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?

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

Shannon’s The Body Shop Super Haul!

This is a belated The Body Shop haul.  I had purchased another Groupon for $10 for $20 worth of product and since I wanted to pick up some of their tea tree line (they were having their buy 2 get 2 or buy 3 get 3 free sale) I decided to pop in and take full advantage.  I originally went in wanting the Hemp hand cream but when I got there I noticed they had a gift set for $20 which included the full-sized hand cream as well as some other items.  The $20 would be the same as the single hand cream – but unfortunately gift sets are not included in the sale.  So instead of getting less for my dollar, I bought the gift set and then just went crazy throughout the rest of the store.  Everything I purchased was from the tea tree line and because I had to spend like $6 more to get my rewards points I decided to just pick up a large body wash because it was useless to spend $8 on 2 miniature products I didn’t really want.  ANYWAY!

Here’s what I picked up:

-          Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash (x2)

-          Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner

-          Tea Tree Blackhead Exfoliating Wash (x2)

-          Mini face scrubber

-          Coconut Shower Cream

-          Hemp Hand Protector Gift Set – Includes Cream, Body Butter and Foot Cream

So there you have it, my The Body Shop haul!

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?

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Review: Burt's Bees Intense Hydration (BzzCampaign)

I was selected to take part in the BzzAgent BzzCampaign for Burts Bee’s Intense Hydration line.  I was surprised when I received my box and found full-sized products for their cleanser, night cream and mask.  I was expecting perhaps a full-size cleanser and then deluxe sample sizes of anything else that might be provided.

My skin is normally oily, but when I am being strict on my face cleansing routine to combat my acne, I tend to get dry in certain areas if not my whole face.  Adding an astringent (acne toner) on top of it can just make my face SO much more drying to the point it’s annoying.  I don’t always use a strong astringent on my face I typically reach for my tea tree toner – but some days the heavy duty stuff is “necessary”.  Out of all this, I will say using the hydration cream cleanser has certainly brought the moisture back to my face effortlessly and has made a noticeable difference.

PACKAGING & PRICE

The products are packaged in typical sleek and/or rather “plain” packaging which is the signature Burts Bees look for their face care lines.  The Intense Hydration cream cleanser comes in a 6 ounce bottle (retails for $9.99), the intense hydration mask is in a 4 ounce bottle (retails for $17.99) and the Intense Hydration Night Cream is in a 1.8 ounce container (retails for $17.99).  The cleanser and mask are in flip-top squeeze bottles, while the night cream is in a screw top container.

PRODUCT

The product is geared towards hydration and hydrating it does.  The one thing I do want to mention is that for me, it has a borderline strong lemony scent to it.  It’s the first note that hits me and lingers.  Now I love lemon in food, but the scent is rather boisterous.  It’s not overwhelming to the point I can’t use it, but it definitely hits me every single time I use it.

According to Burt’s Bees (taken from the Burt’s Bees website):   Clary Sage, a remarkable botanical that thrives in its harsh environment because of its ability to retain moisture, is the inspiration behind Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration, our natural ode to soft, supple, revitalized skin and our best natural anti-aging solution. Our cream cleanser leaves your skin incredibly soft while our day lotion, eye cream and night cream help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Add the treatment mask for an immediate dose of hydration to give your skin a revitalized look.

PURCHASING

The line is available for purchase at major retailers such as Target and Walgreens.  It may be available at CVS, Rite Aid and Walmart but I personally have not looked for these items at those stores so I can’t say for sure. I do know the line is available on the Target and Walgreens website as it is also available on Drugstore.com

OVERALL

I would recommend this for anyone who has dry skin or has occasional dryness.  It certainly aids in moisturizing and bringing moisture back to the skin.  If you don’t have dryness or occasional dryness, I can’t say I’d recommend this for use.  The line has helped bring moisture to my skin after my sometime harsh acne treatments and it does prep my face for my after shower/face washing routine.  The scent is rather noticeable, but it’s not overwhelmingly unpleasant – but if you don’t enjoy lemony fragrances, then you may not like this one since even while it’s on your skin you can smell it.

RATING

B

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SUPER Belated CVS Haul!

Yes, super belated.  These pictures have been sitting on my camera for … ever.  Like what, almost 2-months? I think … but it’s something like that.  I went into CVS because I had ECB’s to use up, plus that week Physician’s Formula was buy any item over $10 gets $7 ECB’s back.  I almost bought the bronzer the week prior, but a blogger on twitter saw my tweet and replied to me letting me know PF products would be on sale the following week – so I sat tight and waited for Sunday to roll around.  I tend to be an impulsive shopper and my need for the PF product was impulsivity so I’m surprised I waited.  But in the end I’m glad I did because I was able to get a lot more product for my money than just getting one and paying full price for it.

Here’s what I picked up:

-          Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser

-          CVS Purifying Mint Masque

-          Physicians Formula – pH Matchmaker Powdered Bronzer

-          Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder 

-          Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy in Galactic

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

BzzAgent : Received my Burts Bees Intense Hydration Kit

I admit this is a super late and belated post.  I received this box a few weeks ago and just haven’t gotten around to posting about my receiving it.  I received an e-mail from BzzAgent advising that I qualified to participate in this Burts Bees Intense Hydration BzzCampaign.  Quite excitedly I opted in because I have heard so many great things about the Burts Bees brand – and I haven’t tried any of their products outside of their chapstick.  Anyways!

 

The Burts Bees intense hydration line consists of a full line (day lotion, night cream, treatment mask, cream cleanser, and eye cream) designed to aid in trapping and retaining moisture in the skin.  The following is from the Burts Bees website about this particular line: “Clary Sage, a remarkable botanical that thrives in its harsh environment because of its ability to retain moisture, is the inspiration behind Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration, our natural ode to soft, supple, revitalized skin and our best natural anti-aging solution. Our cream cleanser leaves your skin incredibly soft while our day lotion, eye cream and night cream help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Add the treatment mask for an immediate dose of hydration to give your skin a revitalized look.”

I was quite surprised to see three full-size products and a boatload of samples (night and day creams).  BzzAgent certainly hooked us folks up who were involved in this campaign.  Here’s what I received in my box:

-          Intense Hydration – Cream Cleanser

-          Intense Hydration – Treatment Mask

-          Intense Hydration – Night Cream

-          Intense Hydration – Day Lotion (samples)

-          Intense Hydration – Night Cream (samples)

Haul: Garnier Skin Renew

I picked up a tube of Garnier Skin Renew at CVS last weekend to try out on my face.  I've been super annoyed with my skin lately and since I'm waiting to see my dermatologist (hopefully this week) I'll have some better advise as to how to move forward.

I originally went into CVS looking for the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Eventone Dark Spot Corrector BUT I've been highly unsuccessful in locating that anywhere.  Since I couldn't find the Palmer's I went in search of the new Olay CC Cream BUT CVS didn't have that either.  So that left me meandering through the skincare aisle aimlessly and I stumbled upon the Garnier section.  I noticed the Dark Spot Corrector so I pulled it off the shelf.  I went back and fourth as to if I should get it or not and I finally decided what the heck, it won't hurt to try it.  This was $17.99 and I was able to get $2 off using one of the coupons taped up near the product.  They also have an overnight peel, but since I do use Retin-A I figured that may be doing more unnecessary things to my face and/or it may just have a huge couter-reaction to my Retin-A and cause me even more skin troubles.  Anyway, I haven't noticed any results as of yet, but then again it's only been a handful of days.  But one thing I do notice is if I don't use a toner on my face before applying this, I get SUPER shiny and oily and just gross within a few hours.  If I use a toner underneath this and then apply a moisturizer over this, it's not terrible and I don't notice the oil.  But as I use it more, I'll be able to pinpoint certain things and hopefully (fingers crossed) see some results.