Dreaming in Blush: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

A peek into my Beauty Cabinet

As a self-proclaimed beauty addict, I have a LOT of products. Way more than I would care to admit, actually. So… erm… cheers to… admitting it? LOL!

I was doing a little bathroom cleanout and thought I would share my favorite little corner with you – my beauty cabinet. I had one in my old apartment as well, which you can see in this video, but it didn’t hold nearly the amount that my current one does! The only annoying part is that I still haven’t figured out how to adjust the shelves, even though I know that it’s possible… so for now I have just worked with it exactly how it came when I moved in. There’s a ton of stuff in there, so let’s get started!

The bottom shelf has the items that I reach for the most often. Normally as I get ready I just keep this cabinet open, and pull items out as I need them. The bottom row has makeup wipes, q-tips, cotton pads, muslin cloths, washcloths, samples that I’m currently trying, and a container holding my most used skincare products. Let’s see what’s in that container:

I have 3 eye creams (I know, who needs that many?):

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado: By far my favorite of the bunch. This is my current favorite and I can’t wait to do a full review on this product. It’s so nice, and more moisturizing than any eye cream I’ve tried. I am in love with this little guy.

Kiehl's Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Eye Cream: I have been laying a bit of this under the creamy eye with avocado and I really like the combination. I don’t think that it is moisturizing enough on it’s own (but then again, I have super dry skin), but is fantastic under another eye product (I’m looking at you, creamy avocado cream).

Kiehl's Rosa Arctica Eye Cream: This one is more of a balm than a cream, and it’s a bit odd to be honest. I think I like it. I think?

I have my toner for “dull skin days”, Caudalie Beauty Elixir, and my spot treatment, Lush Grease Lightning. I have my Kate Somerville Deep Tissue Repair Cream, my Kate Somerville Serum Sunscreen SPF 55, my beloved Pevonia Myoxy-Caviar Timeless Repair Cream, and my Eve Lom Cleanser. My deodorant and my favorite CVS eye makeup remover completes the bunch.

The next shelf up is a mixture of skincare goodies. I have a little of everything, from serums to toners to treatments. Here they are, from left to right:

Pevonia Botanica Myoxy-Caviar Timeless Eye Contour

PevoniaBotanica Myoxy-Caviar Timeless Repair Serum

Pevonia Botanica O2ptimal C Complex

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo

Eve Lom TLC Radiance Cream

Eve Lom Rescue Mask

LAVANILA Deodorant in Fresh Vanilla Lemon

Goldfaden MD Needle-less

Sisley Paris Express Flower Gel

John Masters Organics Lavender Hydrating Mist

Josie Maran Argan Oil

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

Lush Lovely Jubblies

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream

The shelf above that has more skincare and body products. From left to right:

Pevonia Botanica Myoxy-Caviar Timeless Repair Lotion

Pevonia Botanica Myoxy-Caviar Timeless Balm Cleanser

Pevonia Botanica Rejuvenating Dry Skin Mask

Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub

Clarins Gentle Renewing Brightening Peel

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Lotion

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Body Butter

Victoria's Secret Pink Fresh & Clean Body Butter

The next shelf up has a bunch of yummy hair products. Here they are, from left to right:

Phyto Actif Volumizer Spray

John Frieda Frizz-Ease 100% Shine Glossing Mist

Frederic Fekkai Ironless Straightening Balm

John Masters Organics Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray

NuMe Pure Remedy Oil

Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide

Kerastase Elixir Ultime

Macadamia Healing Oil Spray

CHI Silk Infusion

Kerastase Nectar Thermique

The very top shelf just has a few makeup bags that I use when I travel. It's a bit too high to reach easily, so it's the perfect place to store things that I don't need as often!

As you can see, I have quite a few products hidden away behind a pretty cabinet. You never know what you will find when you walk into a beauty addicts house ;)

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Lush Lovely Jubblies Review: A Love Letter to a Boob Cream

Lovely Jubblies is a Lush product that has always intrigued me. It's marketed as a "firming breast cream" which is meant to, according to Lush, "keep your knockers in tit top shape". Can we just take a moment and laugh together at the awesomeness of that statement? Who came up with that? I need to work at Lush. I've heard amazing things about this product from several YouTubers, and as a top-heavy woman decided it was my duty to try this product out and report back to you. The only problem? The price. I know I spend a lot more on beauty products than your average girl, but the price is what kept me from this product for so long. It's $25.95 for 3.5 oz., and even though Lush is fairly pricey throughout the store I felt this one in particular was over-priced. So what made me give in?

I was at Lush awhile back and made friends with the sales girl. After catching me eyeing our friend Jubbles here she said, "You have to try that! It's my secret weapon for under my eyes. I put a tiny bit on as a nighttime eye cream, and when I wake up I have zero bags or puffiness!" I. Was. Sold.

You guys know me and my "under eye/sleeping" issues. So into the basket it went and under my eyes it was placed that night. And for under my eyes, I am still unsure. The reason being is that my eyes stung, but I was using a bunch of new products all at once so it might be unfair to blame Jubbles. I'm going to try it again once I settle into a more consistent nighttime skincare routine (i.e. not trying 2 new products every night).

Eye stinging aside, I am obsessed with this product. It features meadowsweet infusion to tighten your skin and tiger lily petals to firm and to help fight the forces of gravity. There's beeswax, almond, and avocado oil to soften and hydrate your skin, and yummy-smelling flower infusions like orange blossom, rose, jasmine, and ylang ylang. It's a gorgeous product, and is perfect for all of your "wobbly" bits, not just your chest. Go ahead and use this on your boobs, butt, hips, stomach - anywhere you want to tighten. I really do think this works; I don't think it's all "placebo effect". My body just feels and looks slightly better after using this stuff. I've found that if I apply it right after my shower while my skin is still damp, I use less and it seems to lock in the hydration. So there I was, applying this and then reaching for my Laura Mercier Soufflé Body Crème for the rest of my body... and that's when I discovered it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am the next Christopher Columbus. I'm Isaac Newton. I am a DISCOVERER. I'm... erm... *struggles to think of female discoverer* *googles female discoverers* *finds a website listing 10...* Who the heck are all of these people? Huh?

I digress...

I discovered my favorite combination of products of all time. Lush Lovely Jubblies + Laura Mercier Soufflé Body Crème in Crème Brûlée = the most delicious scent I've ever smelled. I have fallen in love with this combination. I smell like a baked good when I'm done applying these two, and I will never again be without this combo. A boy happily informed me, "You smell like a popcorn donut" and I took that as an amazing compliment since he likes both popcorn and donuts (even though I'm not sure that's how I would describe the scent).

I apply the Lush product where I need it and the Laura Mercier everywhere else, and let it sink in for a few minutes before getting dressed. It's heaven. It smells so delicious. And I knew I needed to share both my love for this product and my love for this combination. That is all for now.

Xoxo,

"Elle The Discoverer"

P.S. I was happily snapping the below pictures and had no idea that JUBBLES WAS SLOWLY MELTING AND FALLING OUT OF HER CONTAINER!

Btw, I instagrammed the bottom picture and many people didn't get it. It's cause of Wizard of Oz? The Witch? That Melts? Get it?

Oh and my new blog launched! Check it out :) Click here!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wednesday Review: Lush Love Lettuce and Ayesha Fresh Face Mask Review

If you guys have been following my online beauty addictions for any length of time then you will know my love for a brand called Lush. I have tried numerous products over the years, going through phases of being addicted to bath bombs, and then to solid shampoo bars, and then to the comforter bubble bar… my Lush addiction knows no boundaries.

But, for this post we are going to put my love for all of the aforementioned products aside, because today I want to talk about their Fresh Face Masks. I have tried a couple in the past (Brazened Honey and Oatifix), but I never liked them enough to continue purchasing them considering their super short shelf life. Because they are made with all fresh ingredients, they have to be refrigerated and have a maximum shelf life of 3 weeks. The shelf life also depends on when you are shopping; depending on how fresh they are in the store, it might be less than 3 weeks.

I was lucky enough to be shopping at a Lush at the peak of my skincare obsession and on the very day that they had received their batch of fresh face masks. Having not tried one in over a year I decided to give a new one a try. After talking to the Lush sales girl I had narrowed my selections down to Love Lettuce or Cupcake. One look at the two in my hand and Blair yelled (yes, yelled amok in the Lush store), “Don’t pick Cupcake! I hate that one! It smells like chocolate cake but in a really bad way!” She was so adamant that I immediately selected Love Lettuce and was about to check out when the sales girl talked me into also trying the Ayesha mask. “It’s a toning and firming mask. It’s named after a fictional priestess who bathed in the flame of immortality. This is my go to when my skin feels tired.” She had me at the word “toning”. Into my basket of goodies this mask went, and I was on my way to the Yogurt Shop, which Blair had been craving “for years”.

This was 3 weeks ago. Since then I have used the Love Lettuce mask 4 times and the Ayesha mask twice. They are expiring today (sad me) so I thought it was good timing to review them for my “Wednesday Review”. Let’s start with Love Lettuce.

This is marketed as a “balancing mask for all skin types”. It has kaolin clay to tighten pores and draw out impurities, honey for moisture, ground almonds to gently exfoliate, fresh seaweed to nourish and soften, and 100% pure French lavender oil to balance your t-zone and ease any inflammation, like active breakouts. I love the description of it being a “lavender and almond love letter to dull, flaky skin”. It cost $6.95 for 2.1 oz. I apply this after I have cleansed my skin and leave it on for 10 minutes (or 20… naughty), and then rinse it off with warm water, rubbing in circles to exfoliate as it is removed. I love this. I love that it is green, which brings me back to my early teen years; I love that it is clay based, so it dries and tightens on your skin, which makes it feel like it’s super “deep” into your pores. I love the ingredients; I love how my skin feels afterwards, refreshed, brightened, not tight, not as dull. This is a Lush must-try, in my opinion. This is definitely the best that I have tried from their Fresh Face Masks.

Moving onto Ayesha. This mask is also $6.95 for 2.1 oz. It has fresh kiwi and asparagus to tighten mature skin. I do want to point out that even though it is marketed for “mature” skin, the sales girl assured me that this is actually the mask that many young celebrities pick up, because it is so firming and tightening that it is like a “face lift” in a jar. She said it would be perfect before an event or a special night out. In addition to the kiwi and asparagus, it also has elderflower, honey and witch hazel. It is meant to give you a youthful, gorgeous glow that lasts throughout a night out. I found this mask to be runnier than Love Lettuce, and therefore I had to use quite a bit more, and it didn’t dry completely. It stayed kind of tacky throughout the 10 minutes it was on my face and by the end I was kind of ready to get it off. It did seem to work; my skin seemed glowy and happy, but out of the 6 times I did a mask in the last 3 weeks I only reached for this one twice.

I can’t say that I didn’t like it, because I did, I just liked Love Lettuce more. If I had only purchased this one and not Love Lettuce I might be on here writing a rave review about this mask, which makes me feel bad for Ayesha’s luck, but she is immortal anyway so I’m sure she’s okay ;)

Yikes, Ayesha looks gross here. Not that it's normal to swatch face masks but hey! Gotta do it right, ya know? So here they are, swatched super close up on my hand.

Overall I will definitely be repurchasing Love Lettuce again. And, since they are expiring tonight I am going to get one more use out of them, and I’m sure you can guess which one I am going to pick. Yup – Love Lettuce.

P.S. Somehow my individual pictures of the face masks look fake - like stock photos! I'm getting quite good at these beauty pics; maybe I should quit my day job and be a full time face mask photographer :P

Love Lettuce:

Agar Agar Gel , Kaolin , Honey (Mel) , Fullers Earth , Glycerine , Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis) , Ground Almond Shells (Prunus dulcis) , Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis) , Lavender Oil (Lavandula augustifolia) , Chlorophyllin , *Geraniol , *Limonene , *Linalool , Perfume

Ayesha:

Fullers Earth , Honey (Mel) , Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) , Lime Tree Flowers (Tilia europaea) , Glycerine , Fresh Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) , Fresh Organic Kiwi Fruit (Actinidia chinensis) , Kaolin , Witch Hazel Extract (Hamamelis virginiana) , Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena) , Rosemary Oil (Rosmarinus officinalis) , Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin) , Elderflower Vinegar , Bentonite Gel , *Geraniol , *Limonene , *Linalool , Perfume

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

In's and Out's, a ramble, and some deals

Today is one of those days where I just want to chat, write and read blogs. I used to do a series called “In's and Out's” on my old blog and many of you loved it, so I thought one of those would be perfect today. Pinecone is curled up next to me, having worn himself out by chasing one of my EOS lip balms around the floor, so while he sleeps I’ll have a little blog ramble:

In:

True Blood: I stopped watching season 5 halfway through (was it just me or did it feel like a filler season?) but with the new season starting I decided to play catch up, and I am hooked again. It’s such a weird show but I find it oddly comforting. Lafayette is by far my favorite character.

Chemical Exfoliants: Still loving my Cane & Austin pads. They make me feel like I’m giving my skin a treatment each and every night.

Puppies: I have major puppy fever. I want one! But, I probably won’t be getting one anytime soon. I want to make sure that I have enough time to completely devote a few months to potty training before I make that kind of commitment. Le sigh… maybe one day!

Living Alone: I was really unsure if I was going to like living alone but it turns out that I love it! It’s strange, but in some ways it has made me more outgoing and makes me get out of the house more – maybe because I have to in order to get any sort of human interaction. Plus, I love knowing everything will be exactly where I left it.

Big Brother: It starts tomorrow!! I am so excited, as this is one of my favorite shows! I’ve had it written down on my calendar for ages it seems. I cannot WAIT to start watching!

BLT's: Absolutely my weakness. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted bread... *swoon*

Out:

Diet Coke (and all other sodas): I have given this up many times over the years, but I don’t think I have gone this long without a single sip of soda ever. It has been 20 days since I have had a sip, and they say it only takes 21 days to form or break a habit, so I think I might be very close to breaking my addiction. I’ll admit though, yesterday was really hard. I had major cravings all day long and nothing would quench it. But… I persevered! Just call me Bella Swan, whom eventually had that baby even though everyone wanted to get rid of it.

Being Unorganized: Ever since the move I have been SO disorganized. My new apartment just doesn’t have any organizational structure yet, and my old one was SO organized that in comparison I feel totally out of whack and stressed. I lose things all the time, I can never find something in a pinch, there’s STILL boxes that aren’t unpacked because I have no where to put things… moving is not fun, lol.

Ikea: I have such a long list of projects that I want to do to this apartment, and many of them involve bits and pieces from Ikea. But… there is a problem. Ikea stresses me out! I have never once been there where I haven’t left feeling totally overwhelmed and stressed out. It’s probably because they don’t have enough people working to help you when you need it, and there are so many options for things that most of the time you have questions!

The good thing is that I don’t have a lot of “out’s”! Moving on…

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Back when I started dreaming up this blog, and made it my New Year’s Resolution to start one, I actually came up with two ideas. I wanted to do this one, based on beauty with a sprinkle of fashion, but I also wanted to do a home décor/organizing/lifestyle blog. Now, most people end up combining everything that they want to blog about into one blog, but I have this strong sense that they should be kept separate. I feel that some days I want to read about beauty, fashion or anything else super frivolous and girly, and other days I want to read about more practical things, like DIY stuff, or organizing tips, or recipes, or healthy lifestyle tips. I don’t necessarily want to go to the same blogs on these different days. There is something about the “feel” of a blog that draws me to it, and as a Gemini I have two different main feelings on any given day. (I joke about the Gemini bit, as I don’t take it that seriously, but that IS the strong point about Gemini’s…)

Anyway, the point of that ramble is that I am thinking of launching a second blog that will be décor, organizing and food based. I have considered just branching out this blog to encompass all of those topics but for some reason I really want to keep them separate. Does that make any sense? Would you guys be interested in reading and following both?

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Deals:

I was just going through my email and saw a deal for a free glittery Julep top coat for the 4^th of July and I thought I’d share it. It’s eligible with any patriotic polish purchase, just enter code “FIREWORKS” at checkout :)

Speaking of, have any of you signed up for their Monthly Maven box? Do you like it? I like that you are able to see what they are going to send you and then decide whether you want to pay for the box or skip the month – that’s different than any other monthly box that I know of. Let me know if you have tried this... I am considering signing up!

One more deal, I saw in my email that Stila is having a 20% off sale.

Save 20% on your Stila Cosmetics order! Use Code: 20OFF. Use link provided and discount will automatically be added at checkout. Expires 7/12/13. Not valid on sale items.

I feel much better now that I have had a good old fashioned blog chat. Leave me a comment below telling me what you think about the second blog!

xoxo,
Elle

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