Review of some not so great products

This goes way back to this summer, that's how bad I've been at posting this semester, but I wanted to do a review on some products I was trying out that I didn't like so much. I know it's been a long time since I've used these, but they really did not work for me, and I remember perfectly just because they worked so badly for me (they stuck out). 

Review: Revlon Lash Potion Grow Luscious Waterproof Mascara

I bought the Revlon Lash Potion Waterproof Mascara at the same time I bought the horrible Maybelline one that was the subject of my last post.

The WORST mascara I've ever tried.

Review: Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Color Sticks (Fresh Peach and Juicy Papaya)

You know beauty products you love at first, but then really change your mind later?

More empties....

Told you guys I had a lot built up. I have been collecting my trash for a long time...

Review: Bio Beauté by NUXE Vitamin-Rich Detox Mask with orange water (Masque détox vitaminé à l'eau d'orange)

This mask wasn't exactly something I ever planned on buying, however, the day it ended up in my basket at City Pharma Rue du Four was a good day for my skin. I love this stuff. 

Empties

I've finished up quite a lot of things over the past few months (and there's even more coming, so stay tuned) so we better just hop in before this gets long.

Review: The Balm Read My Lips lip gloss in BAM!

Influenster Dean's List Vox Box

I received the Influenster Dean's List Vox Box about a week or so ago and thought I'd share the contents, so here goes.

BLOG SALE (ON EBAY)

Hey y'all. I'm selling many of my vintage pieces, like jewelry, clothes, scarves etc. on ebay.

If you live by me, I'll waive the shipping fee and you can just come pick it up from me.

I'll be listing new things all the time, so keep checking the store!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/laparisienne102014/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Review: Real Techniques Eye and Face Starter Sets

If there's any brush line that is raved about by everyone, it's Real Techniques. Real Techniques uses purely synthetic hair to craft dense and soft brushes.  I picked my starter kits up for face and eyes back when drugstore.com was having a really good deal on the brushes (they were half off or something like that). I was pretty excited to get them and see if they lived up to the hype. 

Huge Collective Haul and Reviews

When I was in France, it's needless to say I did some online shopping. Everything was waiting for me when I got back to the US, and I just haven't had the time to post about it.

Review: YSL Shocking Mascara

This is the last mascara I brought back with me from France. Again, thank you to my host sister who let me use her L'Oréal employee discount, because I would definitely not have paid full price for the YSL Shocking mascara.

One of the best dollars you will ever spend

Not gonna lie, before I used the ELF sheer eye primer, I did not think it was going to be anything special. It's a dollar, so I was just thinking that I'd get what I paid for. However, it has great reviews, I needed an eye primer, and yeah, it was cheap.

Review: L'Oréal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Black Lacquer mascara

Y'all know how much I love the Trish McEvoy fiber mascaras. They are probably my absolute favorite mascaras ever. When I saw the L'Oréal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Black Lacquer mascara, I was hoping it would be my drugstore dupe.

Fragrance Friday: Perfume Collection and how I store them

I love perfume. I feel like scent links so strongly to my mood and my memory, and it's an expression of my personality. I also just want to smell good, but who doesn't want that?

Empties (so many empties!)

As I was leaving France, I finished up a whole slew of products (and threw out some half finished duds so as to not take up too much space in my backpack) so this empties is gonna be a long 'un. I'll just link to full reviews where I can.

Lush Lust: Review - Flying Fox Shower Gel

I have a love affair with Lush Cosmetics. A particular favorite product of mine is the shower gel.

French Pharmacy Haul: Favorites stock-up/My top picks

My City Pharma Rue du Four bag and my bag from Muji (gotta go to Muji, too, y'all).

My last few days in France of course resulted in a couple trips to City Pharma on Rue du Four (even though I like the one in Place Monge better (lower stress), Rue du Four/Bonaparte is cheaper when buying bulk). I restocked on a few favorites, but I also picked up some new things to try. 

Review: La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Gel-Cream Dry touch SPF 50+

I picked up the La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Gel-Cream Dry touch SPF 50+ when my host sister placed an order for L'Oréal back when I was in France. I was using a Neutrogena sunscreen at the time, and it was quite greasy, so I was looking for something more mattifying. This sunscreen promised to be dry touch, so I was really looking forward to it.

My current skincare routine

I thought you'd might be interested in my current skincare routine after reading my views about skincare in my past few posts.

Spot Treatments 101

Spot treatments are important if you have any blemishes. When you have a blemish, you don't want to go spreading super drying treatments all over your face. That just makes the problem worse. What you can do is take a concentrated product to the breakout only.

Eye cream, Serum, and Moisturizer 101

Serum, after toning, is the most important step of the whole routine. If you have money that you have left to spend, spend it here.

Toning 101

Toning is the step after cleansing, and it is probably the most important step in a routine.

Cleansing 101

I wanted to do a whole series on this blog about skincare routines, and I thought it would be appropriate to start off with what comes first in the routine: The cleansing step.

Review: Indeed Labs (eysilix, pepta-bright, hydraluron)

My skin has been pretty perfect lately. And I mean, no breakouts, all dark marks faded, balanced, and soft. I'm pretty sure I owe it (almost) all to these three products. So now you know how this review's going to go.

MORE empties, eye problems, and mini haul

I finished MANY things recently so I'll be to the point with the explanations, and where possible I'll just link to reviews to save your time. 

Fragrance Friday: Molecule 01 Escentric Molecules

When I stumbled across this gem in the Liberty beauty hall in London, I knew I was trapped. There was no way I was leaving without it. I got the refill size because it was the cheapest. I wish I had gotten the 3.4 oz though.

My take on mineral oil

Mineral oil is a pretty controversial ingredient. I'm not a big fan, but there are some instances where I think it's tolerable. 

Review: L'Oréal Ever Riche Absolute Oil

My host sister had the L'Oréal Ever Riche Absolute Oil laying around the house because she gets products thrown at her as a result of her job at L'Oréal, so she very kindly gave it to me. 

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this, because I was like "Oil and spray. Hm that should end well." 

But then I tried it.

More empties!

You know what these are by now, so let's just get crackin'.

Review: Pixi Glow Tonic

I'm a pretty avid reader of Caroline Hiron's blog, so when I read that she was a fan of Pixi Glow Tonic, I of course went crazy and got two in London.

However, I don't know if I'm as big of a fan as I thought I would be. 

Review: Gosh Flower Power blush

Another product I picked up in London, this Gosh blush in Flower Power is one of those raved about products that I was super excited to try. There are many a folk that love this. 

Fragrance Friday: Annick Goutal Eau de Monsieur

When I popped into the Liberty beauty hall to get myself a bottle of the Molecule 01 Escentric Molecules perfume, I was given a couple sample vials of the Annick Goutal Eau de Monsieur. 

Review: Soap and Glory the Fab Pore 2 in 1 Pore Purifying Mask and Peel

I really went crazy on the Soap and Glory stuff in Boots when I went to London at the end of February. I really wanted to try the Fab Pore 2 in 1 Pore Purifying Mask and Peel because I was missing my favorite ingredient, salicylic acid from my life.

Review: YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils

I was so excited when I got the chance to try out the YSL Effet Faux Cils mascara for half price (host sister works at L'Oréal, holla!!!). Everyone and their dog raves about this mascara, and even though I know the drugstore is filled with gems and that high end mascaras are almost never worth it (unless you're getting my all time favorite Trish one), something about the golden packaging and hefty luxury product price tag made me think that this should be the best mascara ever. 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + : The new one

If you've read this blog for at least a year, you'll know how much I love the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. I didn't think they could improve upon it, but they did. They added a dark spot treatment. So obviously I had to try the new version. 

Empties!

Another round of empties for you. I'm pretty sure we all know what these posts are by now, so I'll save you the explanation and hop right in. 

Review: Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara

This is another mascara I was able to pick up for super cheap thanks to my beautiful wonderful host sister and her job's discount from L'Oréal. I really wanted to try the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill mascara because one of my favorite you tubers, Tiffany, raves endlessly about this stuff. I can sort of see why, but keep reading, and you'll see why I can't...

Review: Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean 3 in 1 cleanser

I was really excited to pick up Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean from Boots when I went to London a while ago. I'm always on the look out for the next best cleanser, especially at a budget. 

I've heard some pretty great reviews of this product, and I know it's one of Miss Budget Beauty's holy grail products. 

Updated: How I was my brushes

I used to wash my brushes with olive oil and dish soap, or just with a moisturizing dish soap (like the Palmolive one I talked about in this post). I still love those methods, but I've been trying something else lately that I also love, the classic Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

Review: Phyto Haircare (Phytokératine shampoo, Phytobaume conditioner, Phyto 9, Phytokarité Extreme Brilliance Mask)

Phyto's a brand I've been interested in for a while now. When I first discovered Sephora when I was twelve, I used to browse pretty much everything for hours (I'm sure my fellow beauty addicts did the same thing. And the Benefit section? Omg...), and Phyto, along with René Furterer and Klorane, was a French hair care brand that always caught my eye. Naturally when I went to France years later, I knew I had to test out some of the products. 

Review: Soap and Glory Makeup

I think those of you who already read this blog will know that I went to London at the end of February. I went to Boots a few times, and the Soap and Glory makeup (and body and skincare) definitely made it into my basket. I've had a while to try all the makeup I picked up out, so I thought I'd share. 

Urban Decay Palette Dupes (review with swatches): MUA Undressed, Undress Me Too, Matte, and Smokin'

I mentioned in my London Haul that I might have picked up some Urban Decay dupes from the MUA stand at Superdrug. I knew that MUA was supposed to have duped the famous Naked palettes, so instead of splashing out for those, I thought this would be a great option, as they're all 4 pounds each, except for the Smokin' palette which is 6. 

The Other Products (aka stuff I don't put on my face)

Before we dive into this post, can we just take a moment to appreciate how multilingual these products are?

I mean, we've got French, English, Spanish, and another mysterious language (guys, I have no clue what language that Garnier product is). 

That is some diversity. 

Dayum.

Review (with ingredients): La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Nettoyant

I picked up the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Nettoyant a while back because it was half priced (my host sister works at L'Oréal, so I got to use her discount :P ) and because Lisa Eldridge had mentioned it in one of her videos. I really wanted to like this.

Nail Love: Barry M Gelly Hi-shine in Green Berry

The fourth and final Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint I picked up in London was this number in Green Berry. 

I love the color. It's just bright and summery. I think it'll be so perfect on the toes in summer sandals, too.

As far as application goes, it's slightly streaky. I have two coats on in the picture, and honestly a third one wouldn't hurt. It dries in okay time, especially with my hand cream trick. As far as longevity goes, I can't comment. With the Mavala base and top coats (which stink) it doesn't last a very long time (like one day before chipping), but I imagine that with something like the Revlon Colorstay base and top coats it would be fine.

The color is amazing though!

Available at Boots, Superdrug, Top Shop, etc.

Have you tried the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paints?

The other three colors I've tried from Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine: Lychee, Prickly Pear, Blueberry.

Review: Sleek Brow Stylist (Medium)

The Sleek Brow Stylist was probably the product I was the most excited to try when I went to London a while back. I'm always on the search for the perfect brow product, and a ton of my favorite bloggers rave about the Hourglass Arch thing. I saw this one, and the shape looked so similar. I thought... Dupe?

Review: Super facialist by Una Brennan (Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask and Neroli Firming Super Lift Night Cream)

When I was in London Boots was on 3 for 2, so I thought I'd take advantage of that to try out the Super Facialist by Úna Brennan range. 

There were a bunch of really interesting products to choose from, but the two that really peaked my interest were the Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask and the Neroli Firming Super Lift Night Cream. 

Bite-sized beauty (what's in my travel toiletry/makeup bag)

Living in Europe, you get the opportunity to take some small weekend trips. With those small trips, you need to pack just as small beauty products. Here are mine that I packed for my weekend trip to Amsterdam.

How to tone down a too-pigmented bronzer