Pretty In Bronze

Hello!

I thought I'd do a beauty/lifestyle related post rather than talking about wedding things, even though I have an update post surrounding that, which will likely be up next or in two posts! Today I wanted to share my empties from the past few months. There aren't many as I've rarely been wearing makeup and even more rarely buying new things. I want most of my content to be on this blog and Instagram since during this time I won't have easy access to my camera (self-isolation and all that) and this is much more manageable for me.

My first category is makeup + tools



 I go through lip-balms quite quickly and rarely lose them anymore. Out of these three there's only one that I would re-purchase and that's the Cuter Cuticles lip balm. I have two more of these in different flavours. This was the watermelon flavour, which wasn't my favourite in terms of scent since it's a natural watermelon scent instead of the fake candy scent that I love. The lip balm itself is amazing and I bought it at the 2019 Indie Expo. I'm on the vanilla one now!

The Laneige sleeping mask is nice, but I don't understand all of the hype around it. I personally don't think the price tag is worth it at all, and much prefer my Catrice Shea Butter lip treatment, at a fraction of the price with MUCh nicer packaging. It just works way better. The scent is nice and I might consider purchasing if it was in the $5 range, but it's not so I wouldn't recommend this one.

The Softlips lipbalm is really old, but I decided to finish it up. It's nice and smells really good and at one point was a favourite, but it doesn't compare to my Cuter Cuticles and especially not to my favourite lip balm of all time from Surya Brasil. Natural lip balms work way better for me, which isn't a big shocker.

Face and body moisturizers


These were all samples, which makes it difficult to give a proper review. Out of these three, the Caudalie (which I got as a Sephora Birthday Gift a few years back) is my favourite. It was great for the daytime and I kept it in my bag for days that I forgot to moisturize, or needed extra hydration.

The North American Hemp Co face cream was good for night time, but the sample was too small for me to be able to tell if it actually helped much with lines. As a regular moisturizer it's nice, but I don't love it as much as my The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors (which is super affordable too). I got this one for free in an old Blogger Box that I received for consideration.

The Renewed Hope moisturizer was all right, but nothing special. It was super small so I think I only got a handful of uses out of it, only using it on trips where I brought my travel skincare bag. It was so small that I can't recommend or not recommend it.


I've purchased and have been sent so many moisturizers these past few years, but my favourite has always been Cetaphil. I know there are mixed opinions on the brand. Some people absolutely love and swear by it and I fall into that category as it's great for my sensitive skin, doesn't contain added fragrance and their face care products have helped majorly with my acne issues. Some people hate it because of their parent brand (not cruelty free I'm pretty sure), the higher price tag and it doesn't seem to work the same for them. I love it and will always recommend it, but like with everything else, do your own research!

The North American Hemp Co. body lotion is the same size as the face cream sample I reviewed above. I maybe got two uses out of this so it definitely wasn't enough for me to give a review. It didn't irritate my skin, likely because it doesn't have added fragrance. I can't tell you much else so I'll end it on that note.


Face and body wash!


I think I've reviewed this on this blog (and if not, I have a review on my Instagram page), but this is a huge favourite for both myself and especially my Fiancé Steven. I love this for when my skin is extra greasy, sometimes after a bigger workout or on a heavy makeup day (which are rare). It's a bit too drying for every day use, but Steven loves it because he believes drying your skin out is better for acne, despite my years of begging him to moisturize (he absolutely refuses).  This smells nice, foams up a lot (so a little goes a long way) and I repurchased one to put in Steven's stocking before this one ran out. We're staying at his parent's house as during this self-isolation period since I've been working from home (a week or two before it even started) and Steven ended up taking vacation days before finally being given a laptop to work from home as well. We live in a condo building, so it isn't as safe considering we have to leave to walk the dogs a few times a day, and this is the only face wash we brought since it's less bulky. I've been putting on more moisturizer to combat it, but it's been nice because my skin has been a huge break-out filled mess from all the stress of re-scheduling our wedding and being on my period, etc. This is also affordable so we highly recommend it!



Ok this is a bit of a weird category, but recently I've seen a lot of people talking about these types of products again. The Secret gel antiperspirants are my favourites for how it feels and smells. They don't make the underarms of my clothes go all weird and they feel fresh (with many different available scents. Whenever they're on sale I'll buy them because I'm a super sweaty girl.

The Degree motion sense aerosol antiperspirant was really good, but I almost choked every time I sprayed it. It worked really really well, but I know aerosols are bad for the environment, and getting it in my lungs at a time like this isn't the best idea so I likely won't repurchase. I hope they can make a stick or gel version of this that works the same way because I'd definitely purchase it myself for workout days. I'm currently using a completely different brand I've never tried before so we'll see how that one goes.

I'm excessively sweaty so I NEED an antiperspirant to keep my clothes from not being completely drenched, so simply using a natural-deodorant isn't an option for me unfortunately. However, do your research into it. Some people say they're deadly and others say they're completely safe. Look into actual scientific data so you can make the best decision for you!


That's all for this empties review / would I (re)purchase. I hope you enjoyed and will stick around to see my future posts!

See you soon!

Several weeks ago I received a package from Shea Noir, a family owned local brand (a mother and her sons) that sells completely natural shea butter. I love being able to promote local brands because they're normally very good, but are underestimated because we're used to buying products from out of country here in Canada. I often find that the products are more natural and work way better and it's great being able to support local businesses, especially as a woman who is also an immigrant here in Canada!

I've never tried pure shea butter before this product and have always heard positive things since there are so many benefits to using it, so when Shea Noir reached out to me on Instagram, I was interested in giving it a go!


The package was very well protected and is much larger than I imagined. Because it's natural, the shea butter is kind of like a soft brick that crumbles, but if you warm it up with your hands it melts. Some of the claims on the packaging and on the brand's Instagram and Facebook page include that the product can help with acne and blemishes (mainly for lowering redness), reduce the look of wrinkles and other signs of aging as well as reduce itchy/peeling skin. I'm not surprised since shea butter is very moisturizing, so it makes perfect sense to me that those would all be true. This particular brand of shea butter is also very natural so it is chemical, preservative, paraben, phthalate and sulfate free, which makes it even better for sensitive skin! The brand is also cruelty free, so that's always nice.

The picture below shows what the shea butter looks like when I rip a small chunk off before I melt it with my hands.


This can be used in SO many different ways. At first I was just using it all over my face. The day after I received this, we were working on cars all day out in the cold, which meant it was also very dry. Because of this, I wasn't going to spend time making myself look pretty, so I decided to slather it all over my face to see if it would keep my skin nourished. It did! I feel like it also helped calm my acne down a bit since it didn't get irritated from the dryness. I don't know that it really made it go away faster, but it definitely didn't allow it to become aggravated.

I also sometimes put a bunch in my hair 30–60 minutes before washing it. I only put it on my ends since I only wash my hair once a week so the roots don't really need help. This definitely made my ends feel less dead and I'm interested in using this in conjunction with a few other hair products to make a DIY treatment to wear in my hair prior to washing it.

I can see myself using this a lot so I was very pleased when I saw that the price is only $15.99 CAD! There's A LOT of product so you're definitely getting your money's worth. This is something I definitely see myself purchasing in the future, particularly for when I get pregnant so I can keep my bump super moisturized to attempt preventing stretch marks and the uncomfortable itchy feeling that comes along with the stretching.

Go check out the Shea Noir website as they have so much more information there, and even fun recipes you can make with your shea butter!

See you soon!

Hello!

Moor Spa Natural only uses natural ingredients while remaining vegan and cruelty free. This may be obvious since I already said their products are natural, but they also 100% naturally sourced, free of toxins, parabens, and chemicals. This is a huge plus for me because I have normal to sensitive skin, especially on my legs, specifically my shin area, so finding a moisturizer that doesn't irritate my skin is fairly hard to do.

Moor Spa Purifying Massage Balm - MSRP $25 CAD

Website: "As soon as the product touches the skin it melts into a liquid oil which has a superb glide and warms up remarkably quickly. Also, by comparison with massage oils and lotions, only half the quantity of  balm is needed."

This is nice! I've used this a few times because Steven refuses to give me a massage every day, but it's always been very nice. The scent is very light and it feels very nice on my skin. My back wasn't irritated at all minus the redness from Steven giving me a massage. This is probably due to there not being much friction since this is very smooth and silky feeling. The product claims to be non-greasy and I was surprised to see that an oil can actually be non greasy. You have to try it to understand! I did not get a rash from this product and it didn't make my pj's feel or smell gross afterwards!

Moor Spa Herbal Bath - MSRP $11 (or 5 for $45) CAD

A post shared by Amy Sousa (@beautybyamysousa) on Mar 28, 2017 at 7:43pm PDT

Moor Spa Body Lotion - MSRP $26 CAD