physician’s formula eye booster

Cold-Weather Product Empties

Like many others, I’ve realized that I have an excessive amount of beauty products and that the ritual of using beauty products has helped me not lose my mind during the pandemic. I’ve been rather good at getting through products in my stash and actually letting products go when they are finished, so much so that I amassed too many empty products to share in one post. Here’s the first batch of products I’ve finished in the past number of months:

Pur-lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Cleansing Milk ($36 US | 150 mL)

This milk cleanser was great and lasted a ridiculously long amount of time, but was kind of a lot to spend on a cleanser. It’s gentle, soothing, removes makeup and never ever stings, even on a really compromised and angry skin barrier. My skin was always left soothed and hydrated after I used it: it contains gentle non-foaming cleansing agents and soothing oat extract, green tea extract and liquorice root. It contains essential oils towards the bottom of the ingredient list but I actually didn’t experience any irritation.

Paula’s Choice Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner ($24 US | 118 mL)

I’ve repurchased this fragrance-free milky toner numerous times and will likely purchase again. It has fatty acids, sodium hyaluronate, a number of antioxidants and evening primrose oil. This is a godsend to apply after cleansing and exfoliating to lock in moisture and keep my skin barrier happy. I’ve said for years that this is a reparative serum in liquid form. It’s a dream to press into the skin, especially when your skin is angry and you’ve overdone it.

Grace & Stella Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum ($22.99 CDN | 50 mL)

Strangely enough, this was the first (or second, depending on how strict your definition of serum is) hyaluronic acid serum I’ve ever tried. I chose it in a FabFitFun box and it was good but I wouldn’t repurchase. It contains three different molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, glycerin, panthenol and castor oil and had a gel-like texture. My skin wasn’t irritated by it and I did notice my skin stayed nice and plump when used underneath a moisturizer.

Belif The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb ($27 CDN | 25 mL)

After trying this moisturizer as a sample, I picked up the smaller size at Sephora and happily made my way through it in a couple of months. I repurchased to say the least. This silicone and oil-rich moisturizer has a cushion-y texture, leaving my dull, flaky and a bit sensitive skin plump and dewy. It contains a number of fermented extracts, silicones, panthenol, squalane and soothing extracts, such as oat kernel. I will note that some of the extracts are fragrant so it’s not a moisturizer I reach for when my moisture barrier is screaming out for mercy.

Paula’s Choice Defense Antioxidant Pore Purifier ($31 US | 30 mL)

This is a great introductory serum of sorts, being aimed to combat environmental aggressors, brighten the skin and combat congestion, but with the strength of the actives in my routine already, I find kind of irritating. One of the main ingredients is ascorbyl glucoside (a vitamin c derivative) and another is pore-clearing salicylic acid, which is shortly followed by potassium azeloyl diglycinate (an azelaic acid derivative). There are also a number of antioxidants in this serum. I actually enjoyed using it on my chest and shoulders where I’ve always been more prone to breakouts and scarring. Essentially, the ingredients in this antioxidant serum are very nice but they give my skin active overload when used in my routine on my face. Also, it makes my face sting.

Neutrogena Bright Boost Gel Cream ($34.99 CDN | 50 mL)

I love using this lighter cream as a humectant in the ‘serum’ stage of the routine. I love it despite the fact that it contains fragrance and is housed in jar packaging that can degrade the squalane and mandelic acid it contains. It leaves a flattering pink glow to the skin while being loaded with the polyhydroxy acid, gluconolactone, restoring acetyl glucosamine, mandelic acid and squalane. It gently resurfaces the skin whilst restoring the skin barrier and drawing moisture to the skin. I bought another jar. It’s even more reasonably priced on Amazon…

Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream ($15.49-$17.99 CDN | 226g)

Somehow I managed to only use up one body moisturizer in this season and a half since I last emptied my empty products bin, but it’s one I’ve repurchased yet again. This is a good cream for my eczema, which has flared up in the cooler weather. It stings less than pretty much everything else I’ve tried, is soothing with 1% colloidal oatmeal and keeps my eczema-prone skin in check. It also features castor oil, mineral oil, soothing liquorice root, a ceramide and an antibacterial ingredient. It’s fragrance free and feels comforting on dry tight winter skin.

Curlmix Sweet Almond Oil Flaxseed Gel ($26 US | 236 mL)

I liked this creamy fragrance-free flaxseed gel but it didn’t quite have the hold and obnoxious curl-clumping abilities I’m looking for. I ended up having to order it from US Amazon — but it’s not even available there at the moment — and ended up having to pay a bit for shipping consequently and it wasn’t worth the hassle. I will say it was nicely creamy and moisturizing and left me with defined shiny waves and curls that had body. The lighter weight creamy gel was fantastic for refreshing, I must say.

Garnier Fructis Curl Treat Shaping Jelly ($7.49 CDN | 311 mL)

This gel is a favourite of mine that I recently finished up, but was mainly using last winter and spring. It has a thick and gummy souffle kind of texture that only works well on drenched hair but when used in this way, it creates awesome hold and clumps without stickiness or stringiness when it dries. I get the best results when I use a curl cream underneath but I can use it on it’s own too. It contains glycerin along with other more complex humectants — including film-forming ones — and coconut oil. This gel has given me some of my best hair days but only when I use it on soaking wet hair properly. I repurchased it. It’s a hard hold gel and holds up particularly well in high humidity.

The Mane Choice Cheers Super Strength & Full Protection Gel-ato ($13.99 US | 355 mL)

I knew that buying this incredibly thick and sticky oil-rich gel was a risk for my fine wavy curls, but I found myself pleasantly surprised. My best results were thinning out the gel slightly in soaking wet hair to evenly distribute the gel and form the best multiple-day curl clumps, using this gel as my sole styling product. It’s one that takes a while to dry and smells like boozy grapes but has given me some of the best hair days, especially in humid wet east coast winter weather. It contains a lot of protein but is offset with humectants and oils. Even though it’s a pain to get in Canada and the texture is borderline repulsive, I’d repurchase. It gives me smooth, defined and shiny curls that clump together nicely. The hold is firm in my opinion, even in my long porous strands that seem to eat up product. This would be great for parched frizzy tighter curls.

Curl Junkie Spiral Lotion ($28.99 CDN | 236 mL)

This curl-cream-stroke-leave-in was a thinner, slippery-er texture than I usually prefer but I loved it, nevertheless. It’s not a styler I would use on its own except in a refreshing capacity, but it encouraged my curls and waves to spiral underneath a gel and left my hair with texture and bounce. It contains irish moss, your usual slip agents, hydrolyzed pumpkin extract and cranberry seed oil. It’s also fragrance-free. I’ll repurchase when I’m making an order on a site that sells it and ships affordably to Canada.

L’Oreal Bambi Eye Mascara ($14.49 CDN | 8.5 mL)

During the past number of months, I finished two different tubes of this mascara. It has solidified its place as my favourite everyday mascara. It’s a lightweight volumizing and separating mascara with a football-shaped synthetic brush. It doesn’t get clumpy easily and does lead to a wide-eyed effect that isn’t a pain to remove with a balm cleanser. I’m onto a new tube now.

L’Oreal Matte Signature Liquid Dip Eyeliner ($14.99 CDN | 2.25 mL)

As a winged eyeliner addict, I really enjoyed using this traditional brush-tip liquid eyeliner. The tip was firm and creates precise thin lines but I will admit that it requires a steady hand, which isn’t always my thing. It was super black and stayed black for months and months. It doesn’t smudge or anything, yet removes easily with cleanser. It was good enough that I repurchased it before dumping the old one into my empties bag.

Physician’s Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner+Serum ($15.99 CDN)

I’ve been using this brush-tip-pen-hybrid eyeliner happily for years. I think the serum claims are semi-ridiculous but it does create the fastest and most fool proof flick. I repurchased and will repurchase again. It removes easily with cleansing balm or any oil-based cleanser and doesn’t smudge unless you nap, laying down on the wing precisely.

Maybelline Brow Studio Brow Tint Pen in 355 Soft Brown ($14.49 CDN | 1.1 mL)

I’m not sure if I got an iffy pen or what, but there wasn’t much liquid in this pen and it wouldn’t even let me fill in one eyebrow without running out of ‘brow juice’. The colour was alright — medium in tone but a bit warm for my cooler brown strands. I used it to fill in the tail of my eyebrows on minimal makeup days but after months, I got sick enough of it that I gave up.

What products have you emptied?
Maggie, x.

Some Winter Empty Products

It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these posts. However, I realized that I had finished a good assortment of products that I have thoughts to share on. Sidenote: Rather than dwell on the Deva Curl drama when I talk about individual products, I will note here that I’m well aware of the scalp issues that people have experienced using their products and the reports of hair loss. I did experience itchiness and scalp irritation when using their cleansers and full on routine. However, I love the results of their stylers and the occasional treatment products. They aren’t for everyone though, and they certainly aren’t the be all and end all of products for textured hair.

DSC_0100

Deva Curl B’Leave In Miracle Curl Plumper ($26.55 CDN | 177 mL): This is actually my most repurchased hair product of all time and I’m going to repurchase it again. I’ve gone through at least four tubes of this product since my first attempt at the curly girl method years ago. It’s not actually a leave-in conditioner. It’s a smoothing thin gelee textured product that works fantastically on my fine delicate curls. It helps my curls that easily clump together maintain that clumped and spiral-y formation that they can lose at the drop of a hat during the drying process. It helps bulk up my waves and curls into spirals and adds bounce. It’s glycerin based product that also contains wheat amino acids and a couple of different kinds of hydrolyzed proteins high on the ingredient list.

Deva Curl Wave Maker Touchable Texture Whip ($36.54 CDN| 147.9 mL): Having finer hair, a looser curl pattern and wanting volume, I was convinced that this was going to be the curl cream for me. It wasn’t. It was so lightweight that I found I had to use lots of it and created texture and separation in the way I didn’t want. It separated my curl clumps. After I didn’t like this cream styler, I thought that maybe curl creams weren’t for me. I was wrong. It does have medium-ish hold on its own and contains way less glycerin than their other creams. I think this product could be great on baby fine hair that is easily weighed down and those wanting beachy kind of texture.

Deva Curl Supercream Coconut Curl Styler ($38 CDN | 150 mL): I honestly don’t know if I would have thought  to try a different curl cream from Devacurl if I hadn’t randomly grabbed a sample of this from Sephora. I found myself pleasantly surprised by this curl cream and ended up purchasing it. It really helped to clump my curls together into spirals and gives the hair structure and moisture. It contains a whole lot of coconut oil and glycerin and a bit of protein. However, it’s not overly heavy and helped to control my hair (especially in the humid summer) while offering light hold. The subtle authentic coconut scent was pleasant.

Deva Curl Styling Cream Touchable Curl Definer ($38 CDN | 150 mL): I bought the original curl cream after I liked Supercream so much. It’s fairly similar to Supercream but is a little bit lighter and has a bit more hold — and can actually be used on its own without a gel or holding product — and doesn’t contain coconut oil. It’s also glycerin based and has a similar cream consistency. It helps my curls and waves clump together but might leave my hair with slightly more bounce and volume. It’s offers a little bit less control than Supercream though and has a sugary fruit scent. I bought it again.

Deva Curl Ultra Defining Gel ($58.06 CDN | 946 mL): I consistently used this gel over the last year or so and there’s nothing I’ve gotten better results with. It has medium firm hold that will develop a cast that isn’t too tenacious and is fairly weightless on the hair. It contains a whole lot of glycerin and quite a bit of hydrolyzed protein. Both of those ingredients help to enhance my fine waves and curls, regardless of season. It plays particularly well with a cream underneath. I’ve repurchased the litre size again. This gel also leaves me with more volume than several others I’ve tried and dries faster than most gels.

Curl Junkie Repair Me Reconstructive Hair Treatment ($36 CDN | 355 mLs): It should speak volumes that I placed an order to specifically get this protein deep conditioner back into my life even before I was out of it and that I cut the bottle open to get every last bit out. It’s a great deep conditioner with out of this world slip. It contains hydrolyzed keratin as the fourth ingredient so it lends the strands a serious protein boost, while still being a super moisturizing treatment. It’s rich but relatively lightweight and always leaves my waves and curls a little bit bouncier and clumped after use.

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Conditioner ($12-$13.49 CDN | 379 mLs): This ended up being an easily accessible medium weight concentrated conditioner. It had moderate slip and offered the right amount of weight and nourishment for my fine but incredibly thirsty strands. It’s silicone free and is comprised mainly of glycerin, shea butter, jojoba, argan and olive oil, along with a bit of hydrolyzed silk. It was enough moisture for multi day hair, encouraged my waves and curls to clump together in a nice way but didn’t weigh down my hair. It also worked as a leave-in; I’d buy again.

Aveeno Intense Relief Overnight Cream ($12.49 CDN | 208 mLs): This was a nice fragrance free cream that helped calm the winter dry itch and hydrated the skin nicely with petrolatum, shea butter and oat extract. However, it was so lightweight that I went through the tube very quickly, applying a generous amount twice a day to my legs and arms. I’ve moved onto richer creams that seal in moisture on my patches of eczema better.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Under(cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer ($58 CDN | 30 mLs): This ended up being a very expensive moisturizing product for me, offering no sort of priming benefits beyond one of my standard moisturizers. It was smoothing in the way that moisturizers containing silicones are and had that kind of thick semi-oily feel that only coconut alkanes as an ingredient leaves behind. I experienced no issues but I also didn’t find that my makeup looked better or lasted longer with this primer.

Physician’s Formula Eye Booster Lash 2-in-1 Boosting Eyeliner & Serum in Ultra Black ($15.99): I’ve gone through countless tubes of this liquid eyeliner and I’m sure that won’t be changing anytime soon. This brush and pen hybrid style liner turned me into a liquid girl. This pen creates a slim flick with ease in seconds and doesn’t require a steady hand.

What have you used up lately?
Maggie, x.

 

 

 

 

Top 18 of 2018

Some of my favourite posts to read and videos to watch are those detailing yearly favourites. However, I haven’t managed to write one since 2015. I’m remedying this now, after much thought on what products I would include. You can’t possibly imagine how much time I’ve spent thinking and thinking about this.  The way that I thought about the yearly favourites were the eighteen products that I relied on the most and got the best performance from throughout the year. I do note that some of these won’t surprise any regular readers here in the least and they aren’t products that just came out this year or products that I bought in the last year necessarily. Here we go.

fullsizeoutput_2b9.jpeg

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm ($39 CDN)

This fragrance and known irritant free balm cleanser was a late 2017 discovery that firmly has become my favourite makeup remover because it dissolves everything without stinging my eyes, blurring my vision – unless I’m an idiot and use way too much – or irritating my skin. It’s such a gentle balm cleanser that I managed to use it during an eczema flare when even water made my skin burn and itch without an issue. It’s nothing glamorous but removes even the toughest eye makeup and dissolves foundation better than anything else I’ve tried without that stripping factor. It’s so good that I can skip a second cleanse if I’m feeling lazy without getting under the skin bumps the next day.

IMG_0260.JPG

Paula’s Choice RESIST Advanced Replenishing Toner ($24 US)

Since trying out the Skin Recovery Toner in 2015, I haven’t wanted to be without one of these Paula’s Choice milky toners. Honestly, I tend to flip flop between this offering and the Skin Recovery one but just using one of them is essential for my skin that is prone to irritation, dehydration, flaking and eczema. It honestly provides many of the benefits of a serum in a milky liquid form. It’s obviously formulated without alcohol, fragrance and ingredients that are known to be irritating. It’s soothing and is incredibly helpful in maintaining a healthy skin barrier and repairing a compromised one with fatty acids, antioxidants and hydrating ingredients. It provides a soothing effect short term and long-term keeps my skin looking healthier and brighter, without dry patches and calmed.

Paula’s Choice RESIST Advanced Smoothing Treatment 10% AHA ($36 US) | review

Along with my prescription retinoid, – and more recently my azelaic acid – I rely on an AHA exfoliant to keep my skin smooth and clear on the whole and hydrated. This one keeps my pores from getting clogged and with the 0.5% salicylic acid and I find the glycolic, lactic, malic and tartaric acid formula to be gentler than pure glycolic acid but still have the same even-ing, brightening, smoothing and water-binding impact that single note formulas can have. More impressively, I love how gentle the formula is and how it combines the exfoliating ingredients with antioxidants and skin-replenishing ingredients. Essentially, it acts as a serum and effective exfoliant at once and I find it easier to tolerate, likely as a result of the antioxidants and anti-irritants.

Paula’s Choice RESIST Skin Restoring Moisturizer SPF 50 ($33 US)

It appears that I may have a thing for the Paula’s Choice RESIST line for dry skin, I’m realizing. I think that this is because they are chalked full of antioxidants and anti-irritants that make the formulas the most soothing and replenishing as possible, which my easily irritated skin needs. This is a very hydrating and cosmetically elegant lotion that is formulated with chemical sunscreen actives and is unique because it’s the only chemical sunscreen I’ve ever tried that has not immediately irritated my skin. I think I’ll always be a mineral sunscreen girl but I love this one for how it’s truly hydrating, isn’t greasy and never clings to dry patches in the way that mineral actives do. I think I tolerate this one because of the robust antioxidants and anti-irritants in the formula.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($72 CDN) | review

There’s no foundation that I’ve tried in the last three years that has knocked this cult favourite foundation from its spot as my go-to foundation. It looks incredibly skin like, even on my uneven texture and dry patches, and has a satin finish that lasts until I remove it on my dry thirsty skin. I like the medium-buildable coverage that it offers and how it will cover even reddened eczema patches, without losing that radiant finish. Without fail, this expensive foundation always makes me feel and look my best. Plus, it photographs fantastically.

IMG_0266.JPG

Laura Geller Balance n Brighten Baked Colour Correcting Foundation ($45 CDN)

Being someone with drier skin that doesn’t suffer from issues of makeup longevity, I have a tendency to skip powder altogether. However, I have discovered that I really like this one because of the light coverage it provides that mainly serves to cancel out redness of my face and because of the soft focus radiant (but without shimmer in sight) finish that it  provides over my t-zone. I tend to like wearing it if I’m going to be taking pictures and I loved wearing it in the unseasonably hot summer that we had. Also, the smoothing finish and coverage it provides works nicely as a low maintenance ‘foundation’ alternative on good skin days and days when I’m doing two or three minute makeup.

L’Oreal Paris True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation ($20-25 CDN)

I’m beyond irritated that this foundation doesn’t seem to be carried by most drugstores in Canada anymore but I’m pleased that they haven’t discontinued my favourite lighter coverage base entirely. The cushion foundation is not the most economical option but as someone who rarely goes through foundation, it’s worthwhile for an easy option that’s almost undetectable on the skin and doesn’t cling to dry patches in the slightest. When I’m unsure of what to grab as a base and I don’t have time to think about it, I reach for this light to medium coverage offering because it’s hydrating, weightless and doesn’t cling to dry patches. The dewy finish is very brightening and it covers redness well but always looks like skin.

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Amber ($31 CDN)

As someone whose face just looks better with a bit of shading, I find myself often reaching for this cream-to-powder contour colour because it’s easy to blend into the skin and has a realistic grey tone that reads as a shadow. Also it works with both powder and cream products in my routine.

Colourpop Super Shock Highlighter in Wisp ($8 US)

I bought this putty-cream textured highlighter in a kit last year with a hefty dose of skepticism but I found myself really enjoying the gleam and sheen that this bronzier golden champagne highlighter provided to my cheeks. It’s one of those highlighters without obvious shimmer, I must note. Being fair, I find that I have to use a lighter hand but I love the luminous sheen it gives my cheekbones and how it adds life to my skin.

Physician’s Formula Eyebooster Lash Boosting Eyeliner & Serum ($15 CDN)

I feel like I’ve rambled on about how much I love this brush-tipped pen style liquid eyeliner so much recently but I do adore reaching for it on a daily basis because it creates a bit of a kitten flick with ease. I don’t have to worry about my eyeliner if I use this one. It removes easily and doesn’t really budge either.

Viseart Matte Eyeshadow Palette in Warm Mattes 10 ($100 CDN) | review

Ever since I picked up this expensive sunset-hued matte palette towards the beginning of 2018, it’s been my everyday go-to. I love how the shades have that flattering warm hue and that everything except a black is included for shade selection. Most of all I like that the shades crease on me the least of any eyeshadow formula, last for ages, blend like a dream and do not cause fallout. The red shade in this palette even got me on the red eyeshadow train.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette ($55 CDN)

It seems like whenever I do these kinds of posts, I can’t resist including a product or two that I’ve more recently discovered. This palette I might have only picked up at the beginning of November, but it has become a real favourite of mine since then. The colour choices are a bit more interesting than the Viseart, being a mixture of neutral mattes (with a few shimmers thrown in), along with some red and berry-toned shades. I love how it makes a nice one and done look and I’ve enjoyed experimenting with the more red shades. The formula’s powderiness doesn’t seem to leave fallout, either. Also, the formula is pretty easy to work with. I love the inclusion of a few shimmery shades for the lid and to add some dimension.

MAC Eyeshadow in All That Glitters ($9/$19 CDN)

I came close to including a selection of the MAC eyeshadows that I reached for some throughout the year but in all honesty, I mainly reached for this peachy champagne shimmery shadow. I’ve repurchased it countless times and when I wanted a lid shade, I always find myself reaching for this one and am pleased with how it looks.

MAC Brow Set in Beguile ($22 CDN)

While I might have a lot of brow, they are sparse and tend to look unnatural unless a lot of care is put into gently filling them in and taming them. This year, I discovered that using this brow mascara with a light hand held them in place and helped to fill in the sparse sections, without looking product-y or unnatural in the slightest. It was a godsend for when I wanted to do something with my brows but did not have the time or energy to really fill them in.

L’Oreal Pro Matte Liquid Lipstick in 360 Angora ($12.99 CDN)

My lip product discovery and favourite of the year was easily this liquid lipstick formula and my go to shade was this medium-toned greige shade. I have super dry lips and aren’t a particularly clean eater and drinker and tend to experience lip products wearing off unevenly through the day, accentuating my dry patches. I like a lip product that I don’t have to think about and this one fits the bill, especially because once I let this product set on my lips, it can last through a Christmas dinner. I also like how the formula doesn’t have a super dry feel but sets on my lips. Also, the colour is interesting enough that it feels kind of cool and different without being a bold or jarring colour.

MAC Lip Pencil in Boldly Bare ($22 CDN)

As much as I like buying lip products, I don’t find myself reaching for them on a daily basis because I can’t be bothered with the upkeep and having to think about them. On days when I wanted some colour to my lips, I often found myself filling in my lips with this neutral coral-hued rosy pencil and topping it with lip balm or a sheerer neutral lipstick offering. It happily lived in my purse throughout the year.

IMG_0263.JPG

DevaCurl One Condition Delight Weightless Waves ($32/$62 CDN)

I have long porous fine wavy curls that tangles like nothing else in this world and this conditioner ticks all of the boxes for a daily conditioner; I can use it as a leave-in to keep my curlier underlayer of hair hydrated and defined without flattening out the wimpier waves that are prone to falling out on the top layer of my hair and as my standard conditioner of choice.  I have a ton of hair that requires a ton of slip to detangle and this fits the bill, whilst adding the dose of protein that gives my hair the bounce it needs to look good. It has great slip and provides moisture without weight for my thirsty locks. It’s free of drying alcohols and silicones.

DevaCurl B’Leave In ($27 CDN)

This year, I noticed that most of my good hair days – when I actually wore my curls and waves down – occurred after using this curl boosting product in addition to gel and whatever cream product I was using. This holdless gel-textured product added a weightless dose of protein to my fine hair and really boosted the bounce and curl in sections of my hair that are prone to wilting and falling flat. I’ve used this product before with good results but I rediscovered it this year when I started putting more effort into my hair again.

Any favourites to share?
Maggie, x.