*2019 Foundation Review coming soon – not a full review here*
Good morning, sweet friends! I have been trying to work on this blog post for a solid two weeks and every time I wanted to hit publish, there was another beauty favorite I realized I missed. This quarter has probably been one of my busiest for beauty packages, releases and sales. I’ve been sitting on so many items with intentions to share and have been using Instagram stories to share most things until this post was finished. So, let’s dig in!
Here’s a quick guide to everything in this post:
Primer(s): REN perfect canvas
Foundation(s): Juvia’s Place (Zambia-for brightening & Tunisa-all over)
Eye product(s): Banana Bright Eye Cream, Eye patches
Brightening(s): Pixi Vitamin C, Brightening Moisturizer Gel, Truth Serum
Face wash(es): Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser
Make-up tool(s): Setting spray,Micellar Water
Masks: Laneige Sleep Mask, REN sleep mask, Laneige Lip mask, Cooling Mist
Let’s start with gift sets. If you haven’t read any of my other beauty posts around the holidays, you probably haven’t seen me mention why gift sets are so amazing. With gift sets, you not only get to try out multiple products but you get them at a deep discount. Especially after the holidays (12/26-1/15) most gift sets drop dramatically in price so you’ll spend about 1/4 of what the products are actually worth. My three recent gift set finds were the Let’s Get Luminous Brightening Set($38 -value $60), the Dream Team Hydration set ($39 – value $51) & Heavy Dose – All Nighter Setting Spray Duo ($35 w/ 20% off coupon – value $66).
When I tell you guys that I have been addicted to the Laneige Lip mask, it’s the absolute truth. I have literally been using it before work, when I’m refreshing my makeup to go out for dinner and just at home lounging around on the weekend. The smell is so relaxing and with my chapped lips this winter, I will take all the hydration I can get. The Laneige Sleep Mask is also a life saver and feels like a fresh layer of morning dew on your skin right before bed. My skin feels hydrated, but not greasy, when I wake up. I have always had fears of overnight masks (I’ve only used Olay overnight masks about 3 years ago) because of mess on sheets and possible skin irritation. Also, because I layer on so many other beauty products, I did not want to break out or have bad reactions to sleep masks. However, this mask has not caused any problems for my skin and I’m using it about 3x a week. Next week, I’ll receive this sleep mask from Laneige which is similar but hypoallergenic and specifically for sensitive skin. I am PUMPED after trying several of their products recently.
My second gift purchase was the Let’s Get Luminous Brightening Set. I’ve had my eye on this eye cream from months after Grace Atwood shared it in her stories. This eye cream is less for hiding lines and more for giving your eyes a fresh, bright glow. Because of so, it’s a great base for concealer if you tend to have dark circles. Also from the set, I’ve been adding just a drop of vitamin C to my moisturizer x2 a day for overall lightening of dark marks for a more clear complexion. After my hydration facial last week, we used the moisturizer from this set under the above sleep mask.
On to more skincare: clean products – REN Perfect Canvas primer + Paula’s Choice Earth Sourced Antioxidant Enriched Natural Moisturizer. I have basically been living by this primer since my trip to St. Louis in October. I have been doing so much to hydrate my skin (see my notes from above) and was hoping this primer would be a little matte….and it is the perfect balance. I now store this in my skincare fridge (yes, I bought a skincare fridge and have ZERO regrets, okay?). The primer is altogether refreshing and leaves my skin really even for applying makeup. I still use an eye cream as an extra base under my eyes but this primer works perfectly all over my face. REN is actually a wonderful clean brand whose packaging is ocean plastic tubes made from post-consumer-recycled plastic and designed for circular recycling. I currently have their Evercalm™ Overnight Recovery Balm and mineral sunscreen – love them both!
Second, Paula’s Choice Earth Sourced moisturizer is super light, hydrating and scent-free. This line is quite small but they do have 3 other products part of the Earth Sourced line including a serum, toner and gel. This moisturizer is also for ALL skin types and is friendly to acne-prone skin. From the CLEAR line, which is specially for acne-prone skin, I’ve been using the face wash + clay mask. The clay mask is very gentle and is easily removed with water after about 10 minutes.
For travel, the Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser is my favorite. There is a slight cooling effect and this cleanser tends to keep my skin smooth and clear when stressing through travel. I only pictured one but two of my favorite vitamin C serums travel with, outside of the recent Truth Serum, are from Avon & Pixi. I did a full Pixi beauty routine months ago and you guys know they are one of my favorite brands. I usually take their vitamin C serum with me when I travel because it’s the lightest and works well when I lather 5 tons of sunscreen on top. Travel days can be spontaneous and can involve tons of walking, so sunscreen becomes my best friend through over applying all day long in efforts to avoid sun damage.
For everyday tools, the Anew Hydra Fusion Cleansing Micellar Water has been my go-to for removing make-up, the Robin McGraw mask is PERFECT for e x t r a hydration with a cooling effect and Borghese under eye masks to smooth lines. Note on the Robin McGraw mask: the cooling is powerful and the mask has little flaps that I assume go over your eyes(see picture above) . However, it was a little too much for my eyes for the full 15 minutes but I left all the remaining residue under my eyes and I woke up with hydrated and smooth under eyes. It was amazing. The cooling basically feels like when you chew mint gum and drink cold water. Make sense? Okay, cool.
I’ll be covering all the foundations I tried this year in another post (this post is already long enough and I want you to enjoy the holidays LOL) but I have been l o v i n g the Juvia’s Place foundation sticks. They are seriously so creamy and buildable. I was previously using the Thrive Causemetics Buildable Blur CC cream and then before that, my holy grail PUR cosmetics stick in Espresso. I received the JP foundation sticks in PR and fell in love. They are comparable to PUR ($34) and cost about 1/3 of the price at $12. I currently use shades Zambia for brightening & Tunisia for all over.
Okay, almost 1400 words later and that’s a wrap! Y’all, I love sharing beauty favorites and always appreciate y’all reading these long posts. As I mentioned at the top, this was a heavy season for skincare sales and PR that my closet quickly started to get full and I wanted to have some time to try everything before I shared with you. Keep your eye out for my 2019 foundation guide coming in a few weeks. That will be another long posts where I’ll share 6+ foundations I tried, both good bad, with all the details you need to know before purchasing. In the comments, let me know what your favorite skincare item was either from this quarter or this year! I would love to know. Also, if there are any bauty products you want me to review before you purchase, comment with the item or send it to me via Instagram DM or via email: hello@lotsofsass.com Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a Merry Christmas! -xo, Azanique <3
