Checking out Christmas Sales

Description:

Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup SPF 10



What it is:
A natural hydrating liquid foundation.

What it does:
Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup SPF 10 blends 100% natural mineral pigments with Dior's exclusive, active unrealized water to deliver flawless, glowing skin that actually improves over time. By using advances in mineral makeup technology, this product will take your complexion to a whole new level. (credit, Sephora)

Yesterday, i took a break from studying and went to the mall with boyfriend. He was on a hunt for cologne, and i decided to browse around the cosmetic counters to find the good Christmas savings. heheh.

I'm currently on a hunt for a new foundation. So i looked around and decided to check out Dior. I saw an advertisment on my way into Sears, so that's why i decided to go check it out.

The name was intriging, because it's "skin nude" and that's exactly the type of foundation that i'm looking for. Someone light, enough to cover pores, but give me a nice glow, dewy finish.

I went to the counter, and started pumping a small amount on my hand and i rubbed it in. First thingi noticed was it's definately thick. It would be mediam coverage, and buildable. It looks a bit cakey, i didn't really like that. It almost looks like it sets into fine lines. So that's when i turned away, and looked at something else.

Initial Review:

Thick cream, Mediam and Max Coverage
A bit cakey, and dry looking
Sets into finelines
Feels Moisturizing!
Doesn't LOOK moisturizing (cakey?)
Coverages Pores
Has SPF 10

Note: I havent been exfoliating, and the cold weather has made my skin, dry, and just peeling, so maybe i'm just not doing this foundation justice. SOOoO..

Not too long later, i found myself back at the counter, asking for a sample. (HAHA) The girl was kind enough to offer me a generous amount, in a pigment jar, so i will be testing out this product for the time being, just to give it a fair trial run, and i will let you guys know if this is LOVE, or if it was just LUST. hehe

Aside from my love affair with Dior, i decided to check out the other counters

I did manage to take a look at the sets offered by Lancome, and Estee Lauder, though to my surprise, when i looked at them up close, i wasn't too flattered. Sadly to say, maybe that is what happens when you have been studying to much, that even make up doesn't make me happy anymore.



Estee Lauder, did look like it offered a lot more items, but i didn't like the colour choices. They were too bland for my liking. The eyeshadow colours, are basic ever day colour. Great for office work and ever day make up, but i wished it had more bold colours, to make it more versatile.

The brushes didn't look too exciting. I've always had a thing against brushes from those counter brands. I don't really know why? I guess because most of the time they are flimsy. I have a lancome one, and it's worse then my quo one. Sad to say.

I think the most rewarding in the Estee Lauder set, is the lipstick, but sadly, they are not the colours that i would wear. I just look goofy with bright bold red lips. haha. Maybe someday that would change :/ . But i thought that was definitely worth the buck

The blushes were pretty, and i thought that was worth it in the set. Definately wearable colours

Price: $55 before tax. with a purchase of an item.

Recommendation: Definitely, if you are more towards cosmetics, and MAKE up, then go for this set, it's a good deal overall. If you like to have a bunch of colours go for esteee. if your not so much into make up, and just looking for basics or more geared towards skincare, go for Lancome. if you are in love with both, get both. hehe




Lancome's set wasn't as extravagant if it sat next to Estee lauder, but you have to remember Lancome's items are definately more expensive, and i think the cream was the most expensive item in the gift. It's also more geared towards mature women.

In their set, they had a mosisturizer, that's for skin lifting and firming. I believe this ranged around 45+ itself.

A bold red lipstick, and eyeshadow quad, with mascara and makeup remover. it's a very simple set, but it basically gives you the essentials. i like the eyeshadow colours in this set much more then the estee lauder, just because there was variety, but the only let down is you get 4. I believe they have 3 different palettes you can chose from also: Natural, Dramatic and Chic. Check out their website, or Sears.

I think i would only purchase this set, if i really wanted the cream, because other then that, this set doesn't really excite me. But it's great for mom's, aunt's and women who just wear basic make up, and has a need for this cream. Creams are EXPENSIVE! So definately a great buy if you want it.

I dont' think i'l get my hands on either sets for the timebeing. I think i'll see what else gets released :D. It's a great deal though, so check it out if you haven't yet!

Now, i'm gonna go to class. I didnt' feel any motivation to do my work within this hour break, so i decided to give myself a break and do something fun..AHEM. hahaha. Off to stats now. last day of classes! FINALLYYYY

P.S. YAH! i get to go home early today. I can go home in broad daylight!!! :D

How Good is your Cleanser?

Cleansing is one of the easiest thing you can do to achieve and maintain beautiful skin, and it's almost essential when you wear any face product, such as foundation, powder, concealer, blush..etc. I have learned this the hard way, and now i have incorporated this simple step into my skin regime. Lets just say that i can no longer go to bed, realizing that i have make up on my face.

Pupose of Cleansing

Because the skin on our face is unlike any other area on our body, our skin need a little extra care. Other then besides the fact that it's about self esteem and confidence for women and men, it's also a hygene routine. Cleansing removes the debris that has accumulated on our face throughout the day, as well as excess oil that could led to future break out. When you wear make up, you are exposing your face with products that are not necessary and it makes it even more important to remove the make up at the end of the day. Why? People often associate make up with the process of aging. Though i don't think there is scientific facts that makeup correlates directly to premature aging, i can say that if you do not properly and consistently remove all the make up at the end of the day before you go to bed, you are endangering and increasing the likelihood of premature aging. The way you apply your make up, like tugging can contribute to premature wrinkles, so make up itself may not directly case aging of skin, but the maintain make up will. I truly live by this, and i encourage everyone to consider it. Your skin will thank you later, and you can avoid the need to seek a cure for your aging skin.( atleast for a few years) Prevent now, not cure later.

What do you look for in a Cleanser?

Here is what i perfer:

1.cleansers that do not leave me skin feeling tight
2.skin feels moisturized not dried out
3.skin feels clean, but not squeeky
4.gentle and non-alcoholic
5.i'm really starting to like the foam type of cleanser, it's very easy and apply to the face. Less effort is needed in applying and spreading the product across the face
6.i perfer them in a pump, i don't like to squeeze the product, it makes it easier
7.removes most if not all, makeup like foundation, concealer, powder..etc. (eye makeup doesn't count- there is eye makeup remover for that!)

So now that i have gave a little introduction on cleanser, and the importance of cleansing, let me show and tell what i've been using for the pass two weeks

Estee Lauder: Perfectly Clean - Splash Away Foaming Cleanser



Type: Normal/Combination Skin
Price: $19.00 CAD before tax
Quantity: 4.2 oz

I did not purchase this. My mom bought a set a few weeks ago, because she wanted to get a moisturizer from there and lucky her, they have the exact mositurizer she wants in a set, with other products from the line, so she just got the set, because it was more of a bang for the buck. So this cleanser came with the set, and i have been using it to test it out. It came in a baby size.

Inital Review on the Product

So this cleanser has made me fall in love with foam cleansing. it's just so easy to apply on the face, and you can easily massage it into the face, without having to use much force like with creamier moisturizers. i rub it into my face in circular motion, and then i splash it off with water

It leaves my skin squeeky clean. i like the fact that it completely removes the oil, but at the same time it also feels tight and almost drying. I really wanted to like this product, but i'm just not feeling it. I think it depends on personal perference, i perfer cleansers to leave me with a clean feeling, but doesn't make my face feels tight, bcos it's just uncomfortable. I don't really like the squeekiness either. What i mean is when you rub your face, its so clean that when you rub your face there is a lot of friction. i feel like i definately need to moisturize after i use this product. For the most part, i don't really put on moisturizer when i go to bed, i do in the morning, but not when i go to bed, unless my skin feels very dried out.

After using this product. my face does seem to slightly glow. It doesn't leave any residue at all!

This product smells nice. I think it smells sweet but it also reminds me of some flower.

i only need a pea size and it's enough for my entire face, because it's foamy. i like how it looks creamy when you put it on your faces, and when you apply it, it turns into foam.



How well does it remove make up?

So let's move onto the main point of this topic. most of us would think that, when you use a cleanser that makes yuo feel like you removed every single little thing off your face that it's a good cleanser, but that's not always the case. Why?? because you can't micro-socopically see it. So what do we want to do to know that your cleanser is doing it's job?

Test the efficency of your Cleanser

You can test how well your cleanser is at cleansing. How? the answer baby, is with a toner. We always hear the saying "cleanse, tone, and moisturize" but i belive that if you have a good cleanser, you don't need to tone. Tonning is just an extra step to ensure that you remove the excess that your cleanser could not have done.

The experiment

So this is what i did. In the morning before class i applied foundation, blush, and my other makeup routine. At the end of the day, i used the Estee Lauder cleanser to wash my face, before i went to bed. Because i wore eye make up, i also used make up remover to clean my face, but i can't use the cleanser to clean my eye makeup, (it might sting my eye) so after that i have a habit of also tonning, just because i have toners that i have previously purchased and now just trying to finish it off.

This is what i used in this experiment:




And this is what i saw later...


I used Clinique Toner ( that one that comes with their acne sets) to tone my face, with a cotton ball, and i saw some of the foundation that the cleanser did not remove. I was so surprised because the cleanser made my face feel and look so clean, but apparently it's not as clean as i thought it was. So i just so amazed. Maybe you guys could think about it the next time you wash your face. Think twice before you buy the same cleanser again, because maybe it's not doing that much of a good as you thought it was. So you might think that the cleanser might not have even removed everything, but it has definately removed more then your cleanser.

Let me just say that, the cleanser did not say that it removes make up, but as a cleanser itself. i think it should be able to remove make up. Maybe not mascara, but a decent cleanser should remove foundation and powder, along with oil..etc.

Overall, i would probably not purchae the full size product. I believe there is better products out there for myself. The product says for oil and combination skin, and i have combination skin, but i just feel it's a little over drying, and i dont like how it makes my face feels squeeky clean. It's not perferd during this cold, dry weather season. I want a clean face, without the squeekiness, if you know what i mean. i would recommend it, if you do perfer it that way though. I will look for a cleanser that would do a better job at removing my face make up.


Rating:
Quality : 2.5/5
Price: 2/5
Purcahse again?: no

i hope you have enjoyed reading this post. I've jsut been so addicted about taking care of my face, that i've learned and read quite a lot of things, and this is just what i thought i'd share. if there is anything that i've said that is wrong, let me knoww!