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

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

November Favorites :)

Hi All!

  Wow it is so nice to finally have the time to write over here! November is sure the calm before the storm of December and boy do professors love to dump HUGE projects at the end of November. I think that is my one big hate about November. I've been assigned several projects that amount between 50-150 pages of typed work (yay double major and minor!) ANYWAYS, I also finally managed to work out how to take my own photos for my blog and this is the first post I will not have googled an image. I'm still working out kinks and such since my room has really weird lighting, but it is a start! I do have a bunch of skincare products I've used this month but I wouldn't claim any as real loves than what I have mentioned. Although reviews will be on the way! So here are my faves! 

The tops of my products (Poor St. Ive's is on the last leg!)

A view of the various products uncapped.

Night Prowl Wet N Wild. LOVE IT!

Carmex: Oh my gosh, I really don’t know why I did not get this product earlier. I picked this up last minute because I had such chapped lips, and I figured “oh medicated” and got it. As you can tell I’m about halfway through my container of it. I plan on repurchasing this as soon as I run out of it. It kept my lips so hydrated and the medication left a lil minty tingle on my lips.

ELF Cream Eye Liner: I bought this a while back, (bout a year ago).  I went through a big eye pencil phase, but recently I went back to using the cream liner on my water line. I use a small brush, not presision brush to get a smudgy, smokey look. It’s not too harsh like black, but it is deep enough to still give attention to my eyes. 

Love & Beauty Black Mascara: This is a product from Forever 21 for about 2 bucks.  I LOVE this mascara, it has fibers that grab and coat every lash. I don’t see any clumping and is lightweight. Best of all, my lashes become SO long that when I compare them with a regular pair of false eyelashes, they end up being the same length!

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skintone: My original Holy Grail eyeshadow primer was reformulated and now I dislike it, so I had turned to NYX to try out their products. I like my primer to be a little more opaque because I do have purple veins in my eyelids and want to cover them nicely. This was my first NYX purchase and boy do I love it. The price is 6 bucks and I’ve been using it for over a month and still barely made a dent in it.  Hello new favorite primer!

Noxema: I’ve heard some bad rep about this product recently which made me a little sad, but then I realized different skintypes will be causing so many effects. I personally love this product, it leaves my face clean feeling with no film. I’ve had the same bottle of it for over a year and still is going strong although I AM on the last inch or so of it.

ELF Eyeshadow Duo in Mocha Swirl: Another product I have had in my collection for a while but had not used for a long time. The lighter shade is a beautiful champagne color and the dark brown is a nice rich brown. Both have shimmer, but are buttery in consistency. 

Wet N Wild Lipstick in 502A: I wish these lipsticks had names on the packaging and not just at the store on the swatches. But this is one color I have reached for almost everyday. It is a pink tone, with gold, silver and pink shimmer in it. It is not chunky shimmer but enough to look like you have a gloss. It’s not drying and just gives my face a more pulled together look. 

Wet N Wild Night Prowl: At first glance this nail polish is a black, but when you look closely there is purple shimmer throughout the polish! It is a great polish to go with a dark nail, but not full on black. It does need a good topcoat since it does leave a little bumpy texture. The way it goes on is like a jelly polish and two coats gives you a full opaque nail. I used this at one point for a black tip French Manicure and it looked SO cool. It does not chip away either, I actually tried to and ended up pulling off all the polish in one go (granted it DAMAGED my poor nails) but it was a little pain to remove (all that shimmer) But I still love it. I would repaint my nails several times in a row with this color (rare for me!)

St. Ives Apricot Scrub for Sensative Skin: I have used this product so much that I might be finishing it up in December! I like that it is a little more chunky because I just get the overall sense that my skin is really being exfoliated. I would love to repurchase but I have an Olay scrub that is waiting in the wings to be tested and reviewed! But no matter what else I purchase, this product always sneaks back into my routine. (hmmm little elves perhaps)

So that is all for my November favorites, and I hope this next month will be good to us all! Feel free to leave a comment below or if you would like to have a review on a product, I am always open to that! 

As always, hugs and health,

Ema

My Crusade: Changing a Life Long Struggle

Hi All,
   So this is a different type of blog post, this is a little bit about myself and I guess coming to a realization about my own health...and weight. Yes I said that scary word, weight. This is a rather hard post for me, because I came to terms about myself in that respect, and took to heart that I need to become HEALTHY. Operative word right there, healthy. I am what a doctor technically calls obese, and it is hard to hear that and trust me, even harder to shop for clothing. I always end up in tears and just walk out of a store hating myself. I am NOT on a crusade to get skinny or fit into an unrealistic size or try to drop a huge amount of pounds in unhealthy ways.  Marlena, the MakeupGeek (look her up, SUCH a sweet woman) really inspired me, because for her, it was not about getting skinny but also being healthy. I am always going to be a little "bigger" and understand that.

I guess I am writing this post as my official "HI YES I WILL BE ACCOUNTABLE" for my own health. I have a big motivation because according to my doctor, I am on my way to diabetes if I don't change now and being a person who faints with needles....needless to say I would not fair well with having to get my blood checked daily! *ick* Now I am terrified posting something like this, because I know that there are many who are out there who will be more than happy to rip on a blogger. But here I am :)  I would say that my crusade is to change my view/ relationship with food. I have found my happy place in my life, and after turning to food as my stable/ constant, I'm ready to let that go and to turn food into the thing that gives me energy...not happiness.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this. It is more of a public proclaimation that today, I, will change my life relationship to food. I will become healthy. PERIOD. Not "skinny" not "tiny" but healthy. I would like to be able to checkin with you all about my progress, because I do feel that health is somewhat of a "beauty" item. I would like an opinion about this because I completely understand if some feel that it is a huge waste of time, and no hating will be a result. I know that many ladies follow/ read for the beauty products. So I think that is all I wanted to really say. :)

 Oh and I will not be using any type of supplement, or cleansing, this is really just about a life long change.

Thanks everyone, and stay healthy this season :)
Ema

Mini Lip Haul

Hi Readers!
  So after watching a bunch of youtubers and gurus I realized that I had no "fall" lip colors. Granted I have my reds, my pinks, a bronze shade and random ones I am not crazy about but I had none that I could officially claim as my go-to dark lip color! SO, I had some time on my hands and walked my tush over to my nearest Walgreens. It was so funny, because I've been staying away from stores in general, but hey...sometimes I need a lil therapy haha. I picked up several items and came across some brand new lip colors that I had not seen from Jordana.

1. Rimmel Moisture Renew in 540 Burgundy Lustre
  I was SO nervous when I saw this color because it really is a deep wine color. There is some fine red shimmer, but overal the lipstick is very smooth and as the name states: moisturizing. It is sheer so I can build it up, or leave it as an almost "just bitten" tinge. I really love this formulation and color!

2. Rimmel Moisture Renew in 500 Berry Rose
  I wanted to get a berry toned lipcolor that could be used for fall/spring/winter. I had heard some guru (don't remember which one) mention that this color is very lovely. It is similar to the Burgundy Lustre in how it is on the sheer side but very buildable. This lipstick has a glossiness to it, which leaves just the right amount of shine. It leans towards a strawberry tinge, another color that I love!





3. Revlon Colorburst in Soft Nude

  I have two previous lipsticks from Revlon and have heard people rant and rave about the soft nude. That said, I hate it....well the color at least. I think I should have gone with my gut to get rose nude, but because I had heard everyone say how perfect this nude is, I got it. I think it is more about me, and being the type of person who wants to see my lips, not have a conceler on my lips, which is what I felt I looked like. I'll try to go back to my store and return it/ exchange it. It was a little bit of a disappointment, but I know that if I don't feel comfortable or confident it will show in my temperment.

4. Jordana easyshine glossy lip color in 07 Watermelon Juice, 02 Berry Colada, & 01 Sugar Plum.

  I never saw these glosses in my local Jordana counters, so I figure they are newer products.  All of the glosses smell similar to their names, so Berry Colada has a pinapple- pina coloda - coconut scent to it. Out of all of them Watermelon Juice is the most sheer but leaves a hint of bright pink on the lips. Berry Colada leaves a sheer sided coat of color, but is buildable. Sugar Plum is the most opaque out of all of them, and while is lovely to wear, I really need to have a very light hand with them.  They have a lovely gloss like finish, and don't leave my lips feeling very dry. The downside though is that they fade out relatively soon. So for longwear don't get these, but for a fun day at the park or class, I say why not. Berry Colada is the only one of mine that has glitter in it, but it does not feel chunky on the lips. hmmmm, I think these were the best investment! (1.99)
 
Anyways, lipsticks are a great way to perk up and change everyday looks. Switch up a few and see how you feel! Any one else use these products?

Have a great day!
Ema

Favorite Fall Nailpolishes

Hi all,

   Wow I feel like I'm on a roll with my posts! Or maybe that is just me procrastinating on my homework (guilty!), but either way I was thinking about what in my nail polish collection would count as on trend. Needless to say, I found a good amount of polishes since I harbor a deep DEEP love for rich jewel toned nail polishes. But I saw so many popular nail polish trend videos on youtube with brands like Essie and OPI. Don't get me wrong, I love OPI, but the cost makes me stop once in a while and attempt to find them on Ebay, Amazon, or my job where I can get a little discount on them. So I figured, let's see what I have that can still be on trend but on a cheaper, financially friendly budget. 

   So we have all heard how jewel-toned or as I prefer to say "rich and deep colors" are very popular. The first color family I love is my purples/ wine/ blues: (no particular order)

1. AVON nailwear pro: midnight plum ($5 normal price, but usually have 2 for 6.99)

    This is probably my go to color because it is so deep and rich. You can get away with one coat making the purple a bit lighter, but I am in love with 2 -3 coats to make it super rich and almost black. The downside to getting this polish is that I have to order online, which can make it a little more than what I truly want to spend. But a good investment overall. 

2. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails: Flirt or number 38 ($2.99 normally, usually can find it 2 for $4)

   This color is almost black looking in the bottle but on the nails it is a very, very dark version of a wine color and has time red/ gold reflects. It is probably something I would wear with a white or cream sweater at holiday parties to offset the lightness, and bring some color to my skin. 

3. New York Color in a New York Color Minute: Manhattan ($1.99)

  This color is like a slightly deeper wine color. It's not the black/dark of the last two colors, but still is very lovely on the nails. It does dry faster than many nail polishes, but not as quickly as it claims. Overall one of the better colors from the collection. 

4. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails: Plum Power ($2.99 or 2 for $4)

  By now you can probably tell that I love my plums, and my Sally Hansen polishes. This is a bright plum purple, that still stays in the relm of a darker version of the color. It has gold, silver, pink, and purple reflects in the polish, so it is just an overall fun color. More, as my mother would call it, a loud color. 

5. NYC Long-Wearing Nail Enamel : Skin Tight Denim Creme ($0.99)

  This is one of those more out there colors, but on short nails can be so much fun! It has light and dark blue reflects, so it goes with the metallic trend. 

6. OPI: Meet Me On the Star Ferry ($7.99-12.99)

  This is one of my few nail polishes from OPI, and I bought it because it is different than other colors I own. It has a lot of shimmer, with gold, pink, wine, and silver tones, but comes together in a light wine color. It is much prettier than I can explain, but another lovely shade. 

Phew! Now I have two red toned nail polishes that I adore, and can't wait to use up. 

1. AVON nailwear pro: Cherry Jubilee ($5 or 2 for $6.99)

   It is a true cherry red color after it has been in the syrup. It is bright, but not the scary bright bright reds we see a lot. It does not chip as easily as some of my other polishes do.

2. love & beauty: Magenta ($2.50)

  This is from the Forever 21 store, and my first polish from this brand. It is a lovely Broadway curtain red with red and gold shimmer. I went through a similar color within one season because I loved how it looked on my nails, I can only hope I love this one as much. The one downside of this polish is that it is very thin and runny, so it would take 2-4 coats instead of 1-2. 

I hope this post helped with this one aspect of the trend, I don't wear greens or other colors simply because my mother is a nurse and always tells me that when I have green fingernails, I remind her of a dead body. Gruesome image, but just out respect to her, I oblige :) Let me know if you have any other colors that you would add to this list! I'll be writing another blog on the other trends coming in for nail polishes, but it just would have been too long all in one. 

xoxo,

Ema

Fall Favorites!

Hi all,
  So I saw the lovely emilynoel83 do a Fall Favorites video and got completely inspired to do this tag. I found myself trying to reset my mind to wear more Fall tones. This is rather amusing since I think secretly I've been ready to jump into deeper tones of nail polish, and "rusty brown" tones. So let's jump in!

Beauty & Fashion:
1) Top 5 fall makeup items?

Revlon Vital Radiance in Pink Sands

   In no particular order: ELF Cream Liner in Coffee, Wet N Wild Acapulco Glow (as a highlight), Physicians Formula 2 in 1 Bronzer and Blush in Light and Pink Rose (since it is together in a compact, it makes it easier to carry), and for the eyes is my Revlon Vital Radiance in Pink Sands trio. Fall time is the best time to wear my browns, for me, since I do wear jewel toned clothing or jewelry.
2) Favorite fall hair product?
   I don't do much with my hair on a normal day, and really can't state that I change what I use unless it    comes down to using conditioner and shampoo brands. I don't have a favorite and usually grab what is on sale!
3) Favorite fall Nail Polish?

Cherry Jubilee

   I LOVE my Avon nailpolishes in Midnight Plum and Cherry Jubilee. I bought them when they were on 2 for $7. Anything that has a nice deep, jewel toned richness has been an ultimate favorite, and now since it is currently back in season, I can't wait!! Maybe I'll actually finish a nail polish this year!
4) Favorite fall scent?
  Not 2 weeks ago, I fell back in love with my Burberry London perfume. I stopped using it for a while and once I spritzed myself again, I fell so in love with it. It has a very slight floral hint to it, but not sweet. There is a cleanness yet a spicyness to it. It sometimes feels like I have my boyfriend's hoodie on, and mixed it with a more girly scent. It's just all around warm.
5) Most worn clothing item & accessory?
   I would have to say that during the fall season, I love pairing heeled boots with jeans and a jewel-toned sweaters. I love having a simple v-neck tshirt under a military style jacket or blazer. When it comes to accessories that I love to wear, I find that I go towards necklaces and dangley earrings.

Random fall Questions:
1) Who's your fall Style icon?
   I really don't have a fall style icon. I usually will see someone and think "oh wow, she just knows how to pull herself together".
2) Going to a corn maze, what do you wear?

LOVE this film

   I have been to corn mazes in the past and have learned from experience to wear shoes I don't mind getting dirty, comfortable pants (ie jeans or sweats), and layering tops. I would probably go with a long sleeved shirt and my "winter" hoodie.
3) Favorite Halloween movie?
   I LOVE Hocus Pocus. I remember since I was a young girl I would watch this movie when it was on TV. I never stop laughing about it, and it would not be Halloween season without it.
4) Favorite Halloween candy?
   Is it sad that I don't have a particular favorite? I never got to celebrate Halloween, so to make me feel better my mom would take me out for movies and ice cream!
5) What are you going to be for Halloween?!
   Well going along with number 4, I never celebrated, and since this year Halloween falls on a pretty heavy day class-wise, I may just pop a pair of cat or mouse ears in and call it a day haha. 


So that was just a fun little tag. What would you say are some of your favorites?


xoxo,
Ema

Mini Haul

Hello Readers,
  Yes, I am still alive! I've been pretty much on a shopping my stash kick for a long while so I really didn't change anything in my makeup routines, be they loves or dislikes. But no fear! I have finished out about 5-6 products so far and will review them and do my price breakdowns of them! Since it is a change of seasons, I am shifting to more fall colors To kinda lift up my spirits from a really tough last few days, I went on a Dollar Tree mini shopping spree! (my dog had died a few months prior at the young age of 6 in my arms, and a friend of mine got the same breed dog and would not shut UP about how cute her new puppy was. Love her to bits but really? *rant over* ) I was especially happy to see some more ELF products in my Dollar Tree, and I have been very happy with my previous purchases from there so I picked up a few. Now these are just my first impressions, I will probably get to using them in the next month or so (I am working on finishing out 2-4 eye shadows *it's pure murder, not really but who knew they took THAT long to finish!*) So in no particular order let us begin!

1. ELF Bronzing Brush (regular retail $1, bought for $1)
  I have the all over face brush from the basic line, along with three eye makeup brushes and love them. I wanted to shift into using bronzer more, plush with such big fluffy brushes I had a harder time contouring. This brush is so soft, but still picks up product nicely. It is easy to use and to blend color out. I have not noticed any fallout (yay).

2. ELF Studio Line Single Eyeshadows (regular retail $3, bought for $1)

ELF amethyst

  I purchased 6 of these shadows (nuts I know) but they looked so lovely! I purchased:

    -Amethyst: a beautiful brown/purple with plum/gold reflects
    -Butter Cream: yellow-gold with gold reflects
    -Sand Dollar: white with white/ gold reflects (least favorite)
    - Wild Wheat: tan with gold reflects
    - Pebble: Taupe/ light brown with almost no shimmer or reflects. (closest to a matte shade)
    - Saddle: Deep brown with bronze and gold shimmer. (favorite)
  Now I love how these are packaged. I picked them up figuring I might as well save two bucks per shadow since I was going to get them anyways. These are not frosty shades exept for Sand Dollar. It comes out like pure glitter with white powder added to it (not the white with shimmer) All have a buttery feel and darn good payoff!

3. LA Colors Blush in Berry Plum (retailed at $2, bought for $1)
  I have no idea what got into me recently, I have been moving towards plummy and berry toned blushes for this season. I really haven't had a lot of experience with this shade since I have always used Benefit Dandelion, but hey why not try it! It has a little bit of shimmer, but it is very subtle.

4. Almay intense i-color for green eyes (retailed at $4-$9, bought for $1)
  I have heard such great things about Almay, but my local drugstores carry so little of the products, and my eye caught on the purple and dark green tones. They are very soft but frosty (a la shimmer strips from Physicians Formula)

5. ELF Brightening Eye Color in Ivy (retailed at $1, bought for $1)
  You can probably see a pattern, I like my elf products. I could buy them in Target, but the nearest one is about an hour away from me, so it adds up to more if I factor in gas or even shipping to purchase ELF. I would like to state that I am blown away by how pigmented and buttery these 4 shadows in the quad are! I realistically will never use the light green shade, but all others are beautiful! The dk brown shade has notes of purple in it, and its just a color I can't wait to use.

6. Covergirl Eye Enhancers Single in Mauve Souffle (retailed at $3, bought for $1)
  This is my least favorite product I purchased. In the packaging it looks like a silver/ very light pink/ very very light lavender shade of eyeshadow with shimmer in it. It is far from the soft feel of eyeshadows. It is a pure glitter that doesn't even blend. I might use this for a night out as an all over body glitter, but almost nothing transfers via finger, brush, etc.

So by the end of this little shopping spree, I did feel a little better, and knowing I spent less than I would have made me happier too. So stay tuned for more incoming posts!

xoxo,
Ema

PS Does anyone still want me to do Birchbox posts? Please comment below if you would like me to blog about them!