Category: brands

HERBIVORE HAUL: Love It or Leave It?

6 Comments
Herbivore Botanicals Crushed Amethyst Body Polish and Rose Quartz Body Oil

Hey friends!

So, to start off, sorry I’ve been a little quiet this week. My parents were in town visiting, as well I’ve been preparing for my trip to South East Asia (more on that later!) so I haven’t had much downtime lately.

However, I wanted to introduce a new segment to y’all: Love It or Leave It! In these posts, I will be reviewing new products I’ve bought and share my first impressions of them. To kick it off, I’m starting with two new products I got from Sephora this week from Herbivore Botanicals!

I’m gonna start off by talking about the Crushed Amethyst Exfoliating Body Polish. I’ve had my eye on this one for a while, it kept popping up on my Instagram feed so I followed Herbivore and checked out their products. Absolutely everything they carry looks amazing, but this one in particular caught my eye. I consider exfoliating to be one of the more important parts of my routine — it helps to keep your skin fresh and soft, while also avoiding clogged pores and any other gross excess build up on your skin. However, I’ve never managed to find an exfoliator I’ve both loved and been able to purchase continuously, as many of the products I’ve tried came from subscription boxes where I couldn’t purchase the product in Canada, or were discontinued.

I was kind of worried I was getting too excited about trying this product and it wouldn’t live up to the hype. But the moment I opened it and smelt it, I was already pretty sold. It smells of lilacs, which is a super nostalgic scent for me and a personal favourite of mine. My mom was there when I opened it, and without even trying it the scent alone pretty much sold her on buying her own.

However, the real test obviously comes with the results it gives, but boy does it ever give them. This stuff left my skin SO soft and smooth, I’m already pretty convinced this product is going to be my go-to for life. It has fairly large granular particles in it, which exfoliate super effectively. One of my biggest pet peeves with exfoliators is ones that are too watery or soft, meaning you really have to scrub to see results — but this stuff was SO effective without rubbing harshly on my skin. Furthermore, it has some oil component to it which helped moisturize my skin, but it wasn’t so oily that it was overwhelming or gross. I could go on and on about how perfect this stuff is, but I think you kind of get the point. Overall, the verdict is: LOVE IT.

The other product I tried was the Rose Quartz Illuminating Body Oil. I’ve tried a super similar product once in the past that I had been so excited to try and ended up hating it — so I was kind of hesitant to purchase this. The last body oil I tried was heavy and greasy, while also providing a ver oily looking “illumination” that came from the oil and not from the glitter/bronzer of the product. However, this stuff seems pretty legit. I’m not 100% sure I’m totally sold on it — time will tell if I give up my regular moisturizer for this stuff. However, I have to say it definitely left a good first impression. The illumination factor isn’t insane — which is actually kind of nice. I’ve yet to try it out before going out in the day but it seems to give a more natural, healthy glow rather than looking super glittery or oily. Also, compared to the other oil I tried, it’s pretty lightweight and absorbed pretty quickly, so I felt moisturized instead of greasy. On top of all that, it has an AMAZING floral scent to it, and the bottle makes application pretty easy. The pump gives a good amount, while not making you pour out oil by yourself (which is super challenging to do with oily hands) or drip out small amounts in a dropper. So, overall, so far so good. I’m gonna give it a few more weeks before I decide if it’s something worth purchasing again, but so far the verdict is: LOVE IT!

So, there you have it! You can find the exfoliator on Sephora here, as well as the body oil here. And be sure to check out Herbivore Botanicals here! Not only are their products amazing, but they’re all vegan, cruelty-free, as well as only using organic and active ingredients! These are the first two products from their line that I’ve ever tried, but I can say without a doubt they won’t be the last. If you’ve ever tried their other products yourself and have any recommendations, drop them in the comments below!

That’s all for now!

Much Love,

Meredith

Tuesday Favourites: May 21st

2 Comments
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Pencil + Benefit “Gimme Brow” Brow Mascara

Hey lovelies! Welcome back to my third ever Tuesday Favourites!

This week I’m sharing my fave brow products: the ABH Brow Wiz pencil and Brow Mascara by Benefit!

As someone who jumped on the brow trend as soon as Cara Delevingne popularized the dark, thick brow back around 2014, I’ve been through many brow products and many styles, some for better but many for worse.

Obviously, to each their own, but as someone who used to fill in their naturally light brows with thick, dark brow pomade (and not particularly well, I might add) I personally love a natural but precise look. When I get my eyebrows done, I try to keep their natural shape as best I can, and then simply fill them in a little darker everyday.

For those of you who struggle with sparse, patchy brows or want to be able to outline with precision, this ABH pencil is for you. It has a super small tip, which allows me to outline my brows accurately and fill in any patchy areas super easily, while being able to keep my brows looking uniform.

Then, for a natural and well-finished look, I use the Benefit Brow Mascara. I love how this product darkens and defines my brows, while also keeping them in place all day. It gives a natural look with hair definition, and overall keeps my brows looking super sharp while still sticking to a natural finish.

While I personally ADORE these products, I feel like brows are one of the more personalized aspects of makeup, and while one product may work wonders for me it won’t do much for someone else. However, if like me, you have patchy, light eyebrows you want to keep looking sharp yet natural, I highly suggest this combo! As well as in general, even if you simply use a clear mascara, brow mascara seriously is one of the greatest products I’ve ever tried. I had doubts for so many years about it working well or looking good, but as soon as I tried this stuff I was sold.

Feel free to check out the ABH Pencil here, as well as the Benefit brow mascara here.

Have a wonderful day, y’all!

xoxo,

Meredith

Tuesday Favourites: May 14th

2 Comments
Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer

Hey guys! Me again! I’m back with another Tuesday Favourites: the Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer!

I feel like I should preface this by saying I really don’t consider this to be an everyday product — I only use it when I want to look my best. I personally don’t always do my makeup the same way every day, for instance my “just running some errands” makeup is significantly more simple than my “casual” makeup, which is still more simple than when I really want to look my best. However, when I do put in my full effort, this product is a staple. My first time using it, I was kind of turned off by how heavy it felt — I’m sure you can tell by the picture alone that this product is THICK.

But when I went to apply my makeup on top, I was nothing but impressed. Honestly, depending on your skin, this stuff practically eliminates the need for foundation. I myself only use tinted moisturizer, however paired with this it gives the same effect as full-coverage foundation, while also lasting perfectly throughout any situation as well as not feeling too heavy after all your makeup is applied.

This stuff LITERALLY blurs out any flaws on your face, evens your skin tone and soften + smoothes out your skin, all before you even apply foundation. Seriously. On top of that, my makeup always seems to apply WAY more smoothly after I use this — I hardly ever feel like my blush/bronzer/highlighter appears patchy, heavy, unnatural etc after I’ve used this to prime my face. It’s literally like an airbrush effect IRL.

Thought this isn’t my everyday go-to, I love this stuff endlessly. Every time I need to look my best I know I can count on this stuff to make it happen. If you struggle with smooth skin, patchy makeup, or wearing and fading throughout the day, I’d seriously recommend this stuff. Check it out at Sephora here.

Love y’all!

Meredith

Tuesday Favourites: May 7th

7 Comments
Biossance Squalene + Vitamin C Rose Oil

Hey friends! I wanted to start up a little weekly segment where I share some of my favourite products every Tuesday! To start off I thought I’d share one of my all time favourite face products: Biossance Squalene + Vitamin C Rose Oil!

My skin is combination but way more on the dry side, so I absolutely love this stuff. I put it on right before bed and let it absorb overnight. I have to say, for the first few days I was using it rubbing oil all over my face felt just plain wrong, but this product really does work wonders (and you only have to use a few drops!).

The product itself is mostly meant to brighten and firm, which it certainly does well. My skin looks WAY more radiant and fresh ever since I started using it. HOWEVER, the part I love the most is the squalene. I’m no scientist, but from what I understand squalene is something your body produces naturally, as a barrier to protect your skin from dirt and pollutants. However, you produce less and less of it as you get older. While at 22, I no longer seem to get the same type of hormone-related skin issues I did in high school, I still occasionally struggled with breakouts — until I tried this. Even at such a young age, the protective barrier against my skin was clearly starting to fade away and I swear I felt the effect of this product immediately.

On the whole, I gotta say I really love this product. 5/5 stars, will probably purchase it until the end of time, so it seemed fitting for my first Tuesday Favourites! Hope you guys liked this review, check back next week for my next review!

As long as I use it regularly, I swear I never get zits anymore. It’s THAT good. While I was hesitant to buy it, as it is pretty expensive (it’s $90 at Sephora), I’ve had it for months and still have most of the bottle left. Furthermore, the line carries other squalene-based products that are cheaper, or may be better suited to other skin types.