Haul: Bye Bye Blemish

Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion has become a staple in my acne skincare routine whenever I have a large/small breakout on my face. I realize this product isn’t a miracle worker (meaning it is not going to get rid of all my acne) but it’s a pretty stand-up product where it helps treat my acne, reducing some of it and working at shrinking others.

In case you’re not aware, Bye Bye Blemish is a sulfur based acne skincare product. So with sulfur based product, the product does have a very noticeable scent to it. But after a few minutes it doesn’t come off as very noticeable. Mario Badescu as well as other skin care lines have come out with drying lotion sulfur products.

I had this on my list of things to repurchase … and then I realized when I used my product last I didn’t screw the cap on all the way so some of the liquid had evaporated. So I went into “panic mode” and submitted an order on Amazon for it.  Hooray for Amazon and hooray for Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion!

You can see my review of the product here.

Mario Badescu Haul

I have heard so many rave reviews about Mario Badescu skin care, so a while back I had requested samples of products tailored to what my skin care regiment should be. I received the samples, tried them out and decided to purchase a few of the recommended products for my skin that I enjoyed.  I didn’t order everything – but just recently (this week) I submitted an order for additional items on the Nordstrom website.

The great thing with this initial order was I was able to obtain free shipping and I also received 15% off with a coupon code.  Mario Badescu products can be rather pricey, especially when you’re buying more than one product at a time, so the coupon codes certainly come in handy.  Depending on how these products work out for my skin in the end, I’ll try to purchase products again whenever those codes are offered by the company.

So this here is what I ordered:

-          16 oz. Enzyme Cleansing Gel

-          16 oz. Special Cucumber Lotion

-          2 oz. Drying Mask

-          2 oz. Healing & Soothing Mask

One of the cool things with ordering from Mario Badescu is with every order you can choose up to 3 samples.  These are the samples I chose:

-          Special Hand Cream with Vitamin E

-          Drying Cream

-          Whitening Mask

QUESTION:

Have you tried any Mario Badescu products?

The Body Shop Haul

Believe it or not, this is the 2^nd The Body Shop haul I did online within weeks of each other (there was also a third…).  The Body Shop’s online store was having fabulous sales week after week and well, I am a true sucker for a sale!  I had a $10 Groupon to use which helped lower my out of pocket expense – plus with my Love Your Body discount and the sale, I saved quite a bit of money.

Since I do have acne prone and oily skin I have grown to love the Tea Tree line from The Body Shop. It’s perfect, calming and really helps neutralize my acne once I’ve got my face “under control”. I was out of a few products and I was interested in trying the creamy cleanser which was an online exclusive.

Here’s what I picked up:

-          Tea Tree Blackhead Exfoliating Wash (x2)

-          Tea Tree Cool & Creamy Wash (x2)

-          Tea Tree Cleansing Wipes

-          Tea Tree Skin Cleaning Foaming Cleanser

-          Ginger Scalp Care Shampoo (large bottle)

-          Vitamin C Microdermabrasion single use

QUESTION:

What is your favorite product from The Body Shop?

REVIEW: Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion

I had been looking into the Mario Badescu acne care line and noticed they had a drying lotion.  I looked into it (as there are many different items for their acne care/control) and I read that this product is similar – if not the same thing as the Mario Badescu drying lotion.  The general gyst of what I read about the product is that it contains all the same ingredients and is pretty much the same end result.  Since the Bye Bye Blemish sells for about 1/3 of the price of the Mario Badescu I decided to order the Bye Bye Blemish to see if it’d work.

PACKAGING & PRICE

When purchased, the product comes packaged in a cardboard box which houses a glass 1 oz container.  The vial contains a clear liquid and a pink substance which settles to the bottom of the vial.  The trick is to keep the vial up right to ensure the product stays separated.  Pricing varies depending on where it’s purchased – typically the price ranges between $5.59 to $9.99.  If purchasing online you can get a percentage (varying store to store) of cash back by using websites such as Ebates, etc.  If you don’t have an ebates account you can sign up for one using my referral link: http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=ky2d7dwKtlCkZT5PXSb8mw%3D%3D

PRODUCT

The Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion is to be used on top of present acne on the face.  The bottle should not be shaken or stirred – it should be kept upright to allow the sediment (the pink product) to rest at the bottom of the vial.  I will say it has a bit of an annoying sulfur smell (the product does contain 10% sulfur!), it can be obnoxious but the scent does fade after it’s been on your face.  It’s not ghastly to the point I feel nauseous but it is an unpleasant scent for a few minutes (particularly if I am applying under my nose or around my mouth).

Before applying the product you should cleanse and dry your face.  You should then use a clean Q-tip and insert it into the vial, the tip of the Q-tip picking up some of the pink substance.  You then apply that substance on top of any pimples on the face.  Do not re-dip the used Q-tip into the container – use another q-tip or flip it over and use the other side of the Q-tip.  Leave the product on your acne spots overnight and wash off the next morning during your normal skincare routine.

The product states use is okay on sensitive skin.  I will say, I have sensitive skin and have not had an allergic reaction to this product.  I do want to point out, according to Bye Bye Blemish: “This overnight spot treatment rapidly reduces the size and severity of pimples. Salicylic acid exfoliates dead skin cells, allowing the all-natural drying agents to penetrate pores and treat infection.”

PURCHASING

The product is available at select stores – but I was not able to locate it at a few of my local pharmacies that are supposed to carry it (stores around me carry select products depending on shelf availability/demand).  Since I was not able to find it in a physical store, the online stores that do carry it are: Ulta.com, Amazon.com, CVS.com, Drugstore.com, Walgreens.com, and Vitacost.com.

OVERALL

I have to say hands down, this is one of the best over the counter acne products I have purchased and tried in a very long time.  I was a little skeptical at first as to if this was going to work, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and have used it since purchasing on any trouble spots that erupt on my face.  This is not a miracle cure, it is not going to completely rid you of acne, but it will help.  I do notice after applying and waking up the next morning, I find the smaller pimples I applied the product to are gone.  Whereas on my larger acne spots (and even some of my cystic acne spots) I find it may take a couple uses before those are minimized. I will say I do find it’s useful to exfoliate the morning after use to help get any dead skin cells off your face.  You will notice the spots the Bye Bye Blemish was applied to the skin will just kind of “glide” off with your fingernail – so definitely exfoliate!  I cannot say enough good things about this product other than I hope to dabble into a little more of the Bye Bye Blemish skincare line.

RATING

A+

REVIEW: The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask

I picked up this Tea Tree Face Mask at The Body Shop kind of on the fly a number of months back.  I was talking to the girl that works in one of my local stores (she and I suffer from similar acne problems and have taken similar dermatologist prescribed medications).  So to say I trust her opinion is a pretty solid statement.  She’s even steered me away from purchasing certain things so that’s customer service to say the least.  I was looking for a couple different things and this mask was recommended to me by the girl in the store so I picked it up.  She did advise you can use it different ways, as a mask, as a cleanser, etc.  I even read a few different reviews on The Body Shop website with how people use it.  Some find they like to put it on then get in the shower and then wash it off.  I use it in a combination of ways and each has been pretty positive for me.

PACKAGING & PRICE

The product comes packaged in a round screw lid tub which contains 3.85 ounces of product.  This retails for $15 but The Body Shop is known for constantly running buy 2 get 2 free sales or buy 3 get 3 free sales.  Currently they are running a store and site-wide 50% off sale so this is selling for $7.50.  Groupon also pairs up with The Body Shop to offer $20 Groupons for the store – so you’d spend $10 and have $20 taken off your bill – further reducing your payout.

PRODUCT

The product itself is a bright green moderately thick cream.  It does have a distinct tea tree scent to it, which can tickle your sense of smell if you get close to it.  This is featured in the tea tree line which is geared towards individuals with problem skin (acne blemishes).  This is geared towards being a mask but it can be a multi-use product and everyone who uses it, uses it in different ways that they find works best for them.  The product is a cooling face mask with cleanses, soothes and refreshes the skin.  It aids in removing impurities and absorbing excess oil.  I will say it does all of these things and more.

PURCHASING

This can be purchased from any The Body Shop store location, The Body Shops online website and Beauty.com.  I have also seen The Body Shop products sold at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s locations – but it’s really hit or miss as it depends on what they receive in and how quickly they sell.

OVERALL

As I’ve stated this can be a multi-purpose face mask/cleanser.  According to the product you should “Smooth a thin layer onto pat-dried skin, clean face and neck with your fingertips. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes (mask will not dry). Then rinse off with clean water and pat skin dry. Use once or twice per week, after cleansing.”  I’ve used this as a mask and found the tingling sensation can become all too much for my skin – so I sometimes put this on my face before getting into the shower and I let the warm air mesh with the product and do it’s own thing.  I have also used this as a skin refresher after using an exfoliating face wash (whether by using a product or using a exfoliating face brush).  In this case I rub a small amount of product into my cleansed face, leave it on for a minute or two, and then rinse off.  It can leave my face a little tight feeling, but it’s nothing some moisturizer won’t ease up.

I do know if you use this product and you find it is not for you, or you’ve had a reaction to it the store will allow you to bring it back in to explain your situation and will aid in finding a new product for you that will not upset your skin/etc.

RATING

A-

Shannon’s Origins Black Friday Haul!

The week of Black Friday leading up to the day after Cyber Monday Origins was having a deal where you could get $10 off your order and get free shipping.  I tried a few samples of Origins products at Sephora and planned on picking up a bottle of a few things at Sephora but decided to get them straight from Origins because of the money off deal.  I also made this purchase using my Ebates account so I got 8 or 9% cash back on top of what I spent.

I did run into a little technical difficulty when trying to submit my order.  Origins website was still advertising the coupon code for the $10 off but when I went to submit my order (it had just turned midnight) the website had a technical difficulty and was not allowing the code – stating it had expired.  I e-mailed Origins and the next day they had sent out a mass e-mail to all letting them know that due to a technical glitch on their website they extended the code for an additional two days to make up for any inconvenience it ma have caused.  As soon as I read the e-mail I immediately threw the two items I wanted into my online cart and purchased.  Shipping was really fast – I received my order not even a week after placing it.

Here’s what I picked up:

-          Origins Zero Oil

-          Origins Clear Improvements

Received my specialized Mario Badescu Samples

About two months ago I went browsing on the Mario Badescu website.  I have heard many rave reviews on their acne line and while I was getting frustrated with my own skin I decided to sign up to receive some samples to try out the products.  I was considering getting some from Ulta, but the Ulta website doesn’t stock the products and I wasn’t going to drive 1+ hours out of my way to the only Ulta around me.

I filled out the requested survey which based around me and my skincare concerns.  About a week later I received a specialized e-mail from one of the Mario Badescu skin care advisors who reviewed my information and decided on what particular regime I should try.  The e-mail was very informative, advising what product to use when, where and how often.  I was also advised that due to a significant increase in sample requests orders for samples were being released in 5-6 weeks after the initial submittal went through.  This was also before the hurricane which put New Jersey and New York under a lot of trouble due to the flooding and power outages, so the samples took a bit longer, which was quite expected and I’m not complaining in the least.

I received my package and was quite surprised with the volume of samples.  The product contains enough for at least 1-3 usages (depending on the product).  But here’s what I got in my package:

- Enzyme Cleansing Gel

- Special Cucumber Lotion  

- Hyaluronic eye cream

- Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 17

- Drying Mask

- Healing & Soothing Mask  

- Drying lotion

- Buffering lotion

- Drying Cream

Shannon’s VitaCost Beauty Haul!

This is about a two month old haul from VitaCost.com.  VitaCost is a website that sells beauty and health items at a discounted price.  Their prices typically beat out the prices you’d find on Amazon or any other beauty product retailer (for the most part).  They also offer incentives to get $10 off your purchase by referring a friend and having them sign up – while the friend also receives $10 off by signing up through your referral link.  I do admit you think you’re getting a fabulous deal – but the only downside is you have to pay for shipping which is (typically) a flat $5.99.  So in essence you are really only saving $4 off your order – but nonetheless you’d be spending less than you would anywhere else, so it’s kind of a wash.  But anyway onto the haul!

Here are the items I purchased (please do note these are first time buys for me but I did research the brands and purchased some items I saw recommended by a few of the YouTubers I subscribe to):

-          Nature’s Gate Biotin Shampoo

-          Nature’s Gate Biotin Conditioner

-          Dr. Woods Shea Vision Pure Black Soap with Shea Butter

-          Alba Botanica Natural Acne Dote Deep Pore Wash

-          Kiss my Face Natural Moisture Shave Cream

-          Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin Spray

-          Mygrastick Roll On (migraine roll-on relief)

-          Desert Essence Natural Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleansing Pads

BTW if you have an Ebates account you can get 3.0% cash back on your purchase – so even more savings!

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of these products or have you purchased anything from VitaCost?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

Shannon’s Amazon Haul

This is a bit of a late haul – but better late than never.  I ended up purchasing this stuff simply because I wanted the Bye Bye Blemish.  I went to order it from Ulta but it was sold out online and since none of my local pharmacies carry the product – Amazon came to my rescue.  I knew I had wanted some Steripods since I had been placing them in my Amazon cart for months.  Unfortunately the item is only an “add on” item meaning it doesn’t qualify toward free shipping.  The same went with a few items I purchased so I kept having to expand my laundry list of purchases to get free shipping (which in turn only spends more money….)  Anyway, here’s what I picked up:

- Steripod Toothbrush Sanitizers (2-pack)

- Bye Bye Blemish for acne – Drying Lotion

- Oral B Glide – 3D White Floss Picks [I purchased because I cannot find the Oral B floss picks my dentist gives me and it’s driving me crazy lol]

- 4 ½ inch watch link remover [Purchased this because I hadn’t been able to wear my watch I purchased online because the links needed to be removed.  I got this on Amazon for $3.50 and it works perfectly. I’m clueless when it comes to watches, etc., and I was able to remove the links in my watch quite simply]

So there you have it, my Amazon haul!

Shannon’s Random Target Haul

This is what happens when I head into Target to start Christmas shopping for my niece and nephew.  I inevitably end up in the beauty department buying a little something-something.  I bought some hand cream at Target which I keep at home, but when I saw the Nivea crème on sale I had to buy it.  The tiny little jar (the one above the travel size) was $6 at Walmart so this gigantic one was on sale at Target for $5.30 so of course I had to buy it.  I figured I’d add it to my lotion collection on my desk at work.  A few days before I had watched a “Get unready with me” video by nguerriero19 and she was talking about the Neutrogena toner and I’ve seen her talk about it a few times so I figured I’d give it a shot.  I’ve been using Lush’s tea tree toner and the Acne Free toner (different time of the day) and I’m finding with the AcneFree (my morning routine) it’s making my oilier than necessary so I wanted to try something else out that’s geared toward acne prone skin.

Here’s what I picked up:
-    Nivea Crème (13.5 oz glass container)
-    Tide to Go pen
-    Neutrogena – Oil Free Acne Stress Control – Triple-Action Toner

Shannon's Amazing Clearance Haul!

I popped into one of the local grocery stores yesterday after running a few errands.  I needed to pick a couple things up and since I was right next door I popped on in instead of driving to the grocery store nearest my house.  In this particular grocery store I tend to check out their clearance section (in the back of the store near the dairy section) because they tend to clearance items just because there's only a few of the item remaining so they throw them on the clearance shelf to get rid of them.  I was looking through the cold medicine bin and tucked in the very corner of the bin were a few of these AcneFree 24 Hour Acne Clearing Systems marked down to $5!  I've seen a few people sharing hauls where they've purchased these systems and really like them -- so I figured why not?  I've been looking for acne cleanser that worked, so with fingers crossed, I tried it out tonight and hope to enjoy the results.  I also spotted a single eos lip balm in summer fruit!  The greatest part?  It was 90 CENTS! SCORE!  I have my eos lip balm on my computer at work, so I threw this one in my purse to have with me all the time.  I prefer medicated lip balms the most, but these are nice when I just feel my lips are slightly dry -- but with the one at work?  I've been slathering that bad boy on all day -- almost like it's part of my daily work routine haha.

Shannon's The Body Shop Haul!

This is a belated The Body Shop haul.  After work one day my boyfriend and I went to the mall to pay a phone bill and my stipulation was I needed to run into one store – The Body Shop because I had a $10 off $20 coupon.  When I went into the store the girl that I typically deal with at this particular store was working.  She has acne so we talk about our acne and she’s really honest with me about products.  She leaves me be so I can look around, but when I start asking questions she’s honest with me.  She’ll tell me what she recommends, etc., and since we have some of the same acne issues and she knows what medications I take that are prescribed she kind of guides me in the right direction without telling me what to get.

The fabulous part was I let her know I had a $10 off $20 coupon and I had $40 worth of stuff in my hands.  So she told me she’d give me the $10 off and then give me $15 off $40 (not realizing I already had that amount in my hand).  So she essentially gave me $25 off my order.  She then recommended I spend $4 more so I could get another point on my rewards card – so I did that.

Enough of the rambling, here’s what I picked up:

-          Tea Tree Oil

-          Tea Tree Face Mask

-          Camomile Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover (Travel Size)

-          Seaweed Clarifying Night oil

-          Sample: Hemp Hand Cream

-          Sample:: Tea Tree Pore Minimizer

My First Lush Haul!

I’ve been into Lush a few times in the past but have never purchased anything from the store.  One time I went in there, tried out this hand cleansing/exfoliating system and when I told the girl I’d love to buy it and was informed the full set was $90 I quickly ran out of the store (well, not quickly, I told her no thank you and left).  So what got me back into Lush this time?  My hands.  We have hard water at work and I’m constantly washing my hands, which is drying them out beyond belief.  On top of that I deal with paperwork all day long which is also helping in drying them out. Regardless of how much lotion I’m using it’s not doing anything for them, particularly a few of my fingertips. I’ve been buying different lotions, etc., and they help for the time being but they haven’t truly been curing the underlying problem – just masking it for the time being.  Of course when I got into Lush I explained my hand scenario and we started off by testing out two different products on two different hands, followed by the lotion, etc.  Then while talking, I started babbling about my skin (face) and we dove into products for that.  Needless to say, before I knew it, I had a boatload of products to purchase and was asking to pick up a few extra that I had seen talked about in YouTube videos. I spent  a lot more than I anticipated, but so far I am really enjoying some of the stuff I’ve purchased – particularly my face mask, soap [both face and body], toner and hand lotion (minus the scent).  I do love the toner and I find it’s really helping with the oiliness of my face – and I’d like to test this against the Body Shops tea tree toner (since it is cheaper, just not in a neat spray bottle).  I realize Lush is really pricy in their stuff, but if you find something that’s working for you, there’s always a price that comes with beauty.

Here’s a break down of what I picked up:

-          Helping Hands hand cream

-          Cupcake face mask

-          Fresh Farmacy Face Soap

-          Honey I Washed the Kids soap

-          Putty For Your Hands

-          Tea Tree Toner Water

-          Toothy Tabs in Dirty (Spearmint flavor)

I also got some samples, for myself and for my boyfriend to try out (which he hasn’t because he says it’s “makeup” LOLOL!!):

-          Imperialis Facial Moisturizer

-          Ocean Salt face & body scrub (x 2)

-          Grease Lightening

-          Cosmetic Lad

I will be doing a review on the Cupcake face mask at some point.

Haul: Proactiv Refining Mask

Never had I imagined myself purchasing a Proactiv product.  BUT I have this horrible obsession with purchasing things Nikki Phillippi on YouTube recommends.  I tend to have the same acne issues that she had and is dealing with – and I’m using two of the same prescription products she’s been using (I just happen to not use mine as consistently which is the problem).  So because we have the same types of acne issues, I tend to listen to what she has to say regarding products for acne/scarring, etc.  The past few weeks my face has been going crazy with acne and I’m not sure what has really been breaking me out so in a state of I’ll do anything, I purchased this Proactiv Refining Mask on Amazon for under $5.  I’ve never used Proactiv products simply because I’ve been under dermatologist care and the type of acne I have, Proactiv wouldn’t touch it other than dry the crap out of my skin.  BUT I am looking forward to seeing how this works on trouble spots and/or my face in general dependent upon how I use it.