Vanilla Shimmer

Typically I prefer my cosmetics to be matte. I’m not totally sure where this spawned from, but if we’re talking blush, bronzer, eyeshadow, I want it to be matte. With that being said, sometimes it is nice to have a shimmery wash all over the lid for an evening or special occasion. Enter: Lily Lolo cosmetics.

Lily Lolo Vanilla Shimmer Eyes – $12.00

First of all, this product is vegan, gluten free, and Leaping Bunny certified. Have I caught your attention yet? This is a loose shadow in very convenient, user friendly packaging. It’s got a closable shaker, kind of like on a spice shaker, that ensures that you’re mess-free when opening the container after traveling, or if you’re just generally accident prone as I am.

The shadow itself is really beautiful. It’s a shimmery peachy-pink vanilla that I think lighter skintoned ladies will LOVE for a simple look. I could also see this being used as a highlight on the cheekbones.

As you can barely see on the swatch above, this shadow gives an effortless looking sparkle to the eye that’s not over done or obnoxious. This is a matte shadow lover’s kind of shimmer. The formula is really lovely on this shadow, it blends and covers nicely. It’s not a great amount of pigment for such a light shadow. It did crease on me, but this has been an emerging trend with me and all eyeshadows – an issue I never had before, but I’m working on remedying. This shadow is great for those no-make up days when you want to look a little more pulled together.

Just a little hint of sparkle – totally up my ally.

Talk soon,
Xx Brianna

Soap Works

I feel like recently all I can seem to read about cleansers is to avoid soapy formulas. I followed this advice blindly and swore off soap cleansers for years. While I generally didn’t see much of a difference in my skin, I kept to the notion that soap and your skin are not friends, until recently. My boyfriend’s mom, Donna, who is incredibly lovely and kind sent me a bar of soap for my face, and I was hesitant to try it out, but I’m really glad I did. Since trying this first soap, my collection has grown, and I’d like to share my stash with you today.

The soaps are from the brand The Soap Works. They’re a small company that uses great ingredients to create natural products. So without further a due I’d like to tell you about the soaps I have, and what I use them for. I should mention all these soaps are gluten free with the exception of the oatmeal soap, they are all phosphate free, and of course, they’re all cruelty free. These soaps, nor any of the ingredients in them, have been tested on animals.

First up is the Emu Oil soap. I use this as my hand soap, I keep it right beside my bathroom sink. I really love this soap because it doesn’t have a crazy scent, it just gets my hands clean without overly drying them. It’s formulated with Vitamins A and E, and is technically designed for facial use. I have oily skin, so I stick to the soap that’s coming up next, but this soap is really nice, lathers great, and has lasted very well.

Creamy Clay is the soap that started my interest in The Soap Works. Donna sent me this, I suppose she knew I’d be struggling with my skin. Creamy clay is designed for oily skin, the Bentonite clay absorbs oil, but it never makes my skin feel overly dry. After cleansing my skin with this soap my skin feels so squeaky clean, and it even does a fantastic job at removing make up. The soap pictured above is one I haven’t gotten into yet, the one I use is pictured below. I even have one of these at my boyfriend’s apartment so I can wash my face whenever I feel the need to. I’ve been using this stuff for maybe 3 months and I think my skin really likes it. I should also mention this soap is vegan. One word of caution: do not get this in your eyes! I got this soap in my eyes and I’m pretty sure I thought they were going to fall out. The pain passed, and I’ll for sure never do that again, take my advice, everyone!

Next up is the Oatmeal soap. I like to use this soap for exfoliation purposes about once a week. This soap is also vegan, and contains mildly abrasive exfoliating particles that help polish the surface layer of skin. Oatmeal is great to use on sensitive skin, it’s know for being nourishing and gentle.

Lastly is one I haven’t used yet, because I’m kind of scared of it (in a good way). The soap is the Carbolic soap, and is recommended for acne prone skin, a type of skin that I have. This soap is naturally scented, anti-bacterial and antiseptic. What puts me off this soap is the scent. It smells very woody, and very, very strong. Apparently this soap makes a great mosquito repellant for all my fellow hiking and camping lovers. I feel like using this soap is a kind of last ditch effort to combat my acne, but some other products I’ve found recently have been helping my skin, so for now, I’ll keep the carbolic soap for when I go camping.

I keep the soaps that live in my shower in Lush tins to keep the water from eroding the soaps away to nothing. These tins have done a great job for my soaps, and I keep my Creamy Clay at JP’s place in this tin as well. I should also mention JP has used the Tea Tree soap, and he really liked it for washing after a work out to get rid of any bacteria or sweat. The Tea Tree soap was really effective in clearing his back of any bacterial breakouts. The Soap Works carries a wide variety of soaps for all types of skin and concerns, and even carries a soap that’s Pure Vegetable Glycerine, which is great for sensitive skin and allergies.

As you can see, I’ve used my creamy clay soap a lot, and I still have so much product left! These soaps last such a long time, and here’s the best part: they cost $2.60 CAD. That’s insane!!! No more super expensive posh products, these soaps get it done, are natural, and incredibly affordable. I got the ones I wasn’t sent at Choices, a local grocery store akin to Whole Foods. The Soap Works is a Canadian company, which makes me love the soaps even more.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna