Showing posts with label dior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dior. Show all posts

Thursday, April 21, 2011

REVIEW: Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Serum


What an absolutely luxurious delight this serum has been! Often times we dismiss luxury brands as not having effective skincare, that you may just be paying for the "name" more than anything. 

This particular serum helps to dispel that notion! Yes, it costs $160 for an ounce. Yes, the gorgeous glass bottle is far larger and heavier than one would ever think an ounce of product would require. But for someone serious about anti-aging, with a little extra cash burning a hole in their pocket, this serum is a must have!

The gorgeous glass bottle has a hexagonal shape through the top of the gold lid. A golden dropper with a little embossed bee is built right into the lid, which is a thing of beauty in and of itself. The bottle is quite heavy, so keep it somewhere safe. A little knock could send it crashing to the floor! (I would cry)

The main active ingredient, Royal Jelly, is very close to the top of the ingredient list. There are also other goodies, like Hyaluronic Acid, Centella Asiatica, and various peptides. The promise from Guerlain is that tiny micro-tears in the skin cause wrinkles, and Royal Jelly helps to speed up the repair process.

What I do know is that after using this serum twice a day for just a few days my skin was positively glowing! After about 10 days there was a new firmness along my jaw line and my eyes felt brighter (I tapped this serum right up to the orbital bone). 

What most surprised me about this product is the lack of silicone. There is a Dimethicone blend in there, but it's most of the way near the bottom of the ingredient list! Often when anti-aging products claim such fast results (cough *Olay* cough) they are using loads of silicones in the creams (combined with non-scientific, in-house, perception studies...not independent clinical trials).

After about a month of using this amazing serum I have to say...I am definitely in love (wouldn't it be a shame if an expensive treatment sucked?!?). My skin glows! Hydration levels are definitely up (even though I have started occasional Retin-A...more on that another time), my moisturizer works better, and my eye area is luminized!

A little goes a long way with this product! If you are in the Toronto area, get yours from Murale at Shops at Don Mills...the girls there will hook you up with loads of great samples to make the purchase even moreso worth your while! 

If you are buying it online, click on the Sephora.com logo below

Free Samples, Sales & More. Check out the latest beauty deals at Sephora.com!

Monday, September 27, 2010

REVIEW: Maybelline the Colossal Volum' Express Mascara


I'd like to start off by saying the advertising for this mascara is just RIDICULOUS. Why do they use models who look like they're wearing 20 layers of false eyelashes, loads of black eyeliner, and have been photoshopped to the moon and back?

The public perception of what we, as women, are supposed to look like is so scewed that I'm scared for today's young girls. I don't know ANYONE who's eyelashes look like the models in ANY mascara ad, ever.

**okay, public service announcement over**

I love this mascara! I bought it because it was on sale for half price. Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a mascara junkie and I'm willing to pretty much try anything to make my eyelashes look bigger (RapidLash, anyone?).

Even at full price ($10) it's a steal. This mascara is AWESOME! It's got a very big brush, almost as big as Dior's Diorshow. The bristles are classic wire bristles, and because there are sooo many of them, no eyelash goes unpolished. The formula is shiny, not thick and goopy, and applies beautifully! I had super huge big black eyelashes with only one coat!

Oddly enough, the mascara smells really pretty! I didn't keep the packaging to see where "fragrance" lands in the ingredients list...but it was a pretty interesting surprise!

Here is a picture of me wearing Maybelline the Colossal Volum' Express in Glam Black only on one eye...

Nevermind that I look cross-eyed...or that my eyebrows need grooming... the mascara is pretty awesome, isn't it? Have you ever tried this mascara? What do you think of it? If not, what's your favorite mascara?

Are you in need of pretty jewelry to go with your fab eyelashes? Check out Goddess Jewelry

Shop Benefit Cosmetics for our Your Beauty Needs!