Review: Olay Fresh Effects Long Live Moisture Satin Finish Lotion

My immediate thoughts on Olay Fresh Effects Long Live Moisture Satin Finish Lotion:

First use: "Oh, this feels good. Really soft and hydrating. And what is that yummy smell?"

After one week: "Still feels nice, but something's a little off with my skin. I'm seeing a few more breakouts than usual; Maybe I should stop using it for a while. Nah, I'm sure I'm just paranoid."

After three weeks: "Holy TARDIS of Gallifrey, my face has been overthrown by an army of angry red mountains."

As you can see from my little dialogue above, my experience with Olay's new Fresh Effects moisturizer was less than great.  At first I was in heaven; My skin felt really smooth and glowy when I used this every night, and the scent reminded me of vanilla cupcakes. And then it started.

About seven days into using this each night (only at night; It doesn't have SPF), I started noticing little things that seemed different about my skin. Like the fact that my pores seemed just a little bigger than usual, or that small gang of unusually stubborn blackheads around my nose and chin. Now, my skin is naturally quite sensitive to a lot of things, including changes in the weather, so I convinced myself the issues were due to the sudden cold front.

About two weeks passed, and so did the cold front, but something was still wrong with my skin. I was puzzled about it, and then one morning - BAM! - I woke up to see my entire face being attacked by whiteheads and blackheads alike, my poor skin trying so hard to fight it off. That was the last straw. I immediately ransacked all the places I keep skincare products, trying to figure out what new products could have caused such a reaction. And what did I come to find as the culprit, other than the satiny gel/cream I had come to love. I was crushed.

I think my skin had an even worse reaction to this than it did to Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Daily Moisturizer, and that's saying quite a bit. As soon as I discovered what the lotion had done, I stopped using the sweet oil-free traitor, and day by day, my skin improved. Eventually, my acne got back to the point it was at before (which wasn't horrible, but pretty severe), albeit a good deal of new acne scarring left behind.

I think this would have been great, had my skin been drier and not so sensitive. In the meantime, I've learned my lesson: When my skin seems a little strange, I should probably ransack the cabinets immediately, instead of passing it off as the weather.

                                                 Price: $7.00
                                                 Performance Grade: D-

To all my fellow Whovians: BAD WOLF DAY is June 3rd.Twitter, Facebook, Instagram; Whatever you've got, use it to spread the word!


Lainey

Beauty O'holic's May/June Giveaway

Hello, everybody! This is just a quick little post to let all of you know about the May/June Giveaway over at Beauty O'holic, ending June 27th. Meredith will be giving away 13 items, totaled at $100 value:

• Lorac TANtalizer Baked Bronzer Mini
• Baby Blue Remix Watch
• Nautical Side Purse
• Luggage tag
• Inflatable pedicure bath
• Mini loofah
• Colorful ponytail holders and bobby pins
• Manicure/Pedicure kit
• Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer (Fair to Medium)
• Beach inspired tart burner
• 3 Yankee Candle Tarts (Sun & Sand, Fruit Salad, and Orange Dreamsicle)

CLICK HERE to enter this giveaway.

Lainey

Bubblegum Pink Lips

 Everybody loves bubblegum, right? It's pink, it's chewy, and it sometimes prevents you from saying really mean, sarcastic things for fear or spitting out your gum. In honor of that wonderful substance, I've spent the past few weeks searching for my perfect Bubblegum Pink Lipstick...And I found it.

I know what you're thinking: "Lainey, there are like 500 pink lipsticks out there. JUST PICK ONE."

But of course, it had to meet certain qualifications... CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post.

Lainey

Review: Olay Fresh Effects Va-Va-Vivid Power Contour Cleansing System

Two months ago, I started using Olay's new Va-Va-Vivid Power Contour Cleansing System with high hopes. An electric face brush specifically designed for the contours of your face? Sold. I used it for a grand total of 5 weeks, and BAM- the brush broke.

Olay markets the brush as "water-resistant" (not waterproof, mind you) because of the small rubber band that's intended to protect the battery from water. Intended. Because when the brush stopped working, the first thing I did was open it up to change the battery. Know what I found? The entire inside, covered with a thin layer of rust. No amount of cleaning or battery changing was going to fix that.

                       

                                                   (The inside when I first bought it)

It's not like I was dunking the thing underwater. I didn't even take it into the shower; Just used it at the sink morning and night, and it still broke. It hardly got wet, so unless you plan on wrapping a towel around it, it's probably best to just forget the water resistant concept.

However, before it passed on, I got a good idea of how it worked. It vibrates lightly when you turn it on, supposedly to help get the cleanser deep into your pores. When I used it, my skin felt pretty clean and soft, but there was still a good amount of makeup left when I went over my face with toner. So much for deep cleaning. It felt good, though, like a thousand tiny fingers tickling my face. A little too rough sometimes, but usually okay.

As much as I despised the brush, I actually kind of like the little 0.68 ounce Shine, Shine Go Away Shine Minimizing Cleanser that came with it. It was quite gentle, and it did a good job of keeping away extra oil, but like I said, it left behind a good deal of makeup, and I don't feel like it did anything spectacular for my acne.

You might like it if:

• your skin needs only basic cleansing
• you don't wear makeup
• you don't mind frequently repurchasing the set to replace the brush
• your skin isn't overly sensitive

                                                              Price: $10.00

                                                              Performance Grade: D+

I really, really wanted to love this, but I just couldn't. Oh well. You win some, you lose some, right?

Lainey

Review: MAC Fix+

Chances are, if you read beauty blogs, or occasionally scroll through MakeupAlley, you've heard about MAC Fix+. If you haven't, Fix+ is a moisturizing makeup setting spray with hundreds of different uses in makeup and skincare. So many that I cannot possibly think of all of them. So before I go listing as many as I can think of, let me go a little more in depth about Fix+.  Basically, it's a bottle of water, chock full of good-for-your-skin things like glycerin, green tea, chamomile, and cucumber. 

I know it all sounds like a bunch of hype, or a simple placebo effect, but this stuff actually works small miracles. That's right, now I'm going to tell you all the ways I use it.

• The most common way I use it is right after I finish my foundation routine. One spray on each corner of my face and one smack in the middle, and any traces of cakiness, dryness, or streaks are gone after a few seconds. Hello, glowyfaced gal.
• I don't do this all the time, because I hate wasting Fix+, but occasionally I spray a tiny bit on my Beautyblender before my foundation goes on. I only do this if my skin is crazy dry or sensitive that day. It seems to help soothe the bad spots so that my foundation goes on smoother.
• I know that I've mentioned 50,000 times that I have severe acne, so here's a wonderful thing I discovered: If I use Fix+ on its own, with no makeup before or after it (like if I'm working out), it dramatically reduces all that awful redness. Kind of like the Visine trick, but for my entire face instead of one little spot.
• Spraying a little bit on my makeup brushes as a mixing medium makes a huge difference. It makes eyeshadows and liners more vibrant, foundations sheerer, creams softer, and overall, everything looks better.
• Fix+ also acts as a bonding agent, so my makeup lasts several hours longer on days that I use it.
• A quick burst of Fix+ on a slow, sleepy, endless day perks me up immediately, due to the caffeine it contains. It's also great for beating the heat in summer if you stick it in the fridge for a few minutes first.

Trust me, these aren't all the uses for it, just as many as I can think of in my current sleep-deprived state. I may add more later, after the brain-fog clears.

I have to give MAC props on the bottle, too. It distributes a perfectly even mist of Fix+, rather than a watery stream of wasted product, and the cap on this thing is brilliant. Slide it to the left, and spray away. Slide it to the right, and it locks in place so that you don't accidentally soak everything near it (a great idea, since I take it EVERYWHERE with me. Even in my purse).

                                                              Price: $21.00

                                                              Performance Grade: A+

Lainey

P.S. I know I haven't blogged much lately, but I'm going to try to pick up the pace again. Stay tuned for more reviews on some of the products from Olay's new Fresh Effects line.

Review: Elf Powder Brush

I'm sure you've heard of the Elf Powder Brush by now - It seems that everywhere you turn, there's a new review or video praising it to high heavens for its ability to blend foundation flawlessly. After a while, all of the raving and praising finally got to me, so I bought it at Target for a mere $3.

I know, I know, $3? Can a $3 brush really live up to all the hype? Well, that's what went through my mind, so I spent several months testing it with dozens of products. I can proudly say that I really like it.

Before you run over to Target and buy one, let me explain something: I did not like it at all for applying foundation. It left a crazy amount of streaks that not even my Beautyblenders can smooth out easily. I'm not sure why it didn't perform well for that, but it didn't. Now, hundreds of bloggers and vloggers can't be wrong, so I kept trying the brush with all kinds of different products and formulas. No, my face was still streak city. 

Eventually I gave up on using this brush for foundations and other cream products, and decided to try it with powders. Wow. When I use this brush with a little bit of loose powder, I get a perfect 1940s matte finish. It's not ideal for everyday, but for special occasions or taking pictures, it's a lifesaver. Once I discovered how great it worked with powder, I tried it with bronzer, and that is the reason I love it. 

I apply my Benefit Hoola Bronzer in the hollows of my cheeks, my temples, and the bridge of my nose. The Elf Powder brush fits perfectly there, and I end up with a very light glow and a somewhat more defined face. It's a result that I've never quite perfected with other brushes. Definitely worth three bucks, don't you think? Especially when you realize how soft the synthetic taklon bristles are.

There is one small drawback to the brush's cheap price tag: The ferrule is a teensy bit loose, and I have a feeling that if yanked really hard, it would come flying off. It makes me just a little nervous every time I wash it, like I can feel the soap and water softening the glue even more... Yikes.

                                                      Price: $3.00
                                                      Performance Grade: A-

Have a nice weekend!

Lainey

My Favorite Nude Lippie

You know how everyone always says "Pat a little concealer over your lips for the perfect nude lip" ? Well, that always left me looking more like I had taken deathly ill than found a good nude lip color. So I gave that up immediately, and began a quest to find a good nude color for my super pale (NC15) skin. 

After months of looking at swatches on the Internet, swatching, and hassling sales assistants, I found the best possible nude lippie for me. A combination of lipstick and gloss, I've already fallen head over heels in love with Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Petal. 

It's true love, I tell you. Almost everyday I slick both of them on my lips (without having to reapply for 4 hours).

Soft Nude is a moisturizing neutral peach, and Peach Petal is a slightly sticky light pink with a hint of peach. Originally, I was going to put up a picture of the product on my lips, but I tripped and bit my lip. Needless to say, it's not pretty, so I'll update this post with a picture after it heals. I do think these will work on a wide range of skintones, though.

Lainey