Song of the Week: Operating

Operating // Lady Danville

La Roche-Posay Effeclar Purifying Micellar Water

Ive heard many people speak and rave about micellar waters over the past few months that I have been sucked into seeing what all the hype was about. If you're not already filled in as to what it is, a micellar water is a blend of water and fine particles of oil that are free of emulsifiers that absorb any dirt and makeup from the skins surface leaving it thoroughly cleansed and smooth. It is gentle enough to use on the eyes  for makeup removal aswell, and is used prior to using a facial cleanser.

Many people have raved about Bioderma, but I only found a tiny bottle in store and couldnt justify its price for the size so I went with the La Roche-Posay Effeclar. Lets face its, its basically a bottle of fancy water, so for twenty some odd dollars I want a good amount! That being said, yes it is like wiping water on your face when applying- its light and dries quickly, but its like magic water! It removes every trace off my face, and while I dont use it as my eye makeup remover, any traces left behind on my eyes are taken away easily and my entire face is left clean and smooth. All you do is apply some to a cotton pad and wipe your face clean. I have been enjoying using this every night and theres a good change ill be purchasing another micellar water when ive finished this one up, but for how excited people get over these things, I dont quite get it. It is just a cleanser after all.

Summer favourites

Marcelle BB Cream in light to medium
I did a blog post on this here. This is really nice for a light amount of coverage in the hot weather, and leaves a really nice finish.

Mac Camomile and Warming Trend Ive been wearing these pretty much everyday this summer. I put camomile all over my lid most days, but when I want a little more colour I add warming trend to the outer portion of the lid. It gives a subtle amount of colour which is great for hot summer days when I dont want to wear too much makeup but I want to brighten up my eyes a bit.

Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow in Sippin n Dippin
Ive had this a while and never hot much use out of it. The colour is a coraly orange with s gold duo-chrome which is beautiful, but when youre super tired or looking really dull its not always the most attractive shade. I think its nice for summer though and use it as a base under to give a pop to the colour.

Revlon Lipbutter in creme brulee
Im lazy in summer and dont like to spend a lot of time getting ready. This is an effortless lip colour as its really subtle.

Mac Mocha blush 
Ive been wearing this pretty much everyday since I got it I dont know how long ago. Its nice for summer though as its not the most pigmented blush. It gives just the right amount of a berry toned pink to the cheeks that looks like a natural flush.

Life coconut and mango lipbalm
The smell of this stuff is just amazing. The consistency is very interesting- it applies almost glossy on the lips but feels really smooth, not something im used to in a lipbalm.

Song of the Week: Stubborn Love

Stubborn Love / The Lumineers

Marcelle BB Cream

I was introduced to Marcelle by Glossybox a few months ago and wanted to try their bb cream, having heard good things. It is said to have 8-in-1 multi-benefits; evening out skin tone, immediate and long term hydrating benefits, protects from premature aging and environmental stresses, promote skin regeneration, control shine, soothe and calm the skin, reduce the appearance of imperfections and provide an anti-dull radiant complexion.

There are only two shades- light to medium and medium to light, which I was skeptical about and typically when there isnt much of a shade range, fair skin tones like myself (lighter than an NC15) usually are left out in being able to use the product. However, I went on a whim and bought it anyway to see if it would work on my skin tone. When I first began applying, I thought there was no way this would blend in and not make me look like I had no idea how to match my face to my makeup, but once blending it in I knew it was workable. Because its summer, my body is typically tanner than my face(dont ask me why) , and therefore having a slightly darker foundation helped to even that out well for me. Not once have I had someone come up me or point out that I have a mask line on my neck or that I looked like an oompa loompa. I take this as a good sign.

The consistency of the bb cream is much like a thicker moisturizer. It was odd to get used to at first, being used to liquidy foundations, which meant using a brush was not a good idea as it would absorb all the product. A small amount is enough to cover the face where it looks natural and not overdone. The finish is a semi matte, its feels light on the skin and gives just enough coverage for everyday. If youre someone with problematic skin such as acne or scarring, this is probably not something you'd be interested in, but for something light for the summer time, I think this is great.

Whether it does half the things it claims, I cant really say. All I know is it evens out my face, feels moisturizing that you can skip that step if you like, and has a nice natural look to it. I am impressed with this BB cream, but once the colder months come I know im not going to be able to use until next summer.

Song of the week: Crest

Crest / The Antlers

Dove Damage Therapy Conditioner

As someone who colours and uses heat on their hair, damaged, dry hair is something I know well. In attempts to make the texture of my hair feel a lot nicer, conditioning is a must and possibly my favourite thing to use on my hair. In my opinion, you dont need to spend a fortune to find a moisturizing conditioner. Other professionals may not agree with me, but I have found many lower end products that have worked well at making my hair soft to the touch that I cant comprehend spending more than necessary for virtually the same results.

This one from Dove was actually my moms. She bought it on a whim, and when I was blowdrying her hair after her first use a few months ago, I couldnt help but notice how soft her usually dry hair felt. Not to mention it also smelt awesome and was the majority of the reason I snatched it from her shower to try on my own hair. I cant explain the scent, but by golly is it nice and if your in the store and see this I recommend having a sniff and seeing for yourself.

This leaves my hair uber soft, that I just want to run my fingers through it all day. This does claim to restore the hairs softness, which is does temporarily but will not actually aid in the overall structure of the hair., which I think seems a bit misleading with the lines name.

Overall, I think this is a great conditioner and would recommend it to anyone with dry hair in need of moisture.

Empties #3

La Senza Body Kiss Indulgent kiss me cupcake Swirl Cream
I loved this stuff. It smells amazing (like cake!) and leaves my skin feeling super soft and moisturized. I can see myself repurchasing this when i finish my other body creams.

Rimmel Volume Accelerator mascara
I bought this after using the original accelerator mascara that I really like. The only thing lacking for me from that one was volume. So when I saw this existed I ran towards the store. But it is awful. It does absolutely nothing to my lashes - the brush doesnt even glide through the lashes with the oddly shaped brush. I dont usually like throwing out products I havent used and usually suck it up and use it anyway, but after sitting in my makeup drawer for months, its time for this to go in the bin.

Burts Bees Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey and Grapeseed Oil hand cream
I did a review on this here where I expressed my hate for this product. I hate the smell and taste of honey, and this has a very strong, overwhelming honey scent that lingers on the skin for what feels like forever to me. Because it was kind of expensive, I refused to let it go to waste and forced myself to finish it. But about a quarter left in the bottle, I couldnt take it anymore and decided to just throw it away and stop torturing myself. The product wasnt even that good anyway.

Stiff Hair Stck Up Rock Hard Gel
Ive had this for years. I used to love using gel when I left my hair natural, scrunching it into my hair to get nice waves. But over the years my hair has lost a lot of its curl and I stopped wearing it natural, thus leaving a lot of products sitting around unused. This had very little left so I figured Id just through it out. I did enjoy this back in the day, but when I want to wear natural waves, I prefer spray products now.

Avon Liquid Liner in charcoal
This was a nice eyeliner, a dupe in my opinion to my holy grail Annabelle liner. It has a felt tip and is easy to use and lasts all day. I wouldnt buy this again only because the annaelle liner is easier to get a hold of, but I would recommend it.

Revlon Photoready in vanilla
This is my favourite foundation. It is the only foundation to date that I have found that matches my skin tone perfectly. It leaves a slightly dewy finish to skin, and looks very natural. As you can see in the picture I have tape around the bottom as I dropped this on the floor and the bottom broke but still managed to stay together so I didnt have to say goodbye to it just yet. It is a whopping $20- which for drugstore foundation is pricey to me, but well it worth it. Will definitely be buying again.

Degree Nature Effects Orange Flower and cranberry deoderant 
Degree is my favourite brand for deoderant. That may seem a it weird, but if youve ever had white marks on your clothes or skin youll know why. This goes on invisible, which every brand claims but most lie about, and smell so nice that throughout the day several times I have caught a sniff of this and wondered what smelled so nice. I must say it is surprising when you discover that it is your armpits, as usually when youre smelling something from that area its not a good thing. Ive tried of few scents of the nature effects and they have all smelled lovely. 

Bonnebelle lipbalm
Ive had this for a while along with a lot of other lipbalms and figured it was time to use them up. The packaging of this reminds me of lighter, the way it pushes the product up which is kind of odd. I highly doubt they still make these and wouldnt really want to repurchase it even if they did. It didnt do much to the lips.

Ive really been enjoying watching and reading peoples empties posts, so if you have one id love to see it!