty Army Box

Likewise Facial Moisturizer + Sun Protectant Review

Likewise Facial Moisturizer + Sun Protectant SPF 50 Normal to Oily

Birchbox Welcome Box-June

Since I am moving in the next couple of months I wanted to stock up on Birchbox samples so I ordered another 3 month gift subscription. Gift subscriptions work like this you can get 3, 6, or 12 month subscription for someone, including yourself. With each gift sub they send out a welcome box with that months items and some all time favorites. This time I got a bunch of stuff I love and will use as soon as I allow myself.

 

Here is what I got:

Beauty Army

I finally got my invite for Beauty Army and at first I wasn't sure if I was actually going to sign up because the selection wasn't to my liking but then after some tweaking I found some great samples.

 So here is what I picked:

Skin Care Challenge Day 28

So it has almost been a month since I started this little endeavor of mine and things are not looking too good. So I had to stop using my toner because my face seemed to be getting even more sensitive and it felt like it was burning more than it should. Also my husband came home last weekend and he started getting a rash of some sort on his face and we don't know how or where he got it. Now I have a rash on my face but I don't know if I got it from him or if I am having a reaction to my new bareMinerals products. After doing some research I think it is caused from the bismuth oxychloride in my foundation, I plan on returning it to Sephora and getting the matte foundation because it doesn't have bismuth oxycholride. But after wearing my bareMinerals (even with the rash/allergic reaction) my skin feels quite a bit softer. But now I am dealing with dry scaly patches on my face and they seem to feel a lot better once I use my Mary Kay Velocity moisturizer. I am hoping that bareMinerals works out but if not I ordered some samples from Alima Pure, which is bismuth free and they come in 7 gram jars instead of bareMinerals which is only 6 grams, also it is $2 cheaper. I also ordered some samples from Everyday Minerals and full sizes are even cheaper than Alima, at $12.99 it is the most realistic for me to stock up on.  I'll go into the differences once my samples arrive. Hopefully my skin will be back to normal so that I can take some nice photos in the Japanese tea garden with the husband after his reenlistment ceremony.

Skin Care Challange Day 19

Today I realized that I keep forgetting to mention the most important step in my skin care regimen HYDRATION! Before I started my own personal challenge (or war) on my skin I had made it a point to start drinking more water. I used to be notorious for drinking tons of soda and tea, and not enough water. Then my Brita water bottle with a built in filter became my new best friend, the top opened making it large enough to put ice in. That was a HUGE plus for me because I hate room temperature water. I drink anywhere from 2 to 3 bottles a day which usually gives me at least my minimum daily water intake. So hopefully my skin is benefiting from the regular hydration. I used to be notorious for drinking tons of soda and tea

Also I have added my Mary Kay Acne Treatment Gel to my daily routine. Even with two acne medicines in my regimen my skin is still getting oily. Even though the packaging warns that using them too much or with other acne treatments will dry out your skin and cause peeling. So far drying out my skin is not a problem. I do plan to up the use of my toner whenever I need to get the oil under control during the day, so I don't have to deal with the oily feel.

May Birchbox

So I was fairly disappointed in this box compared to my last one. But I did find a few things in it that I am happy with. Here is what I got:

April BirchBox

So I signed up for BirchBox last month since I decided that I need to buy something for myself every once in a little while. My first box came this month and I was soo excited to go through it and discovered a few interesting surprises.
 
After reading a few other blogs about beauty sample boxes I figured it would be good to figure out if I am getting my $10 worth of samples.

So first off I received: