Clindets Acne Therapy

Hey everyone,
So this past weekend I visited my doctor for a general check up and just as I was leaving he said "Do you want anything for your acne?" I was kind of surprised, thinking "I just got out of the shower, I know my face is red, is my acne really that bad?" Once I realized I shouldn't be offended and that he was just trying to help, I said "sure, what can I use?"

I've suffered with acne from about the age of 14. I almost always have a recent breakout, and the scarring left behind from previous breakouts definitely doesn't help with the redness of my face. I'm using a skincare routine that I actually really like at the moment, and although my skin was bad enough for my doctor to comment, I had actually been seeing a difference in how my skin was behaving. Anyway, at almost 20 years old I decided that I would take my doctors help and this is what he prescribed:

Clindets Topical Acne Therapy 

I've only used this for about 2 days but I wanted to do a beginning post and then follow up as I saw side-effects, results and any issues good or bad. I wasn't told whether or not to use them once or twice a day, and the pharmacist said maybe start with once a day. In my head I thought, yes, you have sensitive skin, once a day will be fine. Then I used it that night and in the morning the redness was instantly reduced on my face. So, naturally, I have used them twice a day since getting them.
The directions tell me to use them after gently washing your face, and I've been moisturizing and doing my morning/evening skincare routine after the acne wipes. This morning I woke up and although the acne seems to be going down and certainly seems less angry and irritated my skin was definitely drier.

The main ingredient is Clindamycin, an antibiotic. It is definitely drying, and I'm thinking if I just use lots of facial oil and moisturizers I should be okay, however, if my skin continues to look so dry I will reduce my use to once a day.

So far here are my pros and cons:
PROS:
 - instantly reduced redness on acne
 - skin already feels smoother, less bumpy
 - very easy to use, easy to incorporate into your skincare routine
 - works well under makeup, haven't noticed any discolouration or evidence of the treatment underneath makeup.
 CONS:
- smells really bad. very alcohol-ish smell that makes you feel like your skin will melt under the wipe.
- dried out my skin a little bit, however I am still getting used to the product.
- burns a little upon application but I'm already noticing it less and less.

There you go!

Let me know if you have used any prescription acne treatments and what your thoughts are!

NYX Mega-Shine Lipgloss Review

Hey everyone,
So I've always heard really good things about the NYX Mega-Shine lipgloss range. In Canada, NYX isn't super easy to come by. You can find it in Rexall drugstores (I believe) and in Target. I don't have either of those stores nearby, but when I go over to the US and visit ULTA I can find them there. Originally I had picked up the colour "Beige" and after trying it- and really liking it- I went back for two more.
My favourite colour of the three is "Dolly Pink", it's an awesome bright pink which is a bit intimidating but totally wearable. As it's not a stain or lipstick I think that it's really perfect if you're not used to wearing such bright colours. I think I'll get the most wear out of "beige", it's definitely not a beige colour but a pinky-nude colour that is a pretty good match to most peoples lip colours. 

Here are the glosses I picked up: Beige, Dolly Pink, and Nude Peach

These are swatches with a flash on

And swatches in natural daylight

Drugstore Haul and Review

This fragrance (from my lovely friend, Gracie) was a gift from England. Despite having a few Zara stores in Canada, I'm not too sure if they sell fragrances. It's described as an oriental scent, with bergamot, jasmine, vanilla, caramel and patchouli. Personally, I really love this fragrance and hope I don't get too hooked if it's hard to find across the Atlantic!

I also bought some Bioderma, a favourite among beauty bloggers all over the world. It's quite hard to find, but luckily my local Shoppers Drug Mart carries it! I got a wonderful deal of 2 for $30.00, so I quickly snapped them up. So far I really like this cleansing water. I use it after washing my face as a toner and also for quick makeup removals. It doesn't have a scent, doesn't leave my skin feeling dry, and also does a great job of removing makeup.

Recently I went into a Body Shop and found my favourite coconut body butter on sale in it's largest size for only $15.00. It's 400ml, practically the size of a bucket. It'll last me forever which is great, because I think it's an awesome product. It's incredibly moisturizing and leaves my skin feeling very soft.

I also bought this Organix coconut milk serum for my hair. I generally apply to wet hair, and only use a very small amount. I have learned to only apply a small amount just in the ends of my hair, if I apply too much it makes my hair look a bit greasy but it does a good job at stopping my hair from getting too frizzy in this humidity.

I also bought the falsies by Maybelline because I needed a waterproof mascara. I've found that in the heat of Southern Ontario and working in the restaurant industry (in and out of a hot kitchen) waterproof mascara is a must.

The brush is average, the formula is too. It is very waterproof and stays on my lashes all day, but I won't be running out to repurchase it.

I also bought the Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in the shade Candy Coral. It's a cream blush which is nice for a quick makeover. It's easy to apply and gives a natural flush to the cheeks.

The texture of this product is really strange, it's a mousse-ish texture and although it blends nicely I find that it takes a bit of product to get a good amount of pigmentation.

Next I bought the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in the shade 245 Light. I haven't used this yet, but heard good reviews as an undereye concealer.

Finally I bought Maybellines BB cream in the shade Light-Medium. I had tried this before in the shade medium, it was a bit dark for my skintone but gave my skin a really healthy-glowing finish. I found the consistency to be really nice, not very heavy but stayed put on my face for hours. It's a great product for a long day where you don't want a heavy face of makeup- and the added SPF of 30 is a bonus!

L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain Review

Hey everyone!
So I bought these L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain's while in Florida because I had heard such good things about them. Apparently they are incredibly similar to the Yves Saint Laurent Glossy Stain at about 1/3rd of the price. I bought two Shine Stains, so here is a review!

This is the packaging for the product, I think it's fairly average and don't have any complaints. I like the window that shows the product colour.

These are the colours I bought: 184 Rose On and On, and 188 Coral Tattoo

The applicator is very similar to the YSL Glossy Stain and I think it makes applying the product very easy.

The texture of the product is like nothing else I've ever used. It goes on very wet but eventually turns into a sticky layer before drying to a stain. It still looks glossy but it no longer feels wet. Some people may not like the texture but I think it's unique and doesn't bother me much at all.

This was the result after immediatley washing the swatches off of my hands. A bit of a pain, but proof that the stain sticks around which I know is very important to busy people!

Manicure Monday #1

Hey!
So I figured I need to blog more often, and why not begin with something easy like uploading a picture of my nails every Monday. Since I've just started this, I've actually kept pictures from the last couple of weeks to show you the colours I'm sporting. Also, just so you know, Essie is my favourite nail polish brand. I have a bit of a collection, and it's not healthy nor cheap. But anyway, my theory is that if I collect one nail polish brand I won't be tempted by other brands colours and my collection will always look neat and tidy. As you can tell I actually had to think of a reason to collect nail polish. Mostly I just like the formulation of Essie nail polishes, including base and top coats. So anyway, here is my first Manicure Monday post!

This is Essie's "Muchi Muchi", it's a pretty pale pink pastel colour.

This is Essie's "Tart Deco", a coral-y pink colour which I love for summer!

This is Essie's "Mod Square", a typical Barbie pink colour. I don't often reach for this colour but couldn't resist now its summer!

And finally Essie's "Stylenomics". It's not black, but a very dark green. As you can see it's not a very good summer colour but after all those pinks I needed a change!

Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep this updated every week so you can see what nail polish I'm loving!