Beauty

Antipodes Grace Cleanser

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AntipodesI can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I talked to you guys about one of my favourite skincare brands to use, Antipodes! Remember back in August when I reached out to them, then did a mini review/haul? I’m still using their products and because I’m constantly reviewing new skincare items and makeup, sometimes I forget to mention the oldies but goodies.

Antipodes-Grace-CleanserAntipodes is unfortunately a bit difficult to get your hands on, seeing as they are New Zealand based. But that doesn’t mean you should shrug them aside and forget about them.

Grace Cleanser (4.23fl oz, $52.00) is the type of cleanser I usually gravitate towards, since it is fragrance-free, it doesn’t leave a film on the skin, and suited especially for those with sensitive, and irritated skin. As I mentioned many times, I’m careful with the products I use on my body and face after my 7 month long hive breakout situation. Side note: pretty sure those annoying hives were due to being subconsciously stressed. Knock-on-wood the hives only pop up once every few weeks.

Getting back to the topic, I wish it was easier to access for me, because I really love using it. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight, but rather hydrated and soft.

You are to use the cleanser on a daily basis, and apply in circular motions to your face, neck and décolletage both morning and night. I gotta tell you, I break the rules and definitely do not use this day and night, nor on a daily basis, as I want it to last forever and ever — plus it’s kinda pricey! I think someone needs to import it to America, and sell it here. I’d buy it once in a while for a splurge on my skin, for sure.

Remember, a cleanser is not a makeup remover. Remove your makeup appropriately at first, then clean your skin with Antipodes Grace Cleanser.

Prefer natural + organic skincare? Try @AntipodesNZ
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Have you tried anything from Antipodes? 

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Beauty

Dior Sculpting Blush (2 colours!)

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dior-sculptLike many brands, Dior is getting in on the contouring, sculpting action too. And rightfully so! It’s the way I love to apply my makeup on a daily basis, sculpting my face and playing around with it all to create different looks.

 

Dior-sculpt-blushesDior Diorblush Sculpting Powders in Pink Shape (left) and Coral Shape (right), it also comes in two contour shades (see Julie’s review of the brown contour shade here). While I’m not comfortable with highlighting my skin yet, as much as I love a nice glow to the face, I appreciate that Dior made the blush side of the compact much larger than the highlighting side.

Gliding on smooth, opaque and with perfect blend-ability, these two sculpting blush-highlighter duo’s are easy to wear and apply. As you can see, they even come with a mini sculpting brush, which I don’t mind using with it (for the most part I throw out a lot of the brushes that come with compacts, but not this one!).

See them in action, on my face.

Before-After-blushBefore and after using blush. On the right picture, Coral shape is applied on the left, and Pink Shape is on the right. When I have my self-tan applied, I love using the Coral, and when I’m a bit pale, I opt for the Pink!

Up close ‘n personal swatches:

PinkPink shape blush on cheek.

CoralCoral shape blush on cheek. Blushes were applied heavily so it’d pick up on camera!

Pink-and-Coral-shapeDior Diorblush Sculpting Powders in Pink Shape and in Coral Shape.

And if you want to get real crazy around these parts to even out your cheek swatches, apply them together instead of removing your makeup and reapplying. Hah — I mean it works, right? My pal Zoe said it perfectly in her review of the two blushes, that the two gives natural looks to the skin and would work great on skin of any age.

sculpt-blushDior Diorblush Sculpting powders ($43USD / $54CDN) are available at Dior counters.

 

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Beauty

Bioderma for sensitive skin

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bioderma-headerI’m all about the Bioderma products for the past couple of years. Their incredibly popular micellar water is still hard to purchase here in the USA, but it’s readily available at stores in Canada. In fact, the micellar waters were included in part of my SpiffyClaus event back in late December.

While I was home from December to mid-February, I received a parcel in the mail from them and only had a chance to try the items out a handful of times (because there wasn’t enough room in my luggage to cart a couple of litres of bath products back to California with me), so I left it with my Mom and she’s been using it ever since. But I can review what I’ve tried, since I had written a few notes down, before leaving Newfoundland! Here we go :)

Bioderma-shower-gel

Bioderma-gelBioderma Atoderm Shower Gel (dry sensitive skin) $19.95 CDN: You can see from the sample I have in my hand, it’s a clear liquid consistency, and has a creamy foam texture when latered onto the skin with your loofa. I loved that it came in a pump bottle, since a lot of shower gels have a squeezey tube you have to fumble with in the shower. It’s a huge 1L container too, so it’s going to last you ages.

lotionBioderma Atoderm PP balm $29.95 CDN: More like a lotion than a thick balm, it was pleasant to apply all over the body after getting a warm shower on a bitter cold Canadian winters day. My skin was still acting up with the whole hive-situation back in Canada, so this was nice and soothing to apply, since it didn’t have a scent and it wasn’t too thick or irritating on my skin.

bioderma-wipesBioderma Sensibo H2o makeup wipes: I’m a huge fan of makeup wipes, and actually went through 2 packages of them while I was home in Newfoundland. They were a bit more dry than I was expecting. And as most of you know I don’t wear a ton of eye makeup or heavy foundation, so this did the job — but I wish they could add a bit more moisture to the wipes.

bioderma-trioBioderma moisturizing stick (damaged and dehydrated lips) $6.95 CDN: I have been buying this lip balm for a couple of years (the bioderma one shown here, and the one from Avene are my two favourite lip balms, ever). I didn’t open this one because I have a few in rotation at the moment, so this one stayed home with my Mom.

If you have sensitive skin, try out Bioderma products since they are hypoallergenic and paraben-free.

Products were sent from Bioderma for review. Opinions are my own. I have been using Bioderma for years prior to working them!

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