Crucianize

Tag: review

  • What Made My October Interesting

    What Made My October Interesting

    So, it’s October…

    The month of both Naveen and his father’s birthday as well as several other family members. The month of Halloween which I have to admit I don’t really pay attention to. We’ve never celebrated it when I was growing up but Naveen has been big on doing the whole dressing up and trick or treating but not this year for obvious reasons.

    Since the 25th of September, I’ve been using the Multi-Restore Gel Cream and Multi-Restore Facial Sleeping Oil from Garnier Bio. I spoke a bit about it here. This was my first time using a Gel Cream and a Facial Sleeping Oil, normally I wash my face and apply a cream then go to sleep so this really was a new experience for me, here are my thoughts on the products:

    Multi-Restore Gel Cream

    First of all, what is a Gel Cream?

    A Gel Cream is water-based, it has a lighter and more fluid texture compared to regular creams which is why they provide better hydration without leaving your skin feeling heavy or greasy. They are aimed towards people with oily skin.

    The first thing I noticed about the Gel Cream was how light and easy it was to spread it on my face and neck, the second thing I noticed was the scent, I really don’t like the smell of hemp and this was no exception, whenever I get a whiff of hemp it reminds me of some kind of musty old thing you’d find in the back of your grandmother’s house. Disgusting.

    Thankfully the scent does not linger at all.

    Once the Gel Cream is applied it absorbs into the skin rapidly and you forget all about that terrible scent and are left with a very moisturized face.

    Multi-Restore Facial Sleeping Oil

    Facial Sleeping Oils or Night Oils are oils designed to be used before you go to bed. They are usually too heavy to wear during the day or under makeup.

    When using a Facial oil a little goes a long way, trust me, when I first applied the oil I used it like I would a cream and it left my face feeling very very greasy, the next day I applied less and it was much better. Once again the scent is terrible but doesn’t last long. I never remember that I applied anything with Hemp let alone two products which in my opinion is great.

    Reactions

    I can’t say for certain that the products were behind my lack of PMS pimples, PMS is the only time I get pimples, and this month I had 0 pimples! If it was because of the products then great but it could easily have been just a coincidence. I will only have to keep using it for a couple more months to see if I skip the pimples for the next two or three months to see.

    Voxbox Update

    Now onto my Voxbox or should I say lack of Voxbox…

    I know, it’s been 4 weeks since my last post and I’m still without my Opi Rainbow Voxbox…

    A lot of people in the UK as well as some in France for their boxes but I’m among the unlucky few who have still not received their boxes. The campaign ended earlier this week and literally disappeared off my dashboard, I was pretty anxious, to say the least. If you don’t complete your missions for a campaign you can be excluded from ever receiving one again and I really didn’t want that to happen. Two days later the campaign reappeared and has been extended again! It should last until November but to be honest I’m losing hope that I will ever receive this box. I’ve been a member of the site for 6 years and this is the first time I’ve ever had this kind of problem. I don’t know if Covid is to blame for the terrible shipping or if this will be the norm now.

    So, you remember those false nails I bought to use with the Voxbox?

    I already started using them. I have painted my nails a few times thinking “Oh no! What if my box comes now?” It never does though so I’ll continue to use the nails and color my nails something new every few weeks.

    The nails are very long in my opinion, I can’t leave them too long or I start to feel like I can’t do anything so I trimmed them down to the perfect length for me.

    Nailfies 💅

    Cien in 15 Nude Brown
    Spartoo Glossy Nail Polish in Red Beauty
    Opi Tokyo Collection – I’m on a Sushi Roll

    I guess we’ll see if I get my box next week or if I never get it…

  • New Nuxe: Huile Prodigieuse Florale

    New Nuxe: Huile Prodigieuse Florale

    Hey guys!

    I forgot all about this beauty they were coming my way, since I’ve been sick I haven’t reviewed much of anything but this will come in pretty handy since my skin is so dry now.

    This is a new scent for their Florale Huile Prodigieuse line.

    It is 96.9% Natural ingredients.

    If you’ve never heard of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse it is a multi-purpose dry oil for the face, body, and hair.

    I’ve spoken a bit about them in this post.

    It nourishes, repairs, and beautifies with 7 precious oils.

    It is labeled as All Skin Types.

    Touted as the new floral, fresh, and delicate perfume I think I am really intrigued to try out this dry oil.

    What I like about this product:

    🌸 The scent is light and not at all overpowering

    🌸 The oil seems to seep right into my skin and doesn’t leave that oily surface feel.

    🌸 The sample was provided in a very unique and cute way. I really enjoyed it.

    What I don’t like:

    🥀 Samples always seem so small!

    Other than that I can’t think of a negative.

    I’d definitely get the full-size version of this Prodigieuse oil.

  • New Gel Micellaire Nettoyant from Le Petit Marseillais

    Hey guys! Today I’m going to sidestep the emotions lol I got a lot of response from it and frankly, I felt overwhelmed and needed to process. I never really meant for it to cast blame on anyone, I just needed to release something that’s been with me for many years. I’m happy to finally let it all out and now I’m going to talk to you about the new Gel Micellaire Nettoyant I bought recently from Le Petit Marseillais.

    In this post, I spoke about how much the scent is similar to the 1 Minute Masque that I recently tested and that this was the first Gel Micellaire that I’ve used. It is pretty different from Eau Micellaire but kind of similar to Milk Make-up removers I’ve used before only in the fact that it’s not a tiny liquid. It was pretty sticky and left my skin feeling a bit heavy almost like I didn’t remove everything. It did work really well and got rid of all the everyday yuck but it’s a bit too heavy for me to use on a daily basis. I think I will leave this for those occasions when I have a full face of makeup on. I haven’t noticed any new breakouts since using this which is always a plus but I’ll be keeping a close eye on my face for the rest of the week.

  • Carrefour Haul!

    Carrefour Haul!

    Coucou !

    Today we went shopping at Carrefour, I really wanted to get some of those press-on nails that they had and see what hair supplies were available but I only accomplished one of those goals.

    There were no press on nails to be found anywhere! But I did manage to get the entire line of Garnier Ultra Doux Richesse D’Argan as well as some other things.

    Since my move here this line has been my holy staple and it is very hard to get my hands on all the products when I need them. They fly off the shelves so fast!

    I also picked up Garnier Ultra Doux L’huile Merveilleuse aux huiles d’argan et de camélia which is also another one of my favorites, if I’m not using abierto one of Garnier’s oils. You can probably tell I adore Garnier’s products. What can I say? They work really well for my hair and they are inexpensive.

    My last purchase was a Gel Micellaire Nettoyant from Le Petit Marseillais.

    Gel Micellaire Nettoyant Fraîcheur de Rose

    I’ve used Eau Micellaire from Cien which I’ve spoken about here and Eau Micellaire from U which I’ve also briefly spoken about here. This is my first time using a Gel Micellaire and I’m really interested in seeing what the difference is. The scent is the same as the 1 Minute Masque of theirs that I recently used and spoke about here.

    All in all, it was a pretty good haul and didn’t cost that much money.

    If you’re lucky you can find all these products at your local Carrefour and you don’t have a Carrefour in your location then you might be able to find one of two items at a Super U, Lidl, Netto, or other supermarché. You can also try looking on Amazon, I can’t guarantee that the price will be pocket-friendly though.

    And now I leave you to do some reading.

    Talk to you later!

  • What I Use To Keep My Skin So Smooth

    I am not affiliated in any way with Cien or Lidl, I was not given these products to review or offered a reward for my review.

    I was recently complimented on my clear skin, to be honest, I have never had much issue with my skin, one or two pimples over the years, my main problem is my raccoon eyes but they are hereditary so not much I can do about it except try to find a really good concealer.

    Even if I’ve never had to battle bumps on my face I still try to take care of it, one of the first things I did when moving here was to find a good facial wash and moisturizer, I was not used to the cold and it was proving to me that I needed moisture more than anything in this unforgiving temperature, my husband bought me a Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse set that included a small bottle of bath oil, multipurpose oil, a candle, and hydrating cream. 

    These items served me well for a few months but I had run out and Nuxe is not the cheapest product to buy especially when you have a really small income. I needed something but I had no idea what to buy so I asked a friend what she used, her answer was Nuxe lol but she also mentioned that there was a line of products by Lidl called Cien and she had heard good things about it, Lidl, if you don’t know, is a German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm, Germany, that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe and the United States. There is a Lidl very close to my home and it is very affordable so I decided to give it a try.

    I picked up the Crème Hydrante Aqua for 2,99€

    • Made with Glycerol and Pantherol.

    This cream will deeply moisturize your skin and protect it from the harmful effects of the sun thanks to its UV filter. Its formula is without mineral oils which allow for better absorption of the cream, without leaving a greasy effect, it promotes the oxygenation of the skin.

    • Essential protection for all skin types.
    • No added Mineral Oils.

    A great success and a recognized quality that allowed him to be acclaimed by a jury of consumers during the 12th Victoires de la Beauté.

    I also picked up the Aqua Rich Gel Nettoyant for a little under 2€.

    • For clean and fresh skin.
    • For Normal and Mixed skin.

    Lastly, I picked up the Eau Micellaire Refraichissment for a little under 2€.

    • Facial Cleanser
    • Makeup Remover
    • Refreshing              

    Now, this was my first time using a Micellar Water I don’t know if it’s usual for it to leave your face feeling dry but this one does that, I always put on some of the moisturizers after using this, it works really well for removing makeup and I especially love that it’s a pump bottle I just have to press my cleansing pad down on the tip and the product comes up and wets my cleansing pad, this bottle design leads to less product wastage and one bottle can last you a pretty long time.  

    I’ve been using these products for a year and a half now and I think they do their jobs very well, my face has never been more smooth or soft, if I don’t moisturize around my nose it can get pretty dry but not with these products. In total, I think all the products came up to less than 7€.  

    If you’re in France and don’t have a lot of money to spend or just like a good bargain I’d highly suggest buying these products from Lidl.

  • Finding happiness in the little things

    You know that feeling when you open your mailbox and there’s something in there with your name on it? I don’t really experience that feeling, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever received anything, I don’t really order anything online, I’ve gotten some books in the mail, some clothes as well but that’s about it. Every time I go out to the box I am not really expecting anything but still feel a little disappointed that everything is for my husband, he gets packages all the time, sometimes I have to sign for them and that is a tale for another day.

    So imagine my joy when I opened my mailbox yesterday and inside was a package with my name on it, I was overjoyed, I ripped it open with quickness and inside was a box that said Marc Jacobs Beauty. Let me back up just a bit and tell you about this package. I’ve been a member of a website called Influenster (it’s a website that sends you products to test for your honest review) I think it’s been about three to four years, so right around the time when I was pregnant, if you’re new to my blog I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy) which basically made me an invalid for nine months, I then went through postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder which lasted for about a year. In 2015, I moved from my Caribbean home and went through a series of terrible events. The loss of my puppy, finding out my mother was in the hospital, I was taking punches left and right but the worst one was losing my second baby. What should have been the happiest time of my life was stained with dark spots that I couldn’t find a way out from. 

    I’ve always been weak to dark moods and Expat depression added itself to my growing pile, while I always seemed to find myself out of my foul moods this one seemed enormous. What helped was finally being able to talk to my mother online, she hates the internet but there was no other way for us to communicate. My days seemed a little sunnier, one of my brothers who had a distaste for social media also joined and I found myself happy.

    I got off-topic, my apologies, I can ramble on and on sometimes, anyway I was very sick and couldn’t do much with my Influenster account so it laid dormant for years. This year I decided to get more active on it, I reviewed products I had already used, I answered questions, I followed accounts, I was enjoying myself, out of nowhere I got a survey asking if I wanted to be sent a product to review, I answered yes and about two weeks later I got a message saying I was chosen!

    I was thrilled, along with no interest in my Influenster account I hadn’t been using my makeup kit much, so I relished the chance to go back to something that gave me a little joy in life, I’m nowhere near to being MUA status, not even close I just enjoy enhancing my features. I have to be honest when I say my happiness was wearing off a bit when I saw everyone else reviewing their VoxBoxes and I was still without my product, see the way my mind works it immediately jumped to the worst scenarios, I swore my box got lost or someone stole it, I questioned whether I put the right address in, my mind was whirling and then yesterday there it was.

    Disbelief and exhilaration, I wanted to do everything right to make sure I did the review right and they would choose me again.

    Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara Volume Spectaculaire VoxBox 

    Testing out my new mascara.

    A little eyeliner and mascara make me feel pretty!

    I’ve been testing the mascara now for three days and have to say that I’m pretty much in love with it, the mascara goes on smoothly and gives an instant boost to my lashes, and let’s not joke about it but my lashes are not the best, they are short, thin, and not at all impressive which is why I was shocked to see how long and luscious it got from the mascara. There is just one thing I don’t care for about the mascara, it is on the heavier side, if I use three swipes of mascara my lashes will clump horribly so what I did to fix this issue was to go over it with another mascara brush, I was able to separate the lashes to fully enjoy the length and dark color the mascara provided.

    In the picture above I applied the mascara to just my right eye and you can see for yourself the difference the mascara has made to my pitiful lashes. I don’t think I will ever leave the house again without using my Velvet Noir mascara even if I use nothing else.