Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Booster

Ever since I got back from my vacation, I've been looking forward to beach weather! Now I'm not a beach person usually, and I only just went on my first trip to a resort on this vacation but that, and age (ahem) is what did it for me!

So it was exciting to see the Radiance Plus Golden Booster out from Clarins recently. My skin doesn't tan well, not to mention I'm extremely paranoid about applying sunscreen to prevent damage so I barely tanned at all on my vacation and felt a bit self conscious about appearing relatively pale on the beach. I need all the help I can get to get that healthy glow before summer.

How it works

The product is a self tanner that should be mixed with your regular moisturizer first, before applying. I found this to be a great concept because most tanners are straight creams or lotions which equates to yet another layer to put on after the serums, creams, sunscreen... You get the picture. Also many people like myself already have a preferred daily moisturizer  so not having to switch away from that is a huge plus for me.

Product

It's a golden clear slightly viscous liquid that you mix into your daily moisturizer. Surprisingly simple :)

Packaging

Bottle with dropper opening but the drops appear to dispense via gravity - that's okay if all you needed is one drop but if you need more, the downside is there is no way to control the drops. There's no rubber bulb and the bottle isn't squeezable. I had difficulty getting the 3 drops out, ended up shaking the bottle to make the product come out. What makes this frustrating then is you already have your face cream product in one hand and in trying to shake more drops out of the bottle, you might just splash some elsewhere accidentally.

Results

The tan does work in just a few hours! I applied it in the morning and by afternoon could see the effect. However don't let this scare you off, even at 3 drops the tan was quite subtle. It was so subtle that even though I wanted to take before/after photos it was tough to get the difference to show up on my phone. I can see how if I continued it as a regimen that this would gradually intensify and be more photographable.

I tested this on the inside of my arm to ensure 3 drops was the right amount - Clarins said you may want to start with 2 if unsure and on the paler side. Something to keep in mind before you go full out on the product.

Pros and cons

The most wonderful part about this product is how it effortlessly integrates into your daily routine, through simply mixing it with any moisturizer you currently use.

Another good thing are how subtle the tan is so you can build it up gradually, most tanners have a bad reputation for turning orange too quickly but not this one! For someone like me that's important as I don't want to show up at work the next day looking like an Oompa Loompa as my colleagues will definitely notice any dramatic change.


Where to buy

The Golden Booster is available from Sephora and Clarins.ca for CAD$30.

If you have tried self tanners before, what were the results like? Do share!

Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion

I bought this toner a while back, loved it, but then forgot all about it as new skincare products were purchased. Rediscovered it again a month ago and finally got around to finishing it recently!



I first got hooked on this toner when I went for a facial at the Clarins Skin Spa. One of the main things I was attracted to was the scent. It has a relaxing scent that smells heavenly.

The toner is alcohol free, and contains aloe to soothe sensitive skin like mine. I have it decanted into a spray bottle, so the way I use it is to spray it on after washing my face, and wipe it off with a cotton pad. It is quite hydrating, so it also doubles up as a finishing spray to make powder foundation dewy.


Ingredients

Water, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Dipropylene glycol, PEG-8, Propylene glycol, Linum usitatissimum (linseed) extract, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, PEG-32, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Alpha-glucan oligosaccharide, Sodium citrate, Triethanolamine, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, Methylparaben, Acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, Fragrance, Glycerin, Potassium sorbate, Polyacrylic acid, Butylene glycol, Tocopheryl acetate, Althaea officinalis root extract, Prunus amygoalus dulcis (sweet almond) fruit extract, Retinyl palminate, Arachis hypogaea (peanut) oil, Hydrolyzed linseed extract, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Xanthan gum, Chlorphenesin, BHT, Alpha-isomethyl ionone, Benzyl alcohol, Amyl cinnamal, Anise alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Eugenol, Yellow 6 (CI 15985)


Here's a rundown of the pros and cons:

Pros
- alcohol free
- soothing scent
- hydrating and calming for sensitive skin

Cons
- does contain some fragrance, some may still be sensitive to this
- pricey, around US$20 for 200mL.

Overall, definitely recommended if you like traditional apply and wipe off toners that are alcohol free without being irritating.

Review: Clarins Gentle Facial Peel & Exfoliating Refiner

I've used the Exfoliating Refiner for over a year now, and recently bought the Facial Peel to try out as well because some Makeupalley reviews mentioned it could clean out pores.

Firstly here is Clarins's explanation of the differences between the two:



So basically the Peel is a mask that you'd apply, then remove immediately. The Refiner is like a physical scrub with grains, similar to MAC's Microfine Refinisher.


The Peel is a bit different from any product I've ever used. The product is a silvery-grey thick paste that dries quite quickly on your skin. The SA demonstrated the removal technique, also illustrated in the product leaflet. You apply a thin layer of product all over dry skin, and then using the sides of your palms, rub the product off. This method of removal is supposed to slough off dead skin in the process.

The Refiner is quite simple, just like any other exfoliator. Its a white thin paste with super fine grains that you massage onto damp skin then rinse off.


The leaflet shows pictures of how to remove the Peel and instructions on both:

(First set of instructions is for the Peel, I accidentally cut off the heading when I took the picture.)



My experience with both:

Clarins Peel:
The product was difficult to spread due to its thick texture. I also noticed I was using a lot just to cover my face (and the tube itself is quite small at 40mL). Removal was a bit difficult for me because the method, although simple, is hard to perform effectively. As a result I still had a bit of product left on some hard to reach areas around the nose. It definitely takes practice. The first time I used this the product dried too quickly, so I had to remove the product more vigorously from my skin. That annoyed me because I really don't like rubbing my face excessively...it can't be good for your skin to tug at it like that. Also I noticed some red spots on my face were more irritated due to the tugging...

The dry bits of peel that come off when you slough off the product get all over the place too, so make sure you do it over a sink. It is rather messy.


Clarins Refiner:
The grains are very gentle as the product says and doesn't hurt my skin at all. In contrast, I noticed that MAC's Microfine Refinisher and L'oreal's Power Buff would sometimes hurt if my skin was feeling sensitive that day. Its almost gentle enough to use everyday, but that depends on how hard you scrub with the product as well. The instructions actually say not to rub the product but I do massage the problem areas around my nose and chin, otherwise the product wouldn't be able to exfoliate well. Still in my opinion, the Clarins Refiner definitely fits the epitome of a gentle scrub.

Here are the ingredients for both if anyone would like to know:

Gentle Facial Peeling:


Gentle Exfoliating Refiner:



Overall:

Clarins Peel:
Pros: Clay base and texture would probably work well for oilier skins.
Cons: Troublesome to remove. Creates a mess too. Does not exfoliate properly due to the tricky removal method.

Price: 2/5 (~CAD$35 for 40mL)
Packaging: 4/5 Good - tube form
Effectiveness: 1/5 Did not see results.
Would repurchase: No


Clarins Refiner:
Pros: Gentle but does the job well, excellent for sensitized skin
Cons: More expensive than other scrubs like L'oreal, MAC.

Price: 2/5 (~CAD$35 for 50mL)
Packaging: 4/5 Good - tube form
Effectiveness: 4/5
Would repurchase: Yes. Already on my second tube :)

Swatches: MAC Ungaro CCB & Pearlglide Liner, Clarins Instant Light

As promised, here is a closer look at the makeup products I picked up last weekend:







Swatched:




Clarins Instant Light Complexion Perfector in 00 Rose Shimmer
I wasn't quite sure what this was for. Despite the name of the shade I got (Rose Shimmer), there is hardly any shimmer in it. You can barely see it in the swatch, but it gives a subtle iridescence to the area which was hard for me to capture on camera. At first I thought it was the Perfecting Touch which is a undereye concealer, but after looking at the name again, it seems this is a primer / corrector type product according to MUA. I could see this working as a subtle highlighter on top of the cheekbones too, since it has that iridescence.


MAC Pearlglide in Bankroll
The Pearlglide liner is relatively waterproof. The swatch didn't come off until I used an oil-based remover. Used it today on the lower lashline, and the staying power wasn't bad. I wouldn't use it on the waterline either, because the shimmer would definitely irritate my contacts (I got it in my eye when I rubbed my eye by accident...

My only complaint is that some of shimmer in the liner does come off a little after a while. I haven't tried it on my upper lashline so I can't say if it stays put just as well there. I picked Bankroll because I already have a purple pencil liner, and I don't see myself using any of the other colours often. Its a green colour with green shimmer that contrasts nicely with my Freshlook Amethyst contacts :)


MAC Ungaro Cream Colour Base in Crushed Bouganvillea
I find the pink colour of the CCB to be on the cool side. I have more olive tones in my skin so I'm still undecided whether I like it as a blush. It would work great for cool toned complexions though. The colour is a light cool berry pink, and the intensity can be built up by layering more product (see swatches above).

The CCB can also be used on the lips as a stain. I rather like the effect on the lips although applying the colour evenly takes some getting used to for me. My lips are naturally pigmented though, so it'll look sheerer if your lips are naturally paler.

Haul: Clarins, MAC, Neutrogena, H&M

Anonymous wanted to know if I had any codes left for the Annabelle mascara, sorry I used them up! If they send me more though I'll let you know :)

***

To anyone that owns 2N lipglass from this year's N collection, do you find it smells sorta plasticky? Maybe I'm just not used to lipglasses, but this one in particular smells very plastic. The only other glosses I own from MAC are Spring Bean lustreglass and Cult Fave from Fafi, but those seem to be a different formulation.

I just want to make sure it hasn't gone bad already...I've noticed that smell since middle of this year which is why I haven't worn it :S But it was released in January...it shouldn't have gone bad in just a few months? I only used it a few times too... :(

Please let me know how yours is like if you own it. Thanks!

***

Remainder of haul pictures from last weekend:



-Clarins Gentle Facial Peel
-Clarins UV Day Screen
-Clarins Hydrating GWP (contains Pure Melt Cleansing gel, Hydra Quench Mask, Hydra Quench Cream, and a full size Gentle Exfoliating Refiner)
-sample of Clarins Instant Light Perfecting Touch

-MAC Pearlglide liner in Bankroll
-MAC Ungaro Cream Colour Base in Crushed Bouganvillea

-Samples of some Dermalogica products from the spa I went to
-Sample of Nars aqua gel hydrator




All from H&M:
-Grey shrug
-Basic black knit tee
-Tights

Pictures aren't too exciting, I know, but I'll take pics when I wear them out :)


The drugstore near my house is moving to a new bigger location, so they have sales on lots of stuff right now. I was in there practically everyday for the past week...stocking up on body washes and razor cartridges lol :) On impulse I bought these yesterday after work:



-Neutrogena Illuminating Enzyme Peel
-Neutrogena Deep Clean Wave


However, after I went home I checked out some reviews on the Wave, and I decided that maybe I should look for the Neutrogena Rejuvenator instead. It is a bit different from the Wave, because its an exfoliator that you use 3 times a week rather than daily. It also does not have salicylic acid (which dries out my skin sometimes) but contains aluminium crystals to exfoliate. So I went back today, and I was so lucky, because there was only one left and it was half off! Plus I had the $5 coupon off from the Neutrogena website, so I ended up paying CDN$15, the same price as the Wave for something that would've usually cost CDN$40 :D So I'm going to be returning the Wave then, as there wasn't much of a discount for it in the first place (It was only reduced by a few bucks anyway...).




Its a much bigger box than the Wave and the system has a more comfortable handle in my opinion. I tried it today, so far so good :)

Guess you can tell I'm really getting into skincare right now...from all those peels and exfoliators! I'll have to remind myself not to go overboard though, overexfoliating is not good for skin either. And I know, it seems like a lot of stuff...but a lot of it was free samples or stuff on sale yay :D I also controlled myself and got more skincare rather than makeup that I'll hardly wear.

Swatches of the MAC items coming next post!

skincare haul

some skincare haulage...

Clarins:

I tried the facial treatments at the Clarins skin spa last year, and although I don't think the treatments did anything for me other than giving me some overly scented relaxation time, I did find a couple of products worked quite well for me. So when I saw The Bay had another gift with purchase promotion I got two items that I've been running low on - the Gentle Exfoliating Refiner and the Extra-comfort toning lotion.

With purchase of two items (one of those must be skincare), you get a giftbag with trial sizes of other skin products. The gift bags are always the same, there's always a choice of 4 bags with products catered to a specific age range. I got the one targeted for skin in the 20s, called the Nomalizing gift:

- Purifying Cleansing Gel for oily skin (I'll save this for the summer)
- Water Purify One step cleanser
- Pore Minimizing Serum
- Pure and Radiant Mask (I have the pro size of thisalready...works well)
- Clarins Men Moisture balm sample





Lancome:

On my last Lancome purchase I got a gift with purchase that included eyeshadows and lipstick, but I wasn't impressed by them at all. The shadows were too sheer and the lipstick too dark for my taste. So this time they were offering a different gift, one that was all skincare samples, so I decided to restock my Aqua Fusion cream this time. Aqua Fusion cream by the way is awesome for my dry skin because it hydrates AND yet doesn't feel greasy at all. All expensive/drugstore creams i've tried are either not hydrating enough or leave a greasy shine on my face, except this one.

The gift included with purchase consisted of:

- white Lancome travel bag
- Primordiale Cell Defense Skin Perfecting serum trial size
- High Potency Night Moisturizer with some vitamin B stuff, trial size
- High Resolution eye gel sample
- Hydra Intense hydrating gel mask sample




Also got my gold polish as you can see on the right of the pic above.

The OPI Golden Rules! polish isn't quite as brilliant as the MAC Gold Veneer but it'll do...

Clarins ad, FOTD

At my bf's place on the 18th floor right now, and man, outside looks like a blizzard is going on. because the apartment is so high up all i can see outside is white powder. The wind is howling like crazy too :S I'm pretty glad to be indoors at this moment for sure.

Got a lot done today. went for a facial treatment in downtown Toronto, which was nice. At the spa, there was a model in a advertising poster with a simple but colourful look, so naturally I had to take a picture of it:



I want to replicate this because it looks so fresh and different. It looks like she has a yellow shadow on the inner corners of the eyes, a purple toned pink on the rest of the top lid, and a teal shadow on the bottom lid. For the rest of the face, an earthy dark peach blush, and a peachy lipstick. I don't have the colours with me right now otherwise I'd use it for tomorrow, so probably will have to wait til next weekend to do it.

I went shopping on Bloor Street before my appointment, and picked up more makeup ....but more about that later when I get pictures of my haul :D

Bloor is actually a pretty nice area to shop - but only if you have the moolah to spare. There are the usual stores like H&M, Guess, The Body Shop, MAC, Aldo, but the main feature of the area (in my opinion anyway) are the high end labels that have their boutiques there: LV, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Tiffany & Co., Guerlain, and more...I would've gone in to window shop, but for stores like that, I prefer to go with the bf....I just don't like having sales people in those type of stores hovering over me alone when I'm not planning to buy anything.

Anyway today's FOTD was inspired by Audrie of Petitebelle and Temptalia, saw their looks about 2 weeks ago I think and had to try it because I have yellow and blue eyeshadows from NYX but haven't even used them because I don't know how to use colours like that. Temptalia actually used teal but I integrated aqua as well that into my version.

What I used:

[Face]

- Everyday Minerals in Light Winged Butter, intensive (matte) finish
- MAC Emote blush to contour under cheekbones, sides of nose
- Everyday Minerals All Smiles blush (matte sherbet peach)

[Eyes]

- Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in Light
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- Annabelle eyeshadow in Gleam (light gold, all over lid and browbone)
- NYX Shangri-La trio (used only the yellow shade on inner eyelid corners)
- MAC Zonk Bleu! eyeshadow (centre of lid)
- NYX Aquamarine trio (used the darkest two blues in palette, on outer eyelids and crease)
- Clinique Lash Primer
- Lancome Definicils High Definition mascara in Black

[Lips]

- The Body Shop Satsuma Shimmer lip balm (has really pretty shimmer but doesn't show up in these pics)

I know eyeliner would have completed the look, but I didn't want to use any liner because it would be hard to remove later before the facial treatment, so I skipped it.



















I felt weird wearing these colours out at first. When I put them on I was so tempted to wipe them off and start over, because I've never used colors like that, and felt they looked weird on my skintone. But I stopped myself from doing it because i was short on time, and i hate wasting time erasing good makeup that took time to apply, so decided to just wear it out anyways.

Felt weird the whole time I was out though, because I noticed passers by glanced at me more than what I usually get......Happily I did actually get complimented on the colours twice, from 2 separate MAs at Sephora. It was funny because both compliments came within 1 minute of each other when I was wandering the aisles at Sephora, but anyways made me feel better about it. :) Keep in mind these colours are a lot more vibrant in real life though, so I still feel these colours are kinda too strong for everyday wear. Too strong for Toronto that is.....most people just do very basic looks here I find, even on weekends.

Anyway thats it, I'm super tired again, too tired to even play Folklore :S going to crawl into bed now :)

p.s. I want to try this look next :) and the Clarins one too of course.

Everyday Minerals haul

Finally my order from EM came. I love online window shopping, but hate actually ordering, then having to wait for packages. Too impatient.

Also got some L'oreal Men's Power Buff Exfoliator, based on rave reviews I've read on Fei and Ricebunny's blogs. I've tried it out only once, seems okay so far but will have to see how good it is in the long term. I already have an exfoliating medium I love, the Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Refiner, but I'm looking for something cheaper to stretch the Clarins stuff out as it costs over CDN$30 for a 60 mL tube. Meanwhile, the L'oreal stuff costs CDN$9.99 at drugstores and about CDN$1.50 cheaper if you get it at Wal-Mart.

Pictures because I take pictures of everything...

L'oreal Power Buff, Everyday Minerals custom kit - all blushes, and free sample kit (the smaller jars), also the Pink Ribbon blush:




I have so many blushes now, I don't think I'll use these up ever. But I love how 6 of these blushes cost $18 in total, while one Bare Escentuals blush alone costs that same amount. And MAC blushes cost $30 for just one. With blushes, I find that cheap brands do them just as well as higher-end brands. And I bet the EM ones have almost as much product as the Bare Escentuals ones, as these EM jars are packed completely full, while BE ones have quite a lot of empty space in the jar.