Saturday, November 16, 2013

[Review] Butter London Fiver

Size: 11ml - .4 fl oz
Price: C$20.00
Type: Nail Polish (Glossy finish)

Availability
This nail polish can be purchased at Holt Renfrew, Bay, and any other places that carry Butter London nail polishes.

Ingredients
Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl, Nitrocellulose Alcohol, Adipic Acid, Neopentyl Glycol, Trimellitic Anhydride, Copolymer, Trimethyl Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Triphenyl Phosphate, Diacetone Alcohol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Citric Acid, Dimethicone, Benzophenone-1.


Product Description
Opaque icy mint crème nail lacquer.

Container/Packaging
There is not a special packaging.

Product

This product is pale mint green with glossy finish applies quite thin and almost opaque. After two coats, it is completely opaque. Unless applied thickly, it was very streaky. It required thick coats in order to avoid any streakiness. 

It lasted for 8-10 days without chipping. After two weeks, almost all nails were chipped. With heavy duty labour (ex. moving boxes), it chipped within three days.

Scent
Its scent is very unnoticeable in comparison to other nail polishes.

Would I Recommend This Product?
If you do not mind the streakiness, I would definitely recommend this product. I tend to apply thicker coats to avoid streakiness (and yes, it does look thicker), so if you don't mind that, this product is yours.

Pictures

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

[Makeup Showdown #1] Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub vs. St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub

There are two easily-accessible and inexpensive face scrubs on the market: Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub and St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. 

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Exfoliator 1: 
Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub
Weight: 140g
Price: C$8.99
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Exfoliator 2:
St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub
Weight: 150g
Price: C$4.79
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Promises
The phrases that Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub emphasize were "deep cleansing" and "pore unclogging". On the other hand, St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub put much emphasize on its "natural exfoliants". 


Tubes
Both contain actual products in the tubes to be squeezed out. Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub is actually translucent, so it makes it easy to check how much product is left. As for St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, it requires the cap to be opened in order to check the amount of product left inside.


Products
Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub is a white cream-type scrub with blue beads. St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub is also a cream-type scrub with apricot seeds. 

Method of Application 
*Please note that the following method is according to personal preference; therefore, this does not 
After wetting down the skin with warm water, Pore Unclogging Scrub was applied on the left and Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub on the right. Both were evenly massaged for 30 to 40 seconds and washed with cold water.

Facial Reaction
Beads in Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub do not feel harsh at all even when massaged with pressure; they rather give a gentle but deep exfoliation. My face appeared neither red nor irritated, but there was a bit of cooling effect. The scrub left my skin smooth.

Although equal amount of pressure was given to massage with both Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub and St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot, apricot seeds on the apricot scrub was evidently harsher; I had to take extra caution not to pressure the seeds too much. The irritation experienced was also visible as I began to witness a bit of redness on the skin. 

Post-Scrubbing Experience - with Toner
Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub and St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub reacted similarly once wiping down my face with toner-soaked cotton pads. 

Post-Scrubbing Experience - with Moisturizer
There was a visible difference between Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub and St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub when it came to moisturizing. As for the left side of the face scrubbed with Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub, it instantly absorbed the moisturizer and created a healthy and fuller-looking skin. It also felt smoother than before.

As for the right side of the face scrubbed with St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, the moisturizer was lingering on the surface of the skin a bit longer instead of getting soaked with it as the left side of the face did.

Recommendation
As the review exemplifies, I highly prefer Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub much more than St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. However, I recommend: 
Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub to those who require a mild yet thorough cleansing and 
St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub to those who require a scrub with natural ingredients and cruelty-free products.

If there's any makeup challenge you would like to see, please let me know in the comment section below! If not, please tweet me @CDistrict9000212 with a hashtag #CDMS (stands for Cosmetic District Makeup Showdown)!

xoxo
cynthia.

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