Hit or Miss: St. Ives Live Radiantly VoxBox

Hello, people! So, I’ve decided to give you guys a little break on hair product reviews. I know not all of my readers have curly hair and I want everyone to benefit from my reviews. I was accepted into Influenster’s St. Ives Live Radiantly Campaign and here is what I think of the products…

Let’s start with the Fresh Skin Apricot Body Scrub. I’ve used it for 2 weeks now and I definitely notice a difference. My skin is very, very dry during the winter months. I will admit sometimes I get lazy and skip body lotion all together. When I use this in the shower, my skin feels soft immediately. I would suggest using this right after you shave so you can see how soft this product can really get your skin.

I’ve always been a fan of St. Ives body lotions. They absorb so quickly into the skin and that’s the main thing that I look for in a lotion. I hate feeling slick and sticky. If you use this lotion following the scrub, your skin will be immaculate. However, if you opt for just the lotion, your skin will still feel soft but not as soft.

Overall, I enjoyed both products and will continue to use them in unison. 🙂

Note: I’ve received these products complimentary for testing purposes.

Hit or Miss: Exuviance Pigment Lifting Masque

Hey, dears! Today I’ll be talking about another product sent to me via BrandBacker. As you may know, I have hyperpigmentation so I was super excited to use these babies. Here are my thoughts.

These masks have NeoGlucosamine which break up dark spots. They also have Vitamin C which amps up the brightening process. I’ve used this product 3 times. On the package, it says to use it 1-2x weekly. You basically just apply the masque onto your face after cleansing and leave it on for 10 mins. The mask has holes for your eyes, nose, and face. When I first used it, it felt sort of awkward. I’ve never used an actual mask made out of cloth material on my face. I was kind of worried it was going to fall off, but it stood put. When I removed it, I massaged the excess product into my skin and continued my normal skincare routine.

After the first use, I did notice my skin seemed brighter however I have also noticed I’ve been breaking out like crazy. Now, I’m not blaming the mask but I’m not NOT blaming it. My breakouts can be due to stress, makeup wear, etc, but nevertheless, it has been breaking out. I still used it 2 more times and noticed some great things. Even though I was breaking out, the acne scars were super light! I enjoy this product and another bonus is that it makes your skin super soft. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who suffers from dark spots. It’s definitely worth the $65.

This post is sponsored by BrandBacker. All opinions are my own.

Hit or Miss: Josie Maran Argan Milk

Hey loves! Let’s talk skincare today on Hit or Miss Monday. I’ve been going hard on my skin lately because I’m extremely tired of these huge pores and ridiculously oily skin! I get the occasional blemish and what not but that’s not the issue. The issue is this oil well of a face I have. I’ve been looking into products for oily skin for a while now but I haven’t committed to anything UNTIL NOW.

I’ve heard of Josie Maran Argan products for a while now but I never heard of this one until, Rosa aka Rositaapplebum on YouTube spoke about it in her skincare routine. She said that she has oily skin and Sephora recommended it to her. Sephora had told her that sometimes oily skin can be due to DEHYDRATED SKIN. Which totally makes sense because my #1 beauty vlogger, Nicole Guerriero even said something along those lines in one of her own videos. She stated that she was using the Josie Maran Argan Oil because she is also a fellow oily skin person. She said that putting more oil on your face TRICKS your face into thinking it doesn’t need more oil. So your face stops producing as much oil because it’s already getting hydrated! Makes sense right!

Anyway, I picked up a sample because I was still a bit apprehensive. The price for the actual bottle is $56 at Sephora. I’ve been using it nightly for about 2 weeks and honestly it has changed my skin SOOOOO MUCHHH! A little goes a LONG way, you don’t need more than a drop! This product has made my skin LESS OILY. I’ve noticed a complete change in my skin – the softness, the oil, the look. My face has literally never been better! So thank you Rosa for recommending it – I love you <3! Literally, without this product I would still be struggling looking like a pan of oil! I would wake every morning with the oiliest T-zone of life and NOW, psh .. I probably have 25% of the oil that I used to have on my face. I would definitely recommend this product to ANYONE WITH OILY SKIN! Needless to say, it’s a HIT.

Skin Care Routine Updated!

Happy Hump Day! It’s finally the middle of the week! Anyway, I wanted to discuss SKINCARE because I haven’t done a skincare post in a while. Plus, my skin is the best it’s been in a while! So, why not share my method with you lovelies? 🙂

First off, I have very oily skin but my skin is very resilient. It doesn’t get irritated or anything like that. I can pretty much put any product I want on my face. With that said, my usual skincare involves cleansing, astringent or toner, and moisturizer. However, during the summer I skip moisturizer. Why? Because you can fry an egg on my face by the time I wake up! YUCK! So, I just skip it all together because the humidity is crazy here in NYC. Why put unnecessary moisture on? Moving on, my current skin care entails cleansing with my Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser, wiping my face with Noxzema Anti-Blemish Pads, and putting on a thin layer of the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. This new trio I’ve been doing is THEBOMB.COM!

I don’t know what it is man but here is the deal! My face hasn’t had a breakout since I started doing this. Do I get an occasional blemish aka pimple? Sure, because that lovely time of the month just makes my face a little agitated. However, I have not had a major breakout. Side Note: The Clarins cleanser I’m currently using isn’t the cleanser I reviewed in my Hit or Miss series. I do still stick behind what I said about the other One Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser but I’m on a budget and this cleanser ended up being cheaper. So, I ended up buying this one instead and I AM GLAD.

Now, going more in depth with this routine…

If I wore makeup that day, I would first remove all of it with my makeup wipes. Then, I’d put some cleanser on my Clarisonic Mia and get to work on my face. If I didn’t wear makeup that day, I won’t leave the brush on my face for the full minute because there IS such a thing as overwashing your face! Also, I’m using the deep pore cleansing brush head (be on the look out for a review soon ;)). After I rinse it off and pat dry, I use a Noxzema pad all over my face. Then, I put some of the Clinque Dark Spot Correcting serum on my face. I didn’t buy the full bottle but of course I got a sample from Sephora. I put a thin layer on where I have dark spots and since the serum is semi-thick, a dab goes a long way on the face. It’s been working pretty damn well for the past 8 days! I definitely notice a difference. I only use that for blemishes though not for acne.

If you have skin like mine or think/know your skin can deal with these products, try this routine out! I have oily acne-prone skin and it usually goes bonkers during the summer because of the smog and sweat. Luckily, this dynamic duo has been doing my face justice and it might just help you out.