The Body Shop Skin Care Tea Tree line

Ola beauty lovers. As you know I have been going through some acne issues over the last 8 months or so. My hormonal break outs were getting out of control. I was trying everything, plus I had introduced the Clarisonic into my life which in the beginning made my skin look horrifying. If you haven't read my Clarisonic Diaries go check out my older posts and see the excruciating type of acne I was dealing with.

One day watching YouTube Beauty videos (because that is my favorite hobby at the moment) I saw this girl (sorry don't remember who she was) talking about the Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Line. I thought to myself hmmm, I wonder if I should try this? Well looking at the prices on line this brand was pretty expensive. Full price the Face Mask was $18, the daytime lotion was $14 and the night time lotion was $18. That is pricey, so I held off, and sort of forgot about it.

Then walking around in the mall one day, I pass the warehouse version of the body shop to see signs galore by 4 items get 40% off your entire purchase! So I figured this is the perfect time to try the tea tree products I had my eye on a while ago.

I walked out of that store with four items:
1.Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser,
2.Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion,
3.Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion,
4. and the Tea Tree Face Mask.

After trying the face mask for the first time, I was hooked. The mask helps calm and lessen the redness of blemishes and break outs after the first use. My skin,  no joke looked even better after the second use. The mask as become a staple in my skin care regime. The mask is a mud mask consistency. When it dries, it does not feel over tight, or peeling. Once it dries, wash it off with warm water and your finger tips. You skin will never feel the same as before again.

The foaming cleanser is decent. It provides a cleanser feel, without over drying your skin to the point of dehydration. Very enjoyable.

The Night lotion is a thicker consistency cream, when you apply it at night after you wash your face, it helps keep those break outs and blemishes at bay while your skin repairs over night.

The day time lotion is a thinner consistency cream, more water based when you put it on in the morning before your make up, it hydrates, disinfects your skin without having to deal with dry patches. This morning lotion is such a great day time cream, that your skin breathes under your makeup without any congesting issues.

 All these products are amazing. Not greasy, easy to apply, rubs well into the skin, and easy to wash off. They do not strip the skin of natural oils, which is so great, and to top all that off, they are paraben free!

Yes I have to admit regular price these guys are a tad expensive, but when you compare these to Proactiv they are a bit cheaper compared to some higher end acne treatment lines. Sort of like middle price range you can say.

Since I have been using these products, I noticed my skin clearing up a bit more then where I was at before with my acne issue. My chin (which is were I have most of my acne issues) has cleared up a lot. Don't get me wrong, I still have the odd blemish here or there during the month, BUT my cystic acne, and my really severe break outs have diminished to the point of non-existent, which is great for me.

Check out some photos below on what the products look like, in case you are interested in picking some up for yourself.  Let me know by commenting if you have already tried this line and what you think of it?

Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser

Tea Tree Face Mask, Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion, & Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

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 Until next time beauty lovers! <3
MacGirl25
 

Mid January 2014 Beauty Empties!

Ola Beauty lovers! It's that time of the month where I show you my mid January beauty empties! I love these type of posts to see others opinions on products that they have finished to the very end. So let me stop babbling as always and jump right into the products.

1. Balea Face Masks
- I mentioned these in pretty much every beauty empties. So all I will says is great drug store face mask, cheap and affordable, and works great on the skin.

2. Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks
- Same goes for these masks as well. Another drug store alternative, affordable and works great on the skin. Will continue to use this brand as well.




3. Listerine Mouth Wash
- This is my favorite mouth wash of all time, love the taste and love the fact their is fluoride in this formula. Anything to help me keep those cavities away because I hate filling cavities. Keep a look out because I will be testing out a few other brands to give you readers an idea of what else is decent out there.




4. Single Pouch Conditioners
- I love the green packet Silk Elements Olive conditioner. That is the one I enjoy the most. As for the cream packet Silk Elements luxury conditioner, this one was an utter fail. Only because the formula smells like old hair spray. It hydrated fine, but because of that smell I was totally turned off by it. The purple packet by proclaim is good as well. This one has keratin so be careful you don't over use this product because you don't want to get breakage from too much keratin in your hair. The white packet ion deep conditioner is good as well. Smells like sweet almond oil and to me acts like a normal conditioner but it does hydrate well.
All these packets I got at Sally's beauty supply for 0.99cents.




5. The Body Shop Grapefruit Body Butter
- I just love the body shop body butters. I have been a fan of them since I was in high school. This one is the smaller size container, but I have a couple of the larger tubs so I am excited to use those up as well. They can be pricey $25-$30 for the bigger tubs but it is so worth it.



6. Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara- Sample size
- I had a previous sample size before this one and I hate it. The brush is way to large, the product gets all over my lids, and it pretty much was dried up when I opened it up the first time. Not worth the $30 for the full size. Save your money people! There are better mascaras out there for more then half the price.







7. Lancome Visionnaire - sample size
- These type of skin care creams is difficult for me to produce a full opinion on them since I can't get more then a couple uses out of sample sizes. So I only used this as a night cream, did it help diminish pores/wrinkles/dark spots? Not that I could tell but I didn't use it long enough to see an actual difference. Lancome is pricey so no I will not purchase a full size of this.



8. Grassroots Research Labs Vitamin C skin refreshing cleanser
- Got this facial cleanser at the MAC sale back in September, this was on sale for $10. I am not familiar with this brand so I am not sure what their retail costs are. If you do know please leave me a comment below. Anyways it was an OK facial cleanser. It did not wow me in any way. I will not be purchasing this one again, it was decent while it lasted. 


9. Proactiv Solutions: Refining Mask
- This has been in my monthly favorites in the past. LOVE THIS MASK! I have serious hormonal acne and when I start feeling a blemish or break out coming on, I popped this mask on and it would just pull out all the junk out of your skin so that the acne would simmer down. It can be expensive, around $36 a large bottle, but it is well worth the price, believe me.



10. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Peach Satin
- I enjoyed this blush. It was more of a cream blush but it was very nice. Blends well into the skin. The lasting power is average, I would say between 5-7 hours. I would get another one but I would like to finish a few more blushes before I do so. They are very affordable as well $5-$6. Good drug store alternative.

 

11. Neostrata Intense Brightening Cream- Sample size
- Again I can't come up with a solid opinion on skin care sample sizes so I just used them for night creams. I can't tell if it brightens since I only used it twice, but it was alright while I had the sample. No I will not buy it in full size.


12. Bath and Body Works 3 wick candle: Pumpkin Cupcake scent
- LOVE LOVE LOVE candles. Bath and body works candles are my ultimate favorite. I usually wait until they go on sale 2 for $20 so I can get two for the price of one. The regular price is around $21 each so they are a bit pricey regular price.


13. Lush Sea Spray
- Love this hair sea spray. Its $12 and gives your hair these awesome beach waves. I have repurchased this one already because I enjoy this product so much. I mostly use this in the spring and summer time.This item smells awesome! Like a resort :)


14. Marcelle Eye Makeup Remove
- Like this eye makeup remover. It gets off waterproof eye make up, and its affordable. Wal-Mart carries this brand, and you can get two of these for the price of one. One bottle of this goes for around $7 so that is a good deal. My ultimate favorite is still the L'Oreal one but that one is double the price so I try to only get the L'Oreal one when its on sale.



15. Pro-namel Toothpaste by Sensodyne
- This is my favorite toothpaste brand. It is a bit pricey ($7-$8) but worth it because it really does help with my teeth sensitivity. The iso-active formula is my favorite line in the brand.


Well that is all my empties for the mid month of January. Hope you guys like these quick reviews on my thoughts on these products. Let me know what you have finished and what you liked or didn't like.

Don't forget to go check out my YouTube Channel: MacGirl25Antonietta

Until next time beauty lovers <3
MacGirl25

October Beauty Favorites 2013

Ola Beauty Lovers! Yes I am back with in twelve hours again to give you more love :)

Today is October Beauty Favorites! I have a tone of stuff so bare with me and if you can go get your self a hot cup of something to enjoy while reading this novel :)

1. It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Conditioner with Keratin
- I LOVE THIS STUFF! My hair has been so healthy since I use this in my damp hair after I shower and towel dry before I blow dry! My ends have never felt so healthy for such a long period of time until I began using this. Remember a little goes a long way so a couple of sprits through out your hair will help the following: Maintenance if Keratin straightening treatment, increases styling and manageability, perfect for all hair types, replaced lost protien, protects the natural keratin in hair, protects against heat, restores hydration balance, detangles, defrizzes and adds shine, strengthens hair structure, seals cuticles for extra silky hair. That is a mouth full and does wonders! It is a bit pricey, around $16 - $20 but well worth it! You can find this at Target, Trade Secrets, Or your local Wal Marts hair salons have them as well.

2. Two Mini spray bottles filled with my own concauction
- Why two you may ask? Well one bottle is just plain old water. I use this to spritz on my brushes before applying foundation or even pigments. The secont bottle is water with tea trea oil to act as a brush disinfectant. I may not have the time always to clean my brushes so this is an in expensive way to do a quick disinfect before using brushes that you have used over the last couple days. And if its wet when you apply to your face you shouldn't worry because tea trea oil is great for your skin! Go check out my article on benefits of Tea Trea oil!



3. Britney Spears Perfume in Midnight Fantasy
- This has been my go to perfume all month. I loved the original fantasy fragerence but the midnight one is more subtle and lighter to use. It is a sweet scent but its tolerable. Enjoyable for me any way.

4. IBD Reconstrux Nail oil : rebuild and Renew Nail Growth
- This nail oil is my #1 favorite nail oil to activate my nail growth. I had a rough month with my nails breaking and splitting from stress and weather so I had to take this puppy back out and start using it again. I got this at Sally's beauty supply for about $10. It takes a few weeks but there is a difference in my nails when I use it religiously. So worth it!



5. Sephora By OPI: Non Fat Soy Half Caff (Nude Nails)
- Since my nails are shorter at the moment I love wearing nude nails at this time. I hate it when my nails are all messed up, broken, short, un-even so nude nails are my go to for those times of the year. This nail polish color is one of my favorite nudes to wear since it blends well into my skin tone, I am brown biscuit right now so it looks great.

 

6. Proactiv Solution: Refining Mask
- I have massive break outs around that time of the month. My hormones just do not want to simmer down. So this refining mask has been helping me out tones! I use it all over my face every night when I am getting those break outs for about 3 days and poof those suckers go away! It is a bit expensive, full size bottle is around $30 but it is well worth it because it works!



7. MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC45
- I have been tanning so I am using a darker shade in powder foundation to warm up my face. My skin is still oily from the warmer month so I can not yet use liquid foundation. I need the weather to geta bit more colder for me to switch over. I usually have combination skin, but in the warmer months I am oily, and colder month I am drier. Anyway love this powder foundation. Been my favorite power foundation since high school! Great coverage, and it is buildable if you want more coverage.

 

8. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette
- I won't go too much into this one, since I have a review on it. Go check out my review on this one in a previous article! Love this palette. It is great for everyday use. Multipurpose for different areas of the face which is great! Such a great little compact to travel with and the shadows are so buttery and blendable. Love it! Sephora has this for around $27.  Check out my review in the link below:

http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/10/urban-decay-naked-basics-palette-review.html




9. NeoStrata Moisture Infusion Cream (sample size)
- I got this delux sample size face cream and was hesitant to try it. Lately when I try sample sizes of face creams I had bad luck with them. They were either too greasy or they smelled awful. But this Neo Strata Moisture infusion face cream is a delight to use. Very moisturizing without being greasy (thank the Lord) and it smells good. Those are my main two items I look for in a moisturizer, also that it does not break me out and that has not happened. Yay!

10. Nivea Mint & Minerals lip balm
- This is my favorite lip balm. Very affordable, and leave your lips smooth. It does not cause any cracking which is great. The light minty sensation is awesome because it is not over powering. You can get this at your local drug store.



11. Revlon Color Stay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in #1 Copper Spice
- This little quad is amazing for every day use. I love this color quad for work mostly, but even for the night time as well. The colors are pigmented well. They do blend great, the only issue is they can be a tiny bit chalky. But what can you do for a $11 quad you can not complain. I have another quad from the same line called #5 Blushed Wines. Both quads are neutral colors. Copper Spice is more of a brown earthy tone neutral, and blushed wines is more of a pink tone neutral. Both are great but I use Copper Spice the most.

#1 Copper Spice

#5 Blushed Wines

12. Urban Decay Naked BB Cream
- I love Urban Decay products. My second favorite make up line by far (With MAC taking first place of course) This Naked BB Cream is amazing. It is a great formula that really does what it says on the bottle. Optical blurring is really the best feature in this formula. Of course it has a primer to prime the skin, and thats great but the optical blurring portion of it is my favorite. When you apply this beauty balm on your skin it truly blurs out any redness and tones down the discoloration areas on your skin. Amazing. The price point is on the bit expensive side but realistically it is worth the price. Sephora is selling them for about $34. I know it is steep, but well worth it in the end. Trust me on this one, I would not tell you otherwise if it didn't work out for me. Keep in mind my skin tone is Olive toned, and I have oily combination skin. The only down side about this product is the scent. Not the best scent but its managible. Go check out my link below to my full review on this product I did back in August.
http://macgirl25.blogspot.ca/2013/08/urban-decay-naked-skin-beauty-balm.html






















13. Benefit They're Real Mascara (Sample size)
- So I got this sample size as my birthday gift from Sephora and I wasn't fond of knowing the brush head was a spikey plastic material. But I shouldn't have judged until I tried it. Boy is this mascara great. It makes my lashes look twice as long then they are naturaly. Volume wise, it gives volume but not enough volume as I would like. A normal bottle size is $30 and I don't know if I would spend that much on mascara when it only does one out of the two features I look for. But It still made my lashes look great, so I am enjoying it while it lasts. Ps. I have a second sample of this baby so I should be ok for a while LOL.




















14. Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer
- I love this eye lid primer before applying shadows. This primter is a one shade fits all type and really cancels out the discoloration on the eyelids big time. Sometimes I don't even apply shadow because I love the natural color the primer gives my skin. Amazing. Sephora sells this product for $22. I have had it for a while so it does last, but the packaging could be better. The doe foot applicator is great, but as you get to the bottom of the tube, it is hard to scrape out the rest of the product since the applicator doesn't go that far down the bottle. A squeezy tube would help. I love the product just the packaging could improve in order to not waste product.



















15.L'oreal Smoldering Eyeliner in Black
- Love this smoldering eyeliner for the water line. I use this to smudge on the top lash line as well if I am doing a smokey effect, however the waterline this baby lasts and that is what I want. Very inexpensive $8 or so and even though it's a smaller stick the product does last long because you only need a little bit to go a long way! You can find this at your local drug stores.

16. Marcel Eyebrow Pencil in Black
- This is my favorite drug store brow pencil by far. I have tried a few brow pencils from the drug store in the past and this one is the best one. The formula is very creamy and therefore makes the application to the brows more enojoyable. Less work to blend in which is a bonus AND because the formula is creamy and pigmented you can also use this baby as an eyeliner too! Yup two in one. Love those type of products. I purchased this a while back and it has lasted me about 1 year and I am still going with it. Granted its coming to the end but still lasts long.
 

17. Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in Sandstorm
- This one is new discovery for me but since I purchased it I can not stop using it. Cheap product and keeps your skin matte. I bought it a bit lighter for setting under the eye (since I don't want to finish my ben nye banana powder) and I find myself using it in my T zone as well. Got it for $6. Pretty impressed with Rimmel lately. Keep in mind I have combiniation oily skin. So those girls out there who are dry skin, you may not enjoy this as much as I do. :) Just saying.


18. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Peach Satin
- I was scared to try this but once I did, I fell in love! These blushes are so affordable and they blend so well into the skin that I just can't believe how great they work with my skin. Yes they are cheaper, they do not last 14 hours onthe skin, which is a bummer but really all you need them to last is for an 7 to 8 hour work shift. Anything more then that is a bonus. I usually use my real techniques contour brush to blend this product out and it works so amazing. You will be able to find them in any drug store.
 

19. The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Butter
- I love using this baby on my hands at night before I go to sleep. It is a body butter so it does have a tiny bit of greasyness to it which I personally do not mind since I am going to bed, my hands will not be wondering around doing things for them to slip. In the morning my hands feel so soft and hydrated, wow I can not say enough. I love those body butters. I think the Body Shop is a Canadian store, but if you are interested in checking them out they are having a 40% off sale right now (November 2-3 2013) so go check it out!
http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/shop-by-line.aspx#/shop-by-line.aspx

20. Real Techniques Brushes
- I have the more expensive Sigma brushes and those are great, however Real Techniques brushes founded by a fellow YouTuber from Pixiwoo Channel are by far the best most affordable brushes anyone can have. The sets of 5 to 3 brushes per set go for about $18-$20 a set! Which is amazing! The bristles are so soft, easy to use, easy to blend make up with. They are great and to wash them is so easy as well. I have been loving these three brushes below the most this month from the Real Techniques Brush line. If you are a beginner or even a make up proffessional these are a must have in your collection. I swear to you that you will not regret the purchase.

Multi Task Brush
Contour Brush
Domed Shadow Brush






 Well that is it for my October Favorites! Thank you all so much for reading, I truly appreciate all your support!

Until Next Time Beauty Lovers ❤️

MacGirl25

June 2013 Beauty Favorites

I didn't want to wait too long so here is my June beauty favorites hope you enjoy these monthly favorites as much as I do! This month I did not have as many as I did in May but they are still the products I have been enjoying last month.

1.  Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturizer in Cocoa Radiant
    - This spray and go moisturizer has been my go to "lotion" for after showering and before bed. This sprays out of a aerosol can and feels so light on the skin. My skin soaks up all the moisture right away so I do not feel greasy or slick after application. Great product. You can find this at any drug store/Wal Mart at an affordable cost.

2. The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot lotion
    - Loving this foot lotion this time of year. Where I live, in the summer time its hot and humid so the cooling sensation of this lotion on the feet is very relaxing. I usually use this every night before bed so I am not walking on the floor since it is a thicker lotion you can slip and slide if you are not careful. This lotion does contain coco butter which is why is can be a little slippery at first. Night time treatment is the best time for this product. Love it! You can get this at the Body Shop for around $16 and bottle last you a long time.

3. OPI Original Nail Envy
    - I was skeptical about this product at first, but given time in using it I have noticed a huge difference in my finger nail health. After using half a bottle I am noticing now that my nails are not spliting as much as they used to. I use this as a base coat (normally 2 coats before nail polish). Honestly this product surprised me in a good way! Now my nails are at a state where they don't break easily like they used to since I have been using this. Magic in a bottle :)

4. Burt's Bees Honey lip balm
    - Pretty straight forward here. It is an all natural company so their lip balm is one of the best on the market. Love it in the tube form so that you don't need to stick your finger inside a tub. You can find these at any drug store or local health food store. They are about $5 sometimes you can find the packages where you get 2 lip balms for $5 which is great!

5. Rimmel Scandeleyes Kohl Kajal Waterproof eyeliner in Nude
   - This is my go to everyday eyeliner for my waterline during the day. Its a perfect nude color for the waterline and it makes your daytime eye look so much more natural rather than using a white waterline eyeliner. This product you can buy at any drug store for less than $7.

6. MAC Select Cover up in NW25
   - I am loving this cover up this time of year (not just the month) because it is a light weight concealer that will mask those dark circles under the eyes. This is a build able concealer as well, so for those days where you did not sleep that much the night before then you can use a second layer if needed. I would have to say this is my favorite concealer for the summer months in the heat and humidity.

7. Maybelines Dream Bouncy Blush in Peach Satin
   - When I first bought this blush I was skeptical about it. The texture of a cream blush sort of freaked me out. But once I began to wear it and play with it a bit I literally fell in love with the color. This shade is the perfect spring/summer coral shade to use on your cheeks. You can go very light or apply it darker in a gradual way with your blush brush. (But I personally love applying this blush with my contour brush on the apples of my cheeks). It is very affordable at your local drug store for around $5- $7 depending on where you go to buy it.

Until Next time Beauty Lovers!❤
MacGirl25

Foot lotion: Body Shop Peppermint cooling

With the great warm weather here, I am encouraged to wear more of my sandals, wedges, and open toe pumps to work. The thing is though that I get the worst calluses under my heals and under my balls of my feet just below where my toes connect with my foot. I do my monthly pedicures to help with the over all health of myself and my feet but because I'm always bare foot in the spring and summer I need a good foot hydrating lotion. I have had this foot lotion in my stash for a while so I cracked it out and I haven't put it away ever since. This lotion has slowed down my calluses production on the bottom of my feet between pedicures. The peppermint does wonders on your skin. When you first apply it you might think its a bit greasy but once you rub it in fully all you get is the best moisturizer for your feet. I don't remember the cost of the bottle if I were to guess I would think its around $17 but its a decent size bottle and as you can see from the photo below I have been using it every night before bed, and ladies and gents a little goes a long ass way! 

If you are interested in trying it out please visit this website for more information .

http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/index.aspx

Until next time beauty lovers ❤

MacGirl25