Day 4: Whats just as important as the make-up you're wearing?

The answer to this question in my opinion, is the way you take the make-up off and what you do to preserve your skin. Make-up can be an active agent in accelerated aging of the skin if you do not take care of yourself in the right way. Make-up can clog up your pores, which is certainly not good for your skin (especially if you have ever had a problem with acne). That is why it is CRUCIAL that you take important measures in the removal of your make-up. Now, don't freak out on me- the occasional night of forgetting to take off your make-up at night is not going to make you wake up looking like Betty White- however, like anything in the world, too much is never good.

I will be the first to admit that I have fallen into the terrible habit of sleeping with my make-up on and I am trying to shake that out in hopes of holding on to my youth for as long as I can! So lately, I have been taking extra precaution in the process of my make-up removal and taking care of this beautiful canvas I call my face.

Being that I am constantly buying make-up, I am always getting these sample products. Almost always, these sample products are related to make-up removal and skin repairing. This week, I have decided to use some of these products to see how well they work. I am going to go through what I have gotten and let you know what I think!

The first batch of products I got yesterday after purchasing the two products from Ulta! I had signed up for a rewards card because I absolutely love that store and the cashier was asking me when my birthday was- because apparently Ulta gives you a little gift on your birthday- and when I told her my birthday was in 5 days (yes, I will be turning the big 22 on the 6th of June!), she was fearful that I may not get a gift because of signing up so close to my birthday and she gave me a collection of samples of Exuviance products. What a sweetheart, right?

Anyway- the first picture is a picture of skin toning cream- which is suppose to even out your skin tone if your colors are uneven- and a picture of a sample size of refining lotion with a whole bunch of exfoliates that are so good for the skin. Now, I have not used the skin toner, yet but I have used the night time version of the refining lotion (btw: the one in the picture is for daytime use!) and it felt awesome! I really felt like my skin was cleansed and moist. I will definitely be investing in this lotion in the near future.

The second picture is the way you apply the eye pads in the third picture (the pictures came out mixed up on this blog- no clue what is going on..). Now, I am always apprehensive about facial type products because when I was younger, my cousin used a facial product and got a serious infection. I have always found that off putting. But, I went for it! The way this product works is you are suppose to put those pads under or around your eye for 30 minutes and it is suppose to eliminate fine lines and dark circles. I kid you not, I had dark circles under my eyes and when I took off the pads, they were nearly gone! Not to mention, the bags under my eyes had disappeared as well and my skin felt so good. I love all of the Exuviance products so far and definitely recommend them!

These next batch of products I got a while back when I went to MAC- they had a deal where they were giving out some samples by Estee Lauder and Clarine Paris. I have used them all and really like all of them but one.

I decided to begin the batch with the picture of the product I didn't like to much! If you look at the third picture of the bunch you will see the products in the first two pictures, side by side. They are both suppose to be toners/concealers that are good for the skin and help repair your skin while also serving as make-up. Who doesn't love killing two birds with one stone, right? I love the product on the right (red tube), by Clarine Paris. It comes out so smooth and actually comes close to matching my skin tone (to demonstrate how smooth and closely matched it is I added the picture of it on my skin).

*side note: a rule of thumb for concealers and foundations that I learned from a MAC make-up artist is to go a shade lighter than your skin tone in the winter (because your skin is more pale) and to go a shade darker in the summer time (because your skin is more sun-kissed/tan).

The product on the left (white tub) does not match my skin at all, which is sad because that was the best color they had. It also comes out very clumpy and pastey. It really looks and feels grimey on the skin so I wouldn't advice using it. Personally, I am going to toss it right after I finish this blog, lol.

The final batch of products are all Estee Lauder, I believe and they are all eye, wrinkle, skin repair products. I like them because I feel like they work. I have been using them all this week and really feel like there is a change with how my skin looks and feels. I would highly recommend all of these products because not only do they do their job, they also protect the skin by having healthy ingredients and SPF for sun protection!

Let me know what you all think of these products!

xoxo

Kelli!