Sunday, May 22, 2016

Is SK-II worth the hype? Influenster's SK-II campaign

Hello, friends! I am beyond excited to tell you about the SK-II Influenster campaign. These products were sent to me for free to review. I got the Facial Essence and a sheet mask to try (approx value of $56.50). If you are into Asian skincare and/or watch Youtube videos, you probably know how expensive SK-II is. It is for this reason I have never tried the products. The pictures below show the products and my skin before the products. Don't mind the tired look on my face, I was finishing my thesis. 

started using the essence daily. According to Sephora.com, "Facial Treatment Essence is enriched with more than 90 percent pitera—the main ingredient used to support the skin's renewal process—plus nourishing vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and organic acids to promote a healthy, natural skin cell renewal cycle. With daily application, this essence moisturizes, improves texture and clarity, and contributes to a more beautiful, balanced, and glowing complexion." I do not wholeheartedly agree with these claims. I have uneven, oily skin, but this made my face soft and smooth after cleansing. While this worked well on my face, I broke out horribly around my neck as I tried to use this product.  This was the only change in my skincare so I know unfortunately it was from the essence. While I liked the texture of my skin, I did not notice a new glowing complexion.


I decided to try the mask after I finished my thesis. Needless to say, my skin needed some hydration and comfort after the immense stress. Sephora's webstite states, "This 100 percent cotton mask drenches the skin with pitera’s fusion of vitamin, amino acids, minerals, and organic acids, while working to revitalize, comfort, and provide intense hydration. It immediately replenishes dehydrated skin, leaving it refreshed and cool." These claims are absolutely true. You can tell from the picture above I was ready for some relaxation! I cleansed my skin, then applied the sheet mask. As you can tell from the pictures below, the mask was too big for my face so I couldn't get the fit I wanted (not a big deal). I feel comfortable saying that this mask would fit almost any face shape. The mask itself was drenched with the pitera essence. I left the mask on while I painted my nails and read  some magazines.   I included the picture with the flash on so you can see how saturated the mask is. The packet itself had enough essence for me to moisturize my legs and arms. I'm a horrible blogger and forgot to take a picture of my "after" skin. Please forgive me. My skin felt cool, hydrated, and replenished! 


















My overall grade for this Voxbox would be a B-. The essence lasted a long time and made my skin feel soft, but didn't live up to all of the claims. The mask was amazing! If my skin needed extra hydration in the future I would definitely spend $17 on another SK-II mask. Thanks for reading! #myessence #skii


Saturday, February 27, 2016

Influenster and Loreal Revitalift #AskSkinExpert

I was lucky enough to try these products for FREE from Influenster and Loreal. This line is supposed to moisturize, fill in lines, and plump the skin. The first picture shows everything I received. The prices and products below are from Ulta.com.



L'ORÉAL

$24.99
Visibly improve skin's volume with L'Oreal's Revitalift Volume Filler Serum and Cream. This advanced formula with a concentrated dose of Hyaluronic Acid and Fibroxyl works to help stabilize volume, improving skin's cushion, fullness and resilience. Lift away the appearance of lines and wrinkles, day after day. Volume Filler revolumizes facial zones to restore youthful skin fullness, regain smooth, lifted appearance and fill out wrinkles and expression lines.

I liked this product. It moisturized while making my skin feel full and plump. For my oily skin this was a perfect amount of moisture.

L'ORÉAL

$24.99

Triple Action Skincare:
  • 1. Repair Wrinkles: Revitalift Triple Power with Hyaluronic Acid rapidly penetrates skin to fight each wrinkle.
    2. Reduce Under eye bags: Revitalift Triple Power with instantly cooling applicator and stimulating caffeine helps reduce dark circles and under eye bags.
  • 3. Lift the Eye Area: Revitalift Triple Power with concentrated Pro-Xylane, which has been shown to enhance collagen production, lifts and firms sagging skin around the eye area. I did NOT like this product! My eyes were stinging, irritated, and red every time I used it. I could only use it twice due to these issues.

Revitalift Volume Filler Cream

$24.99
Visibly improve skin's volume with L'Oreal's Revitalift Volume Filler Serum and Cream. This advanced formula with a concentrated dose of Hyaluronic Acid and Fibroxyl works to help stabilize volume, improving skin's cushion, fullness and resilience. Lift away the appearance of lines and wrinkles, day after day. Volume Filler revolumizes facial zones to restore youthful skin fullness, regain smooth, lifted appearance and fill out wrinkles and expression lines.
 I LOVE this product! I thought it would be too moisturizing for my oily skin, but it wasn't. With that said, my skin is drier during these winter months. I used this every morning after cleansing my skin. This worked like a moisturizer and primer in one! My makeup went on smoother and laster longer. Although the moisturizer was great, I hated the strong, floral fragrance. I wish companies did away with unnecessary fragrances.

L'ORÉAL

$24.99
 As you can see from the picture below, this was much thicker than the day cream. This was too moisturizing for my skin. I broke out after using this for three nights. Similar to the day cream, this was too fragrant for my liking. If you have normal to dry skin, you will like this product. My skin always felt plump and moisturized in the morning after using this product.
Overall, I am happy with the day cream and the serum. I am thankful I continue to try products from Influenster. What voxbox did you get? Thank you so much for reading!