Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm

Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm

I finally got my hands on a tube of Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm! So excited about it! I avoided reading reviews about UD’s BB cream until I had a chance to try it out for myself without any prejudice.

I used it when I attended our family’s Chinese New Year dinner at Bamboo Garden Chinese Restaurant in Brooklyn and I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first. The texture is really thin and watery, and the color looks nothing like your average BB cream. I actually blinked when I first used it and thought, “How many Oompa Loompas does it take to make a tube of this BB cream?” because it is a somewhat alarming shade of orange.

It’s more orange in person!

Despite the sunset hue, I applied it to my freshly-cleansed face and was surprisingly pleased with the way it disappeared into my skin. Which now makes me wonder if I am an Oompa Loompa…

Seriously, though, the way it blended perfectly into my skin was amazing.  It also dries to a matte finish which makes this greasy-complexioned chick want to dance! I also usually have trouble with face products that contain sunscreen (this BB cream has broad spectrum SPF 20) and break out into massive zits. Not with this product!

Do you see where the UD Naked Skin BB Cream ends and my skin begins?

The biggest down side to Urban Decay Naked Skin BB Cream is that it is very very sheer. Despite the company’s claims, this is just not a universal product and definitely not for someone looking to conceal  troubled or moderate-to-severely blotchy skin; it’s for the person whose complexion is mostly clear and even-toned. Don’t care what UD says, it’s not suitable for the very very fair-skinned.

In the two months or so that I’ve been using this BB cream, I’ve been applying moisturizer to my face before the BB cream. I made the mistake of using an AHA moisturizer and it resulted in some flaking later in the day, so now I stick to my beloved DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew. Yeah. Don’t use exfoliating moisturizers underneath your makeup.

Overall I really like Urban Decay Naked Skin BB Cream. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I have been reaching for it almost every day. It’s easy to apply, it’s so sheer it leaves virtually no demarcation lines, and my skin doesn’t feel like it’s suffocating, especially nice because I’m not only a greasy-faced person, I’m also an overheated one. I can see myself using this during the hot steamy summer days that lie ahead.

My final verdict: DON’T buy this if you are very very fair-skinned or have blemishes or discoloration to conceal. DO buy it if your complexion is mostly clear and you just need a little bit of oomph to your face.

Samplepalooza: Day 2–Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer and Befine Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15

Sorry, sorry, I know I’ve been neglecting you.  Got all caught up in having fun and then time just got away from me.

On Day 2, R gave me her sample tube of Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer because it made her break out and she knew I was going on a beauty sampling bender.

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer

Love it! I actually like this much more than the over-hyped Urban Decay Eden Primer Potion I bought earlier this year. Easier to apply thanks to its wand applicator, and smoother than the PP. I’m sold on the Smashbox lid primer!

My next sample was Befine Skin Care’s Daily Moisturizer with SPF15.

Befine food skincare Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15

Moisturizers with sunscreen and sunblock in them almost always make me break out in horrible zits, so I approached this product with some trepidation.  In the end, I found this was a little on the heavy side for me, especially since it was still summer at the time, but I can see myself using it in the winter when I need a more oomph in the moisturizing department. I like that it’s a natural, no added fragrance product.

I know I bitch about it all the time but I hate hate hate heavily perfumed facial products.  It’s one thing if a face product is lightly scented as a result of its ingredients but I don’t get why cosmetics companies continue to add perfume to already-scented lotions and potions. I’m looking at YOU, Garnier!

Anyhow, I’m impressed with both of today’s samples.

Samplepalooza, Day 1

Started my day with the Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash sample I got from Sephora:

Followed by Philosophy Hope in a Jar mousturizer:

After applying bare-bones makeup (lid primer, copper eyeliner, blush, and eyebrows), the Fresh Sugar Rosé tinted lip balm went on:

This felt silky on my lips and the color is very subtle. It’s not sticky or waxy and feels light. I liked that the tube cover is a twist cap, which means the cap won’t just come off in my bag or melt and get all over my pocket, but that also means I can’t just slap it on and go. The tube casing is made of what I think is aluminum; it doesn’t have that drugstore feel to it. Does that make sense?

The biggest issue I have with this sample is that every time I apply it, it feels like I’m about to snap the balm off its base; it feels a little flimsy.

Here’s a swatch of the tinted balm:

My friends gave me the master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom that boasted a whirlpool tub! This bathroom is three times the size of the one at home! So of course, the first thing I did after excusing myself for the evening was to run a bath for my own mini-spa hour.

Tried out the shampoo and conditioner samples from Kérastase Bain Substantif and Kérastase Masque Substantif, hair care products for mature hair:

I dislike the intensity of their perfume but this shampoo and conditioner do leave my hair feeling soft and shiny. if I weren’t so in love with my Aveda hair care…

Then came the Masqueology Pore Minimizing Masque that came in my July Birchbox. This is the kind of mask that’s made of cloth and has holes cut out for your eyes, nose, and mouth. Bit drippy, this mask; good thing I was using it while lying in the tub. You’re meant to rub the remaining product into your face after you remove the mask, but as I said, this is a drippy thing and leaves a LOT of leftover product; I finally had to wipe it off because I just could not rub any more stuff into my face.

Can’t say my pores were noticeably minimized after using this mask but it felt pretty nice on. It’s not a product I would buy again if I were looking to make my pores look less crater-y but if i did, I would store it in the fridge for a soothing and cooling treat on a hot day.

Samplepalooza

I’m headed for a week in Rehoboth Beach, DE with my very dear friend R and her family. It’s the perfect time to use up a bunch of product samples that I keep meaning to try but never get around to doing.

I grabbed a handful of samples from my stash and brought them with me. I’m actually a little embarrassed by how much I actually have; some of them come from Birchbox, others are from Sephora, and the rest are from who-knows-where.

Here it is:

I’m going to spend the next week trying out at least two samples out of that box every day. I got a head start tonight with one product, Lancôme’s Génefique Youth Activating Concentrate, which is a serum that goes on after you cleanse your skin but before you put on your moisturizer and sunscreen.

This stuff actually feels pretty nice on. It applies very smoothly and easily, absorbs beautifully, and there’s no obnoxious perfume! The consistency is very much like aloe gel, thin and loose.

I haven’t put any moisturizer on over the Lancôme Génefique Youth Activating Concentrate, and I’m pleased with how soft my skin feels without feeling greasy or sticky. I likey!

Tomorrow, we arrive in Rehoboth Beach!

Clarisonic Mia: A Follow-Up and Rant

So an invisible friend asked about the Clarisonic skin cleansing system and it reminded me that I haven’t given an update on it in a while.

I like it. I admit I was ready to chuck it out the window because of how irritated my skin was getting after only a week. I broke out in bumps which I think was a mild case of folliculitis (inflamed hair follicles) and NOT pimples.

I’ll be frank: I think the salespeople at some of these cosmetics shops are either full of it or don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to the Clarisonic Mia; the term “breaking out” does not mean what they think it means. “Breaking out” refers to actual pimples, either the pustule or papule kind, not mere bumps on one’s skin.

It is NOT normal for one’s skin to do a 180 (e.g. going from freakishly oily to so painfully dry that I needed to buy extra-moisturizing creams that I’d ordinarily never buy because my skin is, you know, freakishly oily) and it is NOT normal for one to “break out” after using this product. It makes no sense to me that I suddenly “broke out” all over my face when I don’t normally get zits on my cheeks.

If I sound annoyed, it’s because I am annoyed. I hate that customers are being misled by sales staff.

I walked into Sephora a few weeks ago to buy replacement heads for my Clarisonic. The salesgirl was very enthusiastic and complimented me on my complexion, but only after she saw what I was buying. I mentioned the bumps I’d gotten and she was all, “Yeah, breakouts are perfectly normal!” I tried to explain that I hadn’t broken out, that my skin was actually really irritated until I changed to a gentler brush head, but I guess the KoolAid she’d had was pretty strong. I really wish companies trained their sales associates better on proper terminology and product knowledge.

Despite my angst, at the end of the day, I do like my Mia a lot. I use it at night with my facial cleanser to take off my makeup after I remove my eye makeup. Before I rinse my face, I gently massage the cleanser over my eyes to remove any lingering bits of liner or shadow, and then splash my face clean. Afterward, I either use glycolic toner and oil free moisturizer or just the ROC Retinol Correxion night cream I talked about a couple of months ago.

For you dry-skinned girls, I obviously can’t speak to your complexion plight, but if it helps, my cousin, who has skin so dry she slaps on alAquaphor or Vaseline as her winter moisturizer, also uses the Clarisonic Mia with Philosophy’s cleansing oil and adores it. Her skin really looks amazing!

DIY: Three-in-One Mosquito-Repelling Body Scrub

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

After I made the DIY: Mosquito Repellant, I discovered I’d run out of my homemade body scrub and was about to make some more when it hit me: why couldn’t I make this batch a three-fer? After all, I use the scrub all over my body, so why not make it an anti-mosquito one as well as exfoliating AND moisturizing?

My regular scrub is made with sugar and oil. In the winter, I use olive oil because it’s a more occlusive and protects my skin from the harsh winter weather; my skin just drinks it up in the winter. But olive oil is way too heavy to use during steamy NYC summers, so I switch to Neutrogena Fragrance-Free Light Sesame Body Oil. I love that it never feels greasy and I have my friend K to thank for suggesting it to me several years ago. Sometimes I’ll use Trader Joe’s Lavender Body Oil which is lighter than olive oil but a step heavier than the Neutrogena sesame oil. You can use antioxidant-rich grape seed or avocado oils, or another neutral oil of your choice. Jojoba oil is nice too. Just an FYI: if you make a huge batch at once, it’s going to be in your shower for a long while and edible oils could go rancid before you can use it all up.

As you may have inferred, this scrub is very easily customizable, which is why I decided I’d give it some anti-bug properties. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! I use sugar because it’s a great exfoliant that dissolves easily in water, so you can just rinse it off without losing the moisturization of the oil. You can also use table salt.

You’ll need a canning jar, which you can buy at your local kitchenware shop, yard sales, The Container Store, farming supplies store, and of course, online. In NYC, you can buy these jars at the Broadway Panhandler. It can be hard to find them during canning season, so you may have to really look around depending on where you are. Be sure you get the right size rubber gasket for the lids! Whatever jar you use must have a very tight-fitting lid that you can easily remove and replace in the shower–you don’t want water getting into this scrub because the sugar will begin to dissolve.

I use this scrub in the shower and then spray myself down with the DIY: Mosquito Repellant in the same way people layer their perfumes, and so far so good! This scrub makes a nice I’m-broke-as-a-joke-but-donwanna-look-like-it gift. You can cover the lid with a pretty piece of fabric and tie around it with a ribbon threaded with a tag listing the ingredients (in case of allergies) and the recipient’s name.

Whoops, I forgot to include the bottle of citronella essential oil in the lineup!

The oil seeping down into the sugar

Three-in-One Mosquito-Repelling Body Scrub (yields 16 oz)

• One 0.5-liter (16-oz) hermetic jar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4-1/2 cup light, fragrance-free oil (you can use grapeseed, avocado or jojoba oil)
• 15 drops lavender essential oil
• 6 drops lemon eucalyptus essential oil
• 5 drops citronella essential oil
• 5 drops tea tree oil

Put the sugar into the jar. In a separate bowl, mix the oils and pour over the sugar. Mix with a disposable chopstick or plastic spoon. Use enough oil so the sugar is saturated but not so much that it puddles on top after it’s all been mixed in. Make sure the rubber gasket is on the inside of the lid, and clasp it shut.

DIY: Mosquito Repellant

Every Memorial Day weekend, my Aunt  C throws a birthday barbecue in honor of her twin sons’ birthday.  I love getting together with my family and catching up on all the gossip news.  And the yummy food!  I come from a huge family of good cooks and can always count on seriously good grub at these functions.

What I do not love are the bugs.  Sweet fancy Moses, I came home from the bbq with a dozen bites on my ankles and shoulders.  Not counting the ones on my scalp.  I HAD MOSQUITO BITES ON MY FRIGGIN’ SCALP, Y’ALL!!  Gah, my head is itching just thinking about it.

While I know DEET is the king of bug repellants, my inner hippie wanted a natural version.  In between scratching and whinging about my numerous bites, I turned to my online message board friends, whom I affectionately and ironically refer to as my invisible friends, for their sage advice.  D posted a recipe involving essential oils (EO) and distilled witch hazel that looked super easy and not too expensive.  Here it is:

1/2 teaspoon citronella essential oil
1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil
1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil
4 ounces distilled witch hazel (Thayer’s makes an alcohol-free one that’s nice for those with more sensitive or dry skin)

Mix ingredients in a 4-ounce spray bottle. Shake well. Spray onto exposed skin, avoiding eyes and mucous membranes. Reapply every 2 hours, or as needed, shaking well before each use.

I substituted lemon eucalyptus for the regular eucalyptus because my local health food market was out of the latter. Fair warning: citronella EO is really strong-smelling, so much so that I was actually a bit nauseous when I first started using this bug repellant.

I’ve sprayed it on every morning from head to toe for the last two weeks and so far, I’m bite free!

Another friend warned that eucalyptus EO can be quite strong and some people can have a topical reaction to it, so if you’re a bit worried about an allergic reaction, use half the recommended amount at first.  It’s also really important to know that many essential oils are not meant to be applied directly to your skin, so please don’t put a random EO onto your skin without checking to see if it’s safe to do so; most have to be mixed with other ingredients. I believe lavender, tea trea, and peppermint EO are safe to apply undiluted to skin.

For more information on essential oils, take a look at the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy’s website or you can Google essential oil safety.

Edited to add:  This homemade spray is not meant to be effective in very bug-infested environments, so if you’re going to, say the Amazon, please do use DEET or whatever commercial product best suits you.