Once Upon A Shopping Spree - Black Friday Haul

After a filling and delicious Thanksgiving meal, a friend and I ventured to the Wrentham Outlets' Midnight Madness Black Friday Sale as well as the Natick Collection and picked up some goodies. It's been a tradition since we got our licenses around 6-ish years ago. I picked up a few gifts, as well as a few things for myself:

Ted Baker, got it for about half price!

Brownie Pan! Not that I need to be baking after all that I ate over the weekend.

Cane & Austin Acne Treatment pads

One of my absolute FAVORITE skincare products. It's expensive, at $60 at SpaceNK, but completely worth it. It clears up acne, prevents new breakouts, evens out skin tone, and reduces signs of aging. This is my third or fourth pack of these, and I'll be buying them forever.

My grandmother loves Lancome's skin care line, and this was the free gift that came with purchase that she let me keep!

Lancome Genifique Serum

Genifique Eye Cream

Bi- Facil eye make up remover

Hypnose Doll Mascara

Eyeshadow top row: "Designer" (metallic) It's a sage color, but I'm not sure if it'll show as accurately in the picture & "Latte" (matte). Bottom: "It List" (matte) & "Volcano"(shimmer)

Kate Spade, half price!

Kate Spade Bow Earrings

Kate Spade Bow Bangles. I realize I went a bit bow-crazy, but they were just so cute!

Cole Haan Loafers- I've been wanting leopard flats for the longest time, and finally found one for a reasonable price! ($77 from $188)

Did you find any good black friday deals? Also, if you've got any suggestions/comments/recommendations about lancome, please leave a comment below! I've never tried anything of theirs!

BareMinerals and Breakouts?

About a month ago I gave into the fuss about BareMinerals and purchased the starter kit. The blog post is here. I've used one mineral foundation product before (from some kiosk at the mall) and it was fantastic. Gave my skin  a dewy glow and covered up any imperfections perfectly. When I walked into the store, the nice ladies offered to do my make up, so I could see how good the make up really is- and I loved it! My skin looked flawless- almost as if I wasn't wearing any make up at all. It was fantastic. I purchased the BareMinerals Ready SPF 20 foundation in Medium Beige, and have been wearing it every day since. (I apologize for the lack of quality in these photos! They're not edited or anything, just me and BareMinerals Ready Foundation).

Recently, in the last few weeks I've noticed I've been breaking out a lot more- with cystic acne. This doesn't usually happen! I'll get a few break outs around that time of the month, but never so much otherwise. I thought maybe my skin was just acting up, but it hasn't stopped. (I should say that I have not had any issues in the past with makeup allergies.) I wore the BareMinerals out for my birthday on Oct 22, and my skin looked great when I walked out the door. The next morning I woke up with two huge breakouts on my forehead! That are still not cleared up by the way. I started doing some research on the product, and I found that many people were complaining that bismuth oxychloride is the ingredient to blame.

It's presence in the foundation gives it the dewy glow because it adheres so well to the skin. It's present in small amounts in many cosmetics so one may not have noticed any problems, but the amount of it in mineral make up is much greater. It can cause acne, cystic acne, itching, redness, and swelling of the skin- especially if you have acne prone or sensitive skin. Looking at the ingredients of my BareMinerals make up, the Ready foundation has bismuth oxychloride, as well as the Warmth bronzer (and BareMinerals Original)- which may be the culprit to my breaking out on my forehead, nose, and chin (some of the places where you would put bronzer). I did notice though, that the Mineral Veil and BareMinerals Matte foundation does not have the compound, so I may give that a try, and compare the effects on my skin with both. The lack of bismuth oxychloride contributes to the Matte finish of the foundation, since the compound is what gives the makeup it's glow.

I'm not positive if this is the culprit, but from my research, it really could be. It is a pity though, I do love the finish of the mineral make up, but it's not worth the well being of my skin. Here are the links to the website, the ingredients are listed right above the reviews:

BareMinerals Ready Foundation
BareMinerals Warmth
BareMinerals Matte

Have you had any negative experiences with mineral make up? Please let me know!

What's In My Skincare Bag - To Go

For the last six days or so I've been at my boyfriend's place to get away from the storm, and I thought it would be a nice opportunity for a what's-in-my-bag post with a little bit about each product. Of course I didn't bring everything, just a few of the "essentials".

What's in my skincare bag

Drugstore

• No. 7 Quick Thinking Wipes - These trusty wipes are fragrance free and effectively removes all my make up- even eye make up! 30 wipes/package. These are available at Boots, Ulta, and I think Target

• TRESemme Split Remedy Shampoo & Conditioner - These samples were sent to me a few weeks ago to try, I've only used it twice so I can't really comment, but so far it's just a regular shampoo/conditioner. It does the job. 

• Simple Revitalizing Eye Roller - vitamins and nutrients for your under eye area. I haven't seen a difference using this product, but the application feels great.

• Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Hand and Body Lotion - an old favorite. I've been using this since i was about 15. Moisturizing, and smells great, and super cheap too! 2 fl oz/ $1.50

• Neutrogena Oil Free Grapefruit Acne Wash - 2% salicylic acid to clear breakouts.

• Q tips.

Lush

• Lush Happy Hippy - citrusy, refreshing shower gel. Size is perfect for travel! $10.

The Body Shop

• The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion - A very light, yet moisturizing night cream, suitable for blemished skin. Makes my skin look better over time.

• Tea Tree Oil- Not that exciting, but a great staple! I use it on blemishes. Never drying. $9/The Body Shop. Or any health food store really. 

• The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream - for combination/ oily skin. I have combination skin, and I use this every morning (sometimes at night too), and it's great. Moisturizing enough, but never oily, even when I pile it on. It absorbs readily too. 1.7 oz/$16.50

Sephora/ High(er) end

• Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator - Great exfoliator! Small exfoliants so it isn't abrasive.

• Caudalie Beauty Elixir - A refreshing spray for the face, I use this in the morning and before bed, and anytime throughout the day. A must have! 1 fl oz/$18. 
• I purchased these two in a set that includes both, a hand cream, and a foaming face cleanser. The total for all four products is the same as just the exfoliator! Caudalie Favorites set.

• Bliss High Intensity hand cream - with macadamia oil and grapeseed extract. It's not my favorite hand moisturizer, but it does the job. It smells a tad bit like some of the Caudalie products- probably because of the grape component of the ingredients. 1 fl oz/$8 at Ulta and Sephora.

• Peter Thomas Roth Max Complexion Correction Pads - I use one pad every night after cleansing and right before moisturizing. It has 10% glycolic acid, and 2% salicylic acid to combat breakouts. The box says that it's anti aging and pore minimizing as well. I recently purchased the PTR Gentle Correction Pads, with less salicylic acid in it (0.5%), and didn't see much of a difference, so I'm trying out this one. It's my attempt to find a cheaper alternative for my all time favorite Cane & Austin Acne pads ($60/60 pads). These PTR Max Complexion pads are $36/60 pads, available at Sephora and Ulta.

• Kate Somerville Exfolikate Acne - This has 0.5% salicylic acid and is a gentle exfoliator for the face. Skin feels great after using it. Suggested use 1-2 times per week, since it can be drying. I got this in a kit, but the original sizing is a bit larger. Available at Nordstrom & Sephora.

• Murad Acne Spot Treatment - with 3% sulfur to dry up spots. This is a recent purchase, so I haven't used much of it yet. 

• Bag was a gift with purchase from Clinique a few years ago.

• SAI-SEI Mineral Invigorate Body Scrub - Fantastic body scrub, smells just like a spa. A very refreshing smell- almost like Bath and Body Works' cucumber melon, but much better and a little lighter. The exfoliants are rather fine, so it's not super abrasive. This Japanese skincare line is great. I purchased this in a pack that came with a shower gel and body creme, 2.5-3.3fl oz each, for $35. Great value! Available at SpaceNK.