Indeed Labs Snoxin Review

I happen to be having a moment with skincare, in particularly serums. A good serum can work wonders on your face. In fact I remember working in cosmetics and being told by various co-workers and faciaist’s to always invest in a good serum. My personal philosophy is moisturizer helps protect the skin you see right now as where a good serum can help the skin of the future. We are all into making that future skin as good as possible right? 

I’ve always wanted to try products from Indeed labs. Not only do they come highly recommended but I also love their company philosophy, which is basically to offer the best, most cutting edge skincare around while pushing the status quo of the industry. While this might sound like every high-end skincare line, I am happy to say Indeed Labs very affordable and easy to find. I do confess all their products look pretty amazing too but when I saw the “better than $500 serums” claim I was sold.

This cutting edge serum features a concentrated multiple peptide formula. While most serums feature one peptide that combats one skin concern, this serum has a ton of peptides which target multiple skin concerns. It should be no surprise to you when I say this serum does just about everything reduces sagginess, fine lines, crow’s feet and firms the skin too!

Let’s keep things real here I am in my late 20’s and I don’t have deep set wrinkles or extreme sagging going on. However, within the past couple of years I have undeniably noticed loss of firmness and small wrinkles around my eyes and forehead. I have to say I have been completely smitten Snoxin! The texture of Snoxin is a gel, which makes it perfect for any skin type. However unlike other gel products I’ve tried Snoxin is instantly refreshing. It’s truthfully a pleasure to use and a step I don’t dare to miss.

I have been giving this a good test and the best ways to describe the results are it’s a push up bra for your face. This is the part in a post where I get so excited it’s hard to get my point across. Snoxin makes my skin so firm it’s literally a push up bra for the face. The texture, the results, the instant refreshing sensation, I even have my mom hooked I absolutely love it!  I’ve never tired a $500 dollar serum but it looks like I am never going to have to.

Dealing with Eczema

I wanted to do a post about this for so long but because I am not a “professional” I was honestly scarred to. I think the bottom line when talking about skincare is what works for me might not be perfect for you. However while my skin will always eczema prone I am really happy with the condition of my skin right now. So I thought I would share with you my story, some tips and tricks for eczema prone skin.

While in high school I had that typical teenage oily skin. I consider myself lucky because although I had spots it’s nothing that a good cleanser couldn’t clear. Somewhere between high school and college I started to get a dry forehead. Just thinking it was normal “winter skin” I went to the store and bought a crap moisturizer. This moisturizer was meant for oily skin and contained salicylic acid. I think at the time I couldn’t fathom using a product for dry skin all over my face, which was moistly oily. This whole experience was a disaster because the cream burnt the heck out of my forehead and eventually turned it into a dry peeling mess. Still thinking it was just some dry skin I tried creams from Chanel to La Roche Posey and nothing worked. Eventually my “dry skin” spread from a patch to almost my entire forehead, which left me with no option but to see the doctor, which lead me to use of a topical steroid.

Topical steroids can be tricky.  In my experience, in a couple of days my dry patches did almost disappear and I thought my battle was done. The next thing I knew the “dry skin” was back but this time it was worse. The tricky thing about topical steroids is with prolonged usage can actually make matters worse. My skin was so scaly I hated leaving the house and to make matters worse my left eye brow started to fall out because of the constant itching.

Two years went by and on random trip to the drugstore everything changed. A sales lady approached me and said “you need to try this right now” and handed me a sample bottle of Avene’s Cold Cream.  Honestly my skin instantly felt soothed and cooled a feeling that was completely new to me. She explained that her daughter has suffered with eczema and she recognized it when she saw it! This lady is truly my skincare fairy god mother, I didn’t know I had eczema at the time nor did I know about Avene. From that point on my obsession with skincare started. I spent every night reading up on eczema, product ingredients and life style choices that would change my skin forever.

These are tips that I have discovered through research or personal experience. They have helped me and hopefully they can help you too:

• There is no cure for eczema so be prepaid constant care is a lifelong commitment.
• Don’t be afraid to use treatments for affected area only.  Meaning I totally get some eczema products are too rich for your entire face so just use them where you need them.
• I know a lot of products are safe for sensitive skin but I baby my forehead. So for most masks or any harsh chemical peels I avoid using on my forehead all together.
• Drink lots of water
• Avoid alcohol. If you want to drink just be prepared your eczema will need the extra TLC the following day.
• Go makeup free if you can. Personally I find foundations and powders to be very drying so usually I avoid applying makeup to my forehead.
• Do what feels good to your skin! I ran into quite a few products that were made for sensitive skin yet they burnt when I put them on my skin. If this happens to you I highly suggest stop using them and if you can return them.
• Always keep your favorite eczema cream with you. For me I always keep Cold Cream with me especially in the dryer winter months. I think to get your skin under control you need that constant care.
• I think the most important tip is just being patient. Your skin will not get better overnight, so just keep up with the routine and what feels good and I assure you thinks will get better. 

If you are a fellow eczema sufferer I feel your pain, but just know things will get better. I know not everyone with find this post beneficial. With that being said even if one person finds this helpful then my work is done.

Hard Candy Mod Quad in Brownie Points

Hard Candy’s blushes kick some serious butt and although I love there blush's I have not tried too much of the brand. Why? I don’t really know. Let’s call it a makeup mystery.

The first thing I wanted to try on the long list of products was the baked shadow set.

Brownie Points seemed like an easy to wear bronzy quad and let’s down play it just looks stunning.

Where do we start with this one? 

Well the packaging is nice, durable and compact. I could imagine this quad would be easy to travel with. 

The shadows...

My perfect eye shadow is, non-fussy, buttery, pigmented and easy to blend. It’s the kind of shadow that you can throw on your eye and with a little blending it looks seamless. This pallet did not bring that ease of application to me. I can honestly say that all four colours were hard to pick up on a brush, lacked pigment and were hard to blend. Hard Candy explains you can use these wet and from swatches online they look better wet. However this whole wetting the brush routine seems like an impractical added step considering there are better shadows without the extra effort out there.

(swatches using product dry) 

If you were looking for highly pigmented beautiful shadows at a similar price point I would highly recommend the Wet n Wild. Unfortunately the Hard Candy Quad in Brownie Points as beautiful as it is does not have my stamp of approval. 

Have you tried this quad, what do you think?

The Fall Tag

Fall time is my time. I’m telling you there is no other season that makes me more happy, first we have thanksgiving, shortly followed by my birthday, throw in some pretty leave changing scenery and then its Halloween time. So after cursing the internet I noticed the Autumn/Fall tag and I thought to myself although I wasn’t properly tagged I would just do it anyway. So here we go!

Favourite Fall Lip Product. 

Chanel Character is really beautiful but I would say my favourite is the Guerlain Shine Automatique in Rose Pompon. I know this is kind of cheating because it’s a favourite all year but I love the plumy tones especially in the fall. Another new favourite is the Fresh lip balm in Berry, which is a great berry tinted lip balm and it’s so pretty for fall time. 

Favourite Fall Nail Polish

Another hard question, I would have to give this to Deborah Lippmann's Bitches Brew. Bitches Brew is a blacked metallic red, very pretty and extremely flattering.Favourite Starbucks Fall Drink? Skinny Chai Tea Latte, extra hot and no foam! That is my fall order I’m sorry Pumpkin Spice, I like Chai tea better. 

Favourite Fall Candle

I am about to do the annoying thing and pick the typical candle … Bath and Body Works Leaves. Leaves is a fresh spicy scent, that has notes of cinnamon, berries and apple. Honestly it’s one of those candles that smell just downright good. I always love Leaves and each yeah I go a little bonkers with back-ups. Two other fall favourites are Marshmallow Fireside and Autumn Day (which use to be called Acorn & Fig).Did they come out with Autumn Day this year? I don’t think they did, Anyway’s on to the next question.

Favourite Fall accessory 

Scarves and boots but if I had to pick one it would be boots. I am not a sandal, flip-flop kind of girl so you can bet as soon as the weather gets colder I wearing my boots.

Haunted house or haunted hay ride?

Hay rides are slow and if I get really scarred there is nowhere to run. Haunted houses on the other hand running is an option! I would say haunted house.

Favourite Halloween movie?

I love Rob Zombie movies so The Devils Rejects has my pick.

Favorite candy to eat on Halloween?

Twix are amazing. At Halloween time they are the perfect bite sized treats and go incredibly well with a coffee.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!

I am not dressing up… I love Halloween but this year I am not doing anything expect watching scary movies and eating a ton of junk food.

What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

Where do I start? Birthday cake, leaves turning, warm soup, vampy lips, golden eye shadow, red nail polish, apple pie, pumpkin pie, turkey, stuffing, scarves, boots, sweater weather, red wine, scary books… I love it all.

September Favorites

I have so many favorites to share with you this month. Some are seasonal favorites and some are just good-all-rounder products. So let’s just dive in, shall we?

MAC Soba

For the longest while I never knew how to wear Soba. Its unique mustardy brown hue is completely different then anything I've ever owned. For some reason this month I paired this with a golden eye shadow and it’s like the clouds opened to heaven! Soba has similar coloring to gold yet its non-shimmery (almost) so it’s the perfect way to tone down a metallic gold. This paired with a NARS’s Exotic Dance… match made in eye shadow heaven!

Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Berry

Earlier on a Sephora trip I had the full intent to buy my beloved YSL Sheer Candy in Mouth Watering Berry. My fancy lipstick trip was soon halted because I thought to myself “what if I could find a cheaper alternative?” So after some serious lipstick swatch-ing my findings lead me to the Sugar Berry lip balm. The textures between the two are slightly different but the colour is more or less the same.  I have to say I really do love the Berry shade and Fresh lip balms are great in general. For almost half the price as the YSL version this is a deal without sacrificing on quality.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Room Spray  

I love Pomegranate Noir it’s dark, spicy, sweet. Basically it’s the kind of perfume where people go out of there way to ask what you’re wearing. Then I found out that they do this in a room spray and I’m not sure what came over me but I was like “yes, I need this” and bought it. The room spray smells exactly like the perfume and with a just couple of squirts my whole house smells like Pomegranate Noir. It’s pretty much heaven in a bottle! This room spray is absolutely an indulgence but I think it’s something I am going to have for a while.  

Dove Purely Pampering Pistachio Cream with Magnolia

I never really talk about but I love Dove. In my humble opinion they do affordable, easy to get beauty really well. Plus there marketing campaigns are incredibly inspiring. Which I have to say I am truly a sucker for!

So when I saw that this Pistachio body wash was a dupe for the famous Laura Mercier I was all over it. Well it turns out they don’t smell alike at all so I was actually kind of confused at first. Although the two scents are not identical Dove's just as beautiful . The combination of pistachio and magnolia is yummy sweet, but still very grown up. As for the body wash itself this is moisturizing, creamy and builds a nice lather. This creamy body wash holds its own, smells great and makes your skin very smooth. Honestly it’s one of the best body wash's I’ve ever tried drugstore or high end.

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

Why do I like this? 8 Hour Cream has a greasy texture and a somewhat smelly formula, it just doesn’t make sense? The thing about 8 Hour Cream is it’s the ultimate multipurpose product. You can use it on cuts, bug bites, dry lips, dehydrated skin, burns, cuticles, slit ends and just about 1000 other things. I have been using this all month because you can literally use it on everything!

 Dearest 8 Hour Cream I am completely hooked.

Empties #4

You know when you can’t seem to finish anything? I feel as if though this is the opposite. Just as the summer seems to suddenly end so did my products.  So without further ado here are my empties.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy

This is one of my all-time favorite lip sticks. If you’re not into nude lipstick this might be something that will tickle your fancy. I have talked about this pinky nude lipstick 100 times so I won’t go on.

Am I looking forward to spending $39 on a tube of this …no.

But will I? Yes, I love this lipstick!

 Philosophy 3-1 in Senorita Margarita

 This is a summer staple for me and each June I look forward to cracking into a new bottle. It’s light, citrusy and very moisturizing. While $21.00 seems pricy for a bottle of shower gel be assured this massive bottle is built to last. Usually I can get 3-4 months out of a single bottle, so is it cheaper than the drug store stuff? I don’t know but it’s not that expensive when you think about how much you get.

See you next summer Senorita Margarita.

Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel

I always have a back-up of these because I love this stuff! I have written about this here and here so I will keep this simple … 1.It’s the best cleanser I’ve ever tried 2. It’s only $16.00 3. It’s gentle and leaves your skin baby soft. You need some of this in your life.

Klorane Shampoo with Oat Milk 

“Another month another Klorane product” Should be my new moto on a side note.

Oatmilk Shampoo is prefect for those who wash their everyday, which I am completely guilty of. This ultra-mild shampoo nourishes, adds shine and detangles but without being too heavy. It also happens to smell amazing and builds a good lather, which are winning qualities for me. Would I repurchase … yes absolutely this has to be one of my all-time favorite shampoos.

Klorane Leave in Spray with Magnolia

I can spend hours perfecting my makeup but when it comes to my hair I am guilty of being a slacker. My hair care philosophy has always been using simple products that leave my hair healthy looking. I would have to say the Leave-in Spray is one of these products. Couple of quick squirts into damp hair and it’s instantly easier to brush. Once my hair dries this leaves my hair shiny and super soft but not greasy in the slightest. I love this stuff but before I repurchase I plan finishing up the Klorane Leave in Cream with Date.

The Body Shop’s Shea Body Butter

I have been using the Body Shop’s Body Butters on and off for the past 10 years. My first love was for the coconut but now I find I am more of a shea girl. Shea smells soft but still creamy slightly nutty and very warm. This huge tub took me months and months to finish to it’s quite the accomplishment. I have the new Aragen body butter to use next but I can see myself coming back to the Shea scent.

Clarins Gentle Refiner

I am sad to see this leave my routine to be honest. This very gentle creamy exfoliator is hydrating yet still gives you that really deep scrub. I really liked this for a good deep clean especially in the summer when my skin can be a touch oily. I will repurchase this but I just have other products to work through before I do. 

Bioderma

I have two of these I finished. I love Bioderma, I’m sure we all know this by now and I’m sure some of you guys love it too. I think everyone should try Bioderma at least once in their life! it feels like water yet removes makeup like a dream. The small bottles are great for travel but also great if you wanted to try the magical water. Why don’t they sell the small bottles all year? I repurchased a backup of this in the dry skin formula, more on that coming soon.

Ever find you suddenly finish almost everything all at once?

 Have you tried any of these products? Leave me a comment.

Empties 1 here 

Empties 2 here 

empties 3 here