Sunday, December 18, 2011

Review: L'oreal Skin Expertise Go 360 Clean Cleanser


HI Everyone,
  I am always interested in skincare, probably because I do have skin that while is not acne prone, does have blackheads and easily breaks out (primers + my skin = disaster!) So my review today is about the L’oreal Skin Expertise Go 360 Clean cleanser in the Anti-Breakout Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment. There are other available like the Cream Cleanser, Exfoliating Scrub, Sensitive Skin Cream Cleanser,  and a Facial Cleanser. All of the products come with the little scrublet that pops out of the bottle itself. I got the bottle with an additional trial sized Exfoliating Scrub, so I ended up being able to test and try out two products for the price of one. I have combination skin for those that are wondering of course skincare is different for everyone, because of climate, pollution, stress, age and our own body chemistries (just a side note!)
My first impression about this product was just “oh my gosh what a gimmick”. I didn’t purchase this when it came out and just thought this is nothing worthwhile. It was not until I saw it on half-off that I figured okay let me try this thing. 

The Anti-Breakout cleanser is with salicylic acid, which is something I tend to look for in my products because it seems to work best for my problems. The cleanser is a clear gel with a gentle cleanser smell. I only need one or two drops of the cleanser onto the scrublet for my face, so it really has taken a while to work through the product (I’m about ¾ through the bottle, use it daily, and it has been about 2 months since I bought it). It foams up nicely and I do feel the cleanser working. My skin always feels nice and clean when I am done, so the cleanser itself is great. I have fewer blemishes, and when I do feel one coming up, it kill the bacteria quickly so there is a shorter amount of time that I have to deal with the blemish.  Thumbs up on the Cleanser!

The scrublet is an interesting little thing. It is a soft rubber (silicone I suppose) that has little finger-like bristles. This does help the product get onto my skin, and while I don’t think it is the be-all-end-all, it does help remove makeup. It works better than just my fingers or a washcloth.  While I won’t buy the product specifically for the scrublet, I do find that it does come in handy. It has a little suction cup back so I just stick this on my tiled shower and never have to go in search of it.  

The one portion that I really disliked about the product was the trial sized exfoliator. It says it has natural apricot beads, but it did nothing exfoliating for my skin. It uses a clear gel as the base, but the beads get stuck in the scrublet and just clog it up stopping any actual scrubbing. I would pass on this product, thank goodness I got it as a free trial. I won’t go back for this. When I think of a scrub I want a few abrasive grainuals…this was nothing in comparison. 

The Cleanser and Scrublet fold neatly into each other, so it doesn’t take up much space. I will be repurchasing this product once I finish all the rest of my cleansers because it makes my skin feel so clean and refreshed! 

Run Down: 
Acne Cleanser: LOVE
Scrublet: cute addition but not a part that I will be buying specifically just to have
Exfoliating Scrub: Not exfoliating, not buying!
Have you tested the other products from this line out? How did you find them?

Xoxo
Ema

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Walgreens Haul


Hi All!
  
So I was wandering through the aisles of Walgreens trying to find products that caught my eye. I had bought most of the sale products and most of anything that did catch my eye, I realized I had about 4 similar products. So instead of buying I figured I would pass this time and save my money for the holidays. Speaking of holidays, Walgreens started to put out the holiday “gift packs” and I got interested. I remember Color Workshop products were rather nice a few yars ago, but those other super SUPER low unknown brands got me thinking. I couldn’t help but look through what was available and pick them up to see how well they actually worked.  My total purchase was 6 bucks even! Not bad for testing out some products! Let me know if you want me to do a full review on any products !
All Products with packaging

Products open
Wet N Wild Coloricon Singles in Envy and Nutty: As most of us know, there has been a large clearance of these singles and since I did not have any yet, I went for it and picked up two colors I figured I would love.  At 1.09 per shadow and bogo50% I got a deal! 

With Flash
Profusion Brightening Eyes (brown palette) : I saw this product in the back and did not recognize it. This palette goes for 99 cents and is like Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips or the Milani Strips.  All have shimmer and at least for me, all are colors I would wear (PF had colors I almost never wear). Just from a first impression, there seems to be a few nice colors and would be a practical item to take if you want neutrals.  You can darken up the look or make it lighter. 



Without Flash

The Color Workshop Beauty Book in Sun Goddess: Obviously this is a “knockoff” version of the ELF Beauty Book, but at $2.99 it seemed a worthwhile try.  It comes with 10 eyeshadows, an eye highlight, a liner, and a spongetip double sided applicator. Oh yes, and a decent size mirror. One thing I realized right off the bat, when you open this “book” you can’t use the products, you need to open a box portion to use the shadows. My gut reaction is to cut away the plastic cover sheet to make it more usable as a “book” because the “palette” is a thin plastic that you have no way of traveling with.

I have yet to test these products, but as I do, I will give some more information about them and a few reviews.Have you picked up any of these products?  I hope you all are doing well and are staying healthy.
Xoxo
Ema