Review of silicone-free Cargo blu_ray activating face primer

I may have finally found the only primer I can use all day that doesn't break me out, and I'm not sure that it really does anything, or anything much anyway.

*sighs*

I picked this primer up from BeautyBay some time ago and have been oh so cautiously testing it ever since. My skin's been relatively good of late, so instead of leaving well enough alone I start testing stuff on it. Of course. (Bad Me!)

I was really excited to learn that BeautyBay sold it and shipped it for free because I've been on the hunt for  silicone-free primer since forever. As an oily skinned girl with big nose pores it's just something you want to work for you. 

As others see us

There was once a time when the idea of seeing yourself as others see you was aimed at humbling the ego, of making you less proud of yourself. 

Not anymore it seems.

Our vanity-focused culture has bred discontent and made every woman feel less attractive than she truly is. 

We seldom post promotional video but I think Dove deserves a pat on the back for this one. The use of an FBI forensic artist to sketch self-perceptions and your looks as other see you was inspired.

Thank you, Dove and Ogilvy Toronto for this.

Korean-style Skincare Basics

My friends and I have realised that most Korean and Japanese women really do have gorgeous skin and great makeup skills. I felt like the Ugliest Duckling in the country when I visited Korea and Japan – well, at least I had my sister with me in Seoul so Ugly here had company.

I was curled up with in bed last week with the flu when I decided to embark on a virtual quest of the Great Korean Skincare Secret. Most of the results on Google repeated the same old stuff we already know: Koreans are big on sunscreen, love their masks and have access to what seems like an unlimited choice of skincare products. Throw a rock in Seoul and it will probably hit a cosmetic outlet.  

I did find a few snippets of a Korean beauty talk show called “Get It Beauty” on Youtube. They are subtitled in English, thank goodness, and I did find some interesting things to take away from the videos they had on taking care of dry skin.

Testing new skincare or foundations

With my finicky skin, testing skincare, primer or foundation is... well... it's an act of either courage or desperation which is why unless I'm on the hunt for a solution I've stopped accepting skincare for reviews. 

When I do have to test something though, here's what I do.

1. I wait till my skin is either completely or mostly clear OR it's been breaking out for awhile and I can't stop it (this is desperation). The problem is if my skin IS clear I hate to disrupt it at all and sometimes will hold off trying a new product for ages because of this.
2. When I finally get the guts to try it out, motivated by curiosity or some form of mild insanity, I apply a light layer for a night event. Why night? Because it's cooler and shorter and thus less likely to greatly piss off my skin.
3. I wait a week and watch my skin anxiously for breakouts. Because these things can take a few days to surface, it's best to wait a week. 
4. If I DO breakout, I clear up again and repeat step 1 to be sure it's the product.
5. If nothing bad happens I test it for a day. Then stop again for a week.
6. If nothing happens again I move on to alternate use. The idea here is that if I DO breakout, it won't be as bad or last as long.
7. By this time I'm pretty sure if my skin likes the product or hates it and I either dump it or use it daily. 

The entire process takes a month and is fraught with fear.

I'm hostage to my own skin. Damn.

How do you test out new products? Hope you're having an easier time of it than I am!

Much A-Moo about MooGoo*: MooGoo Milk Wash

I have ridiculously sensitive skin that breaks out into rashes upon contact with strongly fragranced bath products; or products that are too harsh on my skin – I haven’t used a Dove bar soap or Body Shop product in years. Sometimes, it doesn’t have anything to do with the product at all; I can get rashes from hard water.

As you can imagine, my choice in shower creams is pretty much limited to boring, non-scented, dermatologically approved products. Ego QVWash and bar soaps have been bath staples for years and I probably would have never dreamt of switching until I got a sample bottle of MooGoo’s Milk Wash last year.

Go ahead and laugh but MooGoo has revolutionised my shower habits forever. Seriously.

Instant face brightner: Korres Lip Butter Stick in Rose

Hello ladies,

I know I've been terribly quiet of late, but the truth is I received a rather major promotion at work and the learning curve has been kinda steep. I'm really happy, not complaining, but I've had terrible brain-fag and just couldn't face the thought of writing or thinking even more on the weekends. So I've taken a bit of a break. 

I think I'm back now!

As you can see, I'm still a tinted lip balm addict and when I saw that Korres' lip balms were available in a convenient stick format I went bananas and bought three in rose, pink and peach.

Here's a confession though, peach and pink really aren't thrilling my boat. They're too sheer and too pastel. I've mostly been using them to augment my lip tint of the day - do I want it warmer? cooler? paler? - or as a regular lip balm. 

But the rose shade... ahh.. the rose shade..

Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer is a Love Potion

Well... it's certainly got me falling in love with it.

In a nutshell, it's uhmayzing. But if you want to find out how I ended up buying this little love potion, read on!