The Winter months take a toll on my skin not only because it is sensitive, but because my skin is dry and just gets drier during that time. A few things I know I need to keep my skin and face looking great is a very hydrating moisturizer and a good exfoliating product. Recently I was given the opportunity to try a product from Farmacy Beauty, a brand that I have never used before. The New Day Gentle Exfoliating Grains with Echinacea GreenEnvy has been an interesting product for me to use the last two weeks and today I’m going to share it with you.
Farmacy New Day Gentile Exfoliating Grains with Echinacea GreenEnvy retails for $30.00 (3.5 oz / 100g), is an innovative cleansing product that has grains that transform into a gentle, foaming exfoliating cream with the addition of water. The New Day cleanser is a potent, all-inclusive skin care treatment. The grains cleanse, exfoliate and clarify in one step for fresh, clear skin. The natural cranberry seeds provide a deep clean to lift away surface debris and promote skin clarity while rice bran powder loosens dry skin cells and absorbs excess oils and surface impurities. A complex of white willow bark, carrot, green tea and marshmallow soothe, protect and calm the skin.
Packaging for this product is interesting… I literally shake out a little bit of the powder onto my hand when I’m ready to use it. The product is easily dispensed and I like that there is really no mess to using it. It is a powder like cleanser, which is something I have used before… but it still has an interesting flair to it.
This interesting cleanser is powered by Echinacea GreenEnvy – which is a unique patent-protected variant of Echinacea Purpurea. GreenEnvy contains the highest known concentration of the phytochemical Cichoric Acid, a potent natural antioxidant which helps to protect and firm the skin by inhibiting the enzymes that break down collagen. Cichoric Acid also normalizes the skin pigmentation process to promote a more evenly toned complexion.
Mark Veeder is the pioneer plantsman behind the discovery and patenting of Echinacea GreenEnvy™, a unique variant of Echinacea Purpurea. He has partnered with farming expert Robert Beyfuss to cultivate the plant in upstate New York. Together, they are creating jobs and changing lives in their local community.
The scientists and lab behind Farmacy are innovative experts in cosmetic formulation and research, and seek out nature’s most novel yet effective ingredients.
Echinacea GreenEnvy™ is transported only two hours to the lab, where it undergoes a cold pressing process, similar to cold pressed juices.
When you add water to the cleanser and stir it up with your finger in the palm of your hand, the cranberry seeds reveal themselves in the mixture. I then apply the cleanser/exfoliator to my face softly and lightly rub into my face cleaning away the dirties and exfoliating at the same time. The cleanser is very gentle and I like that when I am done cleaning, my face feels invigorated. Washing it off is easy and it will remove with water. After the application and removal, my face feels like it is not only clean but soft and even moisturized. I like it. It’s a bit different than what I am used to but I have enjoyed using this product the last couple of weeks. A little product goes a long way and since I have sensitive skin – I can’t use this product every day. I don’t blame the product necessarily – my darn skin is just so finicky so I use this product about once a week.
While this is not a traditional cleanser and exfoliator that I would use, I’m very impressed. The concept is really nice and the formula is very gentle on my sensitive skin. I love that my face feels so clean and feels airy and soft like I had just had a facial. I’m pretty impressed with this little bottle and what’s included in the package. I think it will definitely be something that I will continue to use as a part of my skin care routine for a great feeling of clean.
Farmacy Beauty products are available at Farmacybeauty.com and Sephora.com.
Have you tried Farmacy Beauty products before? If so, which ones and how did you like them?
Disclaimer: The product mentioned above was sent to me for review and consideration. All opinions are my own, 100% honest and unbiased and I was not paid to provide my thoughts on this product. Affiliate links posted through out.
It’s no secret that I am a skin care junkie and love products that will help with anti-aging and to protect my skin. While it may not be an ideal for most – I love getting new skin care to try and products as gifts so I figured it would be fun to share something with you that I have been enjoying lately. TelomErase Triple Telomere Targeting Serum is the next generation of anti-aging, age-defying technology and I think it would make a great gift for the skin care lover in your life. Today I’m going to share a little about the product with you.
TelomErase Triple Telomere Targeting Serum is a 6-in-1 Multi-corrective that erases, tightens, brightens, blurs and moisturizes as well as regenerates. The product contains the most powerful combination of new ingredients available to help visibly reduce the appearance of sags & bags, dark circles, fine lines, sun spots, redness, pore size and laxity. I received sample sizes of this serum to try from Reviv Serums. The full sized product is currently on sale for $143.00 (retail $299.00) and includes 60 mL / 2 fl. oz. worth of product. When I first seen the price of this product, I literally almost fell off my chair. This product is expensive and I’ll be the first person to admit it. Is it worth the cost? Let’s learn a little more about it, shall we?
This is an image of the full sized bottle. Image from Reviv Serums website.
The TelomErase Serum is the first product of its kind with three proven telomere targeters: Cycloastragenol + Renovage + Telosomyl (all of which I have no idea about – just saying). These ingredients are the latest in cosmetic chemistry spotlighting telomere stabilization. You can check out the video to get a little more information here.
A conference by Nobel laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn at the recent American Academy of Dermatology conclave in San Francisco underlined the clear correlation between telomere length and integrity with overall health and skin condition. Protecting telomeres is a valid strategy to maintain healthy skin, Dr. Blackburn noted. A study from Harvard Medical School showed that telomere shortening is a root cause of cellular aging. An enzyme, telomerase, has been shown to slow or even reverse telomere shortening that occurs as we age, but the amount of telomerase declines as we get older. The development of a sensitive and efficient telomerase activity detection method has only recently made it possible to quantitate telomerase activity.
Research states that in a 30 day, 22 person consumer study of TelomErase, over 90% of consumers tested and noted a reduction in the appearance of skin laxity and skin roughness. 88% agreed that the area around the eye appeared improved and 74% of testers also saw a reduction in the appearance of redness and large pores. 90% agreed that it made their skin more soft and smooth.
So what about me, did I get any results after using these for about 2 1/2 weeks?? Well… first, let me start by saying that I felt and seen visible results instantly. I love a product that can provide instant results, it’s gratifying to say the least. I noticed my pores and fine lines kind of plumped up (if that makes any sense) and my pores were less visible after applying the product. A little of the product goes a long way – literally, a little drop or pump of the product smoothed onto the skin is all I needed. I also love that after just a few days, I noticed that the areas on my face where I tend to get the most dry – did not get many dry patches as it normally would, especially during the colder months like it is now. My skin feels smooth and soft and when I apply blush on my cheeks, it smooths on nicely – without primer. When this serum is applied to my under eyes – I noticed my puffiness diminished a lot – which is a huge deal. The last few days I have been without sleep and even my dark circles were reduced.
This product has a liquid like texture and squeezes easily out of the pump. It reminds me of a vitamin c serum, very similar in texture and applies easily and smoothly. I love that it doesn’t leave my skin sticky after application and dries / soaks into my skin quickly. It’s kind of orange or butter yellow in color.
I totally think this product works well and I would continue to use it. However, the price point for the full size bottle is out of my reach and not something I would be able to afford. This seurm does have key ingredients that I use daily in my skin care like Hyaluronic Acid, which means I am getting some of the benefits of my favorite serums with use of this product and I didn’t notice any adverse effects to my skin – which is a great thing since my skin is so darn sensitive. At initial application I did notice a little tingling sensation, but not so much that it burned or made my face irritated.
Would I buy this product myself? Well, it’s completely out of my price range at the moment, but if I had an expendable income – YES, I would. I love how my face feels after testing this product myself and I think it’s a great serum. I just can’t afford it and don’t think I will any time soon. I think it’s a great product and I would continue to use it if it wasn’t so costly. Considering the ingredients and what makes this serum so unique, I can understand that the chemistry makeup of this serum is what makes it so expensive, but unfortunately it is out of my financial reach. I totally suggest it however, and would recommend to anyone that can afford it.
What about you? Have you heard of this product before or anything with similar chemistry? Would you spend a hefty cost on a product that offered the chance for results to that of the fountain of youth?
Disclaimer: The product mentioned in this post was sent to me for review and consideration. All opinions are my own, 100% honest and unbiased. I was not paid to provide my thoughts on this product. Affiliate links are posted through out. This is a part of a Brandbacker campaign.
Have you ever purchased a cosmetic item because you thought it was love at first sight? I think much of what I buy when it comes to makeup fits that description… though I have been very lucky to have purchased products that I do enjoy. Right after ColourPop’s release of their Creme Gel Liners, I decided I would pick up a few of them to try. Come on now… we all know that there is absolutely no way I was going to ignore it and I knew that I just had to have it. With over 80 eye shadows in my collection and a ton of lippies, I had hoped that these liners would make a great addition to my collection… but did they? I love the eye shadows and the lippies and had expected that these liners would really hit the spot when I ordered them… but since we all know I like to keep it absolutely real, here’s my break down and low down on the ColourPop Creme Gel Liners. Are you ready for this?
I picked up a small selection of the pencil Creme Gel Liners and the Creme Gel Colour liners in the pot. The potted liners retail for $6.00 and the pencils are just $5.00. Considering the price point I really think these are not bad in cost. The pencil liners are twist up types but honestly, I think the formulation of the liner itself is just too soft and creamy for the packaging it has come in. I have broken several tips while using and testing these and I find that the formula of the pencil is so soft, with a little warmth, they can easily bend and break with ease. The packaging for the Gel liners in the pot is quite nice. I love that sturdy glass feel and the weight of the packaging itself makes for ease of use. The pot has a great shape to it which makes storing a breeze and I’m quite impressed with the packaging overall. I decided when I placed my order that I would get colors I knew I would make use out of so besides the bright purple (Piggy Bank), all of the shades I got were ones I know would be wearable for every day or otherwise.
I only purchased three shades out of the many that ColourPop offers. It’s obvious that with my love of purple, I needed to get a purple liner and I figured a brown-like and black would be ideal since those are colors I use often and could really be the judge of whether they were a fit for me.
Piggy Bank (purple) is a gorgeous purple shade and I would have loved to be able to use this more as not only a liner but also as a base. The liner is kind of odd in texture and has a weird sticky feel to it that reminds me of glue. When glue is just about to dry and still has a bit of tackiness to it. It doesn’t smooth onto the eye lid easily and creating a precise line even with the skinniest of liner brushes is a struggle. I’ve been doing makeup for years and still found that my line became too thick for me because working with this particular liner was not easy.
Best O (blackened burgundy / deep burgundy shade) is another gorgeous color. It has a matte finish and would make a great liner for every day if it didn’t have the same type of texture as Piggy Bank does. That sticky glue like formula makes for creating a precise line quite a challenge and I found that this shade is best used to draw along the lash line but not to create a wing. It takes a little more time and effort to apply than what I am used to.
Swerve (black) is your basic matte black shade. This liner is super creamy and applies okay. It feels like it has somewhat of a mousse like texture, which can make application a challenge depending on the brush. I find with a thin liner brush it applies much better than with a flat liner brush. While I think this one applies the best out of the three I got, I still expected a lot from these and was a bit let down.
The swatches below were taken immediately after the liners were applied and before they had dried and set. I wanted to show how each one applied specifically with each type of brush I used to test as well as how they skipped when applying. As you can see – the black is the best in application, but if you don’t let it set and you touch it before it does, it can smear. Once set – it seems to be quite smudge proof.
These liners dry very quickly, which made them difficult to use as a base for eye shadows – I tried and it just turned out to be a mess. While they dry and set well and I noticed little to no smudging, if I were to drop water on these liners (swatches) or my eyes were to tear up as they often do due to my allergies, these became a mess to look at. One day I had used the liners to create a wing liner and as my eyes teared I noticed that it started to drip down the sides of my eyes, causing havoc on the rest of my makeup. While these may work just fine for others, I can’t get away with it if I’m having a sensitive eye day. When I used these on days my eyes were fine, I got several hours of wear without any issues so long as I didn’t wash my face. I cannot use these on my waterline at all as they will run.
Since I had high hopes for the Gel liners in the pot, I had hoped that the pencil liners would work as well as some of my favorite drugstore brands. These are nice in that they have a twist up top which allows for dispensing the product. Each shade color is displayed on the end of the pencil as well as at the tip so you know which color you are using at any given time.
Stomper (cool toned brown) is a great every day liner. This is the liner I have gotten the most use out of since I started using these.
No Shame (blackened violet) is a gorgeous liner that would be a great alternative to using black. I use this liner right at the base of my lash line (not on my waterline) and it will make my brown eyes really pop and sparkle.
Get Paid (metallic rose gold) Who doesn’t love a great rose gold – if you know me, you know this is one of my favorite colors. The liner is gorgeous and has a metallic sheen to it – not matte like the others I have. It applies nicely and makes a great pop of color for every day or for something special.
Call Me (deep plum brown) This is a great brown shade and brings out my eye color, however… this pencil consistently breaks on me… even in the pencil itself it seems to break before I even twist it up. It arrived bent and hasn’t been good since the first use.
So – these liners apply like most pencil liners do. They have a slight creamy texture and smooth onto the lid pretty nicely. They do seem to take a lot longer to set than the pot liners and smudge very easily if they are not dry. These are a little more workable than the pot liners which would allow them to make pretty okay bases for your shadows. I cannot use these liners on my waterline AT ALL because they will create a mess and I’ll literally look like a done up raccoon. They are not waterproof in my opinion, but so long as you are not tearing up a lot (as I can do sometimes) they will have some pretty good staying power, lasting my eye looks quite a few hours in my day. Again, once these set, they don’t seem to smudge much, but I would not pull for these on a day where my allergies are bad because they won’t last.
I think the pencil liners definitely have some ease of use to them, but if you are looking for a really precise and sharp line with these, once you use them, the actual pencil starts to dull down some. The twist up function of these make it easy to use and replenish the pencil, but it doesn’t have that point that I tend to look for in a pencil liner. While some of these seem to do pretty well, I’m disappointed that the liner breaks so easily within the pencil chamber. If you lightly shake the pencil you can hear the actual liner moving around on the inside, which makes me think that that is the reason why they break so easily… it’s loose in the casing. I think the packaging itself could use some fixing so that the pencils do not break as easily. Each pencil I have (4) has broken in some form and once it does, you can’t fix it. The actual pencil itself is also very skinny and the formulation a bit soft so I have noticed quite a bit of warping in the pencil itself from a change in temperature and I stash these in a room with air conditioning consistently.
While I’m a fan of ColourPop’s shadows and lippies and I can make use of these liners if I have the time, I do not think I will be repurchasing or purchasing anymore of these. I think if they made a change in the formulation for the Gel liners in the pot and switched up the packaging some in the pencil liners, I may try a few other colors I had my sights on but at this time, I think that while these are affordable, I will not get much use out of them if I decided to invest in more. Don’t get me wrong, I will surely try my best to make the ones I own workable for me… I hate wasting my money and on days when I know I’ll be able to make use of them, I’ll definitely be doing so. But, I was very underwhelmed and unimpressed with the liners this time around. Since ColourPop is only about a year old or so – I would expect that there had to be something in their creations that I wasn’t a fan of as they slowly work to create perfection, but that doesn’t mean I would enjoy the brand’s products nonetheless. ColourPop still has a piece of my cosmetic heart – even if these were a fail for me.
What about you? Are you a ColourPop fan and if so, have you tried these yet? If not, do you have anything on your list you plan to check out soon?
Disclaimer: All products discussed and mentioned in this post were purchased by me with my own money. I was not paid to feature these products. All opinions are my own and 100% honest and unbiased and affiliate links are posted through out.
I love the color pink – while it’s not my favorite, it’s a color I do really enjoy. But, this color is much more than just a shade but a representation of women all over the World who battle or are battling Breast Cancer. I had a scare last year after finding a lump in my breast and found out after a few tests that it was benign but there are so many that are not so lucky. October is Breast Cancer awareness month and today I want to share with you a product I’ve been trying that has a special edition for this month and Breast Cancer Awareness. ELEMIS is a new brand to me, one I have not heard about before. I was given the opportunity to try the Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm in their Pink Edition for Breast Cancer Care and today I would like to share this product with you.
The limited edition Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm from ELEMIS is their hybrid moisturizer and primer that is housed in a pink tube and comes with a pink zippered tablet pouch to support Breast Cancer Care. ELEMIS is proud to donate £10,000 annually to Breast Cancer Care which doesn’t just support people affected by breast cancer, they also highlight the importance of early detection and answer your questions about breast health.
Collection Includes: Retail: $60 Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm, full size (50 mL/1.70 oz) FREE Elemis Tablet Case (8.85″ x 6.5″)
Let me just say – the packaging itself is gorgeous and I love the pink and girly feel to it all. The product itself is white in color, squeezes out of a tube (which I love – very easy to use packaging for dispensing) and has a creamy liquid-like texture. A little of this product goes a long way and smooths onto the face easily. I apply it onto my face after cleansing and over my moisturizer. You can use the Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm as your light moisturizer daily, but since my skin needs the extra hydration, I use it in combination with my normal moisturizers. It applies easily and quickly blends into the skin leaving a light feel similar to moisturizers I have used in the past. Since I don’t use foundation, I wasn’t able to test how well it worked as a primer for that purpose, but used under blush and bronzer – it worked well and kept my makeup lasting longer. I love how light weight this product feels on my skin and since I have sensitive skin and didn’t have any reactions from the product – I consider that a win.
The ELEMIS flash balm can be used as a radiance booster, by helping your skin look more radiant and luminous instantly. I noticed the first time I used this product that my skin looked brighter and dewy – without the oily feeling. My skin felt smooth and glowy without products and I loved how my face looked bare and without makeup.
89% felt the product helped skin look more radiant and luminous instantly* 85% agreed the product helped smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles* 91% stated the product helped provide a more even and brighter skin tone*
With ingredients and key actives like Purple Orchid, Noni (which is known in Hawaii for it’s healing properties), Acai and Silk Mica – the balm is a moisturizer, but brings radiance and softness and casts a light-scattering veil to melt away the appearance of imperfections. The formula really feels great against the skin and I think that each woman should try this stuff – at least once. I really love how my skin feels and looks after using this product and I think it may be something I’ll continue to buy in the future once I run out of it.
Every woman deserves to feel good – no matter what she’s going through. I’m a huge supporter of companies and brands that incorporate great cause into their products and ELEMIS has gone pink to show their support for the extraordinary work Breast Cancer Care does. If this is something you are interested in picking up for yourself, check out ELEMIS.COM for more details and how to get your own.
Have you heard of this brand before? If not – is this something you would be interested in trying?
Let’s face it – when it comes to curls I’m always looking for the products that work well for me and my full head of hair. It’s not an easy task and I have tried more than my fair share of products – enough to last a lifetime. Dippity-Do Girls With Curls products are a throwback to the days of carefree curls. I have heard of Dippity-Do products before, but have never seen or heard of their Girls With Curls line so I was excited to give it a go and see how it would work for me. After using these products for some time now, I’m finally comfortable to share my thoughts with you about how they worked for me.
After years of flat-ironing my hair, I have lost a lot of curl definition and I’m constantly working on redeveloping my curl pattern. Because of this, I’m always on the hunt for a product or products that will not only help to define my curls, but also give them added moisture, shine and help to combat frizz. I have used many products in the World to help with this and many are quite costly, so I was very intrigued to find out that the Dippity-Do Girls with Curls line was so darn affordable. I was given the opportunity to test out the entire line and today I’m going to discuss each product in detail and how it worked for me.
Curl Shampoo – I was beyond impressed with this shampoo. I have been using Sulfate Free shampoos for a while now and many of them do not offer the lather I miss with shampoos that have it. This shampoo lathered up great and left my hair feeling clean. What I enjoyed the most was that my hair didn’t feel dry or without moisture as other shampoos have done in the past. It left my hair feeling great and I LOVE that it has coconut oil in it which is something I use in my hair consistently already.
Curl Conditioner – This conditioner was not as thick as I had expected, which is a little different than what I am used to. I like my conditioners to have more slip to them because I tend to finger comb and detangle my hair while I have conditioner in and this was not as easy to detangle my hair with. While it did the job, I feel like I could use something with a little more oomph… but overall – it does the job and I do like it. You can’t beat the price point and it didn’t leave my hair feeling dry. Each strand still felt moisturized, looked shiny after dry and my curls were soft and manageable.
Deep Treatment– When it comes to a deep treatment, I expect something that will really go above and beyond the conditioner from the same line but I felt like this one is more of a daily conditioner for me. In order for my curls to be moisturized well without soaking it all up – I need something with a little more and felt like this was nice to use, nourished my hair – but left my hair wanting more. I have finicky hair so I would chuck it up as my hair being difficult – but I would love to see something that is much thicker and richer to be a deep treatment. Again, you can’t beat the price point, so I definitely think it did the job for the most part – my hair just wants more and after a few uses, I used the entire bottle because my hair drinks that stuff up. Even as a long period mask – I felt that it still didn’t offer my hair as much quench as I would have liked. Considering the price point though – again, still great in a pinch.
Curl Defining Cream – This particular product didn’t necessarily define my curls when used on it’s own after washing my hair, but I felt like my hair needed this product when used in combination with the Gelee to help my curls. I love to run my fingers through my hair so if you know anything about me, I don’t use gel or mousse or products that hold my hair in place for this reason. Because of this, I really loved the Curl Defining Cream. It made my hair feel ultra soft and smooth and when used before the Gelee, my hair was still soft and smooth – without feeling crunchy, sticky or rough like it can be. I was able to run my fingers through my hair with the Gelee, which would normally be difficult. Again, it didn’t quite define my curls – but does work to make them touch-ably soft.
Gelee – Ah, this product is one of my favorites out of the whole line. It left my curls defined with nice hold but still bouncy and move-able. If I used it on its own (without the Curl Defining Cream) I did notice my hair would frizz up a little faster than normal and would feel a little dry. But, used in combination with the Curl Defining Cream, my curls were very pretty, bouncy, soft to the touch and defined nicely. This will definitely be my go-to moving forward because I love that my hair or neck and scalp do not feel sticky with use and I haven’t broken out at all while using this product. I also love that this product gives my hair a little extra volume. I take a little of the product and scrunch through my roots for a fuller hair look – I love it!
Curl Booster Spray – I specifically used this product on second day hair most of the time, though I thought it worked okay to finish up my hair style after applying the Gelee. Just a little spritz on the ends of my hair helped to lock in the moisture which I tend to lose the quickest in that area. I didn’t really use this product to boost my curls unless I was on my second or third day without washing – I would spritz at the root of my hair for a little added lift (since that is the part that tends the mash the quickest) and again at the tips in case the ends of my hair went flat from pulling my hair up in a bun. I wear my hair up A LOT because it is so long so I used this mostly to revive my curls. I didn’t notice any “curl boosting” on the first day when used.
I’m still on a journey of redefining my curl patterns on my hair after years of heat damage and constant straightening. It’s a consistent battle because my hair is long and grows so fast, I literally cut it every 3 months to keep up with the growth and to keep my hair from getting too heavy and weighed down. When it comes to curly hair products, I have tried most if not all of them and have spent a great deal of money on this mop I call hair. lol I miss my tight Keri Russell curls that I used to have… but I’m slowly working my way back to it again. With products like these from Dippity-Do, I can see a great curly haired future in sight.
Each product from the Girls With Curls line costs just $6.99 – come on now, major steal. While some of the products worked better for me than others, I can’t help but feel obligated to want to continue using them all because the price point really is nice. I know I’ll be keeping the Gelee in my hair routine, as well as the Shampoo and Curl Defining Cream. The rest all worked reasonably well – but I’m not quite convinced I still need them all, though that won’t stop me from repurchasing just so I can use them all together. What I really enjoy about this line is that while it’s drugstore priced, it really doesn’t have crappy results. My hair seems to feel fuller and have more body – which I love since my hair is on the thinner side. Overall – I would definitely suggest this brand and hair care line – I was beyond impressed and didn’t expect it to work as well as it did. These pink bottles are definitely going to be in my curly hair future.
What about you? What kind of hair do you have – curly, straight, wavy? What are your favorite curly hair products if you have any?
Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post were sent to me for review & consideration. All opinions are my own, 100% honest and unbiased as with anything on this site – I keep it real. I was not paid to provide my thoughts on these products or to feature them however, affiliate links are posted through out.
Sometime last year I posted here on the blog about the Michael Todd Soniclear and recently Michael Todd Soniclear Elite was released. Available in fun colors and…
