I’ve made many promises to myself to drop my whole woe-is-me, I’m a stressed, sleep-deprived, emotionally unstable groaning act but it has been one of those weeks when there’s something due every day… I’ve been mulling around with this post idea since Monday, I believe, and I actually was able to get the photo done nice and early – thanks to the recently longer days of adequate sunlight – but after barely finishing everything that had to be done this week on time and barely getting enough sleep to function, I was unable to muster the effort to lift my head, let alone write a coherent blog post. I have had feelings on products and I wanted to share them. Oh, and I’ve been really getting into the sunscreen on the daily as of late but I’ve flip-flopped around with two because of the general skin craziness situation, so I’ll have to share my thoughts at a later date:

•  Differin 0.3 % Adalpalene Gel *RX* ($95): You might have heard me harp on about how much I have loved the long-term effects of using a non-irritating (read not alcohol based) retinoid to both prevent my mildish acne on my face and provide healing and fade general imperfections and unevenness and that has not stopped. However, I realized that I was using my old prescription Biacna retinoid-antibiotic combo gel after it was quite expired and my prescription had expired – so it was due time to visit the doctor for a new one and I ended up changing to this more hydrating purely adalpalene formula with a boost in concentration. So far so good but I was stupid and decided to use it for three days in a row right after going a little heavy on the AHAs, of course when my skin was already a bit dry so I might have gone through a patchy and flaky few days…
• NUDE Skincare Perfect Cleanse Nourishing Cleansing Oil ($46): I splurged on this cleansing oil back in November’s Sephora VIB Sale and have been using it fairly consistently ever since – however, in the last month or two it has become a staple and I’ve been kind of obsessed with it in the last week or two with my dehydrated irritated skin to remove makeup with the least fuss and aggravation. I have to praise this cleansing oil’s supreme gentleness, soothing ability and hydrating texture, the fact that it’s actually effective without going to town but most of all, I love that the pump does’t leak or get messy in the slightest. I’m not sure it’s worth the price tag, though, to be completely honest.
• Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation ($9-12): Although it’s only a one ounce bottle and being a glowing formula, I wouldn’t have expected this one bottle to last such a ridiculous long time and as much as I enjoy the formula (particularly on drier more finicky skin), I am dedicated to finally finishing up my bottle. It has a thicker but moisturizing texture and its thickness is likely why the bottle seems to be never ending…
• Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer ($7-8): I’ve had this affordable concealer for awhile but I’ve been rather indifferent to the formula, seeing as the colour is a wee bit too peachy golden to be ideal for underneath my eyes and a little too sheer for my eye bags and the formula is a bit too illuminating for use on the rest of the face. In the last week or two, however, I’ve been using the illuminating formula over the top of corrector underneath my eyes and to provide a bit of highlighting in the centre of my face – because of the sheerness of the concealer and its creamy texture, it actually works layered on my dry skin while still looking smooth and natural. The shade I use is 125 Very Fair, which isn’t all that pale to be honest.
• Benefit Girl Meets Pearl ($36): With my dull, dry and slightly irritated skin, it should almost be a given that I’ve been highlighter obsessed in these recent weeks to compensate for the dullness, dryness and general lacklustre skin and this easy-to-use liquid one has been my go-to. I love how it’s the easiest liquid product to apply even over powders and dry patches and the way that the colour sits halfway between a pink highlighter and a gold highlighter is strangely flattering, reading as luminous skin.
• Maybelline EyeStudio Brow Drama in Soft Brown ($11.99): I have loads of unruly – but sparse – long crazy brow hairs and while I wish this formula had more pigment and ability to fill in the gaps, I actually find myself loving the large ball applicator for quick application and foolproof shaping. The formula lasts on my brows for a ridiculous long time and doesn’t smudge off at all and I’m very partial to the colour as it’s appropriately cool-toned and not insanely dark.
• MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Chilled On Ice ($25): When I found myself wandering through MAC, on the lookout for a new lipstick, – a much-appreciated Valentine’s Day gift from my mother – I was transfixed by their lovely cream shadows, particularly those in lighter shimmery shades and I let myself go for it, as I’m kind of low on cream shadows in those shades that are not too dry to function. I surprised myself by reaching for a shade with some micro glitter along with my usual metallic finish, a pale whitened gold shade with a champagne lean to it that I believe originally came out years ago in the Cham-pale collection and has been made permanent since. I do have to say that these are my favourite creamy shadows based on their wear time and ease of use and I’ve been enjoying this shade as a base and as my whole eyeshadow – or just my lid shade – when I’ve not been up for much.

Have you tried any of these?

Maggie, x.