Lush Almond & Coconut Shower Smoothie- A Review

Oh Lush, why must you be so expensive? We all know Lush, it's the guilty pleasure store where you love the products but you (almost) feel guilty after buying them because they are just so pricey. Believe me, I feel your pain. For the Christmas season, I decided to treat myself to a few products, one of which is this painfully wonderful shower smoothie. I had originally planned to pick up the banana scented "Gumback Express" but unfortunately I found out that it's only available online. (Gumback Express is considered a retro item) Anyhow, after spending about half an hour in store, I walked out with this and the Aqua Mirabilis Body Butter (A review for this will be up shortly).

First off let me just say that I absolutely ADORE the scent, it's so familiar yet unique at the same time. It smells of vanilla frosting so to anyone that cannot stand coconut scents, you'll probably like this because I really can't detect the coconut whatsoever. Is it just me or does this kind of smell like gum as well?

I used about two tablespoons of this during my shower, I let it sit on my skin for 2-3 minutes before I rinsed it off and I instantly felt the film/residue that it left. It was not a bad residue but you can definitely feel the moisture and oils that it left behind. I purposely didn't use any body butters or lotions afterwards just to see how long the hydration lasted, all in all about five hours. This is great in my book because it allows me to remove the extra step of applying body butter or lotion. My skin feels soft and silky enough after using this that I don't feel that I need anything else. My favorite thing about this product is the texture, it looks dense in the container but once used, it feels almost like whipped cream. I also love this smoothie because of the ingredients. It's made with five different oils including, almond oil. That coupled with glycerin makes it a great product for sealing moisture into the skin. Almond oil also contains vitamin e, which in itself is great for the body. Vitamin e contains antioxidants which is excellent for anti-aging. This vitamin also promotes circulation and helps the healing process especially with dry and cracked skin.

Overall, I think this smoothie is a really great product. It did exactly what the label explained and it made my skin feel soft and hydrated but, the price is what will keep me from having this in my shower at all times. For right now, this will be a "luxury" item for me.

This product is $21.95 // 8.8 oz of product
Purchase here

Much love xo

Birchbox January 2013

There comes a time, in Birchbox world that you finally get that one box that you were coveting. I'm happy to say that this happened to me this month. It's the first box of the new year and Birchbox couldn't have gotten off to a better start in my book, let's just hope it stays that way! Since it is the new year I am surprised that Birchbox didn't feature more festive related items. Even though I was lucky enough to receive the box that I did, a lot of others seemed to be quite underwhelming. There is one critique I have though and that is, Birchbox, PLEASE stop with all of the perfume samples. I absolutely LOVE perfume and even I'm tired of it. Hear us out and try to incorporate new and exciting things. Now, with that said, this month I received box 1:

• TheBalm "Put A Lid On It" Eye Primer
• Fresh Lotus Face Cream
• Harvey Prince Skinny Chic
• Ojon Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum
• Alessandro Nail Polish "Blue Lagoon"

I'm not sure how I feel about the eye primer quite yet. While it is a wonderful primer and it did hold my shadows, I don't know if I like it more or less than my trusty Too Faced Shadow Insurance. The reason being, the texture throws me off a bit. It's not oily but it is sticky which I guess is a good thing because it holds my shadows beautifully. I will most likely purchase a full size when my shadow insurance runs out. Full size retails for $18//0.40 oz of product (Shadow Insurance has 0.35 oz)

I really, REALLY like the Lotus moisturizer. It was light, non-oily/greasy, it sank into my skin quickly and it has anti-aging properties. I honestly can't ask for more in a moisturizer. While it didn't make my face feel especially soft like my Ahava, it did moisturize quite well and it didn't leave any type of residue. The smell is also quite pleasant, it reminds me of cucumbers! Now, the card claims that this is supposed to provide moisture for 24 hours and while I definitely did not experience that, it is a good moisturizer nonetheless. Full size retails for $42//1.7 oz of product

I love the smell of the Skinny Chic perfume, I compared this to DKNY Be Delicious. This perfume is very light and fresh, more so than the DKNY but I'm sorry to say that I will not be purchasing this because I don't like the marketing for this product. For a company to market a perfume that boasts "skinny is chic" and  saying things like "to keep you feeling young, slim and beautiful" and "we empower women to feel young, happy, slim and beautiful". I cannot and will not support that. A company is not empowering anyone if they are marketing a perfume in relation to weight or size. If they had simply left out the slim and skinny nonsense then the message would be great. This perfume has notes of green apple, sweet mint and warm amber. Full sizes retail from $21-$55

I was so looking forward to the Ojon oil but it was without a doubt a big let down for me. If you've been following my blog for awhile then you know that my hair is extremely dry and I have to pretty much work overtime to keep it moisturized. Hair oils seem to be the only product that keep my hair nice and hydrated, Organix Extra Strength Argan oil being my favorite. I used the Ojon oil while my hair was still damp and let me say, this oil did absolutely NOTHING for my hair. It didn't moisturize, hydrate or even at the very least make my hair soft. If anything, my hair felt crunchy and dry after using this which absolutely boggles my mind.  I ended up having to use double the amount of Organix than I normally use just to reverse whatever this did to my hair. Full size retails for $25// 1.7 oz of product

This was my first time ever trying Alessandro polish and well, in my opinion the formula isn't anything special. According to Birchbox, this is supposed to be to be a super opaque polish and it just, isn't. The formula was extremely streaky and applied unevenly. The polish was also a bit sheer and I had to use two coats, almost three, it did dry pretty fast though. I'm not in love with the color but it does look better in person, I will continue to use this until it runs out but I wont be purchasing. Blue lagoon is a very muddy dark greyed blue. Full size retails for $12// 0.34 oz or product

Overall, I enjoyed this box. While a couple products were a definite no for me and all of the products were very tiny, I enjoyed trying them out nonetheless and that's really all that matters.

Much love xo

Philosophy Miracle Worker

With the arrival of the cold weather, my skincare routine is one of the first things that I change along with my clothing and makeup. My skin is naturally on the drier side and the frigid weather only makes it worse. This year, for the first time I tried out Philosophy's Miracle Worker Anti-Aging Kit (trial size) which retails for $40 and includes the moisturizer, serum and a two week supply of retinoid pads. I must say that I am in love! My favorites are the moisturizer and the serum. I like the retinoid pads but I doubt that I will repurchase. Not because they aren't good but more so because I don't think I need them. The kit sizes are as follows: the serum is 7.5ml/0.25 oz, the moisturizer is 14g/0.5 oz and 15 retinol pads.

I have dry/combination skin and I am always hesitant to try new moisturizers because they always seem to be too heavy for my liking or they leave behind an oily residue which I absolutely hate. I was looking for a great moisturizer, preferably with vitamins and/or antioxidants that sunk into my skin and did not leave anything behind. Thankfully, I have now without a doubt found my new true love! My skin happily drank up all of the products up and they left my skin feeling soft, smooth and looking radiant. I have a few tiny smile lines and I could definitely already see the difference after just a few uses. This is definitely a holy grail product and now a permanent staple in my routine.  

The retinol pads arrive dry with the solution in a separate bottle to mix once purchased. I will admit that I was at first a bit confused on whether I was supposed to pour the entire bottle onto the pads or put a small amount of solution onto a pad once I was ready to use it. After some quick research, you are to pour the entire contents of the bottle onto the pads. The pads are to be used first, after you cleanse your face you take a pad and wipe it all over your face and the back of your hands. I do like these pads because they don't leave an oily residue but I don't think I will repurchase.

The serum is to be used next. I really LOVE this product. My skin drank it up immediately and like all three of these products, did not leave a residue. The serum is clear.

The moisturizer is used last, this is my absolute favorite of the trio. It's very light and kept my skin soft and hydrated. I used a pea size amount with both this and the serum, a little goes a long way!

Much love xo