Lancome La Vie Est Belle Perfume - Thoughts

Hey guys and gals! I have been planning to put a video up, but haven't gotten to it yet, and there's a lot of crazy stuff happening in my life right now that has been stopping me from blogging regularly. But I didn't want to leave you hanging today, so I thought I would share my thoughts on a perfume sample I received from my Sephora haul not too long ago.

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The perfume is La Vie Est Belle from Lancôme. My initial impression was that it was way too strong and made me smell a bit... old. It did, occasionally, give me a really good whiff of it that I did enjoy. However, I'm the kind of person that sprays about 6 or 7 spritz of perfume just on my torso. So, I decided to give it another try, and sprayed one spritz on my front and one on my back. And now I love it! To me, it smells sweet like candy with a bit of vanilla and coconut with a small floral hint. Kind of reminiscent of Prada Candy L'Eau, which is my all-time favourite right now. Very good for Spring!

From the Lancôme site:

"'La vie est belle', a French expression meaning 'Life is beautiful'; the manifesto of a new era. Universal yet personal, Lancôme’s femininity is a choice embraced by women, not an imposed standard. The choice to live one's life and fill it with beauty. Your own way.

Lancôme has long fostered this conviction, and shares it today with all women in the form of an exceptional creation. The fragrance of joyful femininity and happiness. The fragrance that makes life more beautiful.

La vie est belle introduces a new olfactive story, the first ever tasty iris. The juice is made with the most precious natural ingredients, a modern interpretation of an oriental fragrance with a twist of gourmand. It entwines the elegance of iris with the strength of Patchouli and the sweetness of a gourmand blend; for an incredible scent with depth and complexity."

It runs from $72.00-$110.00 which is pretty reasonably for a lovely perfume. You can purchase it from Sephora here.

My final thoughts are this - if you love a sweet, lovely, feminine scent, definitely give this perfume a chance. Just don't go spritz crazy or your nose might be a little bit too overwhelmed!

Talk to everyone tomorrow! Thank you guys for getting me close to 1000 views and over 100 followers! Love you all :)

xoxox

Review: Rimmel London BB Cream

Hello! I meant for this post to go up last night, but I had forgotten to take some of the photos, and I figured taking the photos in daylight might be better for you guys anyways.

So, today I will be reviewing the Rimmel London BB cream or 'Beauty Balm'. Taken from the Rimmel London UK website, it is "Rimmel's 1st 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup." It is supposed to "prime, moisturise, minimise pores, conceal, cover, smoothe, mattify, brighten, and help protect." It is a "Lightweight, ultra comfortable formula (that) instantly gives a flawless, 100% natural finish" and has an "SPF 25."

A few more pictures:

I bought this quite awhile ago, but recently just decided to give it another go, as I don't like putting heavy amounts of makeup on my face every day, but I'm having really bad breakouts, so I need something to cover up the mess that is currently my natural face, without being heavy and over the top. 

I personally really love this particular BB cream. I think the thing I love most about it, is that although my skin is prone to becoming really oily in my t zone after a few hours of makeup on, this, paired with my Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder, rarely lets those oils through. The BB cream sits all day, and I only very rarely need to put a few more pats of powder on to absorb the oil. Most of the bases I've used have never done that before, so I am definitely please about that.

Speaking to it's 9-in-1 claims, I feel it doesn't speak to all nine claims, at least for me. I haven't used it as a primer, however, I'm sure it would work well as a primer, especially with it's ability to block oils, which would make your makeup stay put throughout the day. It does moisturize, and I usually skip out on moisturizer if I will be using this, because it ends up becoming an unnecessary step. It does minimize the look of your pores, however, this is only when wearing it - it doesn't, over the long run, minimize your pores, at least for my stubborn large pores. I definitely wouldn't say it conceals. I always need to use my concealer over top, and has low coverage, so if you have dark acne scars like myself, it will not conceal those. It does cover nicely, and leaves your face looking the same colour all over. It definitely smoothes your skin, but doesn't necessarily mattify or brighten your skin. You do get a slight glow, and the product isn't glowy, and therefore relatively matte, but you will definitely need to use a powder or highlighter if you want really bright matte skin. It has SPF 25, so it does help protect your skin from the suns harmful rays, which is a plus! It's really natural, and looks great on my skin!

Personally, I am very impressed. It's a very light weight, natural BB cream, that leaves my skin hydrated, and prevents oils! I will definitely be repurchasing this in the future!

This is what my makeup looked like today with it on!:

One down side: It only comes in two shades, light and medium, and luckily light ended up matching my skin, so you may have trouble finding a shade that suits your needs!

I hope you enjoyed this review!

Have you tried this BB cream? What were your thoughts? What is your favourite drugstore BB cream?

xoxox

PS: Check out my Zebras in space OOTD! ;)

Just Another Hydraluron Review

Hello everyone! Today I will be reviewing one of my all time favourite skin care products - Hydraluron! If you haven't heard of it, please take a minute to read this post, because this product will honestly change your skin for the better.

As you can see, the packaging is very simple, and cute, and has a white tube with a pink nozzle and a clear lid. Hydraluron is a serum that contains Hyaluronic Acid that helps your skin retain up to 1000 times its weight in water. You apply it before your regular moisturizer (I use it at night and in the morning), and it helps your skin retain the moisturizer and keep your skin healthy and nourished.

As you can see, Hydraluron is a clear serum that soaks right into your skin and is not visible once it's applied. You need very little of the product to cover your entire face, and usually take about 30 secs or less to soak into your face. When I am applying the product, it feels like putting water on your face, and once it soaks in, there is no residue, no oil, you can't feel the product at all. And as soon as it soaks in your automatically see a difference - your skin looks so much more radiant and healthy and refreshed.

I was turned off by the price when I first bought it, as it is a bit pricy for the size of the tube. However, the tube lasts a long time because you need to use so very little of the product everytime. As well, I find I have no problem spending an extra bit of money for a product that will do wonders for your skin.You definitely get what you paid for. You can purchase it for $42.00 here on Amazon. For more info on the product, visit the indeed labs site here.

What are your thoughts on Hydraluron? Do you have any other serum recommendations?

xoxox

Review: Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing Wipes & Sephora Loot!

Hello everyone! Today I will be reviewing my Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing Wipes, specifically the pink grapefruit ones. And then I will be sharing my Sephora loot that I ordered, which I blogged about here. I didn't want to wait until the weekend, because I was too excited to share! So first we will begin with the Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing Wipes!

So, I picked these wipes up in the drug store because I needed something quick and easy to take off my makeup when I'm too lazy to go through my whole night skin care shebang. They are oil-free and made for acne-prone skin, so I thought these would be terrific for my skin. However, I was less than satisfied with these wipes. Firstly, the grapefruit scent is extremely perfumey, and makes me choke a bit when I use them. As well, I find they burn my skin, but not in a getting-all-the-dirt-out way, just an irritation to the skin. However, they do get the job done, and so since I have been broke the past little while, I have put up with them until now. Perhaps maybe if I had gotten plain wipes and not grapefruit or ones for combination skin it may have been different, but I was underwhelmed by these wipes. However, my Korres one arrived in my Sephora loot today, so I will be putting these aside for the time being!

Any facial wipes you would recommend? Have you tried any Neutrogena wipes in the past?

And now onto my Sephora loot!

I had to get four separate orders due to my four individual prepaid visa's, but that made it more exciting! I had four packages to open!

Here is all the loot on the table!

 Each of the boxes came with an envelope which had eight postcards with samples of perfume on the back! I've been itching to start being a penpal with someone, so these might come in handy! (Any takers?) They are the top selling scents at Sephora including my most wanted perfume of the moment - Prada Candy L'Eau!

 Next I got the Korres Milk Proteins Cleansing & Make-up Removing Wipes for Face and Eyes, meant for normal to dry skin. Because of the skin sensitivity issues I was discussing earlier, I thought these would be especially suitable for me, because they sound as though they will be especially gentle on my skin! I'm hoping that despite my skin being combination that they will still get the job done!

 These are two free samples that I didn't order! I was so excited that I got a few extra samples! The one on the left is the PhytoSpecific Moisturizing Styling Cream with Quinoa oil. It's meant for ultra-dry hair, but I will still give it a chance after my next shower before curling my hair and let you know what I think!
The one of the right is the Clinique even better eyes dark circle corrector. I am SUPER excited to try this product, and should I love it, I will definitely be purchasing it! I love Clinique and already own an eye serum that works wonder at removing my under eye puffiness, so I am expecting great results from this!

Next I got four(!) free samples of the Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter, and can you believe I've never tried this?! I don't normally go for body butters, and I have relatively normal skin on my arms and legs, but I will definitely be giving this a try, and I LOVE Soap & Glory products, so I'm excited to try it out!

 Next I got three perfume samples. I got Gucci Guilty Black, which I've already sampled and LOVED, and two of the La Vie Est Belle by Lancome. I'm not normally a Lancome fan per se, but it sounds really girly, so I'm hoping it smells great!

 Then I got five Ole Henrikson samples total, and I'm not sure how I managed to get five in total, but I'm not complaining! I've heard lots of great things about Ole Henrikson products, so I'm looking forward to trying these two! The orange packaged one is the truth serum collagen booster which is a 'potent vitamin C complex to brighten. smooth and help the appearance of aging'. The pink packaged one is the express the truth cream that is 'a creme that helps fight the look of wrinkles with african red tea and vitamin C'.

 The two nail polishes I got are the Ciate mini mineral effect in Rose Quartz and the Nails Inc. special effects sprinkles nail polish in pudding lane. They look like perfect spring colours, so I'm excited to try them!

 This is the Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 for combination/oily skin, and is the product I was most looking forward to! It's a toner, and my skin care routine currently lacks a toner so I'm excited to see the difference it makes to my skin!

I got two face cleansing products, which I am also excited to try. On the left is the Sephora brand Purifying cleansing gel perfectly clean. I've heard lots of great things about gel cleansers, so I'm looking forward to using it! And finally, I got the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with orange extract. Although I need an exfoliant that isn't "gentle", I'm still looking forward to what this will do for my skin!

Anyways, that is all. I hope you enjoyed this post!

Have you tried any of these products before? What were your thoughts?

Talk to you tomorrow!

xoxox

Favourite Lip Product Review: L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Balm

Hello everyone! So, this is the post I had originally planned on doing for the last post, but never got to it. Today I will be reviewing/sharing with you my favourite go to lip product at the moment which is the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Balms. These balms are terrific, and I love them much more than the others that I have tried. They act as a lip colour, a gloss, and a balm all in one, so they're perfect for on the go colour, or to pop in a desk at work for when you need a pop of colour or your lips have gotten dry. The colour is quite glossy, and is not heavily pigmented, which gives them a very natural look. I currently own three of the colours, but I hope to purchase many more in the future!

Here are the three shades together, and I will go more in detail about them down below.

The first is the colour 218 Rose Elixir. I love this one as a summer colour, and gives a natural light pink shade to your lips that I think is lovely! I will post swatches and prices down below :)

Next is the colour 418 Caring Coral. This is one of my current winter colours. It is nude with a hint of pink and gives a very natural-but-better look to your lips.

And the last is the colour 318 Heavenly Berry. This is my newest one, and my current favourite. It again looks very natural, and is a mix between a berry and a coral/pink.

So, I apologize, the close up swatch no matter which direction I rotated the photo in, would not go the way I wanted it to go. As you can see from the swatches, they are all very sheer and glossy, and have a hint of colour in them, which makes them look natural on your lips.

Overall, these are my favourite lip product to wear at the moment, and I highly recommend getting your hands on them!

They retail for $7.96 at Walmart here.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Have you tried these balms? What did you think? Any ones you think defeat this as the best balms?

xoxox

Battle of the Dry Shampoos: Julep vs Batiste

Okay guys, I am the worst blogger ever, I skipped out on two days of blogging, and now I'm not even doing what I promised! Don't hate, this girl needs to find a job! Seriously, I am eventually going to run out of things to talk about if I can't feed my newly found makeup, beauty and fashion obsession! I have been busy trying to piece together boyfriend bits, and trying to find a job in January which seems to be impossible, so I have been busy! But, I am back with a post today, and decided to talk about the two dry shampoos I own - Batiste Dry Shampoo (Original) and Julep Invisible Dry Shampoo. I personally started using dry shampoo because my hair gets super oily really quickly, and I wanted to start showering every second night so I could take better care of my hair. And since using dry shampoo, my hair does seem a lot thicker and fuller, and quite a bit healthier as I'm not constantly stripping it with regular shampoo! So, onto the dry shampoos!

I am going to talk about Julep Invisible Dry Shampoo, because it was the first one I purchased. When I got this, my first reaction was 'Alright! An invisible dry shampoo!', and then I used it, and was a bit disappointed. I found it left my hair feeling almost too clean. The texture of my hair just felt... odd. So I used it on the days that I really needed it, but usually still wore my hair in a bun or some other hairstyle that hid my most of my hair. Then I bought Batiste and put this away for quite awhile. However, I decided to give it another go awhile ago, and I have a new found love for it. One, the invisible part is a plus. I don't have to spend five minutes trying to brush out powder which is a bonus. And although it leave my hair feeling a bit "too clean" still, it looks fine, and I can back-comb my hair to give it a bit of texture due to the lack lustre look of my hair after using it. I also love the smell, which is a huge plus.

I bought the Original Scent Batiste Dry Shampoo mainly because of the amount of praise it has received, but also because my alma mater's drug store had it stocked. (Well, this was the last bottle of it.) It has it's pros and cons. but overall, it did live up to my expectations. I love that it gives my hair a bit of texture and volume, and I often use it the morning after a shower when styling for a bit of extra oomph. It also makes me hair feel a bit healthier, which is nice. However, if I'm not careful, I get way too much powder in my hair, and I end up having to wet my hair a bit to desperately try to remove my new full head of grey hair. Overall, however, it does a nice job of removing the extra oil in my hair in between showers, and when I'm in a rush. I am almost out of this one, so I will definitely be purchasing another once I starting ringing in the $$$.

So, overall, I like them both, and they both serve me for different uses. Personally, if you want to keep your hair up on your in between days, and you'd rather a non-powdery dry shampoo, choose the Julep. However, if you can cope with the powder formula, and you want some extra texture, and the ability to wear your hair down, choose Batiste.

If I were to narrow it down to my favourite, I would have to go with Batiste. Really, I'm not that disturbed by the powdery formula, and it really does more for my hair than the Julep.

The Julep Invisible Dry Shampoo can be purchased on the Julep site for $22 or $17.50 for Mavens here.
The Batiste Dry Shampoo (Original) can be purchased on Amazon for $8.19 here.

Have you tried either of these dry shampoos? What were your thoughts? Any dry shampoo recommendations?

xoxox