The Blogger Made Me Buy It- Tag

Hey lovelies! Today's post is going to be a tag that I saw on another blog while browsing around and avoiding my responsibilities, you know, the usual. It seemed pretty fun and the author invited everyone to do it so I thought I'd go for it. No rambles today, let's get into it. I hope you enjoy! 

I included a pretty picture because, well, it's pretty and I wanted to share :) 

       

1-Who are your most influential bloggers? Who are the ones that you really rely on for reviews and swatches?

I love Karen at Makeup & Beauty Blog. Love her! I trust her for reviews, of course, but I also love her sense of humor and it shines through her writing which makes every post so much fun to read. 

I also love Ruth at A Model Recommends. She's absolutely lovely, so glamorous (duh, she's a model) and utterly hilarious. 

On a side note let me share with you my random fact of the day- it just occurred to me that both Karen and Ruth are cat lovers and owners and I'm utterly terrified of cats. I had a bad experience with one when I was little and I've never quite gotten over it. I tell people I'm allergic- I'm not. I'm just really scared of them. I typically can't even look at a picture of a cat without getting all cringey inside yet I don't mind reading or looking at anything that Karen or Ruth post about their cats, I maybe possibly even enjoy it...they're both melting my ice cold cat phobic heart!

2-Do you buy a product solely as a result from one review from your favourite bloggers, or do you look for more reviews from others?

I honestly enjoy looking up reviews. It allows me to do my research and gets me excited about the product, if that makes any sense. So I usually read at least a few reviews before I buy a product. 

Plus, not every review has the product ingredients listed and being allergic to the pesky yellow dye that seems to be in almost EVERYthing, I always need to know the ingredients before I go to buy a product so I can be sure it doesn't have any yellow in it. 

3-What is your most favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

The Beauty Blender sponge! I love it to pieces and I actually thought it was just hype. 

4- What is your least favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

Smashbox BB cream. That was a horrible experience :/ 

5- Name 5 products you have bought recently as a result of blogs.

1.Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush

2. Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray 

3. Makeup For Ever HD Foundation

4. Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation 

5. Nars Creamy Concealer 

6- Have you ever given into blogger hype? If so, which hype?

I gave into the hype about Glamglow and I wish I hadn't waited so long! I've tried and loved both Supermud and Powermud. Thirsty mud is next on my list!

7- Have you ever avoided blogger hype? If so, which hype?

I've managed to avoid all the hype about the Naked palettes. That's right, I don't own a single Naked palette...and I have the nerve to call myself a beauty fanatic. To be honest though, I can't have at least 2 of them because some of the eye shadows contain yellow dye so there's just no point spending money on a palette if I have to avoid some of the shades.

8-Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some items you buy without checking out a review?

Most of the things I buy are based on reviews but once in a while I'll just see something in store (generally at one of my homes away from home aka Sephora and Nordstrom) and buy it. The Shiseido Ibuki Moisturizer that I talked about in my Favorite Skincare Products post was a total impulse buy but it's one of the best things I've bought in the past few months. 

Bonus Question- I included this one myself because I would love to know what the answer is for others! 

Name 1 product you saw on a blog that you're eyeing up/lusting after/on the verge of buying at the moment. 

For me, it's a tie between the GlamGlow Thirsty Mud and...now don't laugh but I really want to try the Sea Mineral Moisture Shampoo by Ogx (I believe they used to be called organix). It's a drugstore shampoo- it's less than $10, you'd think I would just buy it since I'm enough of a sheep to spend $40 on a highlighter at Nordstrom. The problem is, I'm a hair product junkie and I just have too many shampoos to justify buying another one! So I pass by it every time I'm at CVS and just gaze at it wistfully, sigh and move on. Oh the struggle.  

And that's it! I tag Karen, Ruth and anyone and everyone who wants to do this tag to please do so and do leave me a link to your blog so I can read it! 

If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave the answers in the comments section down below. You can answer all the questions or just a few or even just your favorite one. I would love to read them. :) 

My Favorite Nightly Skincare Products

Hey lovelies :) 

I decided to do a post about the skin care products I use every night. I don't use every product every single night but I'll mention that along the way. My skin is very dry, sensitive and somewhat acne prone. It took me a while to find the right products that would address ALL my skins needs. Up until now it seems as if I was always just addressing one problem at a time. The products I was using would be hydrating enough to handle the dry skin problem but then I'd be losing the battle against acne or vice versa. 

                       

Thankfully, these products, combined together are keeping my skin hydrated and also keeping the acne at bay and so far have not caused a reaction. Seriously, it's like finally reaching the top of a mountain you've been climbing for years. Ok yes I'm exaggerating but I'm just extremely glad and thankful to have finally found the right products. Dealing with problem skin isn't the worst thing in the world but sometimes it can get frustrating because you feel as if nothing will ever work. If you've had acne or any other long term problem with your skin you know what I mean. I like trying new makeup as much as the next person but when it comes to skin care I'm too much of a chicken to experiment, I like the idea of sticking to a few select products. Alright, I could just keep going and going and this post would become a skin care novel so I'll stop. Here we go:

    

                       

Chanel Mousse Confort Cleanser

I'm not going to talk too much about this one because my last post was quite an extensive review about it. It's gentle and effective. Removes my makeup so I don't break out but doesn't strip my skin.

                       

Chanel Lotion Confort Silky Soothing Toner

This is a product that I don't use every night. I find it runs out way too quickly if I do and I just don't feel the need to use it daily. If I've been wearing particularly heavy makeup or my skin just feels like it needs a little something extra I'll smooth this over my face with a cotton ball. It does an excellent job of removing any residue from areas that you might have missed while cleansing.

                       

Josie Maran Argan Oil

I'll admit, I thought this oil was one of those overly hyped products that really do nothing. I'll also admit- I'm a fool, I was wrong and this oil is amazing. Even after I bought it, I was extremely skeptical but this little bottle had made up its mind to make a place for itself in my heart so make a place it did. 

This might sound weird but my favorite use for it is putting it under my eyes. My under eye area gets very dry sometimes which makes any concealers and highlighters I put there look horrendous. This keeps my under eye area wonderfully hydrated. I put literally a single drop on my ring finger and then pat it under my eye. I usually smooth some over my eyelashes as well. If my skin is feeling particularly dry I also put a couple drops on my fingers and pat it onto the rest of my face. Lightweight, hydrating and no offensive scent (no scent at all actually). Basically, just a great product.

                      

                      

Shiseido Ibuki Moisturizer

I'm so thankful I found this little guy just calling me from across the room at Sephora. I feel as if I only recently started using this but I'm already on my second one. I put this on after the argan oil and rub it in gently. It's quite rich so if you have oily skin this might be your worst nightmare. Ever since I've started using it I've noticed that I've had far fewer breakouts, next to nothing really although that might not be just this moisturizer and my old scars seem to be healing up nicely. It's also very hydrating, my skin absolutely loves it. I might have to post (an ode) a more detailed review of this one because there's so much more to say! For now though, if you have dry skin and suffer from acne at the same time or have old acne marks left that annoy you, get thee to a sephora (or macys, Nordstrom etc) and pick up a sample of this. 

                       

                     

Clarisonic

Another product (or tool?) that I thought was utterly and unnecessarily hyped up. I know everyone and their mother owns and loves this and I was quite late to the party. To be completely honest I'm still not sure how I feel about this. I've had this for some time now and I do notice a positive difference in my skin. I also tend to notice a breakout here and there when I don't use this for a few days but I'm still just not in love with it for some reason, it's strange I know. I keep thinking perhaps over time I'll love it more but let's see. Do you ever really want to love a product but just don't so you tell yourself you need more time?   

                    

Lancome Gelatee Confort Comforting Milky Cream Cleanser 

This is a product I would love to use every single night because I just love it that much but the fact is I don't need to. The name describes it perfectly, this cleanser is just plain comforting. My skin feels ridiculously soft after using this and looks glowy and healthy. It makes me not want to wash my face afterwards because it makes my skin look so dewy and luminous. Sometimes when I get home I use this right away to take off my makeup and then I'll wash my face later on when I'm getting ready for bed. I've read different reviews on this and people use it in a number of different ways but I simply apply a liberal amount of it all over my face, wait a minute or two and then gently rub it off with a couple of cotton balls. It works like a charm, however, I don't rely on this to be my only cleanser. I still wash my face afterwards with the Chanel cleanser. This is great for making your skin feel hydrated and pampered and acts as a great makeup remover but it won't give you that squeaky clean feeling. 

                      

Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Last but not in any way least is my beloved Caudalie elixir. I usually spritz this on a couple times throughout the day and then once before bed as well. I bought this on a whim really, I was trying to decide between getting this or the Origins charcoal mask (just for funsies you know) and couldn't decide so I let one of the girls at Sephora decide. Her eyes literally lit up when I held this little guy up, I kid you not. She said the origins charcoal mask was good but that she loved this elixir, barely taking her eyes off the bottle for a second. It was true love, shining upon her face, that I witnessed that day my friends. So of course, this little bottle came home with me and I'm pretty much ready to skip off into the sunset with it. I honestly thought this was more of just a fun product, something of a luxury you know? Nope. 

Not only is it a great way to refresh your skin in the middle of the day, this little gem actually helped get rid of my breakouts! Using it regularly cleared up any existing breakouts I had hanging around and prevented any more coming to visit. I think using the Shiseido moisturizer and this elixir together is what has made the biggest difference in my skin. 

I had no idea this elixir would help with breakouts but after using it a while, I looked up reviews and at least one other reviewer said it helped her acne so it's not just me I guess. Anyway, this is an awesome product whether you get it to help with breakouts or just to give yourself a bit of a refresher during the day. One thing though, it has a particularly strong scent. I'm usually very sensitive and picky about scents but this one doesn't bother me. I've read reviews where it's described as a tea tree oil kind of scent and I can't stand the smell of tea tree oil (at least the one from the body shop which is the only one I've ever tried) but I think this has more of a minty kind of scent. For some reason it also reminds me ever so slightly of that nice earthy smell you smell outside when it's starting to rain. Anyone else love that smell? I could stand outside for ages breathing that in. All in all, the smell of this elixir isn't offensive to my nose and it goes away after a little while so I don't consider it a deal breaker. 

                     

Sephora Super Nourishing Lip Balm

Oh and I included this one just for fun because I think it deserves some attention. I have very dry lips that tend to get chapped even in the summer and I tried countless lip balms that didn't do anything. I used to use the lip balm by Estée Lauder which is great but expensive if you need to use it again and again during the day. This lip balm was suggested to me by one of the girls at Sephora and I've been in love with it ever since. It's creamy, smells delicious and keeps my lips hydrated. Absolutely love it. 

And that's it! *deep breath* phew! I tried not to ramble. It clearly didn't work. I hope you find this list of mini reviews helpful though, especially those of you who have dry skin and/or pesky breakouts. You know, the ones that seem to set up camp on your face and even when you tell them to take a hike they leave behind lovely dark marks for you to deal with. 

Chanel Mousse Confort Creamy Cleanser- Retails for $45 at Nordstrom, Macys

Chanel Lotion Confort Silky Soothing Toner- Retails for $45 at Nordstrom, Macys

Josie Maran Argan Oil- Retails for $18 (larger one for $48) at Sephora

Shiseido Ibuki Moisturizer - Retails for $45 at Sephora, Nordstrom, Macys

Clarisonic Mia 2- Retails for $149 at Sephora, Nordstrom, Macys 

Lancome Gelatee Confort Comforting Milky Cleanser- $30 at Sephora, Nordstrom, Macys 

Caudalie Beauty Elixir- Retails for $18 (larger one for $49) at Sephora

Have you used any of these products? Did you love them? Hate them? Do you have any skin care products that you're utterly thankful you found? Feel free to ramble :) 

    

Review - Chanel Mousse Confort Rich Foaming Cream Cleanser

                              

Hey lovely reader :)

I thought I'd do a review of the Mousse Confort cleanser by Chanel today. This is my daily night time cleanser and it has been for about two years now. Needless to say, I love it!

                               

My skin:

Now before I go into detail about the cleanser, just a little bit about my skin super quick because I know whenever I'm reading reviews I find myself wondering about the reviewers skin type so I can figure out if the product would have similar results for me you know? I'll be quick about that I promise, just as soon as I stop blabbing. So yeah um my skin - two words - desert dry. My skin is typically very dry, sometimes it gets dry to the point of flaking around my jawline but most of the time it's not flaky just very dry. If I wash my face (with or without cleanser it doesn't matter) I absolutely have to moisturize right away or else my skin starts feeling tight. At the same time though, it's ridiculously sensitive, so it breaks out pretty easily. Thankfully, I've never had severe acne problems (my younger acne suffering self begs to differ though- back then it felt like every breakout was a crisis of mammoth proportions) and now whatever I had has cleared up considerably. I also can't use anything with yellow 5 in it, I try to avoid all synthetic dyes but that one in particular my skin cannot stand, it breaks me out really badly. This makes it difficult to find products to use, because so many have yellow 5 in them, even facial cleansers.

Mousse Confort Rich Foaming Cream Cleanser:

Now let's move on to the cleanser! The name fits this cleanser quite well, it's definitely very rich and creamy, I love how luxurious it feels. The creaminess also makes it feel very gentle on the skin which is great for my sensitive skin. Despite being creamy, this cleanser foams up really REALLY well and I like that because it just makes my face feel squeaky clean. Usually a cleanser will either feel luxurious or it'll give you that squeaky clean feeling but this is the only cleanser I've used that gives me both. What more can a girl ask for? From a cleanser anyway...

                                 

Speaking of makeup, it does a really good job of removing it but it may not remove everything if you're wearing some heavy duty makeup and don't use a makeup remover. I like to use a makeup remover before washing even with light makeup so this isn't much of a problem for me. Sometimes I have skipped makeup remover but on those days I just wash twice and follow up with toner to remove any last traces and that seems to work fine. It doesn't strip my skin like other cleansers have, once I wash my face with it I don't have to rush to my moisturizer (I can make my way towards it at a slow and leisurely pace- which is a huge deal I tell you!) 

Another thing I love is that this cleanser seriously lasts forEVER. You only need to use the tiniest amount and it lathers up like crazy so it can last for months and months. I use mine as a daily night time cleanser, I used to use it morning and night and that worked fine but for some reason I'm always switching up my morning routine. Using it only at night, this thing lasts me more than nine months. Nine months!! Every time I say that to someone I can't help but think wow, that's an entire pregnancy term, a baby could go from a tiny nugget to being born and my cleanser still wouldn't have run out. I'm weird, I know.

      

The associate at the Chanel counter gave me an awesome tip a while back. She said to cut the top off with scissors when you feel like you've finished it and scoop some out like that. I tried it out and was shocked at how much was still left in there so it lasts me even longer now. Yay! Thank you Susan. The price is kind of up there- it retails for $45- but hey it's Chanel and considering how long it lasts it's definitely worth it, for me. All in all, it's an awesome buy, in my opinion. So to sum up, in case you scrolled through all my jabber and just want the main points-


Pros:

• Rich and creamy, feels very luxurious 
• Gentle and effective at the same time 
• Does a pretty good job of removing makeup 
• Not drying, doesn't strip skin
• Lasts for a very long time 

Cons:

• The price may be a con depending on your budget but as I said, it does last quite a long time so it may be worth it 
• For those who don't like using a makeup remover before washing up, this might not fully remove heavy makeup 

My Rating: 5/5 

Available at Nordstrom (that's where I buy it because of the points!), Macys, Chanel.com etc.