Makeup Wars | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Jan 22, 2013

Makeup Wars, Beauty Products I Repurchase

January 22, 2013 By Carleenp 15 Comments

Everyone has favorite products that they use over and over. When those people are beauty bloggers, it gets interesting. After all, if beauty bloggers use the same thing repeatedly, it must be good right? That is why I am excited to see what everyone comes up with for this edition of Makeup Wars: The beauty products we use over and over again.

Here is my list of the top six things I repurchase:

(1) L’Oreal EverPure Shampoo and Conditioner: This is an easy to find and generally affordable sulfate free shampoo and conditioner. I use sulfate free to help keep my color looking sharp, because I do Keratin straightening, and because sulfates in shampoo cause acne around my hair line. When I am not testing other sulfate free brands for the blog, this is what I buy over and over again. I use the volume version because I have an oily scalp and it seems to work best with that.

(2) Kate Somerville Exfoilkate: I have lost track of how many tubes of Exfolikate I have used. This is my absolute go to exfoliator. It has a gentle scrub and stronger enzyme ingredient that provides both manual and chemical exfoliation. I use it in the shower every couple of days and leave it on my face while I condition my hair. With regular use, it has kept my skin bright and it has helped with my acne. When I have run out without replacing it right away, I always noticed the effect of not using it. So now I always make sure to order more before it is gone!

(3) PCA Skin Care PHaze 13: I have battled melasma for ages and this is the only over the counter product that ever helped fade it. I do buy this one less now because, when I quit taking birth control pills, my melasma finally faded significantly, but I still use it every couple of days just to keep things at bay.

(4) Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation: This is my go to moisturizer. It includes anti-aging ingredients and skin brighteners. It also has a light feel to it, which works well with my oil skin. I like using it in conjunction with the PCA serum to help lessen hyperpigmentation from melasma.

(5) Peter Thomas Roth Acne Spot Treatment: I have issues with adult acne and this spot treatment works better for me than any other I have tried. So, I buy it over and over again.

(6) Badger Cocoa Butter Lip Balm: I am a lip balm addict, and I test many different kinds, but when I am purchasing, I almost always grab Badger Balms. Their big cocoa butter balms feel great, taste great, and are oversized, so they last a long time. I do have a runner up here as well, Mission Lip Balm, which I repeatedly buy for running. It is a thicker, waxier balm, so it stays on longer and it has SPF 15.

Want to see more? Click through the links below to see what other beauty bloggers regularly repurchase!

Disclosures: Beauty and Fashion Tech at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

Filed Under: Acne Products, Hair Care, Lip Products, Makeup Wars, Melasma Treatment, Skin Care Tagged With: Badger, Kate Somerville, L'Oreal, Lip Products, Makeup Wars, Melasma Treatment, Mission Skin Care, Ole Henriksen, PCA Skin Care, Peter Thomas Roth, Skin Care

Jan 8, 2013

Makeup Wars, Beauty Resolutions

January 8, 2013 By Carleenp 10 Comments

What do beauty bloggers do for new year resolutions? Find out in this edition of Makeup Wars!

I usually am pretty good with resolutions, at least for a few weeks, lol! Let’s see if I can stick with these this year.

(1) Take Better Care of My Nails

I love nail polish, and when my nails look like the photo below, I am happy. But more often than not, I have broken and damaged nails. Typing all the time doesn’t help them either. So, I need to do more to work on applying nail strengthening products and generally keeping my nails looking nicer. I am still deciding on what products to use (I would love suggestions!), but I am kind of eyeing the Strong Nail System, which includes cuticle conditioning as well. I also might wear more glitter polish. the glitter seems to help protect the nail to some extent, and it wears longer for me, although it is a bit of a pain to remove.

(2) Do Regular Glycolic Peels

I have oily acne prone skin, along with some melasma. I always see huge improvements in my skin when I do regular home peels twice each week, yet I have been bad about dong them recently. So, I plan to go back to twice per week treatments with either Kate Somerville Resurfacing Pads or the Brazilian Peel, which are my two products of choice that I have seen good results with. When I use either of those regularly, I usually get compliments that my skin is looking good. I also am going to return to doing twice weekly or sulfur masks with DDF, which also tends to keep my acne at bay. You can read my review of that here: DDF mask review.

(3) Try New Makeup Shades

You would think this would be easy for a beauty blogger who is always testing products, but I tend to get in a rut of wearing the same neutral shades over and over. I recently experimented with more colorful eye shadow shades and liked it as long as I avoid too much shimmer or glitter (that makes my wrinkles show up too much). I plan to do more experimenting and also try darker or brighter lip shades than I normally wear. I might try the Kat Von D Star Kissed Lipstick Set below for a variety of shades to try. I might also dig out some of my bright MAC lipstick shades.

(4) Finish My Home Laser Hair Removal

Way back, I tested the Tria Laser on my lower legs and saw good results after about 9 months or so, even with somewhat inconsistent use. But I didn’t use it anywhere else because I wanted to have hair for testing other products. Now I wish I had done the full legs, or at least my bikini area and underarms. So, I am going to go back now and do those areas! I already own the Tria and love it, but if starting over, I would consider the Silk’n Flash and Go since it is cheaper and can be used on the face. For a comparison of the two products, see here: Tria v. Flash and Go.

(5) Run 5 Days Per Week and Improve My Overall Condition.

I already run marathons and half marathons on 4 days per week of training, but I want to run a 4:20:00 (or maybe even 4:15:00) marathon this summer at the Missoula Marathon, and I need to increase my mileage in order to do so. So, I am going to add another day of running and also add an extra strength training session. Hopefully that will do the trick! Plus, as I get older, the pounds tend to stay put, so I could use that extra conditioning in general. Related to this is that I want to get my neglected running blog, Run Gadget back up and going again!

Want to see more beauty blogger’s new year resolutions? Click on through the links below!

Filed Under: Acne Products, Diet and Fitness, Lip Products, Makeup, Makeup Wars, Nail Care, Nail Products, Skin Care Tagged With: acne, Brazilian Peel, DDF, Fitness, Kat Von D, Kate Somerville, Lip Products, Makeup Wars, Nails, Skin Care

Dec 10, 2012

Makeup Wars: Holiday Wish List

December 10, 2012 By Carleenp 11 Comments

This week Makeup Wars presents their holiday with lists. Here is mine. I focused on some beauty items I have wanted for awhile, but then tossed in a couple of fashion items from Nordstrom that I want as well.

Guerlain Precious Lights Radiance Essentials Kit: I love Guerlian and this set has my favorites from them all packaged together!

Dior Celebration Palette: I always want the Dior holiday palettes, and this year the shades in the Celebration Palette are perfect for me!

YSL Pure Chromatics Palette: I ahve been dying to try these wet/dry shadows from YSL.

Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Coreography: Inspired by Asian looks, this bold lip and eye palette is simply beautiful.

Sephora By OPI Gel Shine at Home System: I have been curious about Sephora's new gel nail system for use at home. This is a great gift set for giving it a go!

Napoleon Perdis Brush Roll Set: I love good brush sets and this one has everything you could need in its own brush roll.

Pandora Bracelet: I have wanted to customize my own Pandora bracelet for some time. A gift card or shopping trip to be able to do that would be awesome!