Empties: Makeup and Skincare

 Hello everyone!
Today's post is going to be an empties post, with mini reviews of the products I've used up.

Makeup Empties

 

L'Oreal True Match Foundation W6 Sun Beige- One of my go-to foundations. It's got a nice medium buildable coverage with a natural finish. My best colour match, and I often mix this in with foundations that are far too cool-toned (pink) for my skin. I tend to use this foundation on days when I don't want a full matte face. This product doesn't break me out or clog my pores. I always repurchase this foundation, and I already have one in backups draw.

Revlon Colorstay Brow Pencil (Soft Black) - This brow pencil has quickly become one of my absolute favourites. The formula is super creamy and pigmented, so a little product goes a long way. With light pressure, you're able to achieve hair like strokes, with increased pressure, you can obtain the perfect Instagram brows. The spoolie on the end combs the product through evenly. I genuinely enjoy using this product, and since repurchasing it, I've been using it every time I do my makeup.

Kleancolor Mellow Gel Eye Pencil (Indigo) - Pigmented, and creamy while it lasted. I was thoroughly enjoying this inexpensive eyeliner until the bottom of the pencil snapped off, and the product just dropped straight out 😞. Not going to repurchase!

Hair and Skin Care

Biore Charcoal Cleanser - Favourite face wash of all time. I've had less blackheads and breakouts since I started using this product. I tend to repurchase this whenever I get low, and recently I had a lot of difficulty finding this cleanser so I switched temporarily to Noxzema Cream Cleanser, which I've been enjoying but I can't wait to return to this cleanser. I may begin to rotate between the Noxzema and Biore as they're both inexpensive, and clean the skin well without over-drying. However, the Biore tends to keep breakouts at bay better than the Noxzema for me.

Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer SPF 15 - Favourite moisturizer of all time. I started using this in 2016, and it's the only moisturizer I continually repurchase. It's light enough to be worn under makeup without breaking down the product, but still incredible moisturizing. My skin tethers between combination to extremely oily, and this just brings balance to my skin. I absolutely love this product.

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave In Cream -  I have chemically straightened,and dyed hair, and this leave in kept my hair hydrated and soft to the touch. It has UV shields that help prevent color fading, and lock in the moisture as well. This was my third bottle, and now I cannot find it to repurchase anywhere in Trinidad 😢😢. I have been without this now for 2 months, and my hair gets extremely dried out by the sun without it. I may have to switch to something new, but I don't know what to try. If I find it, I will definitely be stocking up.

QOTD: What is your favourite leave in conditioner or leave in cream? Feel free to leave a comment, because I would love to get your recommendations.

Until next time,stay happy, healthy, and positive.
Bye (^_^)/

My Current Skin Care Routine

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to my blog. Today, as promised I bring to you the products that are in my current skin care regime.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and let's jump straight in!

Cleanser: Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser

I have always been a fan of Bioré face washes and cleansers, so I was really hoping to enjoy using this one also. Verdict: I really like this stuff. It cleans the face without stripping it, so essentially, after washing your face, it doesn't feel tight or uncomfortable. My face feels a lot smoother after using this wash, and looks brighter and more alive. I've recently repurchased this product, because I am almost out, and it cost TT$56 at SuperPharm.

Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser *new bottle*

 

Exfoliators: Frutique Papaya Enzyme Exfoliating Gel & Freeman Pink Grapefruit Exfoliating Scrub

Frutique Papaya Enzyme Exfoliating Gel

Frutique is a fairly new brand I've seen in SuperPharm, and I decided, why not give this a shot to see how it works. This exfoliating gel is considered to be a resurfacing gel that detaches dead skin cells and removes impurities. How it works, is you pump product onto your finger tips, massage into the face for 30-60 seconds, until you start to see your dead skin cells "appear in flakes". Those flakes for me a just big balls of gunk, that initially freaked me out! You do get used to it though, and after you rise with warm water (it has to be warm water, or else the flakes and product won't wash off properly), it's like your skin has just been revived. After using this, my skin looks brighter, my skin feels softer, and appears more even in terms of my skin tone. I really like this stuff, but if I do recall correctly, it is bit pricey between TT$75-TT$120, but to me it was worth it. Since purchasing, I actually had a week when I chose not to use this product, and my skin was not happy. I didn't realise that my skin needed something like this to truly remove dead skin and impurities.

N.B. It is recommended that you use this product twice a week, and I only use it at night!

Frutique Papay Enzyme Exfoliating Gel

Freeman Pink Grapefruit Exfoliating Scrub

This scrub is on the gentler end of exfoliating scrubs, it's not abrasive, it does not contain microbeads, and it smells heavenly.   

I probably use this once or twice a week, depending on whether I've been wearing more makeup than I normally do, but I don't use it on the same day as my Frutique Exfoliating Gel. It does the same job as the St. Ives Apricot Scrub, but with a better scent and price (roughly TT$30), and not to mention it is very gentle on the skin, I would highly recommend this for sensitive skin guys and girls out there! 

Freeman Pink Grapefruit Exfoliating Scrub

Toner: Witch Hazel

Serum: L'Oreal Youth Code Dark Spot Corrector Serum

I enjoy changing my skin care products every 3-4 months, so it is rare that I have one product that sticks around for an extended period of time. This product has been in my regime for approximately 2 years, maybe more, and I genuinely love it! It has been in past empties posts I've done, but this stuff just works for my skin and for getting rid of hyperpigmentation. It does cost TT$180, but it works!

L'Oreal Youth Code Dark Spot Corrector Serum

Day Cream: L'Oreal Youth Code Dark Spot Corrector Day Cream with SPF 30.
 I figured if I love the serum, why not give the day cream a try. So far it's been working pretty well. It isn't super greasy, or too heavy for my skin, but it is a thick consistency creamy, so you only need to use a small amount to cover the surface of the face. I don't have any major complaints, but I am not 100% sure if I absolutely love it.

L'Oreal Youth Code Day Cream

Night Cream: Garnier Ultra Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream
Now I honestly don't think miracle is the correct word to describe this. This cream is marketed as an anti-age and anti-fatigue night cream, and claims that after the first use, the first morning, 93% of users said skin felt smoother & hydrated, while 77% said their skin looked well rested.
Well, after my first use I woke up with oily skin, but it did look brighter. After continued use, I still found that my skin would look bright, but not feel hydrated, it just looked oily.
The consistency of this product is very weird, it feels like pizza dough, and even smells that way also. It hasn't broken me out so I'll use it until I finish it but I don't see it becoming a necessity...and yes I know this is targeted towards older adults, but hey it's never too early for a near 24 year old to start thinking about anti-aging products.

Garnier Ultra Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream

Optional: Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel Cream & Bio- Oil
These two products I rotate in and out of my routine, as moisturising options after having used my Frutique Exfoliating Gel. They both absorb into the skin quickly, and leave the skin feeling hydrated. The Bio-Oil has the added benefits of evening skin tone, reducing the appearance of scars. The Bio-Oil is roughly priced around TT$99, while the Garnier price, I cannot recall.

Bio-Oil and Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel Cream

This is my current skin care routine, and it will definitely be changing towards the end of the 2015, but I do hope you enjoyed. As always, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to visit J's Mind Palace, and I hope you will stop by again very soon. I won't be doing a dedicated favourites post this month, because I haven't really bought much new products that I haven't already spoken about, but I may post something over on my Instagram (@ladyjpsych).

Thanks again for dropping by, stay happy, healthy and positive, and I shall see you next Friday!
Bye (^_^)/

What's Up #7 - Chit Chat & Thank You :D

Hello lovelies,
Today, I'm doing a short chatty blog post mostly due to the fact that I tweaked my right wrist, so I can't hold my camera and I can barely manage to hold any of my makeup brushes.
Also, let this be a reminder to be very careful when exercising, especially when integrating a new exercise move into your regime.

It's been a super quiet week for me, I've been feeling down in the dumps as of late, and I've had no interest in doing anything but exercising. To be honest, exercising is just a temporary fix for my mood lately but I know myself well enough to know I should be back to some degree of normalcy by next week. Then again, what is normal? Normalcy is relative...and why am I turning this into one of my old psychology classes, I don't know.

Football this week (for me at least) = (T_T) </3 *sighs* Bayern you broke my heart!....
Liverpool, actually getting back into the winning form (I hope), after getting slaughtered by Arsenal *shudders*...dark times for us. YNWA!

Blog Stuff
Ohhh, I've been testing out a new moisturiser lately, well new to me, not new to the market, and I am planning to do either a full post here or a quickie review on my Instagram. I've been changing up my skincare products lately, because I've been hormonal as heck and my hormones and my skin don't get along nicely at all...(damn you PCOS!) I'm currently dealing with random breakouts/scarring and dark spots (post-breakout) + my pores are opened and so visible it's driving me nuts. What made it better, was none of my old faithful products seem to be helping, so I'm back to using a full Bioré cleansing routine and switching between regular moisturiser and oil, to keep my skin moisturised.

Winged Liner Tutorial - I'm still on the fence on whether or not to make one. There are soo many pictorials and video tutorials out there, that I feel as though mine would get lost in the masses, also I'm not a makeup artist, I'm not qualified to teach these things. My internal debate is still ongoing, but I will let you know if one will be made or not.

I've recently decided, to move all hauls strictly to my Instagram (@ladyjpsych). It's easier and most effective for hauls to just do them via instagram and then do a review on the products on here on the main blog. (See, I can make decisions! I've no idea who I'm trying to fool here.)

Thank You <3
A massive thank you to everyone who reads my blog post/visits my blog, close to 500 views, which to me is pretty crazy. I started my blog as a place to just post my babble, and to know that there are people out there who read and I would like to hope enjoy my babbling, it really means a lot to me! \(^w^)/ *Internet hugs all round*

I think I've babbled and rambled on for quite a bit now, so I will end things here for this week. Stay tuned though, next week I'm planning to post all about my go-to brushes (they're all inexpensive and cruelty-free!). Until then, stay happy, healthy and positive (I know I'm trying to!) and I shall see you all soon.
Bye-Bye (^_^)/

Skincare Empties: Likes, Dislikes and Everything in Between

I promised that I would have two post up this week and I'm a girl who keeps my promises.

Today, I'm going to share with you my most recent skincare products that I've used up and whether I love them enough to repurchase them or if they fail miserably and were a waste of money.

Products: 

1. Freeman's Clay Mask Mint and Lemon - Love it! Leaves my face feeling refreshed and clean, definitely will repurchase.
   
   
2. Freemon's Facial Polishing Mask Charcoal and Black Sugar - Love it! I did a blog post about this mask, and I can't stop praising it. It helped to reduce the number of blackheads I had. Highly recommend this mask for anyone with oily skin or prone to blackheads.
   
   
3. Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner - Eh....it's okay but it's definitely not my favourite. My favourite toner/astringent is the Bioré Blemish Treating Astringent. If you have super sensitive skin or dry/normal skin the Simple Toner would be great for you but for me it just didn't make a difference. Will not be repurchasing.
   
   
4. Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturizer - I do like this and I've already repurchased this product. It's lightweight as the name implies and very moisturizing. My only problem is that my skin tends to get oily when I used coming down to the end of the bottle. That never happened in the beginning, so I'm quite perplexed as to why it happened. Nonetheless, it's a great moisturizer that is not super heavy, so I don't mind busting out the blotting sheets once in a while.
   
   
5. L'Oreal Youth Code Serum Corrector - I'm officially on my fourth one of these, so if that isn't love I don't know what is! It leaves my face feeling baby soft and luminous (not oily). It makes my skin looks as though it's naturally glowing and it has reduced my hyperpigmentation dramatically. I love it! I love it! I love it!
   
   
6. Simple Kind To Skin Vital Vitamin Night Cream - I have a love/hate relationship with this guy, one night I absolutely love it because it's very moisturising and it makes your face feel plump and nourished (good!)  but the next night it just feels heavy and greasy and my face looks and feels oily (bad!!). I'm currently trying out the Garnier  Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream as an alternative to this Simple Night Cream and I'm liking it so much more, so I won't be repurchasing the Simple Night Cream.
   
   
7. Olay Age Defying Eye Gel (not pictured) - Hate it! I had to be upfront about this, I cannot stand this eye gel. It does absolutely nothing. It made my eye area oilier than it usually is, my dark under eye areas looked as though they got darker and I just...I don't like it one bit! Will not repurchase this at all!

Now, I really don't want to end this post negatively, so I'll mention my favourite face wash and scrub which I keep in stock because I love them. My favourite face wash is the St. Ives Blemish Control Green Tea Gel Cleanser and my favourite facial scrub is the St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub. Both contain salicylic acid, are oil-free  and both absolutely amazing.

We've reached the end of today's post, but I will be back next week with a new post and it will be Avon related. I'm super excited to get working on that Avon post and it isn't a haul, I've been trying to behave myself and not shop for makeup as much as I usually do. So until then have a great weekend, a great week, stay happy, stay positive and I will see you soon.

Bye-Bye :)