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. 

I 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

YSL Touche Eclat Primer and Blur Perfector review

Hello, readers! I have an interesting post today regarding the NEW YSL Touche Eclat products. I got this free to review courtesy of Influenster. The first pictures show the beautiful packaging. I got the full size Blur Perfector ($55 at Sephora) and a deluxe sample of the primer (full size $52).  

Can we talk about the packaging?! The Blur Perfector is stunning! The outside box is the signature YSL gold with black writing. The compact is a feminine pink with the signature logo. It also comes with a black velvet purse to keep the compact safe. It's to the right of the compact. I. Was. Sold. 

This is the inside of the compact. The silicone/gel texture is a pale pink to help minimize imperfections. I do think the product follows through on the promises. I did see a difference in my pores on my nose when I applied the product. Unfortunately, the product also made me oily. Another downside is applicator. The compact does NOT have a space for the applicator. I assume this was an oversight/mistake that is inexcusable.

 The star for me was the primer. I like the doe foot applicator because I get just enough for my skin. It is a silicone based primer, which does not typically work for my skin. The gold glitter did not show up on my skin as glitter. Instead I got a decent glow from the gold and silicone. I used this just on my cheeks and forehead to fill in my fine lines and imperfections. I saw a different in my makeup application in both areas. I thought this gave me a strobing effect that is a trend right now. Both areas were luminous after applying the rest of my makeup.

The downside, I did not see my makeup lasting longer than normal. In fact, my makeup wore off sooner on my cheeks and forehead; the two areas where I used the YSL primer. However, I do not just fault the primer. It was 110 degrees when I tried the primer.

I have to say, I am still getting used to the strobing trend. It is not ideal for hot weather, as in 110 degrees, which was when I took this picture below. I took this after using both products and running errands for two hours. Again, I think this dewy look would be better for me in the fall/winter when I'm not as oily. I can't wait to report back when I revisit these products.

Bite Beauty's got a hold on me!

Hi. I'm Jenn and I'm a Bite Beauty addict. Buckle in because this post is a longer review of various Bite Beauty products. This company took a chunk out of my wallet and my heart! These are my new holy grail lip products. They are pricey, but the most pigmented lip product I've tried. I decided to get the holiday gift sets so I could try as many colors as possible.

My addiction started with the first two pictures. I wanted to find a new nude color so the $12 double-ended Luminous Creme lip set was perfect. Restina and Musk are perfect nude colors for my skin tone. In the same visit to Sephora I purchased the $25 Best Bite Remix set. The colors range from nude to red in a durable travel case.  The last item I purchased was the Cinnamon Plumping Oil. Sephora states, "A 99%-natural cinnamon- and Resveratrol-infused lip oil that naturally hydrates, shines, and plumps the appearance of lips in one spicy swipe." I LOVE lip plumpers and cinnamon so this is a definite win for me. I like to wear this over any of the colors below.  

 I have swatches on my hand of the four colors (with and without flash). From the bottom up: Sable, Rhubarb, Winterberry, Pomegranate.

The bottom two colors are Musk and Restina from the $12 Mix n Mingle mini. 

This is Sable, a my-lips-but-better color. I hate when I look in the camera so I'll be looking off into space in the others lol.

 Rhubarb is beautiful for a little more color on the lips.

 Winterberry busts me out of my comfort zone. I love this berry color for winter.

Pomegranate is a bright, but wearable red. I've tried to tone this down by layering a nude color by Bite and it's still beautiful, but wearable.

The is the actual size of each pencil. I know it may not look like a lot of product, but a little goes a VERY long way. 

After I tried and feel madly in love with the two sets, I had to get more. I went back to Sephora to get two lip crayons. Again, I wanted to try the minis before committing to the full size. Glace and Augburgine chanted my name from their containers. I heard awesome reviews from Youtubers so I got Glace because I can never have enough nude lip colors in my life. I wanted to try a vampy purple since I don't have any in my lip collection. Augburgine proved to be a perfect fit in my lip wardrobe. 

Augbergine

Glace

Swatches of both

I like variety when it comes to my lip products.  My lip collection is complete with nudes, berries, red, and wine colors. With how pigmented these are, the minis will last for quite some time. I'm now saving up for more Bite Beauty products like the Agave lip mask and the BB for lips. I assure you, my love affair will continue. Let me know what other Bite colors and/or products I should try!

November trash and treasures

These are products I finished in November. Some of them I used for an extended period of time before finishing them. 

I will NOT repurchase the Aveeno lotion. It was not moisturizing whatsoever, definitely trash. Treasure- CeraVe is my go-to cream. My skin gets extremely dry from the Vegas weather conditions. This lotion does the trick and allows me to wear my perfumes since it's unscented. 

Treasure-The Coochy shave cream is another favorite. I got this from a former consultant for FREE! This is the only product that prevents razor burn and ingrown hairs for me. 

Treasure-The Living Proof Style Extender works well for my long hair to conditioner and prevent excess oil at my scalp. 

Trash-Carol's Daughter Marula hair mask didn't do anything for my hair. I am sticking to the Carol's Daughter Manoi mask.

Trash-The Beauty Protector in the red bottle smells amazing, but did nothing to treat my hair.

BBW's Sky had a beautiful, perfume scent, but it's discontinued.  

Treasure-The almond body wash was moisturizing without a heavy scent.

Treasure-I would/will buy Gucci Guilty, La Vie Est Belle, and Juicy Noir. These are very different from each other so I can build my perfume wardrobe.

Treasures- I love my Proactiv Plus skincare. This is the only line gentle enough to treat my skin. I never liked the original Proactiv, but this one is amazing. Another treasure is the Algenist eye cream; I just can't bring myself to spend $50 on an eye cream. Glamglow is my holy grail mask. Partnered with my Proactiv, my skin is pretty clear most of the time. Clinique's Take the Day Off Balm is my holy grail makeup remover. It is gentle, but extremely effective.
Trash- The Clarins moisturizer worked well on my dry areas like my cheeks. I don't think I'd spend the money for a moisturizer I can't use on my whole face. I was so let down by the Dr. Brandt Vacuum Pore treatment. This did absolutely nothing for my pores. While I liked the Epice exfoliator, my Proactiv Plus does the same thing. The Clarisonic Radiance AM cleanser and serum samples broke me out. I loved the PM cleanser because it removed dead skin and makeup without being harsh.

Treasures-Garnier BB cream is my go-to light foundation. I wish it didn't have so many unnatural ingredients, but the coverage is great. The Laura Mercier radiance primer added a glow to my skin without making me look more oily. I LOVE the Becca Ultimate for full coverage. This covers as well as Dermablend! I liked layering the Pur and Benefit mascaras. Unfortunately, I got a horrible eye infection shortly after starting these mascaras. I'm not sure if it was from these products or something else.

Trash-the Cover FX BB cream didn't provide enough coverage for me. I couldn't get the Stila bronze cream to ever look good on me. I tried it under foundation, over foundation, as a bb cream, and as a bronzer.    The Starlooks lip liner was a horrible pink color that never looked right on me. While I enjoyed both Benefit primers, I wouldn't pay the price for the full sized ones since they both contain Dimethecone-a serious skin irritant for me. Last, I like the Nyx powder, but I'm not overjoyed about it. The coverage is awesome and it never looks chalky. Again, I'm trying to get into more all-natural products to prevent skin irritations for me

Thanks for reading! What did you use up in November?

How I get free samples

This week was an awesome week for me in terms of samples/free products. I had numerous posts via social media requesting an explanation of how I scored everything for free. I'm always excited to share my free findings and want to help others as well. First, I got free cleaning supplies thanks to Zep and Crowdtap. Crowdtap is a free website where you complete surveys and tasks in hopes of getting free products. This was my first campaign with Crowdtap, but soon after I got accepted into two other campaigns. 

Now on to the fun part! I attended a free class at Sephora on Saturday. Bumble and Bumble reps taught participants how to do a messy ponytail, fishtail braid, and a casual twist. I LOVE the free classes at Sephora because I always learn new information. I went in set on NOT buying anything, but that never happens.
I ended up getting this multipurpose BB Dryspun product. I can use this to add volume and "grit" to my updo styles to make them stay in place. The Clinique Take the Day Off Balm is my HG makeup removing product! It is a solid, but turns into an oil to take everything off gently. Next, I became a Bite Beauty lip crayon and lipstick lover. These are hands-down my favorite lip products. I can't wait to show you swatches in an upcoming post! I spent $.50 thanks to a return.

Of course I had to stop in Victoria's Secret for a free pair of panties, so I picked up four lip balms (I ended up returning them, details in a minute) to get a 2nd pair of panties for free. After Victoria's Secret, I went to Kohl's for their beauty event. I turned in two makeup items for a $10 gift card. My strategy is to take a non-makeup lover (spouse, friend, etc) to get an additional gift card. The first purchase was the Oscar Blandi set is an amazing deal for $10.50 because I love the dry shampoo and texturizing spray. The hair tool isn't as difficult to use as I thought thanks to the handy pamphlet. The Macadamia shampoo was $4! I love the hair mask, so I was excited to try the shampoo for the great price. I think I'm the only one on the planet that hasn't tried EOS. Since I got the EOS kit, I decided to take the VS lip balms back. I picked up this set at the bargain price of $6.99. In total, I spent about $1 on tax and the Kohl's employees gave me all of the other products for FREE! Sign up for Kohl's emails because that's how I ALWAYS find out about the beauty events.

The picture below shows off my free VS and Sephora goods. From Sephora the BB reps gave us shampoo, conditioner, and repair samples. I had a Sephora cast member/employee make samples of three concealers and Bite's Agave lip masks. I LOVE Sephora because the employees are extremely helpful and willing to make samples of anything.

Last, I WON a giveaway for a Cynthia Rowley bag, eye shadow palette, and eye liner. I'm going to do a review on these products in the near future.