Another month, another pile of products! I know I haven't done one of these in awhile, so I may be a bit rusty, but I've been very diligent at keeping a bag of my 'monthly detritus', just not very diligent about blogging about it. But this month? I'm set! Some real good wins in here too, so read along. I'm also going to spare you the boredom of describing chapstick and every individual L'Occitane hand lotion so I'm just going to talk about the stand-outs or low-lights.
Aveeno Ultra-Calming Make-Up Removing Wipes - I've been trying my hardest to find a decent drug-store makeup wipe that stands up to heavy make-up while also hydrating my skin, and while this one isn't perfect, it'll do for now. I find the Aveeno wipes do have a bit of fragrance but leave my skin much more supple after cleansing instead of feeling dry and patchy.
Duri Rejuvacote Base Coat - This stuff is LEGIT. I can't always find it in the beauty store so Seche Vite is also a base/top coat of choice, but I do love my Duri. Nail protection is very very important to anyone who likes to slather theirs with paint and other tasty chemicals.
L'Oreal Lumi Cushion Foundation - I DIDN'T want to like this product as much as I did, but I was really pleased with the luminous finish of this foundation sponge. W3 wasn't a perfect fit but could be blended out nicely and gave me that 'just rolled out of bed with 10hrs of sleep' look, instead of my regular 'Oh my god give me a coffee' pallor. I think I just might re-buy this. Also, I got the Physicians Formula one too and I recommend skipping it.
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve - This stuff pretty much speaks for itself. It's the gold-standard of skincare solutions and come next winter you can guarantee I'll have another tube of it ready to go. A++++ forever.
Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser - A drug-store primer that is worth it's weight in GOLD. This stuff is almost as good as Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer, I SWEAR. Or at least it's a great replacement when you run out of the latter and are waiting for the next Sephora sale!
Tony Moly I'm Real Skincare Masks - There's a Korean grocery store near my house where we shop for our meats and vegetables, and it comes complete with a cute little beauty section selling all my K-Beauty needs! They usually sell these Tony Moly masks for $2-3, which is way cheaper than The Bay or other places that sell it, and I will never go back. Ever.
L'Occitane Verbena Body Lotion - This is literally my favourite of all of L'Occitane scenes, with the Lavender in a close second place. I didn't have the hand lotion version but the body lotion is puuuure luxury.
L'Occitane Hand Creams - I received most of these last LAST year when I got that obnoxious L'Occitane Advent Calendar & Holiday Essentials Kit all in one go. The Dry Skin Hand Cream and the Amande Hand Cream are pretty excellent, Amande is a lighter cream that absorbs really quickly and is hyper-moisturizing, while the Dry Skin Hand Cream is thicker and takes longer to absorb. I'm not really a fan of the Rose or Cherry Blossom scents, a bit too floral-forward for me.
Lush - Was that Man Right Out Of My Hair - Yes, just like South Pacific. Except this isn't a shampoo or conditioner, it's a body wash and it's AMAZING. I wrote a review about it awhile ago which also includes a video of the song if you want to sing along.
Miracle 10 Light Serum - Save the best for last? Well, not quite. I have a lot of good things to say about this moisturizer. It's perfect for the summer, its loaded with antioxidants, and it works really well as a base for makeup, but the price is just too much. I tend to cap out around $50 for a really good skincare product and $70 is just too much for me. I'm also not entirely convinced it's better than some products from The Ordinary and other skincare lines so until I'm sure, I'm not rebuying.
And that's all! I've been using up foil samples lately and only save them if they are PARTICULARLY excellent, so this actually looks slightly lighter than it should be. I also did a hefty makeup purge this month so look out for my attempt to 'Kon Mari' my makeup coming soon! How much did you go through last month?