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Beauty, Skincare

Trying out Panacea Skincare – The Aegis Kit

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Panacea is a skincare brand influenced by Korean Beauty technology. Korean Beauty is way ahead of us when it comes to beauty and skincare products and I was beyond excited about trying these new products. Especially Korean beauty. The skincare line launched early November and is fairly new.  Panacea focuses on the few simple things that we need. And that is why they only have three products. We are told that we need a cleanser, a scrub, a exfoliator, a toner, a mist, a moisturizer,a SPF. Different products for day and night. The list goes on. This adds up to a lot of products.  That is one of the reason to why I can’t properly keep up with a skincare routine. It is way too much to keep track off and I feel like I am drowning in products sometimes.

With an easy three step regimen Panacea wants to make it easy for you to achieve healthy and glowing skin with the bare minimum. The line includes a Daily Facial Cleanser, Daily Facial Moisturizer and a Daily Facial SPF. Purchase the products separate or as a bundle. Product pricing ranges from $22-$46 and the kit is $92. All products are cruelty free and vegan as well as paraben and sulfate free.

Panacea Daily Facial Cleanser

The Daily Facial Cleaner is definitely my favorite product of all three. If you have followed me for a while or read my skincare post you already know my favorite cleanser. It is also from a Korean Beauty brand and both cleansers definitely pars up. The Panacea Daily Facial Cleanser is extremely light but removes everything. Even eye makeup. If you end up looking like a panda after washing your face you know the struggles. The product doesn’t really have a smell and so far my sensitive skin has not reacted to the product. It leaves my skin super smooth and clean. Some ingredients are algae and green tea extract.

Panacea Daily Facial Moisturizer

This moisturizer is everything that it states to be. Even though my skin is a Normal/Combination skin I have very dry skin during the winter. It is strange because I will  have these very dry spots but also a very oily t-zone. The moisturizer is the lightest moisturizer I have ever experienced. but it does leave my skin extremely hydrated while leaving a matte finish. Panacea claims that there is no need to use a makeup primer because of the mattifying effect the moisturizer has. Some ingredients include Japanese seaweed and Vitamin E.

Panacea Daily Facial SPF

Lastly we  have the Daily Facial SPF. It is an extremely lightweight SPF but it only has a SPF 25 UVA/UVB protection. It is recommended to choose a minimum of SPF 30 for your products even if the bare minimum from the FDA is SPF 15. Sunscreen is extremely important, especially if you live in a sunny climate like California.  I would probably only use this on more cloudy days or days where I am only inside. It does however not smell like other sunscreens nor does it leave a greasy look.

Overall I am definitely beyond impressed with this brand and the entire product line. And I would definitely recommend this for anyone with Normal/Combination skin. Whether you need to start a skincare regimen or simplify the one you already have, this is the perfect kit to start with. You can find their website at thepanacea.com

I was not compensated for this post. Panacea did send me products to try. 

Beauty, Skincare, Sponsored

This is what happened during the Olay 28 day challenge

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This post is sponsored by Olay. All words and opinions are my own.

During the month of November, I have been replacing my regular moisturizer with the Olay Total Effects Moisturizer with SPF 15 and I have also been using the Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel. Something that is so important for me, especially since I live in Los Angeles, is to use an SPF. The sun does so much more harm than we think, especially in the long run. However, the Olay Total Effects Moisturizer with SPF 15 is much more than a moisturizer with SPF. It has several benefits, evens out skin tone, enhances brightness, smooth’s fine lines and wrinkles and restores firmness, replenishes moisture, and reduces dark spots and circles.

Even though I have amazing genes from my mom, and have absolutely no signs of aging in my skin currently, I still have to make sure to take good care of my skin. But to be honest, sometimes I am really bad about it. So I decided to accept the Olay 28 day challenge! For 28 days I used the Olay Total Effects Moisturizer with SPF 15 and the Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel. In the morning I would apply the Olay Total Effects Moisturizer with SPF 15 and the Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel. And at night I would use the Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel. My skincare problems are mainly enlarged pores, an oily t-zone, acne and redness. My skin is also sensitive to new products at times so I was really nervous to see if the products would work or not.Although my skin did react a bit at first, I did see some improvements almost immediately. My skin seemed more even and radiant. By using these products morning and night, it gave me an overall better routine. It was so easy to use, and took me less than a minute of my day to do! So really anyone can do it. It is not a huge change and it will not take up a lot of your time. My old acne scarring also started to slowly fade which I am so thrilled about. I only started getting acne about a year ago and it was devastating for me. I also can’t keep my hands away so it resulted in a lot of scarring.The results after the Olay 28 Day Challenge.

It’s amazing how such a small change in your daily routine can encourage you to change even more for the better. Therefore, I challenge you to also participate in the Olay 28 Day Challenge. The first 15 people to use my coupon code 28DAYS6555 on olay.com will receive $40 off their purchase! I encourage you to visit the skin advisor to save time and easily fin the regiment best suited for you.

Before

Halfway through the 28 day challenge

After 28 days

Beauty, Skincare, Sponsored

Makeup remover and facial cleanser for sensitive skin

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This content is sponsored by Olay. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I hope you enjoy following along! #ad

I am always on the lookout for making my daily routine as easy as possible. It is extremely important that no matter how busy I am, I make sure to take care of myself. That is why I was thrilled when Olay contacted me to review their Daily Facials Daily Clean 4-in-1 Water Activated Cleansing Cloths. The cleansing cloths have a 4-in-1 formula which includes cleanser, toner, mask and scrub. Best of all? It also removes your makeup and eye makeup flawlessly! I was a little skeptical at first. Could one product really do all this and work with my sensitive skin? It appears so.

One package comes in a container in which you can easily store them. It is not only convenient for at home use, but also perfect for when you are traveling or on the go. I would mostly reach for the cleansing cloths when I have had a long day and didn’t feel like doing a whole lot of work. Or, when I was out and didn’t want to bring 2-4 different items just to wash my face. A lot of makeup or no makeup, I still make sure to clean my face every day. The 4-in-1 formula definitely beats any face wipes or micellar water. Since the cleansing cloths are dry they won’t get ruined if you leave the box open. That is a constant problem I have with face wipes.

Here is how to use the facial cloths. First, you need to wet one cleansing cloth and build up a lather. I like to work the cloth in circular motions around my face and neck to make sure it also exfoliates. The cleansing cloths are textured with special “pockets” that will break up dirt, oil and makeup plus it works two times better than a normal cleanser. The cleanser is gentle enough to not make my sensitive skin irritated. It doesn’t have a strong scent to it either. I find it the easiest to rinse off the cloth and then use it again to rinse my face. The results are a clean face that feels hydrated. Have you tried the Olay Daily Facials Daily Clean 4-in-1 Water Activated Cleansing Cloths? Let me know in the comments!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay . The opinions and text are all mine.

Beauty, Makeup, Skincare, Sponsored, Subscription boxes

February Glossybox

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Glossy box were kind enough to send me their February box to try it out. If you’re not familiar with Glossybox yet let me tell you a little bit about it. Glossybox is a monthly beauty subscription box and in each box you will receive 5-6 sample products from different current beauty brands. A subscription plan starts at $17.50 per month. Beauty subscription boxes are a great way to explore and discover new beauty products and brands. It is also great for trying out new products. I used to be a huge Glossybox fan but not long ago I stopped with almost all of my subscription boxes because I noticed that even though I loved receiving them, all the items I received just started piling up.

Whats unique about Glossybox is that not everyone gets the same items. The items your box various to skin types and preferences. So, the 5 items that I received in my February Glossybox were; Jeanne Arthes L’Eau de Rose, a perfume with the fresh spring scents of rose. Schwarzkopf Professional Usabc Repair Rescues Deep Nourishing Treatment which I have not tried yet but will as soon as my extensions are out of my hair. I have only tried Eve by Eves Mattifying HD Loose Powder a few times but so far I am liking it. Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat is probably something that I won’t use because I never wear pink on my nails and I am too lazy to put on an extra gel coat.

 The Estée Edit Pink Peony Overnight Water Pack was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE out of all the items in this box and I actually ended up buying the full sized products from Sephora to use once my little sample is gone! Its pricy but SO worth it if you have dry skin. You also need to use an extremely small amount of product. Do you subscribe to Glossybox? If so, what was the best product you have ever received?

Beauty, Skincare

Favorite skincare items and my routine.

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I haven’t always been one to take specially good care of my skin. Genetically I have extremely amazing skin. I rarely get any breakouts. I don’t have any texture. And, the only thing that I really am dealing with is some minor redness. But, as I am becoming older. And since my interest in beauty has grown progressively. I’m now obsessed with skincare and really interested in not only using, but also learning about the benefits of using them. So, I have rounded up some of my absolute favorite skin care items. These are the ones that I am using the most at the moment. I always recommend you to pick up samples of all of these items. Firstly to try them out and also to make sure you won’t have any allergic reaction to the product. As usual, all the items talked about will be linked in this post. And at the bottom I will have a shop this post gallery. 

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Beauty, Skincare

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Weightless

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hawaiian Tropic®. The opinions and texts are all mine.

A few weeks ago was Memorial Day, and as much I wish I could spend my day out in the sun, I was working that day. But, that doesn’t stop me from being prepared for all the festivities this summer. We are getting close to 4th of July already! I swinged by Walmart to pick up and try out the Hawaiian Tropic® Sunscreen Silk Hydration Weightless. The Silk Hydration Weightless is water-resistant for up to 80 minutes and have a really nice scent of the tropics, like the whole line of Hawaiian Tropic® products do. You can choose to buy an SPF 15 or an SPF 30. I always go for the higher but that is only my personal preference! IMG_3709 The first thing I noticed was the packaging. The Hawaiian Tropic® Sunscreen Silk Hydration Weightless has a sleek round packaging with a pump which is very different from other Hawaiian Tropic® products I have used before. I really like it and it does’nt get as messy as when you only have a cap and press out the product. It also looks way nicer. I think that Hawaiian Tropic® is one of the most common brands I see among friends and family so it is definitely a favorite not only for me, but many others too. I am going back to Sweden for a wedding in just a few weeks, and to visit friends and family too, of course! Hopefully we will have the wonderful summer weather and that means a very strong sun as well. IMG_3720 Staying protected from the sun and UV is extremely important. Especially for me now that I live in Los Angeles where it is sunny bsically every day year around. But I am still terrible at remembering to use it. I have tried, and I own a lot of different sunscreens but what I truly like about the Hawaiian Tropic® Sunscreen Silk Hydration Weightless is how weightless it is, and feels! The name lives up to it’s expectations and the sunscreen melts in really nicely into your skin. In comparison to many other sunscreens you can barely even feel that the Silk Hydration Weightless is on and it also leaves your skin hydrated and smooth without that heavy oily feeling which I often dislike. The reason for the weightless feeling is a unique formula of hydrating silk ribbons. So far I absolutely love this sunscreen mostly because of the weightless feeling and will definetley try to be better at wearing suncare! IMG_3718

 

Beauty, Skincare

Summer essentials With Clinique

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About two weeks ago I went to a super fun poolside event with Clinique here in Beverly Hills. We got to sip on drinks, eat breakfast and make our own ice cream macaroons while looking at all the Clinique news for the summer. We also got make overs and touch ups by Clinique consultants while discussing skin and makeup products.I got a ton of fun new items with me and I am gonna share my absolute favorites from Clinique that you need this summer. I also got to do this super fun and cool underwater shoot which I will show some pictures of lastly in the post. 

I am gonna start with skin products because for me a good healthy base makes everything for when you do apply your makeup. I have not used a lot of Clinique skin care products before. I have tried the eye treatment cream as well as the makeup remover (which is awesome). I have extremely dry skin during the winter, and less, but still dry, skin during the summers. So, after discussing my skin and my problems with the Clinique consultants I got the 3-step kit with me home that was suited for my skin and its needs. I got to try both the liquid and the foam cleanser, and personally, I prefer the liquid formula. I just feel like it cleans more than the foam formula does. The foam would probably be good for days when i feel like I need something more gentle or just haven’t worn makeup on my face. Number 2 is considered the exfoliator and comes in 6 different formulas. It does sting a lot if you have brakeouts on your skin so be prepared for that as it is super strong. I think that it is important for you to discuss your skin and problems with a Clinique consultant to make sure you get the right one for your skin. And lastly you use the moisturizer which I absolutely LOVE. The moisturizer is my favorite of the 3-step products.
IMG_3762Secondly as summer is around the corner I cant tell you enough how important it is to wear sunscreen. Not only to avoid being burnt, but to avoid skin cancer, wrinkles, sun spots and other problems that can be caused by UV lights. Clinique has released a new sunscreen product: The Mineral Sunscreen is a super light, easy blendable, sunscreen with Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide which protects agains the UVB rays as well as UVA which are the lights that makes your skin age and get wrinkly. It comes in two sizes, one for body and one for face, and both are pretty sleek and good to-go and vacation sizes and it comes in SPF 30 or SPF 50.

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Lastly lets talk some makeup. Because of the heat I like to stay as natural as possible. Because sweating happens to all of us and when its 40 degrees outside in LA, I don’t want to have a ton of makeup running over my face. I like to go all natural most of the times but sometime you want to put on some makeup too. Some of my favorite makeup products that I got to check out was definitely the Chubby In The Nude foundation stick (unfortunately I did not get it with me, but I have already ordered it for myself). It was so incredibly smooth, super light weight and gave a natural coverage without feeling heavy. Honestly. I didn’t feel it on my skin at all.

Okay, lets move on to the products that I actually got to bring with me home! The Pop Lip Colour + Primer Lipsticks definitely caught my eyes and I am so happy that I got to bring some of these babies with me home. The two favorite colors are Bare Pop and Cola Pop. Both very natural and not to bold – which is totally me! The lipsticks are highly pigmented, extremely smooth and super moisturizing. The finish has a nice sheen and the Bare Pop looks a lot like my own lip color so they are perfect for adding som moisture and just make it look like I have more of a gloss on my lips.

And lastly the Stay Matte Universal Blotting Powder. The Clinique consultants added this as a finish on my makeup and I just absolutely loved this as well. It gave me such a nice finish without creasing or patching skin.I love Clinique’s Blended Face Powder a lot but this one might knock it down on my favorites list.

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And lastly, some photos from my Underwater Shoot!

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This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Clinique. Some poducts shown or talked about in this post may have been given to me as a gift.

Beauty, Makeup, Skincare

Lancôme Beauty

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Lancôme sent me this amazing package with beauty goodies. I literally died as I opened the box and a ton of beauty products were in there. I essentially got 6 different products but a lot of them cam e in a ton of different colors and shades. I have actually never tried any beauty products from Lancôme before si I was super excited about this package and to try some beauty products from them! All the products that I got focuses on the eyes so I received the Cils Booster XL which is a Mascara primer as well as the Hypnose Drama Mascara. For the eyelids I got the Color Design Eyeshadow Palette in the shade 108 Beige Brulée as well as the Drama-Liquid-Pencil and the Artliner. I also got the Bi-Facil eye makeup remover. All these products can be found at Sephora.

The packaging for all the items are overall really nice and feels very luxurious. The eyeshadow palette has a mirror inside as well.

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The eyeshadow palette is really nice and soft, almost creamy, and gives a nice color payoff. I love the neutrals in this particular one and it is totally what I would wear for and everyday makeup look. It contains of 4 matte shadows and one shimmer. As for the mascara I do really like it. It gives you a normal length and some volume. The primer that I also got helps adding even more length before putting on the Mascara. But this is not my absolute favorite Mascara, that I have to say.

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Now these eyeliner pencils have probably become my absolute favorite eyeliners, ever! One applied they stick and won’t smudge or come off unless you use some sort of liquid to remove it. Praise the lord because summer and heat is here and I can wear eyeliner without worrying about it now! The eyeliner pencil , also called Drama Liquid-Pencil comes in a ton of different colors and shades and of course my favorites are the black, brown and white ones. Most of them do have some shimmer in them, but it won’t be that noticeable unless you draw a thick line. IMG_2920IMG_2985

Now the Artliner is more of a liquid pen that draws much finer lines. Just like the pencil the colors have shimmer in them. I would say that the Artliner has more shimmer in them. I do like them both a lot but the Pencil is my personal preference and it also comes in a ton of different fun colors. As you can see the Artliner has much brighter colors to choose from and the eyeliner almost look metallic once dried. So does some of the eyeliner pencils but not all of them. IMG_2922 IMG_2919 IMG_2980

Beauty, Skincare

The New Secret Outlast Xtend

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As a blogger who’s always on the move between work and play, it’s important to me to have a deodorant that keeps up with my everyday life. Secret recently launched a new line of deodorants called Secret Outlast Xtend that guarantees 48-hour odor protection, making it the perfect deodorant for the person-on-the-go who needs some extended protection throughout the day. I partnered up with Secret to review the both the Invisible Solid and Clear Gel Formulas from the Outlast Xtend collection to see which one I liked better!

Though I’m a lifelong fan of gel deodorants, I took both formulas to the test to see if they would really keep up with me for 48 hours. I used the Clear Gel formula under my right arm and the Invisible Solid formula under my left to really experience the differences during the same daily routine.

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Application, look and smell

I applied both of the formulas in the afternoon after taking a shower.

First off, the Invisible Solid! This formula has a patented active enhancer which stops odor before it even starts, and within a minute or two after application, I could definitely feel the soft layer of protection against my skin. You can actually feel the deodorant working! I tried out the Active Fresh scent, which I really enjoyed.

The Clear Gel solution had a much smoother application, and also has an added a layer of active ingredients for longer lasting odor protection. I noticed that the Clear Gel formula did feel a little wetter than the Invisible Solid formula – but the good news: there was no residue left behind, so you definitely don’t have to worry about any white marks on clothing! I tried the Clean Lavender scent which was a little bit more noticeable than Active Fresh.

You can just about see the differences between the two formulas here. The gel is clearer while the solid formula has just a faint white layer to it.

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24 hours after application.

I’m not saying that I have the hardest job. But I do stand in a Market store and the temperature isn’t always the nicest. Some days we are lucky and it’s just nice, but some days it can either be freezing cold or so warm that you can’t stand it! On this particular day, the weather was warm but not so warm that my body was sweating. Right away after work, I got home and did a 40-minute workout: The workout left my body sweaty, but I didn’t feel like I smelled and my underarms were surprisingly much drier than the rest of my body!

Final thoughts

I was very pleased with the new Outlast Xtend collection. After trying both, I think I am now a bigger fan of the Invisible Solid formula since it kept me dry and feeling fresh throughout the day

Secret Outlast Xtend comes in quite a few scents, Active Fresh, Clean Lavender, Completely Clean, Protecting Powder, Sport and Unscented, ensuring there is a scent for everyone. Because it provides 48-hour odor protection, Outlast Xtend really is great for action-packed days. It really gives me a boost of confidence, knowing I never have to stop and worry about a potential deo fail.

You can try it for yourself! The suggested retail price is $4.29—but you can request one FREE sample here with the code PL76XS!

IMG_2873Sponsored post with Secret Deodorant and Bloglovin Activate.