Bear with me since I went on a massive “spend all my money” spree during the long days of being Snowed In. I loved most of what I bought!

There were a lot of favorites so I decided to split them into two posts. The first part contains skincare and beauty and the second continues with haircare and miscellaneous!

Now, on to the show!

 

Chanel’s Lotion Douceur Gentle Hydrating Toner, Balance + Anti-Pollution

(USD $45.00 for 6.8 fl.oz)

 

I bought this in November as my Christmas present to myself. It was light and smelled amazing. The floral scent did not linger once it dried on my face. When I tested it at the Chanel counter I was amazed at how soft and refreshed my skin felt, something very unusual for a toner. I bought it, fully aware the price tag supported the brand name and it’s “Anti-Pollution Tulip Tree Extract” technology. I was a little skeptical since products only have small amounts of it’s “star” ingredient but the science intrigued me. The Tulip tree’s leaves have a waxy coat that traps pollutants that are then washed away by water. Part of me wondered how that translated to skincare but I loved how it felt and my curiosity won out.

This lasted me until the first days of February when I used it twice daily after cleansing. I do not know if this is remarkable since I do not usually keep tabs on how long products last. Amazingly I had zero (yes, NONE, NINGUNA, ZERO) breakouts. My oily, acne-prone skin has calmed down in the last three years but I still suffer from occasional hormonal breakouts…No blemishes! Not even those slightly inflamed spots where they haven’t broken out yet? NOPE. While this is awesome, this probably means my skin is not properly hydrated.

 

Would I re-purchase? Yes, though probably not for summer.

 

 

Boscia’s MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil

(USD $28.00 for 5 fl.oz)

Face cleansing oils get a lot of love in the beauty community. I was scared to try one since my skin tends towards the oily. Adding oil to oil sounds downright crazy, right?  I didn’t think too much on it until I saw Tati’s (GlamLifeGuru) Sephora Beauty Oils review on Youtube, linked here. She mentioned she really liked Boscia’s cleansing oil and it was geared towards oily skin. I purchased it on a whim and I am so glad I did!

I usually do not wear a lot of face makeup (ie. foundation, concealer, blush, highlighter) together, however, over the last month because of antibiotics, craaazy flares and my cat biting my face and leaving scars (don’t ask — Sunsilk is growing up to be one CRANKY kitty!) I have added extra steps into looking healthier. On heavy coverup days, 30 to 60 seconds of massaging this product over my face and neck loosens all the makeup and water washes it away.

The downside to this cleansing oil is how painful it is on my eyes! The oil seeps into my eyes, even when they are closed, and burns them. It also blurs my vision for a few minutes. SCARY.

This is an easy fix, though. I use coconut oil to remove eye make-up and follow with Boscia to whisk away the excess oil.

 

Would I re-purchase? Yes.

M.A.C. Mineralize’s Charged Water Moisture Eye Cream

(USD $35.00 for ~0.50 fl.oz)

After I sung the praises of my hall of fame La Mer Eye Concentrate I received an insurance policy change, medical bills, and my new year deductible. No La Mer for me! There were a couple of eye creams I had my eye on but the negative reviews were so nasty I decided to go with one I had never heard of.

The consistency of this eye cream is light and thin. This is very important for me because I have perpetual puffy eyes. Apparently, the more product applied around the eyes the puffier they can be. So, for me, the lighter the formula the more “win” it is. The key ingredient is caffeine which cools on contact and depuffs overnight.

I gently tap the product on with my ring finger and I have no puffiness in the morning. This is a huge deal for me since Ambien makes my eyes even more puffy! Stop the Ambien, you say? I wish! Given my recent flares and the pain I am in, I cannot sleep without it.

I have never loved skincare products more!

 

Would I re-purchase? Yes, definitely for summer!

 

Lorac’s Pro Palette

(USD $42.00 for 16 eyeshadows and a mini primer)

 

This was an impulse buy. Everyone was talking about it and loving it. I only own one neutral eye shadow palette – Urban Decay’s Naked I. This is crazy since I only wear neutral eye colors! Needless to say, I wear Naked everyday and I am getting bored.

The Lorac Pro Palette is as wonderful as everyone says. The colors are ultra-pigmented and there are countless ways to wear them. The shades are different enough from the Urban Decay palette that I do not feel like I was purchasing the same thing (I added a picture of Naked I for comparison). The UD shadows are a lot deeper than Lorac’s, something that came as a welcome change.

The only drawback, for me, are the matte shades. Mattes make me look dead and dull so I always wear shimmer. This could be because I do not know how to balance both types of shadows. I want to experiment with this and the Pro palette is the perfect medium.

The shades are more pigmented than in the Naked palette so there is more fall out. Of course, with more pigmented shadows that is to be expected.

 

Will I re-purchase? Yes!

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.