December 2023 Favorites

 



Redken Volume Injection Shampoo and Conditioner

I saw this being recommended for us with fine hair. Volume Injection line contains Redken's Bodifying Complex with Filoxane - bodifying agent that adds thickness to hair. It's designed for fine hair to help clean oils on the scalp and give the hair more body. Shampoo has a milky white texture that cleanses the hair well, but still leaves it lightweight and doesn't weigh it down as some nourishing shampoos can. Especially on my very fine hair. I've had shampoo for about 4 months now and then I decided to buy conditioner as well as repurchased shampoo. Conditioner is very light cream, it's a lot lighter than I am used to having in my collection. But it also means my hair feels lightweight after I use, though still soft and nourished. It provides volume at the root and adds body to hair with Filoxane. Using both of these I have definitely noticed that my hair isn't as flat after I wash it and it feels soft as well as lightweight. I have switched to using these high end shampoos every time I wash my hair, because it helps my oily scalp to look more clean and stay oil free looking for longer, though I still can't prolong the wash for a whole day. I find this duo to be great option for fine hair that wants clean scalp and lightweight hair that doesn't look flat. 


Skintra Everything What Your Skin Will Love

Let me start with the title. It bothers me deeply. There is just something about the name that sounds wrong to me. I am not a translator by any means, but wouldn't it sound better: Everything That Your Skin Will Love?! It's just one of those things that I asses whenever I read the title and it bothers me. But back to the product itself. It's a prebiotic toner with galactomyces ferment filtrate, azeloglycine, inulin and niacinamide. There is also squalane and allantoin in the formula. It's technically a tonic, but can be used as serum or even moisturizer. Formula is like a thicker than toner, but lighter than cream. It's like thicker serum, but feels super smooth once you apply it. You feel emollient base to it which gives the skin nourishment and moisturizes it, but in a fairly lightweight way. It moisturizes the skin, makes it feel soft and smooth, restore skin's barrier with prebiotics and brightens the skin as well. It really is such a nice formula ingredients wise as well as the effect it has on the skin. I immediately noticed my skin looked brighter and more even toned. There was that plump and soft feel to the skin, but surprisingly without and acids. It's also just moisturizing enough that I can wear it on its own and sometimes without the moisturizer on top. I use it in the morning after a wash and in the evening after a wash and before moisturizer. This is something that every skin would probably love. 


I know when I eat all over the place, my skin protests with pimples. December was one of those months where the opportunity to eat unhealthy was at every moment. My skin revenged with pimples that I had to heal using COSRX Snail Mucin Essence. It's just the best for healing the skin. It looks viscose and feels super lightweight, but almost creates a barrier on the skin and it always helps with healing process. I usually also use it when my skin feels dehydrated or when I have overdone with retinol and it feels irritated and flaky.


Scinic Enjoy Super Mild Sun Essence SPF50+ PA++++

This is probably one of the cheapest Asian SPFs I have bought so far. It's a very lightweight almost gel like cream with chemical filter that is so easy to spread and feels super lightweight on the skin. I find it perfect for winter, because I can skip moisturizer with it, but it also doesn't feel greasy or too emollient. It provides enough of a sun protection for winter and I love that it has no scent. It's cheap, has enough product in it to last a few months and it comes in a convenient tube packaging. I would definitely repurchase it again. 

When I want foundation that looks good on my combination skin, lasts all day, feels lightweight, yet covers well, I go for YSL All Hours. It's now officially my favorite foundation. I only wish there wasn't just 25 ml of it in that lux bottle and that it wasn't as expensive. I need very little to cover my whole face, because it has great pigmentation. It looks matte, but with luminousity that looks like real skin. It lasts all day long. It's one of the most long lasting foundations I have had so far. Shade LW8 is also perfect, because  it has that olive tone to it. I have nothing bad to say, except I wish it was cheaper so I would use it every day. Now I save it for those special occasions when I want my makeup to last all day. It's one of the rare foundations that I don't have to powder through the day now in the winter, because my sebum doesn't get through. 



Another favorite for special occasions. This is a finishing powder that I would apply over my foundation when I want that flawless almost blurred look that makes my skin look like I put on some sort of filter, but it still doesn't look dead matte and obvious. It's not something to use, if you want to keep certain parts sebum free. This is more for just an all around dusting and especially nice under the eyes and around large pores to blur them and make the skin look super smooth. Fair is light enough for my skin tone, but I can also use it on someone deeper, because it's so fine.


Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - Mood Exposure

Hourglass is one of those brands that makeup artists seem to love and I've had my eye on their products for a while, but they are just so expensive and I didn't want to risk it. So I recently bought a used mini version of their Ambient Lighting Blush. It's the shade Mood Exposure. I believe these are baked blushed and each is unique, because you get a unique pattern. So some have more of the lighter shade and some more of the darker. In the pan it looks very similar to my favorite LOV Blushment Blurring Blushes which are discontinued sadly. It's a drier super smooth formula that has good pigment. It has almost like a luminous lighter part and then a darker blush part. Finish is definitely luminous. It gives you that healthy sheen that isn't shimmery. Mood Exposure looks like a mauve in the pan, but on my skin tone it translates into a more warmer muted pink shade. You can't overdo it, because it blends like a dream and even though it's pigmented the shade itself isn't too vibrant. This is one of those shades that would suit all light to medium skin tones. 


Pierre Rene Single Eyeshadow - 003

I bought this eyeshadow on some Poland online shop, while I was getting some other pigments as well. I really didn't think of it much, it was cheap and it looked nice. But oh my, this is so pretty. I've been using it all December. It's super smooth formula that has a lot of different colored shimmers - mostly pink and silver. The base is almost like a pale champagne white. you can lightly tap it on the lid to get a few sparkles here and there or go full in for that almost wet like winter shimmer sparkly lid. It reminds me of Colourpop Super Shock Shadows, but in a powder form which doesn't dry out and you can make it as transparent or as opaque as you would like. It's such a pretty shade. Blend it over any boring matte shade to make your eyes look almost glossy. 

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