Chick Advisor: Vichy Hydration (Dry Skin) Routine.

First peek!

My box included the following products:

• A 150mL (FULL SIZE) Vichy Pureté Thermale Cleansing Foam Radiance Revealer - $19.95
• A 150mL (FULL SIZE) Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water - $13.00
• A 50mL (FULL SIZE) Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream - $ 39.95

TOTAL VALUE: $72.90!

Very generous of Vichy! They all seem to suit my skin type. I have tried the Eau Thermal Water and it is so refreshing! The cream seems to be rich and gel-like, which I like in a night cream. When it comes to face cleansers, I prefer foaming cleansers, so I am excited to try this one out!

I am super excited to use all of these! Thanks Vichy!

I received 3 full size products from Vichy last year as well, you can see that here.

Body & Hair Empties Jan-June

Lots of empties!

Hair

1. L'Oreal Color Radiance Shampoo:

I received this from Influenster, you can read about that here. I quite enjoyed this shampoo, it lathered well, smelled great and seemed to last quite a while. It did a fine job of protecting my colour, but there are other shampoos that work just as well or better. I'm still working through the conditioner & the color treatment.

2. Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner:

I received these from BzzzAgent, you can read more about that here. These claim to be more natural. I liked the shampoo okay, the scent doesn't thrill me, but the shampoo worked okay. The conditioner didn't do much for my long, tangled hair.

3. Batiste Dry Shampoo:

I use up about one of these a month and enjoy them so much! Before these, I washed my hair every day, now I can wash it every second or third day without feeling dirty or greasy. They are lifesavers!

4. Body Shop Banana Shampoo:

I LOVE this shampoo! It smells so good and does a wonderful job of cleaning my hair, without leaving any build-up. I can't wait to use this again!

5. Chi Helmet Head Extra Firm Hair Spray:

This is my new favourite hair spray. I don't mind the scent of it, and it leaves my hair in place, but not crunchy. It adds volume and holds all day. I have already purchased a larger size!

6. RUSK Heatshift Re-styling Cream:

I enjoyed using this. I smelled so good and help keep the frizz away and hold my hairstyle in place.

7. OBLIPHICA Professionals Seaberry Hair Serum:

This is so nice! It smells heavenly (vanilla) and reduced the frizz in my hair. I would buy a larger size, if I ever see it.

8. Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng & Biotin Volumizer:

This smells like citrus and definitely added volume to my hair. For me, it's not a necessary step in my hair routine, but it was nice to have.

9. AVEDA Volumizing Tonic:

Again, this added volume to my hair. A nice step, but not necessary for me. It smelled more herbal, which I didn't mind.

10. NEXXUS Rejuvenating Elixir:

This was okay, I honestly didn't notice a difference in my hair while using this. I didn't like the dropper style packaging. Nothing special for me.

Body Products

1. Dove Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Nourishing Body Wash:
This is an all time favourite of mine. It moisturizes my skin and smells so so so good! Will be buying more when I run out of other body products!

2. Dial Coconut Water Hydrating Body Wash: 
This has a nice, fresh, tropical scent. It is supposed to be moisturizing, but I actually found it quite drying. Not a fan.

3. Body Shop Mini Shower Gels in Mango, Satsuma & Glazed Apple (x2):
I like these minis for travel. I really like the glazed apple & mango scents. the satsuma is okay, but a bit strong for my liking. They are not really anything special, but convenient for travel.

4. Prevailing Organic Essentials Apple Bath & Shower Gel:
I didn't like this. The scent was nice, but it was really thick and hard to get out of the packaging. I wouldn't invest in a larger size.

5. Body Shop Body Butters in Glazed Apple & Vineyard Peach:

These are my favourite creams. They are so rich and moisturizing. I like to apply them at night, as it does take some time for my skin to absorb them. The peach scent wasn't my favourite.

6. St. Ives Fresh Hydration Continuous Spray Lotion in Coconut Milk & Orchid Extract:

This was a mess. It had a nice sweet coconut scent, but the nozzle on it sprayed everywhere. It is a light moisturizer and didn't do a whole lot for my skin.

7.Soap & Glory Hand Food Hydrating Hand Cream:

I really like this product! It is so moisturizing and helped heal my poor dry hands. I would purchase this again, but it is s expensive in Canada compares to USA. :(

8. Juara Candlenut Body Creme:

The scent of this was a bit too perfume-like for me. It was also a very small size sample of a body cream, so it was hard to really get a feel for if I liked it or not.

9.Gilette Venus with Olay Vanilla Cashmere Shave Gel:

To me, shaving gel is shaving gel. I buy whatever is on sale, usually. This worked well, smelled nice and left my skin feeling soft.

10. Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Bubbling Bath : 

I have just recently begun enjoying baths. This foamed up really well and smelled nice. Very relaxing! I already have another!

11.Gilette Satin Care with Olay Sensitive Shave Gel:

Again, nice!

12. Secret Clinical Clear Gel Antiperspirant/Deodorant:

This left me feeling a bit wet under my arms, it didn't absorb quickly and had a bit of a strong scent for my liking. I won't be buying the full size.

13. St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub:

This was very abrasive and didn't smell as fruity as I had anticipated. It was so-so for me.

14: B. Kamins Bio Maple, Maple Sugar Body Scrub:

This was a very course, harsh scrub. It was a very small sample size for a body scrub, so again hard to judge if I truly liked it or not.

June TopBox 2016

June has been super busy for me, so here, finally is my June Topbox!

• A 5mL sample of O.R.G. Skincare Mineral Peel with Face Brightening Agents - $6.95
• A FULL SIZE Barefoot Venue Lip Bliss in Maple Blondie - $7.50
• A Pur-Lisse Blue Locus & White Tea Treatment Sheet Mask - $8.00
• A FULL SIZE China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Pinking our the Window - $10.00

TOTAL VALUE: $32.45

This box was iffy for me. I am disappointed to receive ANOTHER nail polish, but this is a band that I actually like and a colour that I will probably wear (though I haven't yet...) I like the brand Barefoot Venus and am excited to try out this lip balm! The face mask and peel will be good to try, although I am disappointed in the lack of variety within this box. Overall, not bad, but not great.

May 2016 Topbox

Here is my May TopBox!

This box included:

• A 100g sample of Novex Brazilian Keratin Deep Conditioning Hair Mask - $2.17
• A 30ml sample of The FaceShop Collagen Pomegranate Pack - $4.05
• A FULL SIZE (10ml) Pur-Lisse BB Tinted Moist Cream with SPF 30 - $12.55
• A FULL SIZE Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer in  Hot Hot Tamale - $15.83

TOTAL VALUE: $34.60

I was very underwhelmed by this month's box. The hair mask is what I am most excited about. I will also use the mask and possibly the BB cream. I am kind of surprised that the BB cream is supposed to be full size, but is only 10ml....odd. I am the most disappointed with the nail polish. I received this a few months ago in another shade and have still not used it....

Not the best month for me!

RachhLoves Topbox

When YouTuber RachhLoves collaborated with TopBox to create this, I had to have it! I had a $5 off code, so this only cost me $14.00 and it claims to have a $68+ value!!

This box included:

• A FULL SIZE NYX Butter Gloss, I chose the shade Sugar Cookie 
• A 2.5ml sample of Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance Mascara 
• A 15g sample of GlamGlow FlashMud
• A 7ml sample of Delictable Everything Balm 
• 2 5ml minis of Essie's Summer Collection, I chose the shades Loot the Booty & Viva Antigua 

I love the Nyx Butter Glosses and was happy to get another! I have tried many of the GlamGlow masks and have loved them all, I have not tried this one yet though and am very excited! The nail polish colours are beautiful and the mini sizes are perfect! - I never go through full size nail polishes! The Everything Balm smells so good ad is very moisturizing - I know it will come in handy! The mascara is a good size, so it will be nice to try too. Overall, I think this is a great value and I will actually use all of these products! I am so happy to have gotten this!

Sephora 500 point perk: Nars

I had been collecting points for a while and have been waiting for a 500 point perk to spend them on. When I saw this NARS perk, I had to get it!

This perk included:

• A 4ml Lip Gloss in Chelsea Girls - $21.33
• A 2.8g Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base - $11.42
• A 3ml Audacious Mascara in Black Moon - $12.75
• A 3.5g Blush in Orgasm- $28.50

TOTAL VALUE: $74.00!!!

This is a great value, that I couldn't pass up! I haven't tried many products from Nars, but I have liked what I have tried. These are all new products for me and I am o excited to start using with them! I have heard such great things about the blush and eyeshadow base, in particular.  I also love the colour of this lip gloss! Great value!

April 2016 TopBox

It's TopBox time again!

Here's what was inside this month:

• A FULL SIZE OFRA Lipliner in Wine - $17.25
• A 7mL sample of Pure-Lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Eye Adore Serum - $30.33
• A FULL SIZE Ciaté Nail Lacquer in roller coaster - $15.00
• A FULL SIZE POP Beauty Pure Pigment in Matte Bark - $11.42
• A FULL SIZE Schick Hydro Silk Razor - $9.97
• A $5.00 Coupon for Razor Refills - $5.00 Value

TOTAL VALUE: $88.97

This month, I received a Schick Razor as a bonus item. It's always nice to get a bonus item - Thanks TopBox! I now that the value of this box is really good and that I have a lot of full size items, so I'm happy with that. I think that TopBox is really trying to up their game - although it did fall short for me this month. I really don't use loose pigments, the lipliner is quite dark - I probably will get some wear out of it, but little- and the nail polish isn't really my thing. I prefer non glitter polishes. I am most excited about the eye serum, and, well, I guess the razor? Boring, I know. All in all, I appreciate the effort, just not quite to my taste - maybe I should update my profile? Is there a profile for TopBox?

Glam Sense : Lise Watier HydraForce

When I saw that I was being sent a Lise Watier product to try, I was very excited! I haven't tried much from this line, but what I have tried, I have loved. I was sent a 45ml jar of the HydraForce Hydra-Protective Comforting Cream ($45 value) and a skin hydration measuring tool, which plugs into my phone and works with an app developed by Lise Watier Cosmetics. This cream claims to be a weatherproof moisturizer that keeps skin 3x more hydrated and the app in conjunction with the hydration tool are supposed to help proof just how hydrating this cream actually is.

I think that the hydration tool and the app are a great idea! It is a new, fresh take on product testing that I was not expecting. It was also really easy to use and fun. On the more scientific side of things, I found the tool to be quite inconsistent, though the hydration levels were always higher when they were on skin that had just been moisturized. Often I would place it on the same patch of skin and would get very different readings - maybe it was my error. Overall, my skin's hydration usually doubled after applying this cream (usually it would go from 30-35% before to 60-70% after) , which is pretty impressive!

When it comes to the cream, I like that it is in a glass jar - creams just feel more fancy when their jars are glass instead of plastic! The scent is a bit strong for my liking, but not too off-putting and it doesn't linger long. It has a light consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It leaves my skin feeling more supple and hydrated. I have only tried this at night so far, so I can't speak to how make-up applies over it. 

Overall? I really liked it! Do I think that it is the best cream that I have ever used? No. But it was fun to test out and I definitely enjoy it and will use every last drop!

To promote this product, there is a HYDRAFORCE SQUAD event being held on April 16th at the MicMac Mall, in Dartmouth, NS, from 12-5pm. You can test out your skin's hydration level and leave with a free sample! #getinthebubble

Glam Sense: Dove Campaign

For this campaign, I was sent 5 full size products to review - yes 5! Wow! I have tried and really liked Dove products - If you have been reading my blog you know my love for the Dove Nourishing Body Wash in Pistachio with Magnolia - IT JUST SMELLS SO GOOD!

Anyways! As soon as I opened this box, I was hit with a very intense baby powder scent. I'm not really into that, but it didn't stop me from trying the products. After smelling each individual product, I', not sure where the strong scent came from - maybe just all of them condensed inside a small box? I was sent: the Daily Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner, the Deep Moisture Body Wash, the White Beauty Bar and the Go Sleeveless Antiperspirant. After trying these out, here are my thoughts!

(I priced these items on Walmart.ca)

Daily Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner ($4.96 each):
Of all the products that I was sent, I like the scent of these the most! The shampoo lathers well and the conditioner left my hair feeling moisturized. It was easy to run my tangle teaser through my hair after using these products - I have very fine tangled hair usually. I really enjoy these!

Deep Moisture Body Wash ($4.97):
I love this product - not as much as the Pistachio Magnolia - but still! It leaves my skin feeling smooth and hydrated. It lathers very well and has a light, fresh scent.  Very gentle on my dry, sensitive skin.

White Beauty Bar ($3.27 for 2 bars):
This is my go to bar of soap. I have very sensitive skin and this has always been good to me and has never caused me to break out. It is very gentle and lathers well. It leaves my skin feeling moisturized and soft. This is also great for cleaning make-up brushes!

Go Sleeveless Antiperspirant ($2.97):
This too smells great! It's a very mild, warm scent. It goes in smoothly and leaves me feeling fresh all day. It doesn't seem to ball up under my arms, like other brands.

March 2016 TopBox

This month's box included:

• A 4g sample of Givenchy Phenomen' Eyes Mascara - $20.00
• A set of MaskerAide All Eyes on Me Hydrating Eye Gel Patches - $6.25
• A FULL SIZE N.S. Fisherman Extreme Lip Care Fisher-Mint Lip Balm - $4.95
• A 3mL sample of Benefit Porefessional - $5.05

TOTAL VALUE: $36.25

This month's box is a good variety of products, but nothing that really wows me. The Givenchy mascara will be great to try! The packaging seems very luxurious, so I am most excited about it. I will use the eye patches, but they're not something that I would normally buy or get excited about. Also, they are a one shot deal. The lip balm is kind of boring. Honestly, I'm getting sick of receiving products from this brand. I really like the porefessional, but have gotten this sample in several previous boxes sooooooo yeah. All in all,not bad, but nothing spectacular either. You can get a FREE sample lip balm with your order from from novascotiafisherman.com with the code TOPBOXFREELB.