BEAUTY | Shu Uemura Crafted in Japan Collection #LunarFebruary

Better late than never, right? Released about six months ago, the limited edition Shu Uemura Crafted in Japan collection is made in Japan and is inspired by the beautiful art of origami. While the actual pieces in the collection are not limited, this design was, but rest assured that you haven't missed out on the products if you are interested! This compact collection consists of: Ultime8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil, Petal 55 Foundation Brush and the Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil.

Press samples 

SKINCARE | Getting to Know KBeauty Brand Purito

Truth be told, when North America started getting on the "clean beauty" bandwagon and declaring products as "paraben-free" and "free of harsh chemicals" (the latter phrase I despise, but for the sake of this post I will use it) this wasn't all that new to the Korean beauty world. Most of the kbeauty products I was using 10 years ago were already paraben-free as well as had a focus on plant-based ingredients like ginseng, cica, rice and other herbs. Purito is exactly this PLUS being 100% EWG green level certified, cruelty-free, using only recycled packaging (not as pretty, but that means more money goes into the actual product) and not having added fragrance which I find HUGE in the world of kbeauty because they really love their scents!

 PR samples

SKINCARE | Probiotics in Your Skincare? First Impressions of Tula!

Back in February, I was introduced to a brand I had only heard about at Cosmoprof, but never tried since it was only available in the US through Neiman Marcus, Spack NK and Nordstrom, but never fear because now Tula is shipping to Canada! I received a discovery kit back in February to get to know the brand so these reviews will be somewhat more brief then my usual skincare Bible-length blog posts, but I will soon have full reviews coming over the next few months!

Tula, meaning "balance" in Sanskrit, is an interesting brand because of the addition of probiotics or healthy bacteria in their skincare formulations. We all know how important yogurt is with their bacterial cultures and probiotics in skincare works the same way. Just like having healthy gut bacteria or flora, our skin's surface also has something called a microbiome which is a unique collection of microbes that are perfectly balanced at keeping our skin happy. Adding probiotics has been shown to help with inflammation and aid in hydration. Likewise, if this balance is disturbed, the good bacteria can turn bad and cause skin conditions such as acne. Since this is a first impressions post, I will not delve too much into the the biology of probiotics, but I will when I review the full sized products!

PR samples, Affiliate Links

KOREAN BEAUTY | Amorepacific Treatment Cleansing Oil Face & Eyes

Back in July, I shared on Instagram that I was about to embark on a skincare journey with Amorepacific and Sulwhasoo. As some of you know, Amorepacific and Sulwhasoo are under the AmorePacific Corporation umbrella and are a beauty powerhouse in South Korea with brands like Etude House, Laneige and Aritaum also being part of the family. Amorepacific and Sulwhasoo are on the upper end of the brand spectrum in terms of pricing and though I have had quite a bit of experience with entry level brands like Laneige and Etude House, I had yet to experience luxury Korean skincare. I thought about doing one first impressions review on everything I was using, but I think it'll be more useful to have in-depth reviews for each item since I personally would phase in products at this price point into my routine one at a time instead of five at once. I mean, that's a lot of money to throw out there in one go and people rarely change their skincare routine that drastically.

SKINCARE | Les Soins de Jacynthe Cleansing Oil, Eau Florale de Rose & Le Sérum Review

I swore late last year that I would be much more selective about the skincare that I use and review, but when I was faced with reviewing a few products from Les Soins de Jacynthe, I was immediately intrigued by the fact that the products are 100% natural and created by Quebec-based health and beauty guru, Jacynthe Rene. I was not familiar with Jacynthe or the brand and finding information and/or reviews proved to be quite difficult. The main resource I had were reviews from other blogs and at the time I was asked to review even those were scarce. Thankfully a number of Canadian beauty bloggers have given the lowdown on this brand and the results are overwhelmingly positive!

SKINCARE | Vichy Purete Thermale Beautifying Cleansing Micellar Oil Review

Double cleansing has long been part of the Asian skincare routine and it is actually really nice to have a lot more options now that people aren't quite as scared to use oil to cleanse their faces. The concept of first using an oil cleanser to lift and emulsify makeup and dirt from the skin followed by a second cleanser to actually clean the skin makes so much sense! The double cleanse will not dry out your skin as long as the first cleanser is oil-based. I have been fortunate enough to try a few oil cleansers and believe it or not, they really are all different in their own way!

Last year, Vichy released the Purete Thermale Cleansing Micellar Oil* ($125mL/$19.95 CDN), a gentle oil to milk cleanser that promises to remove even the toughest of eye makeup without compromising the softness of skin. 

SKINCARE | Gettin' Oiled Up with New Lipidol Skincare Oils!

From the makers of the cult healing oil Bio-Oil, come six new skincare oils for the face and body from Lipidol! We are now seeing how amazing oils are for the skin and that even oily skin types should embrace the fact that oils are good! The can both lift dirt and makeup from the skin and prevent stripping of the skin's natural oils. Lipidol combines this plus the healing aspect that Bio-Oil was so well-known for. Each skincare oil contains anti-flammatory ingredients like chamomile as well as essential oils shown to have functional skincare benefits. Sounds amazing, right? What's even more amazing is that nothing in the collection is more than $8.97. Crazy!