Beauty Product Reviews

THE BEST SKINCARE ITEM TO GIFT EVER

If you asked me what product I tend to gift to my friends and family...hands down it is this cream! It's lightweight, great for all skin types, and if you can get it one of the PTR sets they tend to release from time to time, it's an even BETTER value (because usually it's a full size of this moisturizer + a few deluxe samples, all at the same price as the moisturizer alone). Honestly, I've gifted it to my dad, brother, significant other, friends....all have loved it, no one has ever had any adverse reaction or complained about it. I'll keep gifting this one as long as PTR keeps making it ;)

FEEL GOOD. BUILD COLLAGEN.

Look. All I know is that when I run out of this, I'm pretty sure that my body, hair, nails and energy see a difference when I'm using this everyday, vs not.

I used to religiously drink their matcha powder every day (which isn't carried at Beautylish anymore) and it became a ritual to make a collagen matcha latte with sweet creamer. I've tried a lot of the Vital Proteins, from their Beef Liver capsules (took it to see if it would help with energy levels, I think it did? But I'm pretty bad being consistent with pills), their Bone Broth collagen (loved it, would throw several stick packs into soups I would make), most of their collagen creamers (loved them, would happily add to my already full of collagen matcha latte), and their Beef Gelatin powder (I like it except I hated the way it would "jelly" up when it got cold in my cup). I think I've also tried the other "flavored" collagen Vital Proteins has and those were never exactly my favorites when I would try them....maybe because my main beverage of choice for these is coffee.

However, I do think that nothing will beat the original Collagen Peptides because 1) It's flavorless, which means you can drop it into anything 2) Comes with a pre-measured scoop 3) Feels like my hair is less prone to falling out 4) I do feel like my energy levels are more stable and less "I think I need to take an afternoon nap." 5) AGAIN GOES GREAT WITH COFFEE!!

It's easy to ingest, my stomach never acts up when I use it, and when I do have a jar of it, my brain automatically reaches for it when I'm setting the moka pot on for my cup of morning coffee. Overall, I would say it's definitely a staple in my morning routine and it does seem to last a pretty long time!

NEVER HAVE CHAPPED LIPS EVER AGAIN WITH THE NEVER ENDING JAR!

First of all, this jar last forever. My first jar lasted me YEARS. And no, it did not smell funky or seemed to go bad so I continued to use it. I mostly use Papaw for my lips but have used it on my hands or dry patches when I need it. I bought the 75g jar prior to re-purchasing the 200g jar and I seemed to go through it super quick, so although pricey, the 200g jar is the way to go if you want to have it on hand for years. I keep the jar at home and I also buy the tubes to keep in my purse. I have thought about trying Lanolips but I also can't bear the idea of straying from my beloved red tubed ointment. Maybe it's just glorified vasoline. Maybe it's all in my head! But I have been repurchasing in some way, shape or form for 7 years so you know it's a staple in my everyday essentials.

SMOOTH. DOESN'T TUG. COLOR IS PERFECT!

ILIA's Gel Liner has been on my list for a while and I'm always so wary of trying new liners. Nothing ever seems to feel or look right and often times, ends up just making my eyes look really small (I mean, it could be my application too ha) or smudges or skips when you apply. However! I think I really have found my HG in this liner! Dusk is a perfect dark brown so it isn't as stark black, which I'm trying to move away from. It goes on super smooth, doesn't skip, blends where you need it and once it's on, it's on.

I love wearing it with either a bit of their Chromatic Eye Tin in Fresco or the Nudestix Plush Lip/Eye Paint in Tahiti Hottie on the eyelid, lining the inner rim of my eyelids with the Gel Liner, then applying some mascara on top afterwards. Perfect for those barely there days when I feel like wearing something but not looking like I have a lot on...which seems to be the case most days during the pandemic. I've been also trying to focus on changing out my makeup to more clean based beauty, so it feels good to apply something closer to my eyeballs that I know doesn't have any bad for you ingredients.

My only gripe (which is similar to the other ILIA packaging), is that the white packaging seems to get dirty quicker than most, or at least because of the color, it's amore visible. This is a small grip and one I can live with but I do get brown all over the tip of my liner haha! I already have another one in my shopping basket because I do not want to risk being without this liner in my makeup bag for everyday!

PRECISE, DOESN'T BUDGE, GLIDES ON SMOOTH

I had prior been using a very thick eyeliner pencil that was meant as a liner/smudge all over for shadow, but that finally was about to bite the dust and decided to pick up this gel eyeliner from Anastasia! I've in the past tried the IT Cosmetics and Stila versions that are similar but I think this one is by far my favorite so far. The product itself is quite slim (I keep mistaking it for my Stila Stay All Day liquid liner lol) and the tip is teeny tiny, so that took a bit of getting used to (coming from a really fat eyeliner prior) but I love it. I mostly have been using it to rim the inner rims of my eyes during quarantine, as I've not been doing too much eye makeup, just in the inner rims and my brows to help me a feel a little more "done."

This glides on super smoothly, stays put, doesn't smudge, and best of all, I am not allergic! I've had a few reactions to some other brands in the past (Charlotte Tilbury, while I love the line so much, for some reason I'm allergic to the eye pencils in that line) and this just feels really good to put on. I tend to rub my eyes a lot when I know I'm not wearing any eyeshadow, and this stays put. Love it, will have to return to it when I run out of this one!

SURFER GIRL HAIR WITHOUT THE SALT

Dang, R+Co, I thought the Badlands Dry Shampoo Paste was the the perfect hair paste (a dry shampoo & texture creme all in one) and then WHAM! They drop this new Sand Castle Texture Creme and since I'm an absolute sucker for anything that promises surfer girl, beach texture hair, of course I had to buy it. For me, I wash my hair at night and let it air dry and then in the morning, I will grab a quarter size of Sand Castle, warm it up in my hands until the paste dissolves, then rough it through my hair starting at the roots then just spreading it out in pieces throughout my hair. It seems to give it texture, volume, and hold, all in one go. I've even been using this WITHOUT spraying my beloved Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray in my hair everyday. And believe me, that is a feat all in itself!

Between this and Badlands, the texture feels....a bit less gritty to me? Badlands tends to leave a bit of grit feeling in the palms, even after dissolving it and for some reason, I tend to feel "less" of Sand Castle in my hair after I apply it. I think a quarter sized amount on both pastes is good (otherwise, you feel "too much" product) and not more than that. For reference, my hair is about 3/4 down my back and presently with long layers throughout.

I'm going on a long vacation in the next couple months and for me when I'm planning what to bring traveling, its been a true test to see how minimal I can go with my hair styling products. I'm pleased that after testing this out for about a month, I likely will only need to bring this and my Sexy Hair Concepts Powder Play (a volumizing powder that has been my HG hair product for about 6 years now) on my trip. The Powder Play to add a bit more hold and volumizing at the crown of the head, and Sand Castle to further that hold and give texture and volume for the rest of my mane. I have always loved a product with some clay in it too so it absorbs any oil. I don't get oily in my hair often thankfully, but it makes me feel better knowing its an ingredient ;)

Lastly, the scent is really nice! Citrusy, bright, not too strong, and I don't even smell it after in my hair, so it doesn't clash with whatever fragrance I end up wearing that day. Overall, the fact that I have steadily been able to find products to minimize WHAT I use in my hair to style it to still give me that "I just rolled out of bed and woke up with my hair all over the place" without having to use my teasing comb has been the biggest win for me the past couple years!

gets the tangles out without hurting or tugging!

Oh my gosh. My life is changed. I seriously hate combing my hair ALOT and it wasn't until I picked up my Anna Sui hairbrush that I realized I didn't mind it so much. HOWEVER. When I'm out of the shower, I still, for the life of me, cannot comb my hair properly to have it not be a giant knotty mess. Maybe once a month I will actively use detangling spray and a wide tooth comb to comb my hair out.

That all changed when I saw my cousin using the Tangle Teezer during the holidays and she said it detangled quickly and painlessly and was really easy to use. ALL OF THE ABOVE! It's very inexpensive and pretty easy to find in most places and its very ergonomic in the hand. I actually enjoy combing my hair and it doesn't "catch" or snarl the hair either, it just seems to glide like absolute magic. I feel like my hair is slowly reaching its full potential these days without me having to tease it sky high these days (its my goal to love my hair the way it is without having to backcomb...as I went for that crazy Motley Crue look for a long time) and this is helping me to keep my hair knot free, healthy, and with less feeling that I'm growing weird things in the giant tangles!

REMOVES MAKEUP. CLEANSES AND HYDRATES

I've been really into anything that involves cleansing and removing makeup into one step. The older I get, the lazier I am with makeup removal in general. Most days I do use a makeup remover and remove the rest with my Bioderma but then again, there a lot of other days I just want to apply, rinse, and that's it! Since it's summer, I've been a little more oily than usual, so this cleansing oil balm from Boscia has been perfect. It even takes off my waterproof mascara when I swim! (don't judge that I wear mascara swimming, okay)

I like to scoop some out into my palms, apply to dry skin, massaging gently on and around the eye area, then splashing a bit of water so it turns milky then I just rinse it all off. Super easy and it removes the oil on my face without stripping, so my skin never feels super tight or dry.

One thing: I've had mine for a while and I noticed that after some time, the product inside looked like it was crystallizing and separating inside, which was concerning to me. I reached out to Boscia directly because I hadn't had this happen with any of my cleansers before so I wanted to make sure it hadn't expired or anything. What they told me was that this was totalllllly normal for it to happen with the makeup melter since all of their products are preservative free and that any color variances and changes will/may occur to all of their products.

Whew! So while it doesn't look pretty in the jar, I'm cool with that because it 1) takes off EVERYTHING really easily 2) It cuts down on the amount of products for me to use 3) I'm the only one who has to look at it and all my skincare jars aren't that pretty inside after a while anyways :)

HOLY GRAIL FOREVER. 4 EVER.

HOW HAVE I NEVER REVIEWED THIS ONE!! I repurchase this baby every two months, I'm serious. It makes my wallet cry but my hair so happy and gives me that crazy tousled hair that I love so much and wish I had naturally. I've tried other lesser priced ones (gimme your recs, I'm still down to try them though!) but nothing, and I mean this in the most Sinead O'Connor type of way, NOTHING compares to you....I mean, you, my beloved Dry Texturizing Spray.

It texturizes. It volumizes. It holds. It even acts like a dry shampoo spray! I use this on clean hair, throw my head upside down and spray away at the roots and all over the hair. I'll spritz on hairspray all over and tie my hair up in a bun while I get ready. By the time I remove my hair from the bun, my hair is just super wavy, big and texturized. Using this has helped me to ween off teasing my hair every single day and believe me, that was a really hard thing to stop doing. Yes, I buy the small version when I travel and the one month I was lazy and didn't replenish my bottle, my hair just did not feel or look the same. I have a weird cowlick on the back of my head where when it's matted down, looks like a bald spot and I had never noticed until I didn't have my Dry spray that this really helped it to perk up and hide it.

This and Big Sexy Hair's Powder Play (a volumizing powder) are my HG's for life and with their powers combined, my hair is never happier!!

Pro tip: All of the Oribe aerosols you have to "break the seal" when you first use them. Press really hard where the rivets are to get it spraying out as normal. Usually it only takes one finger for me to do it but sometimes I do have to use a whole hand to press down on it to get it going!

TEXTURE. GRIP. SURFER GIRL HAIR.

I've actually owned this product for over a year now and man, you don't want to know how long it took for me to find it so I'm glad I can get it at Beautylish now! For the record, I originally bought it from my hair salon (disclaimer: I get a haircut 1x a year because I'm a l-a-z-y girl) and a little goes a long way so I'll let you use your imagination to decide how long I've owned it.

ANYWAYS. This paste! I usually spoon out a about a quarter size for my halfway down the back hair, which is yes, a paste like feeling (the top layer might harden up after a while, but don't worry, it hasn't turned bad, even if the part underneath is soft), warm up in between my hands then I like to finger comb through my hair to give it separation and texture. Sometimes I do use this as dry shampoo but it would have to be when I remember to use less than I normally do, as it can leave the hair feeling a bit gritty in the roots. Hence, why I like to apply it all over my hair.

It gives great hold, texture, and helps me keeping that wild and surfer girl hair I like to have even through the 2nd day before I wash my hair. It's one of the better texturizing paste products I've used and my hair is never ever oily with it either. I did knock off a star because sometimes I do not like the gritty part but alas, I'll have to remind myself not to go as heavy handed sometimes. You really don't need much!

Which reminds me now, after writing this, that I should probably get a haircut soon....