Pretty In Bronze

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Chorus Supernatural Shampoo and Conditioner Review ~ Canadian Company!

December 07, 2016 BY Amy Sousa 0 Comments

Hello!

I have another exciting review today! I'm especially excited because this is a Canadian company. I really want to talk about more Canadian companies on here and on my YouTube channel because I find that they're really hard to find and usually don't get talked about (even by the few Canadian YouTubers that I follow).

Chorus originally reached out to me about skincare, but since I have a good routine going on right now, I inquired about other products that they have. They were super nice and sent me a "sample" of their shampoo and conditioner. I was expecting the "sample" to be in mini bottles to use once or twice, but they're full size! I'm not being paid for this post and all of my opinions are honest, as usual. Even if I were being paid they'd be honest otherwise I wouldn't accept it! I just enjoy trying out new things and reviewing them so people will be able to do research before buying products :D

History

My hair is naturally SUPER curly. Like full on doll ringlets curly. Most would think that it's super rough in texture, but they're soft ringlets (that used to be golden, but as I got older it turned brown.) I no longer have that hair since I get Japanese Permanent Straightening done every year (which will turn into twice a year once I graduate and pay off my student loans). That surprisingly doesn't absolutely destroy my hair, but last year I went blonde. I started out with highlights and the second time around I was 100% platinum because my hair apparently turns white when bleached. The bleach ruined my hair so even though I'm back to brunette, it's not going to be healthy again for a few years.

Because of the state of my hair I'm super picky when it comes to shampoo and conditioner. I haven't used drugstore shampoos or conditioners in years. I'd always go for salon brands as they're a lot safer. When Chorus sent me their press release I was (and still am) super impressed! Their products are super safe with no harmful chemicals. They were also awarded the CertClean Safety Designation. Here's a chart that really shows how safe their products are

Impressive, right? Next up is my review. This was not love at first sight, but when I fell, I fell hard.

Review: Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner

The first time I used this I followed the direction on the back of both products. The morning before I wash my hair (usually in the afternoon) I load it up with coconut oil to help make it a bit healthier. I washed my hair once with the shampoo and followed the other directions on massaging the product in for a certain amount of time, and using the conditioner all over before rinsing. The back does say that you can repeat the shampoo, but I've never done this before so I just did my usual thing. This didn't work for me at all and I thought that it was just the product. My hair got greasy super quickly, but I know that sometimes it takes a little while for hair to get used to a new product.

The next week, since I wash my hair once a week, was a completely different experience! This time I washed my hair twice and applied the conditioner everywhere below ear level. This worked PERFECTLY for me! My hair did not get visibly oily until Friday, the day before I wash my hair (that's basically an entire week). The funny thing is that after straightening my hair it did feel oily, but that feeling was gone the next day and lasted until the Friday.

I dye my hair dark brown every month with box dye to keep it dark. With my last shampoo *cough Kevin Murphy cough* most of it would wash out by the third week. The Chorus Supernatural shampoo is super colour safe! My hair is still pretty dark and at this rate I feel like it'll last for at least two months. It's not as dark as when I dyed it, but that's because the first week after I dyed it I still hadn't received the Chorus shampoo and conditioner, so I was using my other shampoo.

Needless to say I'm really impressed with these! They are really gentle on your hair so it won't ruin it if you wash your hair several times a week (like most people do). My hair feels super soft and healthy (after straightening it) considering all of the damage that I've caused to it. If you have non-damaged hair this will make your hair extremely soft! I'm going to stick to washing once a week while I grow my hair out to reach mermaid status, but perhaps once I'm there I'll up it to twice a week.

Now for availability and prices.

The Chorus Supernatural "Gentle" Shampoo retails for $15.00 CAD. Much cheaper than my old shampoo and other high-end brands.

The Chorus Supernatural "Gentle" Conditioner retails for $19.90 CAD. Still much cheaper, and I run out of shampoo way quicker than conditioner. Weird, right? I probably use two shampoo bottles for every conditioner bottle, so when I run out I'll be buying it that way!

Overall I'm extremely impressed and will definitely be purchasing when I run out :) You can't beat that price, and in my experience with high end hair care, this is even better for what I'm looking for! Here's a picture of me from a few days ago. This was taken on Monday night, so a day and a half after washing my hair. I'm always on Snapchat and Instagram so you can see my hair there too. Snap is amysousa and Insta is beautybyamysousa (linked on the side--->) I'll also eventually (like several months from now) do a hair care routine so you'll see everything that I do to my hair from prep to styling to maintenance. But if you watch my videos in general you can see what my hair looks like there as well :) (Hint my next one was filmed with fourth day hair)

If you're interested in buying these products, check out Chorus' website down below! They are based out of British Columbia, but they do ship worldwide! They also sell their products in stores (in British Columbia) so you can check out their "store locater" page on their website. In general Chorus has been super friendly, which makes me love them even more! I'm a big fan of good customer support so this was a huge win for me! Here are the links to their website and social media profiles! And no, none of these links are affiliate links!

http://www.chorussupernatural.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chorussupernatural/
https://twitter.com/ChorusNatural
https://www.instagram.com/chorussupernatural/

Super Late Sephora Winter 20% Off VIB Haul ~ 2016

December 06, 2016 BY Amy Sousa 0 Comments

Hello everyone!

This blog post is obviously extremely late considering how long ago I uploaded the video... but I'm still going to post it! This isn't the most exciting blog post, but I wanted to give reviews a mini break (because I have two more coming) and bring in a makeup post! As most of you probably already know, the Sephora VIB sale just happened. I'm a regular VIB (one day I'll probably hit VIB Rouge) and I always wait to buy the more expensive items during these sales. I bought a few very exciting things that I've been wanting for a VERY long time so I'm going to show you all of it!

I'm just going to start with the most exciting item in my personal opinion. I finally bought the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation! I've been looking at this one for years. I've been through countless samples because I never knew my correct shade. Turns out I don't have a shade that matches me in the winter. Ceylan is the closest match for when I'm at my most pale, but it's still too light. I already have my Makeup Forever Ultra HD foundation in a light enough colour, so I bought my perfect match for the summer and fall: Stromboli.

Here's a little story on my shade. I ALWAYS thought I was a lot lighter than I really am. I watch a ton of light skinned YouTubers that fake tan and always thought I was the same shade as them. Wrong. Not only am I super yellow toned (most of the ones I watch are neutral or pink), but my Brazilian blood hasn't failed me in the tanning department. I always bought foundations that are way too light and end up looking like a ghost. I always had to pile on the bronzer. This past summer I was watching a video by Teni Panosian and she used the NARS foundation in Stromboli. Steven thinks I look a bit like her and mentioned that we're the same colour. I was like: "You're crazy. She's SO much darker than me." Steven made me look in a mirror while in natural light and that's when it kicked in. I am the same colour. My neck just happens to not tan properly, but my entire body is pretty tanned.

So I finally bought a foundation that matches me for a majority of the year. There's no perfect shade for the awkward in-between periods, but I can always mix my MUFE foundation with the NARS for a perfect colour. That or I can look at colour adjusting drops since they seem to be on the rise.

Next up I have an Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade. I've already owned one before and it's currently pretty much all out. I had the blonde shade from last year when I was completely blonde (never again) and I've been using it since. It surprisingly worked pretty well because I used the right shade for a brow gel, but now that it's gone I've purchased my shade for my natural hair. On my birthday I went into a Sephora and swatched all of the brown shades and decided that I would order Medium Brown. I'll be using this in tutorials coming soon as well as several of the other products :)

I bought something that I've never swatched! I'm really impressed with myself for doing it, but I've heard such amazing reviews that I couldn't help it with the limited edition packaging (and lower price). I purchased the Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in White Russian. I've heard again and again that Buxom's lip creams are the best lip glosses on the market, but I've specifically heard that this shade is the best. When I saw that the pretty packaging was also cheaper (for the same amount of product) I couldn't help it and added it into my cart. Here's a look at the awesome packaging and product.

Last but not least, I made a last second decision to buy a little set from Kat Von D. I bought the Bow n Arrow set that comes with a deluxe mini liquid lipstick and a deluxe KVD tattoo liner (my fave). I've been wanting to purchase Bow n Arrow for a long time and having a backup of the liner is always a good idea. Especially when I can get it at a sale. I've already used the lipstick once and it's hands down my favourite KVD liquid lipstick so far. The formula is much nicer (not as drying) and the colour is to die for. Needless to say I'm very pleased with my decision.

I bought a Glam Glow mask for my friend Bianca since she wasn't a VIB member yet, which put me closer to becoming a VIB again (she paid me for it). I only need to spend $72 to be a VIB again next year, so we all know I'll be doing that after christmas (if I get gift cards). I already have a few ideas, but please let me know what would be worth getting for that price! Otherwise I might not be VIB in 2017 until later in the year.

I hope you enjoyed this haul! Let me know what type of posts you'd like to see. I'll be back sometime at the start of December (After all of my assignments are handed in) probably with a review. See you then <3

Amy

Wednesday, November 02, 2016

reviews skincare

iQ Natural Skincare ~ Eye Gel and Acne Serum Review

November 02, 2016 BY Amy Sousa 0 Comments

I'm back again with another skin care review! iQ Natural Skincare reached out to me to test out some of their products. Because I already have a bunch of skin care in my routine I chose what I was missing and wanted for a while. I've always wanted an undereye cream or gel, but I never got around to purchasing one (mainly because they're usually super expensive). I also have hormonal acne that takes forever to go away so I mentioned that as well. iQ Natural was awesome enough to send me their Rested Eye Brightener Gel AND their 2% Salicylic Gel. They also gave me an affiliate link that will save you money if you decide to buy from their website! I'll talk more about that later in the post.

Here is a snippet about the company that I got on their website:

"iQ Natural's focus on certified Organic, high concentration active-naturals and holistic plant based ingredients has given clients both professional and personal use, a product with highly effective and health driven results for over 14 years. Results that can be summed up in the vibrant, beautiful, glowing and youthful appearance your nourished skin will emanate."

I love that the ingredients are super natural and once again there's no tea tree oil! Yay for Amy not breaking out into massive rashes! iQ Natural is also pretty affordable for the quality of the products. The packaging is pretty simple and doesn't feel luxurious by any means, but it's what's inside that counts.

The Rested Eyes gel is so nice! I apply this every single night (and sometimes in the morning if I didn't get enough sleep) and it absorbs really nicely. You only need the smallest amount ever so this will last you forever basically. I'm still only using what is in the cap and I've had it for over a month.

Claims: The website claims that this will brighten, get rid of bags and fine lines, cure sagging and even firm.

Results: This definitely made a few creases disappear. I don't know if they vanished, but I do feel like my undereye is less sunken in. It's like they've plumped up a bit, which is super nice because I look way less tired and those no makeup days aren't as weird to me! I also feel like this brightens the area a little bit, which is a plus because that means less concealer!

Ingredients: This is copy and pasted directly from the website so credits to iQ Natural for it!

Organic Herbal Infusion, Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf (Aloe), Matrixyl 3000, Palmitoyl Triepeptide-3, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Globularia Cordifolia Callus Culture Extract (Plant Stem Cells), Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber Hydrosol), Organic Simmondsis Chinensis (Jojoba Oil), Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide (botanical hyaluronic acid), Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Carrageenan Gum, Silk Amino Acid Blend (Sodium L-Pyrrolidone Carboxylate, Sodium Lactate, L’Arginine, L-Aspartic Acid, L-Pyrrolidonecarboxylic Acid, Glycine, L-Alanine, L-Serine, L-Valine, L-Proline, L-threonine, L-Isoleucine, L-Histidine, L-Phenylalanine), Wildcrafted Vinca Major (Periwinkle), Organic Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice), Wildcrafted Euphrasia Officinalis (Eye Bright), Wildcrafted Ganoderma Lucidum (Reishi), Organic Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola), Boswellia Serrata (Frankincense), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethyl Hexyl Glycerin.

Packaging: The packaging on this is totally fine. It has a twist off top so everything stays fresh inside.

The gel itself is clear and has a light scent, but not anything that would bother anyone. All in all this is great and you should try it! This goes for $34.00 which is a steal! The time I came close to buying an eye cream it was for the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream. Do you know how much that stuff is? I was thinking $30.... NOPE. IT'S $66.00 and in my opinion does the exact same thing! So please, if you're looking for an eye cream consider this or something that isn't ridiculously priced because something being expensive doesn't mean it's going to work any better and I definitely learned this while using this eye gel.

This works perfectly fine under makeup! At first I was worried because this applies a bit sticky, but if you let it sink in along with your regular moisturizer it will be fine underneath stuff like primer, foundation, and concealer.

Here's a pic of the eye gel.

Now onto the 2% Salicylic gel serum. This is listed at $34.00 on the site as well. While this may seem a bit steep, there's quite a bit of product in there. The Salicylic acid that I was using before only had 22mL of product in it and it was $12. This has 33mL, but the ingredients are much better and way more natural. While Salicylic acid is the star of the show, there is also Hyaluronic acid and Pro-vitamineB5. For me this is worth trying just because I don't have terrible acne, but I do get spots when it's that time of moth.

Claims: This will help shrink and clean out skin pores that cause acne.

Results: This acne serum is BOMB. This will sound really weird, but I love that I can actually feel it working. When I apply this to any active zits I can feel it burn and it's so satisfying! I noticed that the zit was much smaller the next morning so it definitely helps shrink the zits. I can't really speak for the science behind Salicylic acid, but it definitely works. I also feel like this doesn't leave scars behind like my other Salicylic acid did. And I scar badly so it's a big deal for me.

I wouldn't recommend putting this on underneath makeup because anything with Salicylic acid in it tends to create a little layer of peely stuff (I really have no other way of explaining it) that won't stay put under makeup. I put this on every night after all of my other skin care is on. This is recommended to put on once a day either way and I feel like everything is more effective while sleeping.

Ingredients: These are once again taken directly from the website!

Water, witch hazel, denatured alcohol, willow bark extract, methylcellulose, aloe vera whole leaf juice, vegetable glycerin, salicylic acid, silver dihydrogen citrate, citric acid, potassium sorbate. - See more at: http://www.iqnatural.com/skin-concerns/acne-oil-control/salicylic-gel-clear.html#sthash.ARhZWWvr.dpuf

Packaging: The packaging is the only thing that I don't like about this product. The pump is difficult to control so it's all or nothing. By that I mean the product is either shooting out at high speed (beware the first time) or you're pressing too lightly and nothing will happen. This might be a one off, but I thought I should mention it!

Final Thoughts

I'm really impressed with the two products I received. I'm really intrigued now because iQ doesn't only have skin care products, but makeup as well! I highly recommend checking them out!

If you're interested, please check out the website with this link that will give you a discount of 10%. It is an affiliate link so if you dislike me, but want to buy something just google them!

I will be posting a face skin care routine next on my channel using these products and all of my other skin care products so keep an eye out! I'm hoping for either Saturday or Sunday!

Thank you so much for reading and Thank you iQ Natural for reaching out! :D

Amy

Saturday, October 22, 2016

reviews skincare

MyChelle Skin Care ~ A Product and Brand Review

October 22, 2016 BY Amy Sousa 0 Comments

If you're Canadian, you've probably never heard of the brand MyChelle. Don't worry; I hadn't either. Someone in the Canadian Beauty Bloggers network let me know that MyChelle was looking for Canadian bloggers to try out their products, and I just so happened to be looking for skin care. I was really close to ordering from Sephora, but I thought "Hey, this brand has good reviews and the products seem nice." A lot of the girls were raving about it so I checked out their website and was very impressed.

MyChelle products are Vegetarian, Cruelty-free, and free of Phthalates, Parabens, Sulfates, Ureas, Artificial Fragrance and Colours, Petroleum, GMOs, and Gluten. So basically their ingredients are natural and good for you all without harming any animals! I was so impressed that I just had to send them an email, and they were awesome enough to send me a few things.

I was only expecting the Sugar Cleanser, but I received three other full sized products as well. Here's a picture of all of them side by side!

I thought it was really cool that the team included product information sheets. These give information on the products including the ingredients, how to use them, tips, and the prices. I found this useful because I don't have to struggle to write down ingredients while looking at the small font on the packaging. I will be using information from the sheets in the post to make it as helpful as possible for you! Anything that is directly from the sheet will have an asterisk (*) in front of it.

Speaking of packaging; it's really high quality. I'd go as far as saying that the moisturizers jar is quite luxurious. I'm used to cheap plastic packaging so this makes my routine a little bit more special. The packaging on everything else is really nice too. The serums both have pumps that can lock into place to keep the products from going bad. These pumps push down smoothly so nothing will shoot out across the room, and you can easily control the amount you get out. The sugar cleanser is in a squeeze bottle, but it's still quite nice considering I just keep this in my washroom cabinet.

Now onto the review of each product. I'll go into detail of what my routine with these products looks like after I give their individual reviews, but I want to explain what each product does, and how effective it's been on my skin.

Refining Sugar Cleanser - $25.00 USD

This is what I was most excited about (and I still think this is my favourite product out of the bunch). Several girls talked about how much they love this so I was already expecting it to be good, but man is it awesome! This stuff smells AMAZING. It smells like sugar, but it also smells like something else that I can't quite pin down. My favourite thing about the product is that you can customize it. I have pretty sensitive skin so I can't normally scrub my skin every day with a scrub like this. However, the more water you add the less intense it is. I can use this every night if I add a little bit more water. You only need a really small amount of product as it spreads quickly so that's another bonus. You just need to rub this into your skin until the sugar has dissolved and then you're done! Here's a picture of what the texture looks like.

I 100% think this is worth the price because it's not only amazing, but it's quite big! The bottle is 3.5 fl oz (104 mL) and in the full month of usage I've barely put a dent into the tube. I did accidentally press it way too hard one time and a bunch shot out, but I put it inside of a small travel container and gave it to my mom (who also loved it).

I estimate that this will last me at least six months. That might seem like nothing, but that's if I use it every single day. For those of you with super sensitive skin, you might only use it a few times a week. I also mentioned that you need a small amount, so it really does go a long way.

Tip*: Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the cleanser on your skin for 3-5 minutes for a gentle hydrating treatment. I don't do this everyday, but about once a week when I do use more, I let it sit for about 5 minutes and my skin feels extremely silky afterwards. It feels like it's going to take forever to wash it off, but then you realize that there's no product left over and your skin really does feel that soft.

Key Active Ingredients*: Crocus Chrysanthus Bulb Extract (DermCom), Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 (Matrixyl synthe'6), and Sodium Hyaluronate (L) (Hyaluronate Acid). There are a bunch of other ingredients that are listed on the website as well if you'd like to check them out! This goes for all of the other products!

Perfect C Serum 17% - $44.00

This product contains vitamin C as well as many other great ingredients (that I will mention below) and is meant to be used in the morning after cleansing. I don't cleanse my skin in the morning, but I do go in with a toner before this. When my skin is ready I apply one pump of this all over my skin. I only wear this on the days that I'm not wearing any foundation (which is a lot more often than you would think).

This is probably my least loved product of the bunch that I received. I do love it when I'm not wearing makeup, but I don't recommend wearing makeup when using this because on me it starts to peel the moment that I put primer or foundation on. It pretty much flakes off, but because I wear moisturizer every single day, my skin feels soft and plump so it just sticks to it and makes a mess. In the summer I wear SPF under my foundation and primer so I'm not sure if that would make it flake off, but if you don't try to add any makeup to your face, this product is perfect.

This product is quite pricey so I don't know that I'd say it's worth it. I really like it, but out of all of the products, this is the one that I'd say you can skip. However, if this didn't flake up underneath primers and foundations I would say that it's worth the price.

Tip*: Humans do not produce Vitamin C so it should be incorporated into everyone's diet and skin care regimen. This is why I love the product so much, but I'm not sure if I can get past the flaking when I wear makeup.

Key Active Ingredients*: Ascorbic Acid (L) 17%, Buddleja Davidii Stems G, and Astaxanthin (BioAstin). The rest of the ingredients can be found on the product page!

Size: 0.5 fl oz / 15 mL

Supreme Polypeptide Cream (Moisturizer) - $56.00

This stuff is awesome. My skin has never been as hydrated as it is now. I do still have a problem area around my chin, but I spoke to my doctor who said that it's from my hormonal breakouts. Everywhere else is super soft and I've noticed that my skin doesn't look as wrinkly as it did before (I'm 21 so it shouldn't be wrinkly at all, but I have a few noticeable ones). This doesn't surprise me because this specific moisturizer is an anti-aging moisturizer, but MyChelle does have other moisturizers targeted for different issues!

This works well under makeup, but I learned to wait at least 30 minutes before applying foundation. The moisturizer is really thick and rich and takes a while to absorb into my skin, so in the morning when I am planning on wearing makeup, I quickly tone my face and apply this right away. By the time that I'm finished eating breakfast and feeding my dog, I can start on makeup. My makeup goes on really nicely on top of this, which I'm really happy about.

At nighttime this is ideal for me. It's super thick and it gives my skin tons of time to repair itself. I never wake up with my skin flakey. This really helps with hydration and the overall appearance of my skin. I love that my acne cream and eye gel works on top of this product as well, though I only use those at night time, unless it's a stay at home day for me without any makeup. Here's a pic of the product itself.

I don't have anything negative to say about this, but my boyfriend does. He cannot stand the smell. He says that this smells like iron and dreads when I put this on (especially at night). I don't have an issue with the smell (my mom and best friend didn't either), but since Steven did, I do want to warn you that if you're super sensitive to smell, you might not like this. But if you aren't fussy about how skin care smells, then you'll probably love it if you want something super moisturizing that will help with fine lines!

This is the other product that I think is worth trying out. While the price is quite hefty, most good moisturizers are. When I was looking for moisturizers to purchase, most of them (with good reviews) were in the $50-$80 range. The highest recommended ones were over $100. This might be because I live in Canada (makeup and skin care tends to be more expensive here than in the U.S.... and yes, even when taking our minimum wage into account). At the sale price of #39.25 I definitely think you should try it out before it goes back to the regular price!

Tip*: Use with wrinkle spot treatment for the ultimate in age defense (I don't have this so I can't say much about that).

Key Active Ingredients*: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 (Matrixyl synthe'6), Pisum Sativum (Pea Peptide) Extract (Proteasyl TP), and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 (Syn-Coll) Peptide. The rest of the very lengthy ingredient list is on the website as well!

Size: 1.2 fl oz / 35 mL

Remarkable Retinal Serum - $47.50

I don't know if I'm crazy, but I think this actually works. I mentioned that my lines weren't as apparent, and I think it might be this. This is meant to be worn at night time since it contains Retinal. This feels almost like a moisturizer, but it's not. As soon as I cleanse my face with the sugar scrub, I pat it dry and apply 1-2 pumps of this and wait 30 minutes (as the directions say to do). Usually I do exactly 1.5 pumps. This doesn't really have a scent, but since it's meant to be worn under the moisturizer I guess it doesn't matter.

Do I think this is worth the price tag? I think so, but I don't know for sure. I do feel like this has been improving my skin. My skin is way more even than it's been since before I hit puberty. My lines are less noticeable (I haven't changed my makeup technique so trust me on that) and my skin just feels nicer. You don't absolutely need to wear the MyChelle moisturizer if you already have one that you love, but this serum is great. Of course I've only been using these products for a bit more than a month, but I feel like it's enough time to get a good feel for everything.

Tip*: To enhance anti-aging results, add the Remarkable Retinal eye cream into your evening routine to target fine lines and wrinkles around the delicate eye area. I don't use an eye cream from this brand, but I do use one and the two products do work amazingly together!

Key Active Ingredients*: Retinal (Retinaldehyde), Citrustem Orange Plant Stem Cells, and Ceramide 3. The rest of the ingredients are once again on the website!

Size: 1 fl oz / 30 mL

My routine with these products:

Morning: I tone my face > sometimes use the Perfect C Serum 17% > I put on the Supreme Polypeptide Cream > I wait 30 minutes and apply my makeup and go.

Evening: I cleanse my face with the Refining Sugar Cleanser > I apply the Remarkable Retinal Serum > I wait 30 minutes and apply the Supreme Polypeptide Cream > I apply my under-eye gel and acne cream and then I'm done.

Overall:

My skin went through a mini purge when I first started using everything. About a week in I was breaking out all over, but this ALWAYS happens when I start to religiously use skin care products (especially a cleanser). The breakouts quickly disappeared and I haven't had an issue since. The biggest thing for me is that I'm not allergic to any of the ingredients. I'm super allergic to Tea Tree Oil so I need to steer clear of a lot of skin care (I'm looking at you Lush and The Body Shop). Most holy grail products that I see YouTubers raving about include tea tree oil, which helps with breakouts. None of these products contain anything that I'm allergic to, but they are mad up of very natural and amazing so that's a huge thumbs up for me.

Pros:

Very effective
Lessens the appearance of fine lines
Skin feels tighter throughout the day with the vitamin c thing
Sugar scrub is my favourite thing ever
Really nice, high quality packaging
Sugar cleanser can be altered for more sensitive skin (like mine) by using more water
The products work with other skin care brands
Pretty affordable in comparison to other comparable skin care brands

Cons:

Moisturizer takes a while to soak in, which may not be ideal for makeup wearers who need to rush in the morning
Smells bad to Steven (and might to those with sensitivities to smell)
The vitamin c serum can't be work with primer or foundation

I'm extremely pleased with these products! I'll most definitely be repurchasing a few when they run out (by repurchasing I mean actually buying them on my own). I definitely do recommend the brand as a whole and would love to try out more products in the future :)

Right now the website has free shipping and free returns on domestic orders. I highly recommend checking it out right now while everything that I mentioned is on sale!

Thank you so much for reading this post! Don't forget to check out MyChelle's website for even more information on everything!

Amy

Saturday, October 15, 2016

lifestyle

Erin Condren 2017 Vertical Life Planner!

October 15, 2016 BY Amy Sousa 0 Comments

As some of you may know, I'm a planner girl. I rely on my Erin Condren planner to keep my life organized and not forget appointments, assignments, events, etc. Last week I saw that Erin Condren was having a 20% off sale so I decided to take the plunge and buy my 2017 planner. It ended up costing me about $80 Canadian, but I did have to pay $20 in duty (I hate duty), which is ok because it was still cheaper than my 2016 planner without that discount.

Here are a few pictures of my new planner. I went for the free cover option and went with the regular silver coils as it was the cheapest option available (I really only care about the planner itself). I also went for the colourful planner (there's now a neutral option!) because I tend to do more colour coordinated spreads instead of themed.

I chose this simple pink cover and was pleasantly surprised that the inside cover has lines to write with a dry erase / wet erase marker.

The non monthly or weekly pages are pretty similar with a few design changes. I won't show all of the pages because there are probably hundreds of other blog posts on this planner, but I will show a few.

Now the important part. The colours for the months have changed—some slightly and some drastically. I don't know if I like it yet or not, but it is going to force me to make quite a few changes to my stickers up on my etsy shop. While change is nice, it's a hassle and I do feel like a lot of people who make or use stickers will be upset at this, especially if they have a lot of colour coordinated stickers left over.

Besides the colour change, there are minor changes on the monthly layouts. The header is a bit taller, which once again will force several people to change their stickers (not me since I have yet to make this particular type of sticker) and the side bar looks a bit different, but nothing crazy.

Now onto the weekly spreads. The biggest change besides the colours being different is that there is no secondary colour. I actually really like this as it will make the sticker process easier and more customizable for me. The header now has a watercolour effect, which I love because mine always looked so bland when nothing was there. This header effect is also really cool because when months change, the colours transition instead of changing harshly.

Here is the colour fade at the header of the weekly layouts.

The stickers at the back of the planner are similar, but the colours are different again. The biggest change is that now several stickers are cut out in a flag style instead of the regular rectangular shape (but those are included as well).

There is still a perpetual calendar included, but I won't be using it unless I lose my 2016 one considering all of the important dates won't change. This one does look a lot cuter as well as the little pouches.

The pouch is now removable! This is a huge feature for me because it always made my 2016 planner SO heavy! On a day to day when I'm using it at school, the pouch does not matter to me as I'm not putting down stickers. I only really do this at home, where the pouch is needed. Thankfully, inside of the pouch there is a 3m coil clip so I can still stick the pouch in my planner securely, but I can just as easily take it out. I also love that there's a little zipper slider thing (no idea what it's called) instead of requiring us to pry the pouch open manually (which caused mine to rip at one of the sides).

Now for the little extras. Just like last year, I received a few stickers, but this time instead of little event dots I got those plus a few really cool stickers (that make me sad that I didn't order a full sticker book... but as Kathleen Lights would say "das expensive." Other freebies include a big sticker, a few compliment cards and two 20% off coupon codes that I can share. I won't be sharing those in this post, but fear not! I have an affiliate link that will save you 10% off your first order with Erin Condren and it's right here: https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/amysousa1012

Overall I'm really excited! I knew I wanted to completely redesign my colour-coordinated monthly spreads so I welcome the new colours (but hopefully I can find the colour codes somewhere really soon). I definitely recommend this planner if you're like me and need to write absolutely everything down to remember it! It's also a really fun hobby, though it can get very pricy.

Please feel free to ask any questions and I will try my very best to answer them :)

See you soon!

Amy