The Body Shop Lipsticks: Color Crush #205 and Color Crush Shine #15

I have more than enough lipsticks to last me a lifetime, but when I walked by The Body Shop the other day and they were having a sale, something clicked in my mind. I remembered hearing Estee from EssieButton talking about how much she loves the Body Shop lipsticks, and I just knew I had to try them. I opted for two different formulas - the Color Crush in #205, and the Color Crush Shine in #15.

Since the two lipsticks are different formulas, they are both very different in texture. As the name suggests, the Color Crush Shine has a glossy finish, and is quite sheer. The Color Crush, however, is very pigmented. Both feel very light on the lips, and are moisturizing. They both wear off beautifully, with no flakiness or dryness. For a sheer lipstick, the Color Crush Shine actually wear pretty well, and leaves behind quite a lot of color after it wears off. When I wore the Color Crush lipstick to work, the pigmentation lasted up until lunch, and also left a stain behind. They both wear quite well!

Because the Color Crush in #205 is very pigmented, and I don't always want a bold lips, I've used this lipstick by lightly dabbing it on my lips and working the color in with my fingers. I add a bit of balm and voila! It such a lovely fresh color, even when applied with a light touch!

Body Shop Color Crush Shine #15 on left, Body Shop Color Crush #205 on right

Swatched on my hand.

Both lipsticks do not have much of a scent. There's a faint plastic to them but it's not noticeable, especially not after application.

I highly recommend both of these. While the Color Crush #205 shade isn't particularly unique, and could probably be duped at the drugstore, I doubt you could find anything that is quite as moisturizing. I definitely do not have anything in my collection that is comparable to the Color Crush Shine in #15, even if it's also not the most unique shade. The color is beautiful, and I love the non-sticky glossy feeling. Like the Color Crush lipstick, the Color Crush Shine is probably easily matched in the drugstore, but I doubt the moisturizing properties could be matched. And wouldn't you rather have something that has no scent instead of the sickly sweet scented drugstore lipsticks? I know I do!

Has anyone else given these a try? Any suggestions towards my next Body Shop shade?

Empties, empties and more empties!

This is a big one folks, be prepared. I think this is maybe 6 months to a year worth of empties. I was de-cluttering the other day and thought it was grand time to do this post!

This may not look like a lot, but keep in mind that there are some products I've thrown out before adding to the "empties" pile. I usually just chuck mascaras, big shampoo bottles and face wash. So forgive me!

Let's get on with it shall we!

1. Redken Color Extend Shampoo - One of my staples. I usually buy a ton of this shampoo when the Christmas kits go on sale on boxing day and use them throughout the year. It smells delicious, and leaves my hair squeaky clean, while still being gentle on colored hair. Love!

2. Redken Color Extend Conditioner - Same as above. One of my favorite conditioners.

3. Aveeno Moisturizing Body Wash - One of my favorite body washes ever! Repurchased a few times since I used up this bottle. Super moisturizing, and the best part is the delicious scent! This is the Fig version, but the Lavender one is just as heavenly.

4. Tigi Bed Head Color Goddess Conditioner - I bought this because it smells like heavenly caramel, but I didn't really like the product. The conditioner weighed down my hair, and didn't untangle at all.

5. The Body Shop Almond Hand & Nail Cream - Love this stuff! Switched things up from my usual Hemp Hand Cream from The Body Shop, and I think I prefer this version. It sinks in a lot faster than the Hemp cream, and smells even better!

6. Bioderma - This needs no introduction. It's awesome, I love the product, but I'm using up other makeup removers at the moment. Once those are done, I'm bringing it back baby!

7. Avène Cleanance Soapless Gel Cleanser - I love this cleanser, and I've been using it for quite a while. It works great with my Clarisonic and even if it claims it's "soapless" it still does give a bit of a lather.

8. Beauty Secrets Pure Acetone - The name explains it - it's pure acetone for gel nail polish removal!

9. Batiste Brunette Dry Shampoo - Some of these Batiste dry shampoo smell disgusting, so I thought it was quite lucky that I love the scent of the brunette version! This brunette version is a LOT easier to blend in than the regular dry shampoo. I've repurchased this product many times.

10. Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser - I wouldn't really recommend this product. It's a bit drying (even on my oily skin) and uses up quickly. And I couldn't really use it effectively with my Clarisonic. So this was a bit of a dud.

11. Nuxe Creme Prodigieuse Normal to Combination Face Moisturizer - This is maybe my 3rd used up tube? After I used up this one, I moved on to my Vichy moisturizer, but I still love my Nuxe moisturizer.

12. Too Faced Shadow Insurance - This used to be my go-to shadow primer until I moved on to the Make Up For Ever Eye Prime. Great product - I just find the MUFE primer works a bit better.

13. Clinique Stay-Matte Foundation - I LOVE this foundation (reviewed here). I'm planning on repurchasing it again after the summer. It's the perfect match for my skin tone and keeps my oils controlled! A clear winner for me!

14. Anastasia Brow Whiz - Loved this product, but I replaced it with the less expensive and better Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows.

15. Clarins Be Long Mascara - I loved this mascara (reviewed here) but the high price point, and backlog in mascaras I wanted to try out prevented me from re-purchasing it. Great mascara though!

16. L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes - I don't even remember if I liked this or not - but I don't think I did. If I did I would have repurchased it! Haha!

17. The Body Shop Hemp Hand Scrub - This took foreeeeever to use up! And truthfully, it wasn't really all that great. I loved it at first, but - who really needs a hand scrub? The scrub beads kept getting stuck in my nails when I used it - ugh. This is discontinued anyway, so no re-purchases here!

18. CoverGirl Flamed Out Mascara - I love this mascara! I'm already on my 3 tube I believe and it's quite good. Coats the lashes well, lasts all day, and removal is easy! A+

19. Aveeno Calming Body Wash - Love this body wash (see #3) but I think I do prefer the Fig scent over this one. If I had to choose. But I love both.

20. Estee Lauder Day Wear BB Cream - A staple in my daily routine, I especially like using this in the summer when I'm a little more tanned. Excellent product and I'm on my second repurchase. A little goes a LONG way with this!

21. Make Up For Ever Eye Prime - Love this product (reviewed here) and I'm on either my second or third repurchase. Read the review to see why I love it so much!

22. Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA Acne Clearing Gel - I actually really liked this product! While I thought it wasn't as effective on my face as other products I own for clearing acne (and it was a bit drying), I ended up using it to clear up body acne and it worked wonderfully!

23. The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream - Didn't really like this product. I barely used it and then it started smelling funky so I threw it out. Sad.

24. Nuxe Demaquillant 3 Roses - Wasn't too sure about this product at first, but the more I used it, the more I loved it! It takes a few swipes on a cotton pad to remove makeup, but it's such a gentle non-drying cleansing water that I forgive it for taking a bit more time to remove makeup. I could see this working really well on sensitive and dry skin.

Are you still with me? If not, I totally understand because this was the longest post ever! However, I'm pretty happy with the amount of products I've used up lately - this means less makeup is coming into my already sizeable stash, and that was my goal this year. Have you been using up a lot of products this year?

Vichy ProEven Daily Dark Spot Corrector + ProEven Night Overnight Concentrate

Good morning friends!

After last week's tragedy in my hometown of Moncton, my mind hasn't been much on blogging. It's been a full week since the fatal shootings, but I still can't quite grasp what happened in my small, safe and welcoming town of Moncton. All I have to say is I'm very relieved my family was safe in their basement, a fact only true because of the hard work of the RCMP during these events. So thank you.

Now, on to the review.

Before I was kindly sent the Vichy ProEven Night* for review, I had been actively using the Vichy ProEven Daily Dark Spot Corrector for a while on and off for almost a year. I'm actually a big fan of the ProEven Daily! It's my go-to product to reduce the look of those after-pimple dark spots left behind. This product works on my skin wonderfully. I apply the product to specific dark spots and after a couple days, I can see the area returning back to normal. I prefer using the ProEven Daily on older acne scars or flare-ups because the product isn't as drying as a regular acne cream. I never wake up with flaky patches with the ProEven Daily.

The ProEven, unlike the ProEven Daily, has a more fluid consistency. It feels a lot more like a serum, and is meant to be applied all over the face, every night. Personally, I don't feel my skin needs it every night. However, when I do use this product, my skin is really plump and moisturized in the morning. After using this product for a bit, I do feel my skin has a smoother texture. I don't however, notice that much of a difference in spot treatment. Perhaps it's because I use the ProEven Night all over my face, and my ProEven Daily on specific target areas? The ProEven Daily doesn't make my skin feel particularly hydrated, while the ProEven Night feels like a luxurious serum. And it smells like one too! The ProEven Night is said to have been tested on multi-ethnic skin. Of course, on my pale skin, I can't really test this claim.

I love both products for different reasons. I love the smell and the feel of the ProEven Night, but I think the ProEven Daily react better with my skin, and I see results faster. Heck, I even use both in combination sometimes since I love the moisturizing effect of the ProEven Night, but the ProEven really helps the resurfacing of skin cells!

What do you use to help your skin cell turnover? What's your favorite serum treatment?

* I have received this product for consideration but my opinions are always my own. I am not being compensated for this review and I always strive to review products with honesty.