Review: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum

I mentioned a few times that I would be writing a review on this highly esteemed Estee Lauder product. When I went to Macy's to pick up this sample (we bought a full bottle for my aunt) there were so many people there for the sample that I felt claustrophobic and incredibly lucky to get any at all. I even purchased a few of these tiny samples on Ebay for about $7-12/each, which is not at all a good price given that you can get the full size for about $85 at their website (but if you shop around you can get it for less).

The summary:

+ simple scent
+ goes on like...water
+ blends into skin well (really sinks in)
+ lessened discoloration (I think my skintone is more balanced now)
+ my skin is smoother (I think)

- a little pricey, but then again if I hunt long enough I shouldn't have to spend more than $40 on it (also Macys always has good gift sets)
- very small bottles (comes in 1 oz and 1.7 oz, 0.24 ml samples)
- suspicious color (yellowish clear?)
- scent is an acquired taste

Overall I am planning on buying it  :)

Have you tried this product?
Makeup Alley reviews 4.1/5

Review: 3Lab Perfect Cleansing Foam

With my Beautyfix purchase I received a face wash that I completely forgot about as I was even asking you for suggestions for a new face wash. I got this face wash from Beautyfix because I haven't found the perfect cleanser yet and 3Lab looked promising.  3Lab is a skincare company that focuses on anti-aging products, and their specialty lays in using "Nano-Claire GY™, the world’s first bio-engineered growth hormone and apple stem cell technology." If interested, why not check out blogger blog?

I've used this face wash to remove make up because...I forgot to get a make up remover.  I think I should buy one, actually, my skin has turned horrendous over the past three weeks.  Then again I googled make up remover and this video on how to use olive oil as a make up remover, so I think I will try it and share my results with all of you!

 I am much too lazy to list all the ingredients, which I'm sure you'll be able to find at their website by the way.  And if you wondered, this tends to retail for $40.00.

The summary:
+ creamy texture
+ foams well, but not excessively (means less chemicals, no?)
+ cleans well without drying
+ unscented
+ washes off make up

- high price ($40)
- not sure if it really removes make up as well as it should

Well this is the first of a series of reviews I'll hopefully finish posting by the end of the week.  I do have some news for you as well as a few items I've purchased throughout the week that will probably be worn this coming week.  They're mostly work appropriate, dark, black, and boring (? is black boring? not to me?), but I did buy a new pair of leather shoes for fall that I'm pretty excited about! :)

Have you tried any 3Lab products? Would you be interested in?

Mario Badescu Skincare Review

I think I mentioned a while back that I received this set after seeing Jenny review it on her blog ("The Skinnies").  After the last review I needed to take a break and sink back to my old stuff so I actually used this set when we first moved and I couldn't find all my cosmetics.  Some of these I'm still using, like the mask, but I think I've had them in use long enough to do a review.

 I thought it was cute that they had instructions on how to use their products XD

Enzyme Cleansing Gel - This ran out in like three days because yobo used it too. He said it's very good by which he means that he feels "clean" afterwards (this is prerequisite for cleansers, that he feels squeaky clean and non-oily afterward). I think it was good because it wasn't too "strong" but I wasn't too fond of the air freshner scent.

Special Cucumber Lotion - I love this. I think I may buy this next (when I finally run out of toner, that is) as even though I didn't use a cotton piece with it (first I couldn't find them, and then I realized that yobo used them up while I was wondering) I felt really refreshed. It's a similar feeling to the Cucumber toner by Kiehls--except maybe better? I've used up a few bottles of the one by Kiehls and it doesn't compare to this tiny bottle of yellow stuff! It's alcohol-free too :D

Hyarulonic Eye Cream - Not sure what to say about this, not finished with it yet and even though I've pushed it for yobo to use he can't say he feels any different with it. I think it's quite average...

Cucumber Tonic Mask - This was not bad.  I don't usually feel much with cucumber masks (in general) but I do realize that they're supposed to be hydrating and refreshing. Not sure if this is either so I wouldn't recommend it.

Collagen Moisturizer (SPF 15) - I had yobo try this for me since I didn't want to use anything with "collagen". He said the sample was too small for him to tell the difference. I sneaked some on me once but it wasn't extraordinary so I can't say either.

Kiwi Face Scrub - I still have this left, so I'm still using it as my "light" scrub (I alternate between "heavy" scrubs and "light" scrubs so that each gets used only once a week).  It's quite mild, a little goes a long way, and it doesn't hurt much. I do feel "cleaner" than if I had just used face wash so it does work, I think maybe I just prefer having more "seeds" to scrub my face. 

So overall I recommend the toner & the gel cleanser! To get your own sample, head over to Mario Badescu's Website and complete their skin survey. You'll then receive an email asking you if you want to try their samples (mine went into SPAM so you might want to check your spam folder). They also have this brand in stores like Nordstrom so maybe I'll head over there for their acne scar stuff (samples!).

I won a giveaway~~~! Project Runway PC Game!

Yesterday* I received in the mail the PC game I won from Alyssa & Vique over at Fashionaburu!

They even have cool black name cards (which yobo now covets, not that his aren't cool...I got them after all).

I LOVE receiving packages/mail (excluding bills) ^____^ Really makes my day to come home to a pile of packages! Which is why I've never shed the Ebay habit, and why sometimes I still order things online (incase if I'm too lazy to find a store). For example, today we also received yobo's new skincare set from Vichy USA:

This is the Normaderm set for acne control, which is why I purchased it for him and not myself (also that whole organic thing...). It's a really good deal so if you haven't tried Vichy yet I highly recommend it! I'm on the mailing list because years ago I was obsessed with their cooling eye gel (great for puffy eyes). This set, which was mainly the two bottles on the side: The moisturizer and the spritzer were $26.00 but then you get this awesome gift set in a gray cosmetic bag (so that men would not shy from buying this unisex brand) along with an acne control gel, toner, and cleaning lotion (total value $45.00). The same price can buy you other sets as well (not necessarily for acne control). I'm going to have him use it for a week and see how it compares with the other stuff he's tried for his acne. Yobo has actually used a lot of other products, some of the best being by Dermalogica and The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil. At the moment he's testing out Booth's Tea Tree Toner although he really prefers Kiehls Rose Water.

Would you like to know more about acne fighting products? Like yobo's skincare regime?

I have now updated the "Just Me" page to match my current skincare routine and I can always add a section for yobo if someone is interested in his anti-acne products and his experiences with them.

Lastly, some shameless self-advertisement: I'm selling my Sephora Smokey Eye Brush Kit for $14.99+4.99. The kit still retails for $48.00 in Sephora.

In the next month or so I might sell some other brushes as well, more specifically I'm thinking about giving up MAC 109 foundation brush because I think I prefer my other MAC brush over it, or even a sponge. I'm also expecting a large brush set in the mail and I'll definitely review it as soon as I get it! :D

Tinted Moisturizer vs BB Cream

I've used Tinted Moisturizer on top of my moisturizer for the past year and just recently I decided to buy a BB Cream as it is highly recommended.  BB cream stands for blemish balm and has as much coverage as a concealer (I think), while a tinged moisturizer is a moisturizer with tint (self-explanatory huh?). For my personal skincare, I have been trying to transition into Organic products for daily use as a way to prevent aging (and make sure that when I do age the chemicals will work optimally!).  So in the past I used a carrot based tinged moisturizer, which was very interesting because I smelled carrots on my face every morning, but since I couldn't find the brand anymore I decided to try Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer.  I purchased it in brightening (rather than a color) and it gives me a kind of "glow" that I like, but it does have SPF 20, which I don't like, because I prefer using my own SPF (which has PA +++). One of these days I will introduce my personal skincare routine, probably before I change brands again.

I purchased Skinfood's Gingko Green BB Cream...which is not green, if you wondered, and it is supposed to be "brightening". Now I normally buy brightening products because I often am sleep deprived and that means dark eye circles and sallow skin. I also am slightly anemic, so before I take my iron supplements (if I remember to bring them) I usually look a little pale. Strangely enough even if I get tanned I still manage to look pale. o.O Go figure.

You can see that the top is darker and bright (Laura Mercier) while the bottom is whiter (BB cream). For the record the "illuminating" cream by Laura Mercier is also one of the lightest tones they have.

So I like the illuminating effects of Laura Mercier, but I preferred using it at night, which means that I don't need SPF and then it just becomes a hindrance as SPF tends to make it greasy and oily.  Also, to use a tinted moisturizer you really do need to have better skin, and lately I've been breaking out so I have felt that it's not enough.

For the Skinfood BB cream I think the coverage is a little too good, and the other night when we went out I actually mixed it with my foundation to get the perfect mix. This is because I realized that the BB cream is pinkish and very "white", while my foundation is Nude tone (by Rimmel) so it's closer to my real skintone. So when I wear the BB cream I sometimes feel like it's a mask and I've had to reduce the amount I use and it spend extra time "blending" it into my skin.  I think maybe I could solve this problem by using a cream blush to match, but I'm so lazy in the morning I don't know if I can be bothered to. Maybe a cream bronzer now that summer is coming...


Overall, I think I do like the BB cream because of it's coverage, but I am going to mix it with my foundation on weekends or days I have time.  Or maybe I will be buy another tinted moisturizer now that this one is running out, maybe another organic one? Any suggestions?

If you've used either a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream, what is your opinion? Which do you prefer?