Zoya "Naturel" Collection

My packaged from Zoya's annual three free polishes finally came. For those who missed it, every year Zoya gives out free nail polishes as long as you pay the shipping. So 3 polishes for $12 is a great steal considering Zoya polishes retail for $9 each. I ordered 2 polishes from the "Naturel" collection and a glitter top coat. And yes it is spelled with an "e" and not an "a". I really like the pinky nude colors so I ended up choosing Brigitte and Odette. I was debating between Maria Luisa gold glitter topcoat and the Normani that's also from the "Naturel" collection. I ended up getting the Maria Luisa considering I did not own a gold glitter nail polish.

A comparison between 3 from the "naturel" collection

A picture of Brigitte on my nails.

Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital SPF 30 Sunscreen

Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital Sunscreen
SPF 30

At last, a sunscreen from the Sephora Sun Kit that I really like. I like the feel of it and the smell of it. It feels hydrating without the greasiness, and also very lightweight. But of course, it's never this perfect. My main issue with it is that it is packaged as a tub, which is a slight deal breaker with me. I prefer creams and lotions to be packed in bottles, and a pump would also be nice for cleanliness and minimal contamination. Of course, your hands are clean whenever you dip your fingers into this product since you just washed your face but it's not contaminate-free. Spatulas can be used but those are just a pain. And another deal breaker for me is that it contains methylparaben, an ingredient that I would like to avoid. At $46 for 1.7oz, I'm glad that I'm not in total love with it. I must move on from this fine product to find my perfect sunscreen.

Product Link:
Lancome
Sephora

L'occitane Almond Shower Oil

This shower oil smells delicious all thanks to the almond oil. Even though it seems really strange at first to cleanse using an oil in the shower, this thing lather ups rather nicely. Using oil to cleanse is not a new thing. There are several popular companies that are coming out with oil cleansers, such as Josie Maran, Origins, and Murad, while other companies such as Shu Uemura that have been famously selling their cleansing oils for over decades. Most of these are marketed just for the face but this cleansing oil is made especially for the shower. And on the plus side this product is made without parabens, synthetic dyes, phthalates, and triclosan. Now my only problem is choosing this shower oil or the L'occitane Pivone Flora Shower Gel or the Korres Jasmine Showergel.

Product Links:

L'occitane Pivone Flora Shower Gel

L'occitane Almond Shower Oil

Korres Jasmine Shower Gel

Ipsy January Bag

I've been subscribed to Ipsy for a while now. It's a monthly subscription bag that's only $10 from several YouTube beauty gurus including Michelle Pham, Promise Phan, Andrea, Jessica, and Bethany.

For this month:
Tahitian Monoi anti-aging sugar scrub: sample size
Malin+goetz mojito lip balm: full size
Elizabeth Mott creamy eye pencil: sample size in penny
Biogeo deep conditioning hair mask: sample size
Proactiv+ mark fading pads: 4 pads

I'm pretty happy with this bag this month. This month was definitely worth it considering the Malin+goetz lip balm alone is a full size and retails at $12. I'm also curious about the proactiv+ pads, and I've been looking for scrubs and a hair mask. As for the eye pencil, thank goodness it wasn't in black. I received way too many black pencils from ipsy and I gave most of them away. 

Michael Todd Pumpkin Facial Mask

I received a deluxe sample of this from one of my subscription boxes for August but I didn't get to try it until recently. Since this is a pumpkin mask, I feel like this is more appropriate for the fall season than in August. Squeezing it out of the 1 fl. oz. (30mL) tube, it looks like pumpkin puree. With 5% glycolic acid, this is very tingly on the skin and I can definitely see it be irritating for some skin types such as sensitive skin. It is suggested to leave the mask on for 5 to 10 minutes and use once every 1 to 2 weeks. However, I use it only once every 3 weeks, with other masks in between.

Product Links:
http://www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com/index.php/pumpkin-nutrient-rich-facial-mask.html#_