Project Bottleneck (Empties) #3

It's been awhile and unfortunately I don't have any excuse for my lack of blogging other than pure laziness and procrastination. Let's just blame it on being in grad school...On the bright side (or rather the dark side for my wallet), my enthusiasm for beauty products hasn't waned over the last year. It feels good to be back!!

Project Bottleneck is going rather well! All of my half-finished and unloved products have been used up and my products have been whittled down to a single basket (post of this will follow) of things I actually use frequently.Here are the products I've used up and actually remembered to keep around specifically for this blog post:

Dial Soy and Almond Milk Body Wash - This smells heavenly and I am quite tempted to repurchase solely for the scent. It reminds me of almond nougat and has a very gourmand fragrance. Not bad for less than $5, but it did make my skin feel dry, so I will unfortunately have to move on from this.

Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo - Although I have been moving towards more organic haircare products, this is something I have been repurchasing off and on for the last 10 years! I like using this once a month to get rid of product buildup and it quite literally makes your scalp squeaky clean. I have already repurchased another bottle. I highly recommend using a good conditioner with this shampoo.

Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Bath and Shower Gel - I don't think I've ever owned any "rose" products that smell as close to the real thing as this shower gel does. I'm not usually a fan of florals in the shower (I much prefer fruity or bakery scents), but I did enjoy this. However, like the Dial body wash, other than a fabulous scent, it was a generic body wash which made my skin quite dry.

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Smooth Shine Anti-Frizz Cream - I'm pretty sure this is a discontinued product as I've had this for years! I only had a little product left so I finally decided to give this a boot. Although this is a lightweight cream, it didn't do anything for my frizz. So for an anti-frizz cream, that's a pretty big fail. I'm surprised because MUA has some awesome reviews of this product.

Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo - As part of my shift towards more organic haircare, I decided to try out Giovanni. This felt very invigorating and made my hair feel clean but not stripped of moisture. Unexpectedly, the formula is very runny, so be careful when you are pouring it out. I sometimes see these sold in jumbo sizes at Winners. I wouldn't mind repurchasing this, but I still prefer Avalon Organics; Giovanni on the other hand is much more widely available where I live.

L'Oreal Ever Sleek Smoothing Deep Conditioner - I hated this product. It reeked of 60s hair salon and rather than smoothing my hair and making it more manageable, it turned my hair into a greaseball and it actually made it harder to comb through! This was a big chore to finish up and I'm glad it's gone.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Toner - This is a "wake me up" toner which on some days I found so minty and cooling it was harsh. It also dried out my skin like a prune every time. Will not repurchase.

The Body Shop Cucumber Refreshening Water - This left my skin feeling sticky and tacky. Not exactly very purifying. Also, the cucumber smell was quite refreshing at first, but I quickly got irritated by the excessive fragrance.

Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water - Bioderma dupe alert! This is my second bottle. In Canada, this is about 1 cent cheaper per ml (so not a huge discount, but anything counts). Full review here.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Gently Exfoliating Wash - I really liked this product. It kept blemishes at bay and made my skin feel very soft. It also had a very clean scent which was subtle. Unfortunately, I don't think they sell this anymore.

Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner - Much milder than the Invigorating toner and the scent reminded me of Nivea products. But alas, this also dried out my skin. This seems to be a trend with Neutrogena products.

Secret Scent Expressions "So Very Summer Berry" Deodorant - I've used Secret deodorants for the last 8 years and these are my holy grail (only the white solid ones). I switch up the scents all the time, but to be honest, they also smell so similar that it doesn't even matter to me. The exception to this is the lavender scented one...I greatly dislike lavender.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel - I love this product!! I got this at a CCO for 14$ and it's twice the price here that I refuse to pay that much for it. If I come by this again at a CCO, I will definitely repurchase. It's very lightweight and ideal for combo/oily skin. Feels like a splash of water, as cliché as that sounds.

La Roche Posay Toleriane Fluide - Another lightweight moisturizer ideal for sensitive, irritated, blemished skin. I have other La Roche Posay products that I'm currently trying out (in the Effaclar range), but I know that if those fail me, I can always come back to this. Unfortunately this is about $30 for 40ml, so it is quite a splurge.

St Ives Blemish and Blackhead Clearing Apricot Scrub - I found this too harsh and scratchy for my face but it makes an excellent body scrub which leaves no residue and has helped with ingrown hairs on my legs. As a result, I get a much smoother shave/wax. I have since purchased the St Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub in a tub version for my shower.

Argan Oil Hype

I have a lot of hair. It's thick, it's long, and it feels dehydrated. So I finally caved in to the moroccan oil frenzy and decided to try me some argan. I found these two products, the first from Shoppers Drug Mart and the second from Winners, and I'm excited to try them out on my hair to really test and see if they are "miracle" hair products.

Naturelle d'Argan was a great find as it claims to be 100% Moroccan argan oil and is even "made in Morocco". So I saved myself quite a bit of cash by not buying the Morracanoil brand.

I've used other oil in my hair before such as coconut oil and almond oil. While they hydrated my hair, I still found them to be quite heavy and they made my hair greasy within 2 days of washing and applying. I've tried the argan oil once so far, and I can feel that it is more viscous and it feels like a "drier" oil, if that makes sense.

I have yet to see magic happen, but I will update you guys on my hair's progress, haha. As for the product packaging itself, for $14 it feels quite expensive. Naturelle d'Argan has a frosted glass bottle packaging with a pump dispenser which releases the perfect amount of oil.

The Live Clean Argan Oil Leave-in Conditioner is a spray that you shake before applying. I find the spray to be way less error-prone, since if you get too trigger-happy with the oil, you can accidentally make your hair too greasy and you have to re-wash it. But then again, the spray contains other ingredients in addition to argan oil, so perhaps it's not as "healthy" or "organic" for your hair.

Overall, I'm happy with the packaging, but I will have to test these in the long term to see if they are up to snuff.

Blew me Out of the [Micellaire] Water

Before discovering micellaire or cleansing waters, I always used your typical bi-phase makeup remover. Specifically, I used Neutrogena's Oil-free Eye Makeup Remover, which worked perfectly well...except for the fact that it left an oily residue which then dried my skin to a *lovely* ashy white...attractive, right?

So, fed-up and inspired my Ruth's (A Model Recommends) video about cleansing waters and alternatives to Bioderma Sensibio H2O (formerly Crealine), I went on a mission to Shoppers Drug Mart to try and find the Garnier Clean Sensitive or the North American equivalent...

Annoyingly, there is no equivalent, which needless to say, is frustrating. I didn't want to splurge on Bioderma because in Canada it's $22 for a 250ml bottle! Which is ridiculous considering how fast you can go through it. So I wandered the makeup aisles literally looking at every brand's makeup removers with a bottle of Bioderma in hand--I know, a bit obsessive aren't I?

Well, after this long intro, I am very happy to say I've found the best alternative to Bioderma...introducing Marcelle's Soothing Cleansing Water!!!

Note, I didn't buy Bioderma at the time I bought this, so this was my very first eau micellaire experience, and I have to say, I was blown out of the water (pun fully intended). I will never go back to biphase removers again. This cleanser comes in one size only and costed me $12 plus tax for 200ml!! Regularly it's $14, but Marcelle skincare goes on sale quite often.

It removes every speck of makeup without any tugging or scrubbing and leaves your skin feeling so soft and supple. No oily residue whatsoever. After using this, my skin feels like it's been freshly washed and moisturized. I'm not even kidding...it is THAT good and deserves HG status. This is a great 3-in-1 product as it removes makeup, cleanses, and tones skin. Sometimes I use this before cleanser, but most days I use it afterwards as a toner and to remove stubborn eyeliner.

A couple weeks after buying this, I found myself in Shoppers (again, obsessed much?) and I saw a great deal where the 100ml Bioderma Sensibio was on offer in a little trial skincare kit for $9.95. Considering I got samples of the Sensibio moisturizers, I though this was pretty darn good and my curiosity took over.

Well, to keep it short, it feels exactly like the Marcelle Soothing Cleansing Water. Again, removed all my makeup and made my skin feel refreshed without leaving an oily residue. I did a test where I removed half of my face makeup with each cleanser on a cotton pad, and I didn't find one cleanser removed more makeup than the other. I used a second round of cotton pads on my face to see if one had more makeup leftovers than the other...both came out clean!

The most interesting part is in comparing the ingredients lists of both products. With the exception of a few ingredients, the formulas are almost identical! Even the order of chemicals is almost the same!

The important thing to note is that both use the same active ingredient, PEG-6 caprylic/capric glycerides.

Here is a mini science lesson. PEG-6 is a fat made from glycerin and fatty acids in coconut oil. Essentially, all micellaire waters are microscopic balls of oil suspended in water. This is why they are so effective at removing both oil-based and water-based makeup.

Both waters are non-irritating and fragrance-free. The difference is in the price. The only con? Marcelle is only available in Canada :( If you are in the US, I suspect it's cheaper to get this from Canada than it is to ship Bioderma over from Europe, but it is still more expensive online than it is in-store at SDM.

UPDATE: If you live in the US or Canada, you can now get all Marcelle products at shop.marcelle.com

What's in my Travel Makeup Bag + Project Bottleneck (Empties) #2

You may have noticed the rash of makeup bag posts in the last little while and I thought I'd join in on the bandwagon. This came at a perfect time as I was in London, Ontario for the weekend visiting my brother. I suppose travel "makeup" is a misnomer since I've combined both my skincare and makeup in one bag.

 

The bag - I got this as a freebie from a Body Shop bath set a long time ago. I like that it's mesh because I can see everything, yet it's not as tacky as clear plastic. 

The goods...

Aren't you proud? This is all the makeup I took!

L'Oreal True Match Compact Makeup in C6 Soft Sable - One of my favourite foundations of all time. It's no fuss, natural, buildable coverage with SPF, and it matches my skintone perfectly.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - I mentioned this before in my Current Faves post, but I'll say it again. It doesn't make my skin look ashy, and it keeps my foundation on all day. You can use it as blot powder too!

MAC Blush in Desert Rose - This product is not mentioned too often in the blogging community but it's a nice bright yellow-toned pink with peachy undertones. It's a matte finish and I find the product so easy to work with and blendable. Definitely check this out if you have darker skin tones!

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeliner in Brown - I talked about this in the previous post. It's not the best brown eyeliner I have, but I brought it with me so I can use it up

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Eyeliner - Again after doing my eyeliner post and comparing all the liners I have side by side, I wanted to pay attention to this more. However, it looks more glossy on the lid than it does swatched on my hand, so again, not my fave, but I'll use it up. 

Benefit Eyeshadow in Rich Beach - So buttery soft and the colour is like MAC's Tempting without the glitter and a bit less gold and more brown. I wanted simple makeup for the weekend so I opted to bring only one eyeshadow.

Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream - This is an all-purpose product. I use it as a lip balm, cuticle cream, mosquito bites, etc. Smells like real lemon not artificial

Dior Addict Lipstick in Blush - I need to buy MORE!! This is the best lipstick formula I've ever tried: glossy, pigmented, line-filling, beautiful iridescent packaging, I could go on and on...why must you be $30??!!

C.O Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine in Violet Mint - This is soo minty it almost burns! I still love it though because of that. Very glossy without being too sticky and it freshens my breath!

Vichy Eau Thermale - This looks like limited edition packaging, but I bought it for the travel size. Not as nice as the Evian spray (which I will repurchase once I'm done this) and tastes kind of salty/mineral-y...

La Roche Posay Toleriane Fluide - Great moisturizer for redness-prone skin (a la moi), but again I pay so much for such a small volume (40mL). I like it better than Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. I got this in a trial set, but apparently the full-size is also 40mL!

La Roche Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel - Meh. Nice, but nothing special. Got this as a bonus when I bought my Effaclar Duo (which I have yet to try because of Project Bottleneck).

Secret "Baby Powder" Deodorant - I will only use Secret deodorant, I do hereby swear.

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Solution Micellaire - I am forever changed by eau micellaires makeup removers. However, this was not my first cleansing water...review coming soon.

Project Bottleneck #2 - I only finished 4 products in 2 months! Yikes, looks like this will take a while. The thing is I have a lot of bath products that are half done, so I'm rotating through them. I would not repurchase any of these products again except for the Deep Clean scrub. Why? The others are nothing special. There is no wow factor in neither their function nor their scents. This seems to be the case with a lot of Body Shop bath products...

I hope you enjoyed this post! I love what's in my makeup bag posts because I'm nosy like that!

I'm an Eyeliner Enthusiast

...just call me EE for short.

Some people love foundation, some people love blush, some people love eyeshadow, but for me, eyeliner is a necessity. I mean eyeliner runs through my blood-- we Indian women have been sporting kajal for generations. We even put it on newborn babies to ward off eye infections!

When I first started wearing makeup in high school, I wore nothing else but eyeliner. The rest of my face followed only in my second year of undergrad, haha.

I wanted to give you a side by side comparison of some of the most popular eyeliners. Rest assured that these are all drugstore products so they are readily available and easily affordable. Liner can frame your eyes and is essential in any makeup bag, but you absolutely do not need a department store brand to get quality, in my humble opinion.

L-R: Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in Coffee, Milani Liquif'eye in Black, L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Eyeliner in Black, Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black

Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in Coffee - Annabelle eyeliners come in a rainbow of colours and they are CHEAP. This is almost as soft as the Milani Liquif'eye liners. I find this eyeliner to be a dark enough brown that it actually defines my eyes and doesn't look invisible. I also have the Milani and L'Oreal eyeliners in their respective brown colours and the only con to Annabelle is longevity. It does not last on the waterline like the others do. However, I always come back to this as my go-to brown eyeliner because it is soft to apply and because of the rich, dark colour.

Milani Liquif'eye in Black - I got this in the States because it is always sold out at my Loblaws here in Canada (the brown one though is almost always there). Very soft and glides on the waterline like butter--no tugging required here! It is very pigmented and when it sets it will last a long time without fading. However, on me, while the colour lasts, on my waterline it tends to smudge to my lower lashline. So depending on what look I'm going for that day, this may or may not work. If you are applying this to skin (say, on the upper lash line), you will have no problem with longevity. This is very similar to Revlon's Luxurious Color Kohl Eyeliner, however Revlon tends to smudge a bit more (picture not shown since I used it up a while ago) 

Both Milani and Annabelle liners are stick liners, while the other three are retractable. I prefer retractable because they are easier to travel with and no sharpening is required *ahem* because I'm lazy! ;)

L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Eyeliner in Black - Harder formula than the latter two, but still no tugging required. No smudging over time and it doesn't run down my water line. The colour somewhat fades after about 8 hours so it definitely does not last 16 hours. I would repurchase though because of decent pigmentation and it stays on my waterline. 

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black - Hardest formula of the four. Very slight tugging required but nothing that will cause irritation or premature wrinkles! I would say this is the winner overall because it doesn't run, smudge, or fade. It remains black for a full work day and is as black as Milani. Despite this, I still prefer Milani Liquif'eye or the Revlon Luxurious Kohl Eyeliner simply because the application is so much easier and smoother. You need to run the Colorstay eyeliner through your waterline several times whereas the other two require 1-2 swipes at most.

As far as black eyeliner goes, there are two winners: Milani for application and Revlon for overall longevity.

L-R: NYC Liquid Eyeliner, NYX Felt Tip Liner, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen, L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Black, Rimmel Glam Eyes Professional Liquid Eyeliner in Black Glamour, L'Oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense, Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Creme Liner in Black

NYC Liquid Eyeliner - I found out after buying this on a whim earlier this year that this is Megan Fox's favourite liner. It's so cheap!! Only $3!!! I'll be upfront and say that this is my favourite liquid eyeliner out of the bunch!! The brush tip is very thin and application is precise- I can create both thin lines and thick lines with ease. The formula is neither too thick or too thin and it dries to a great matte black finish. It is also long-lasting and will not fade or flake (I have oily lids too!). I'm surprised this is not talked about more...

NYX Felt Tip Liner and Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen - When I bought these I was excited at the prospect of making liquid eyeliner easier to apply...PLEASE DO NOT waste your money on these! They dry up so quickly and I keep having to close it and shake it to reapply. Application is as a result very streaky and it doesn't last long (the product itself and when it's on your eye. Because of my experience with these crappy pen eyeliners I'm hesitant to try the new Physician's Formula one...thus far, still on a mission to find an HG pen liner. 

L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Black - I originally bought this years ago, liked it alot, then tried the black glossy one, liked that even better, repurchased those a couple of times, ran out of those, and then moved on to other liquid eyeliners. After about a year of not using these, I decided to come back to the original gold one (as seen above) to see if I still liked it compared to my other liquid eyeliners. Now that I'm so much better at makeup and have been using and preferring brush tip liners, I find this felt tip liner to be too clumsy and imprecise. The formula is still great, but the product itself seems to dry up within 1 month, rendering it useless. Also, (and I've never noticed this before trying other liners) it dries to this glossy black finish, which I do not like. I think this is a good liquid eyeliner for beginners (as I was several years ago), but it is overhyped and there are better liners out there than this. 

Glam Eyes Professional Liquid Eyeliner in Black Glamour - This is quite similar to the NYC liquid eyeliner. The brush tip is even thinner and a little bit shorter. The formula is also more watery than NYC. I think thin brush tips are great, but this tip is thin to a fault...I find I need multiple strokes to build up the liner to a thicker line, whereas the NYC liner can multitask. This is also because of the more watery formula. This would be a great for those who like very thin liner. The pigmentation is great, it lasts a long time without flaking or fading, and it dries to a matte black finish. 

L'Oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense - You can tell from the image that this is THE blackest black eyeliner. I would say it dries to a demi-matte finish on the eye, and it lasts a very long time without fading or flaking. Everything about this eyeliner is great BUT the applicator. It's a short brush tip that is very clumsy and imprecise. Also, with use, the brush hairs flare out making it even more difficult to use. If you could combine the applicator of NYC with the formula of this eyeliner, you could make the perfect liquid eyeliner!! Alas, because of this, this is not my favourite, but came close. I think you have to be very comfortable with liquid eyeliner to use this well i.e. no noobs! lol

Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Creme Liner in Black - I threw in this gel eyeliner into the mix because it's not talked about enough. This eyeliner is hardcore and will last longer than 24 hours! I've slept with this on, and in the morning there was no sign of fading or flaking. You need a brush to apply this so I use it for any events when I need precise eyeliner application and longevity. The advantage with gel eyeliners is that you can get the sharpness of liquid eyeliners, but you can apply it to your waterline too...so no need for two eyeliner products

In & Out - 1st edition

In:

• Beautiful sunny weather with no rain - I'm mean do I really have to explain?
• Nail polish with bling ring fingers - Unashamedly copied from Lorraine Stanick, but I know it's a trend that started with celebrities around 2009. Honestly, whoever came up with this is a genius! It's like wearing a piece of jewelry! I will definitely be making a post on this because I want to tell you guys about a great drugstore nail polish find!
• Layered bracelets - I've decided that 2011 is the year of the bracelet. Currently I'm sporting silver metal cuffs (with the hinge thingy) with a rustic brown and black wax cord bracelet and it matches everything I wear! My next wishlist jewelry item is some sort of rose gold cuff bracelet. I've been eyeing several Etsy shops!
• Strange tan lines - As someone who is already dark-skinned, for some odd reason I've always envied people who got tan lines. Well, this past Canada Day I was out all day in the sun and guess what? Watch tan, bra strap tan, and bracelet tan! I wear them as badges of honour...I know, I'm weird...tell me something I don't know...
• Lip stains - Darn you, Tiffany! She is such an enabler! I've been looking into stains for a while, but her post about it sent me to the drugstore to try some out. Honestly, why didn't I try these before? Perfect for hot summer days when you don't want to faff about with makeup!

Out:

• Studying for entrance exams - ewww...I want to enjoy my summer! 
• Having cat hair all over my clothes
• Maintaining my eyebrows - While groomed eyebrows are always an in, the actual process of getting them there is just tedious. I wish I was pro at threading because it's so much faster than tweezing one hair at a time and the finished look is so much cleaner!

That's all I can think of for now...I suppose it's a good thing I have less outs than ins. Here's to positivity!

Summer Nail Polishes

While China Glaze, OPI, and Orly nail polishes get a lot of love on many blogs for their wide variety of shades, Revlon nail polishes I find are not talked about enough - especially considering they are inexpensive, good quality, and have a long shelf-life. I find that with a good topcoat, they are chip-free for at least 3 days if not more. 

In the spirit of summer, I've been sporting bright colours (well, ok except for the middle one) on both my hands and feet. These particular colours look so good with my NC45 skin tone! Also, sorry for the terrible nail swatches! I'm clearly not the best manicurist!

Revlon Nail Polishes L to R: Craving Coral, Plum Night, Plum Seduction

Both Craving Coral and Plum Seduction are opaque in two coats, however, Plum Night is a bit streaky and requires 3 coats for an opaque colour. Time-consuming, but that beautiful eggplant colour you get is worth it.

All three polishes are the kind I would describe as making your feet look "clean". There is just a je-ne-sais-quois crispness about them that makes them awesome on the toes.