First Off - Keihl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

I feel like my journey of dry eyes has been well documented. But, in case you are new here, the skin around my eyes gets super dry and itchy. Especially when I am wearing eyeshadow on a regular basis. 

For years now, my Holy Grail eye cream has been Benefit's It's Potent. When I finished my last jar, I thought it might be time to try something else. My eyes were really dry and watering, and it was messing up my makeup. I was hoping that if the skin was better moisturized, it would stop happening. And so the hunt began.

It was not a long hunt. I wasn't looking for anything that would stop puffiness (my eyes don't get puffy.) If it would reduce dark circles, that would be great. But mostly, I just needed something super hydrating. I had heard wonderful things about the Keihl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and the reviews were pretty good for it. 

The reviews were pretty spot on. A little bit goes a long way. Although, I usually put a heavier layer on at bedtime than in the morning. But it's creamy, fast-absorbing and doesn't leave the skin feeling oily. I put it on first, before moisturizing, and by the time I am ready to start applying eyeshadow, it has absorbed. 

It has definitely kept my eyes moisturized and soft. And it wasn't too expensive either! (I will never understand why eye creams are so expensive.) If you just need an eye cream to keep everything soft, I would really recommend this one.

Holy Grail - Body Shop Body Butter

I live in the freezing cold and it's always very dry. My hands and legs are always super dry and itchy as a result.  I don't like lotion in a pump because I feel like there is so much wasted product. I've had various lotions but I like the Body Shop Body Butter. And, as you can see, I may have a problem.

For the longest time, I was just using the Pink Grapefruit scent. I would walk around citrusy all the time. It was marvellous! There are usually sales so they are never the full $20 price tag. And when the sales come around, I've started getting all the scents. So I can make an informed decision, of course. I enjoy all of them, except the chocolate one they had for a while. And the Vanilla Brûlée one seems to get stronger as the day wears on. 

Right now, I am in love with the Japanese Cherry Blossom scent. And, of course, my default, Pink Grapefruit. And it keeps my skin soft all day.

My Skin Care Routine

My skin is awful. I am constantly wearing make up all day. I am horrible for touching my face throughout the day. Needless to say, I am constantly breaking out. And it is super picky about what it likes when it comes to skin care. 
Through trial and error, I have found some products that work for me and my skin. (When I use them regularly.)

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First, I use Josie Maran Argan Exfoliating Cleansing Powder twice a day. First thing in the morning and when I take my make up off. It's scubs off all the dead skin and keeps my skin clear.

After I wash my face, I moisturize with Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light. I use a couple drops and rub it all over my face. I finish it off by using Benefit It's Potent! on my eyes. 

What I use to remove my make up changes. I love my Make Up Eraser, but when I'm at the gym I prefer make up removing wipes. 

I love Josie Maran's skin care products! I am obsessed with them. The agran oil moisturizes my skin and absorbs quickly.  

Sampler - Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Brightening Moisturizer

I always seem to accumulate a lot of moisturizer samples. And I am nervous to try them because they always seem to be to heavy and make me break out. But I decided to give this one a shot.

Verdict: I really liked it! It wasn't super heavy and it soaked in very quickly without leaving my skin oily. I would definitely use it again, but I have a hard time justifying the $48 price tag. 

First Off - Coalface

My face is constantly in a state of emergency. Oiliness, breakouts, redness. I've got it all. I was using Josie Maran products (which I will review on another post). But I am lazy and was looking for something a little simple. 

I have used various face cleansers from Lush before. I was in love with Ultrabland before I got my Clarisonic (it wasn't a perfect match). Grease Lightning, Fresh Farmacy, Angels on Bare Skin and Aqua Marina have all been amazing products too. 

But lately my skin has been super oily. So I decided to try out Coalface. It's a bar cleanser. You just get it wet and rub it over your face and then lather it up. It's as simple and lazy as I could ask for!

Coalface is for oily skin. It is made with powdered charcoal to absorb the excess sebum and it exfoliates at the same time. There is rosewood and sandalwood oils in it as well to clear up your skin and get rid of redness. 

I've been using it for a week or two now and I'm in love with it. It made me break out for a few days. Now I am seeing a huge difference in my skin. I have a few breakouts (they all seem to be the deep rooted ones) and a handful of red spots. But it is so much better! I think after another week or so, it should be more or less clear! (Fingers crossed!)

And it has drastically cut down on the amount of oil. I have been using it twice a day (in the morning and before bed). The only thing that I don't love is that it has left my skin dry. But that is to be expected. I've just had to make sure I moisturize (another thing I slack on). 

Sampler - Benefit They're Real! Remover

I'm not picky about make up removers. As long as it doesn't leave a residue and doesn't burn my eyes, I'm sold. I love the rest of the Benefit They're Real! line. So it makes sense to try out the remover as well. 

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Verdict:  All the instructions said was to saturate a cotton pad and wipe your make up off. It did remove my make up, but it was a little thick for my liking. It lathered when I mixed it with water but then it was a little too watered down and more scrubbing was required. Not my favourite way to remove make up but it's definitely not the worst product I've tried. It didn't burn my eyes, which is always a plus for me too. 

First Off - Josie Maran Argan Creamy Concealer Crayon

Josie Maran is my skin care brand of choice at the moment. My entire skin care routine is from her line. (I will definitely be posting more about it in the future. So keep an eye out for those!)

This is a full coverage concealer. It is super creamy and easily blendable. I picked it up in the color Fair. It doesn't dry out your skin, which makes it comfortable to wear all day. 

However, the one thing I didn't like was that it never seemed to set. It moved around a lot. And it was used up very quickly. But I think that I would buy it again and give it another chance with the right setting powder. 

If you are looking for a creamy concealer that isn't super long wearing, I would check it out.

Holy Grail - The Original MakeUp Eraser

The number 1 rule about skin care is to take your make up off before bed. And how many of us know we should, but disregard it because we are too lazy? We've all done it. 

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I've never been super picky about my make up removers. As long as it doesn't burn my eyes and takes my make up off with little to no effort, I'm content. I usually buy whatever is on sale. But all that has changed. 

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This thing is magic! It takes off everything. And I mean everything! Eyeshadow, foundation, eye liner and even waterproof mascara. All you do is get wet it with warm water and wipe your make up off! It's soft and gentle on your face. And when it's dirty, you can just throw it in the washing machine! There are no chemicals involved. It is the best, cleanest, easiest way to take your make up off.  

If you don't have one, get one. It's under $25 and good for one thousand washes. Why don't you have one? I can not stop gushing about it. I love it!

First Off - Benefit The Porefessional License to Blot

I have tried, and loved, Benefit's the Porefessional Face Primer. I was in the market for a blotting product, so this caught my eye.

I will be up front, I kind of hated it. 

It did mattify my skin a little bit. But it didn't leave a lasting impression. And it smeared my make up. And I didn't like how it made my skin feel. 

It is not my favourite oil obsorbing product. I don't have much else to say about it.

First Off - Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer

You guys all know how this works by now. I was running out of primer and needed to check out the new stuff. 

So I got this one in two different formulas. First off, I will be reviewing the Mattifying formula. You all know I have oily skin and love a matte finish.

I love this stuff. It does keep my skin matte for much longer than other primers. It doesn't smell and spreads really easy. The one thing that caught my attention was the texture. It comes out of the tube and I can spread it out on my fingers but when I apply it, it has a thicker, tacky texture. But if it holds the oil off and my make up in place, I am sold. 

I really do like this. It's not a super long wearing formula, but it's good for an evening out or running errands.  And if matte isn't your thing, there are 9 other formulas. So there is bound to be something perfect for your skin needs.