Review: REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

If there is a product that I struggle with, it is definitely this one. It's so well-loved by anyone and everyone who tries it that I was convinced that I would love it. I tried a sample, and just didn't understand it, in part because of Sephora's directions on how to use this product. But we'll get to that in a minute.

This REN mask is encased in their familiar packaging: a bag inside a bottle, so your product stays bacteria-free and so you use up as much of it as possible.

One of my favorite parts of REN's mask packaging is this cap--it keeps your mask from drying out.

The goop itself is orange. It's very citrus-y, but not in an unnatural way. The scent comes from the ingredients, not from some added fragrance (think the difference between smelling Bath and Body Works pumpkin soap versus smelling pumpkin puree). It's not a uniform consistency, so it feels very much like putting a high-end jelly on your face.

Now, let's cover the discrepancies among the directions for using this, because if there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's that I don't have nailed down directions on using it.

The Sephora website page reads: "Apply a generous amount to clean skin. Leave for 10 minutes. Pat and 'lift' with fingertips to raise up exfoliated layer of dead skin cells. Rinse thoroughly with warm water," (Sephora page for Glycol Lactic Mask).

So the first time that I used this mask, I followed those directions exactly, because that's what the nice Sephora consultant told me to do and I have a problem disobeying authority figures. It did sound silly to me to pat at a gooey mask, but like I said, I utterly fail at disobeying given instructions. I absolutely hated this mask. It felt fine on my face, but the removal process felt so bizarre and I didn't feel like it was doing anything and it took forever to lift enough of this stuff off of my face that it seemed effective.

I went all ranting and raving to my sister. We were both so confused about why I hated it so much, given that it's one of the most loved masks out there, among Sephora-goers and beauty bloggers alike.

Then fate stepped in. I became obsessed with REN's website (RenSkincare.com). It's adorably designed, I love the idea that they'll send you samples of your choosing (and because I love REN it gives me the chance to try out new products I'll probably like as opposed to picking out samples from Sephora, where I can choose between six shades of foundation and six fragrance samples I'll never use). REN also gives you 10% off your first order and 10% off your favorite product for life.

So I was perusing the REN website, and decided to take a look at the REN page for the Glycol Lactic mask (REN page for Glycol Lactic Mask). The directions are different. Yeah, you read and understood that correctly. Sephora and REN give different directions for using this mask. REN's directions read: "Apply a generous amount to clean skin over the face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Leave for 10 minutes. Dampen enclosed cloth and gently wipe off mask. Rinse with warm water."

WHAT SORT OF COMPANIES ARE THESE, GIVING ME CONTRADICTORY DIRECTIONS. Obviously, this whole experience turned me into a troll and made me really freaking mad.

I went to Sephora and got a second sample of this mask, because darnit, I was going to love it even if it was the last thing I did. I followed REN's directions this time, and was significantly more pleased.

I even looked more pleased in this picture. Or I look like someone who really needs to get some sleep but instead finds herself doing masks after midnight when she has class in the morning.

Moral of the story: don't trust websites. Don't trust Sephora (which is something I never thought that I would say). Read directions for products both on Sephora's website, and on the website of the maker (in this case, REN). Read beauty blogger reviews of the product. Do all of the research that you can, or ask me to do it (this experience has made me a pro in spending hours looking into a single product).

All of that being said, this still doesn't feel like a holy grail product for me. I need to use it with more frequency, and then hopefully I'll come to a final conclusion on the matter. It's also really expensive. It's $55 for 1.7 oz of mask. The crux of the issue comes in that this is a really unique mask. It's the only mask I've seen at Sephora that is citrusy and uses glycolic acid. I'm going to have to do a few more thorough searches on Sephora's website, then I may find some cheaper alternatives that do similar things.

Ultimately, I don't know that I'll be repurchasing this. The direction-discrepancy definitely tainted my opinion, then there was all of the hype surrounding it. But I know for sure that I won't be returning it.

Review: Stila Countless Color Pigments in Acoustic, Light Show, and Indie

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through my eyeshadows. And I realized something particularly concerning. I didn't own anything colorful. All of my palettes are neutral. All of my eyeshadow quads were either browns or muted colors. I literally did not own anything with any actual color in it. I was really upset, so I began remedying the situation.

As luck would have it HauteLook.com was hosting a Stila sale, so I picked up a few of Stila's Countless Color Pigments.

I had been looking at these on Sephora.com for quite some time. The packaging is just so cute and colorful, the pans of eyeshadow look like pieces of artwork. The only thing that turned me off from buying them was the price: I couldn't imagine shelling out $22 for colorful eyeshadows that I would only wear once in a blue moon. But I'm really glad that I now own them, they've serves as a great introduction to colored shadows. I've worn green and blue eyeshadow to class now, I feel like I can conquer the world at this point. These shadows aren't matte, but they also aren't truly a satin finish. Instead, they fall somewhere in between. I really like that about them: it makes them very wearable for the daytime. As a note: all of the swatches in this post are two swipes of my finger, no primer.

First, we have Indie! Indie is based around pink colors. Of the three Countless Color Pigments I'm reviewing, it has the lease clear lines between the colors. Thus, it's the most difficult to swatch/create defined looks. But I'm all about my gradient eyeshadow, so it worked perfectly for me.

The bottom color is almost a red-pink, the middle is a blue-pink and is a tad darker than the first color, then the top color is a light pink.

Indie on my human eyes.

This next Countless Color Pigment is in the color Light Show. Honestly, I think it is simultaneously the most pretty of the three that I have and the lease wearable. The colors are just so out there, I think it will be difficult to find ways to wear this that doesn't draw a lot of unwanted attention. Still, I love it.

It has two blue colors: one light blue and one dark blue. Then there's a lime green and a bright yellow. I really like the blues and I wish I could wear them more often, but with my olive skin, dark hair, and hazel eyes, I just don't think blue is a great color for me.

I loved the colors I could create on my eyelids with this color. That being said, Ian, my boyfriend, throughout the day, commented on how he hated my eyeshadow. I think he was half joking and being half serious. I rarely wear eyeshadow that can't be described as neutral, and I think it threw him off a little bit. Poor kid.

Acoustic was my favorite of the bunch, and I think it's the most wearable of the three. And considering that it has a red, that's a pretty crazy statement, but the red turns out to be super wearable.

It's comprised of three colors: a brown, a red, and a skin-tone shimmery color.

I think that it turns out to be the most wearable because the red can sort of fade into the brown, so it doesn't scream, "I'm wearing red eyeshadow!!!"

A nice closeup of my favorite Countless Color Pigment: I honestly just can't stop thinking about how adorable this eyeshadow is. I think I'm going to wear it again tomorrow.

In conclusion, I really liked all three of the Countless Color Pigments, but Acoustic is going to be the most wearable longterm for me. These retail for $22, but on Hautelook.com, I miraculously got them for $6 each. I suggest checking out Hautelook. They don't often have great makeup brands, but when they do, I always make sure to get something.

Review: Boscia Clarifying Detox Mask

Last night I was doing my homework, hopped up on coffee and quesadillas, when I took a moment to wash off my makeup. After I did so, I took a good look at my face and realized how congested my pores looked. So I opened my medicine cabinet, trying to decide which mask to use. I settled on this Boscia Clarifying Detox Mask. I tried a sample of this mask months ago, really liked it, bought it, then promptly forgot it existed at all. It sat, gathering dust in the back of my medicine cabinet for months. After pulling it out last night, I'm really glad to report that it is amazing, and I honestly have no idea how I could have forgotten how great this mask is.

I really like the design of Boscia's masks. They all come in the same size bottle, most have a color associated with them that appears on the bottle, fading from colored on the bottom to white on the top. For example, the Green Tea Oil Control Mask is green, the Bright White Mask is sliver, and the Cool Blue Calming Mask is (you guessed it) blue. This is the only one of Boscia's masks to be contained in an entirely white bottle. I sort of really wish that it had a color to it like the other ones.

It's just a squeeze tube, which works fine for me. I guess I'll see if I have any difficulty with getting product out when I get toward the end of the bottle, but for now, it's great. You can sort of tell from the photo: the mask itself isn't quite white. It almost has just the slightest hint of blue/green/grey to it.

It's smooth, with the slightest scent of mint to it. It feels sort of like The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask, but this one will actually dry down on your face, whereas the Tea Tree Face Mask dries, it just doesn't crack.

I think that out of all of my face masks, this one provides my favorite mask-feeling. It tingles, but in a super minty delicious way. Sometimes the Tea Tree Face Mask will tingle too much, then stop entirely. But this Boscia mask tingled pleasantly until I took it off.

It left my face feeling much less congested, and just generally clean. It also didn't give me an issue with my nighttime moisturizer. Sometimes after using a mask, I have to be careful which moisturizer I use because the moisturizer can end up stinging my face, but I didn't have that problem after using this Clarifying Detox Mask. I ended up moisturizing with Origins Night-A-Mins, a product I'm trying out to decide if I'm going to purchase it.

Overall, I loved this mask. I'm definitely going to find a way to show it the love it deserves and work it into my weekly routine.

I'm also in love with the price of this mask. Lately I've been purchasing and using a lot of REN's masks, which come at a pretty whopping price point. They range from $34-$55 for 1.7 oz. In comparison, this Boscia mask is $25 for 2.8 oz.

Finally, just let me say that I hate air conditioning. I'm sitting at work right now, freezing my butt of, actually wishing I was outside in the 90+ degree weather. You know I'm struggling when I would rather sweat that shiver.

NOTD: Butter London Royal Navy and Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Fuzz-Sea

Lately, I've felt like I've gotten lazy with my nails. I've been painting them one color, then another color, then another. No accent nails. No glitter or sparkle. No patterns or complex designs. So to mix things up, I did a couple of accent nails this week.

I love both of these polishes. This was the first Butter London polish I used, and I fell in love with the application. It almost feels like it begins drying the second that you start painting a nail, and I feel like Butter London stays shinier for more days than a lot of other polishes do. This Sally Hansen polish is awesome: Nails Inc has a similar line, but it's like twice the price, and honestly, how often are you going to want to use a fuzzy top coat? Because it has texture to it, it's a bitch to remove, but I survived it.

I wish that Royal Navy had applied a little bit lighter. In the bottle it's a true navy, but it almost looked black on my nails. In fact, my boyfriend Ian asked me several times why I was wearing black nail polish. Silly Ian, it's navy.

Review: Too Faced Boudoir Eyes

I love eyeshadow palettes. There, I said it. I'm always on the lookout for the eyeshadow palette that will soon become my favorite. Ever since I got this Too Faced palette a couple of weeks ago, it has been my go to palette for creating every sort of look, from a daytime I'm-going-to-class look, all the way to Amelia's smokiest look out there. Which really isn't all that smokey. Sometimes I feel like I'm not living up to my generation (my favorite way to spend a Friday night involves my couch and a beauty mask, I've never been clubbing, I don't really go out). Honestly, I should start acting my age. Wearing weird makeup, weird clothes. There are only so many years in one's life when they can pull shit like that off, and I'm wasting my time in conservative dresses and simple makeup.

Anyways, back to the actual point of this blog post: my new favorite palette. 

The first thing that I noticed about this palette, and probably the only reason I purchased it over the other Too Faced palettes available, was the packaging. If you read this blog, you already know that I almost value packaging more than I value the product itself. This package is just exactly what I want out of an eyeshadow palette. And I like that it's a metal packaging, instead of cardboard. Every other Too Faced eyeshadow palette (save their Summer Eye Shadow Collection) are packaged in cardboard.

I just don't like it. Eyeshadow palettes (and makeup in general) sort of lasts me forever. I feel like I never use up a product: why in the heck would I want it packaged in a material that can fall prey to any number of things in my life (water, hard falls, general mishaps). Like seriously, if I can't put it down into the little puddle of water from washing my face, I'm flat out not buying it. This explains why I don't own a single Benefit blush, any Benefit set in general, or Too Faced eye shadow palettes.

So when I saw that this palette is packaged in beautiful metal, I was all over this palette. It also makes this beautiful clicking noise when you close it. I sit around sometimes and just open and close this palette because the click is just so pretty.

But when it comes down to it, that isn't really why this palette is my new favorite thing since the invention of iPhones (on an unrelated note, I'm super excited about the iPhone 5S). What I love about this palette is the eyeshadows.

One of my favorite things about Too Faced is that they're smart. They understand the way in which people apply eyeshadow. They know that I don't need equal amounts of light pink and black. In fact, Too Faced, if you're reading this, I don't really need black. Again, I'm way too old internally for my physical age.

Anyways, the eyeshadows. The light colors are the ones that you're going to use up the quickest, so they've made them significantly larger than the darker colors that you'll primarily use for the crease. Too Faced also organizes their shadows into three groups: Day, Classic, and Fashion. While I like this way of arranging eyeshadows, it also bothers me a bit. I can honestly say that after months of using this palette, I've never used eyeshadows that didn't all belong to the same group. I've never mixed a Day color with a Fashion color. For me, it takes some of the creativity out of my makeup, but when I'm in a rush and need to get eyeshadow done, it can be very useful.

These swatches are done over no eyeshadow primer, one swipe from my finger (or my sister's finger because I ran out of fingers that I could use to swatch, seeing as I needed to also hold a camera). From left to right: In the Buff, Fuzzy Handcuffs, Voulez-vous, Satin Sheets, Sugar Walls, Garter Belt, Birthday Suit, Lap Dance, and French Tickler.

I really enjoy that this palette has different textures of eyeshadow. In the Buff, Fuzzy Handcuffs, and Garter Belt are matte shadows, Voulez-Vous, Satin Sheets, Birthday Suit, and Lap Dance all have more of a shimmer to them. Sugar Walls is similarly shimmery, but then it also had glitter. And French Tickler has gold glitter in the black shadow. Because of the glitter, I've found Sugar Walls and French Tickler to have a little bit of fallout, but it's not terrible by any means.

I use this palette for a more subtle eye look for class. I'm wearing all of the classic colors here: Satin Sheets, Sugar Walls, and Garter Belt.

One of the things that I like most about this palette is its versatility. I can go subtle, but it also has the colors to go in much more of a going-out direction.

Needless to say, I love this palette. I'm buying it for my sister for her birthday (don't worry, this isn't a spoiler, she asked for it because she loves mine so much). This palette is packable, seeing as its a decent size (I hate traveling with my Naked or Naked2 palettes). It has a variety of textures and colors. I'm planning on buying the Summer Collection palette when I have the extra money lying around.

It retails for $36. It's beautiful. I totally recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Review: Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator

In my quest to review all of my face washes, scrubs, and masks, I bring you the Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator!

I bought this sort of on a whim, I wanted to try the whole range of washes/masks that The Body Shop made in the seaweed line. So I bought the gel cleanser, this exfoliator, and the clay mask. I have to say, this is by far my favorite of the three. I hated the mask, the cleanser was average, but this scrub is absolutely great.

What serves as the abrasive part of this scrub is olive seed powder. Personally, I love olives (I have The Body Shop olive body wash and body scrub), so this is a welcome product in my skincare world.

Long term, I also like this scrub a lot more than I like the Korres Pomegranate Deep Cleansing Scrub that I recently reviewed. You can use less of this product, and it's significantly cheaper. I'll definitely be repurchasing this.

It retails for $15 for 2.5 fl oz (whereas the Korres scrub goes for $21 for 1.35 oz).

In other news, I'm visiting home this weekend for my mom's birthday! When my sister, my mom, and I all get together, it's safe to say that there will be multiple trips to Sephora (and Ulta, and The Body Shop), so expect a blog post on the shopping early next week!

Things I've Hated This Month: August

I'm sorry. We're already 1/3 into September, and I'm posting something that dates back to August. I know, I'm terrible. But honestly, I only decided that I disliked one of these products in the last week. I realized I wasn't using it at all, tried it once more this week, then decided that it needs to get returned to Sephora this week when I go home to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Thus begins the things I've hated this month!

This is the Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in RD305 (Nymph). This literally sat in my "loves" on sephora.com for weeks and weeks. I read reviews on it, I loved it, I was convinced that when I actually bought it that it would become a holy grail product for me.

Then I did buy it, and I just simply didn't fall in love at all.

I think part of it had to do with me already owning a couple of lipsticks that are really similar in color to this one (MAC Plumful and MAC Craving). And I didn't anticipate that it wouldn't dry down to a matte finish. Instead, it stays glossy. I'm not a huge fan of glosses in general, so the gloss-like aspects of this lip lacquer just didn't do it for me. And there's just no way that I'm going to keep a product that doesn't wow me when I spent $25 on it. So, I returned it a couple of weeks after I bought it. Of course, I ended up buying REN's Get Radiant, Glowing Skin in Just 10 Minutes! Kit when I returned this lip lacquer.

Then there's this Clinique Lash Building Primer. I initially bought it hoping that the white color of it would make colored mascara pop. I ended up returning the colored mascara that I had bought to use with this, but I figured that I can always use a mascara primer.

Then this week, I really got to thinking about this primer. I took it out of my mascara/eyeliner drawer for the first time in weeks.

This time around, it struck me how much product gets stuck to the brush. And after using it, when you're putting the applicator back into the tube, that excess product doesn't just go back in. Instead it clumps up around the base of the tube, and it just sort of looks gross. But I decided that if I used this primer and it make a difference with the volume/length of my eyelashes, then I would keep this primer.

Forgive the bad lighting in the second photo, I was stupid and in a hurry to get to work, so I took the photo in my bathroom. 

But you can tell, that there isn't much of a difference between my eyelashes in these photos. The top photo is without primer, the bottom photo is with the primer. I used the same mascara both days. This product just isn't worth the $15 I spent on it. I'm going to return it this weekend and buy something that I'll (hopefully) love, instead.

And one more thing about this primer: it made using certain mascaras difficult. I found that if the mascara had a traditional mascara brush (LORAC's Pro Mascara, Benefit's BadGal Lash, etc.), this primer worked fine. But if you tried using a synthetic, plastic brush with it, it was next to impossible. I just could not use my Benefit They're Real! after using this primer. It was rough going.

Moral of the story: sometimes you buy products. And sometimes they just don't blow your mind. Then they sit in the back of a drawer somewhere, but you should return them. And buy more makeup! 

Review: REN Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser

In the last couple of weeks, my skin has been acting up. I'm going to go ahead and make a totally crazy assumption, and say that it has to do with going back to school. I'm waking up early, I'm constantly on the run, I have what feels like a never-ending supply of homework, I'm staying up later to finish said homework, I'm probably not eating the best, and I'm drinking between three and five cups of coffee a day. And my skin looks as stressed out as I feel.

In comes the REN Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser.

I'll be honest, before this cleanser entered my life, the idea of a cleanser that didn't foam was an entirely foreign concept. Before I got into higher end skincare, I just used Neutrogena and Clean and Clear cleansers. And they stripped my face of every natural oil that I had. I'm so glad I've been introduced to nice products since then.

Anyways, I was relying entirely on gel cleansers. My favorite was my Clinique cleanser (Liquid Facial Soap). I used it in conjunction with my Clarisonic. But then I got bored and I had some money sitting around, so I bought ALL the skincare. This one one of the face washes that I was drawn to, but I didn't really understand how it worked without foaming. I know, I can be dense sometimes.

So I got a sample of it from my local Sephora, and honestly, the second that I smelled it, I knew it was over. I needed to own it. Like with most products that don't have an immediately obvious scent, I can't tell you what in the heck this smells like. But it smells delicious. Earthy and clay-like, the smell is almost edible. I probably shouldn't eat this, though, so I can't really tell you what it tastes like.

I've said it about REN before and I'll say it again. I love REN packaging. Love, love, love. Even the boxes that the products come in are beautiful. The first time I opened a REN box was when I bought this cleanser, and this beautiful, flow-y, sort of flowery inner packaging appeared. True love.

If you're interested in the ingredients, here they are! What strikes me is that the first ingredient is chamomile, so this is definitely a soothing wash (something I can definitely attest to).

One thing that people love about REN is that it's "clean" skincare. It doesn't contain any sulfates, parabens, or synthetic fragrance, etc. I think it's pretty cool, but it isn't a deal breaker for me. But it does help to explain the high price we pay for REN (in addition to it being a British brand--I feel like they hike up prices when they send things overseas--think Soap and Glory, a British drugstore brand that we pay Sephora prices for).

Anyways, the Clearcalm 3 Clay Cleanser has a thick, creamy consistency. It has a slight brown-grey color to it. As I've said, it doesn't foam, but it definitely leaves my skin feeling clean and more soothed. Knowing that I have this product on my side makes me feel a lot better about my skin acting up.

I will give one criticism, although I don't think it even counts as a criticism. I wouldn't use it to remove makeup. That just isn't the function that it's meant to do. Women complain about it, but there's a simple solution. Take off your makeup before using this, or use this as your morning cleanser. Personally, I never wash my face with makeup on. I either use a makeup removing wipe or I use a cleansing balm (the one I really like lately is Julep's new Bare Face Cleansing Oil). I think that expecting your face wash to be able to do everything is just not realistic. Your face wash can remove makeup, or combat acne, or brighten your skin, or exfoliate. But it can't do everything at once. It's sort of like mascara. Mascaras that focus on one thing (lengthening, volumizing, water-proofing) are the most effective. Expecting one mascara to do everything under the sun is just going to leave you disappointed.

Now that I've waxed poetic on mascara uses, this REN cleanser retails for $32 for 5.1 oz. I love it. I'll recommend it to anyone asking what face wash they should use for acne prone skin. I even used it with my Clarisonic the other night! It felt strange, because there was no foam/anything even remotely like foam involved. But after I washed the clay cleanser off, I can honestly say that my face felt more clean and smooth and soft than it does any time I use a foaming gel cleanser. I'm a convert to the Clarisonic with clay cleanser!

The Beginning of a New Year

Now that the latest school year is into full swing, I figured I would update anyone reading this blog on my life as of the last couple of weeks. Whenever I read beauty blogs, I wonder what they do when they're not blogging it up, so here's my life!

Everyone has returned to Rhodes. I spent the summer here working, but now all of the students are back! I liked having campus to myself, but seeing everyone was really nice, too. It was great to catch up with people I hadn't seen in months, particularly those who went abroad! One of my great friends, Tyler, went on a study abroad trip with the business/econ department to Europe, we spent like three hours catching up on his life in Europe.

My littles came back to me! They did various things throughout the summer (Bailey had a camp counselor job, Madeline went to Ecuador, and Maria lived her life in Chicago), but I'm so glad to have them all back with me! 

Then there was sorority goodness! I can't participate in recruitment because I'm a Resident Assistant, but we just wrapped it up this last weekend. At the end of it was our Bid Day, I could finally return to the house and associate with my sisters again. Now my littles are getting ready to take littles themselves, and I'm helping them out with the crafting.

Then there's Mock Trial. In April, after spending the night on the floor of the Atlanta airport, we kicked ass at Nationals and our A Team became runner up to the championship and our B Team (my team) placed 5th in our flight. 

Trophy travels! Now we're getting geared up for another great year of Mock Trial success! In the rankings, we're ranked 2nd and 17th in the nation right now. We're ranked higher than a whole slew of amazing schools (our A Team is ranked above UCLA, Virginia, NYU, Harvard, Duke, Michigan, Brown, and Columbia, just to name a few).

Next week our in-class rounds start. They're the first set of rounds that determine who will get placed on which team for the coming year, and it gives us a pretty good starting point for building our case. This year's case is a robbery at a theme park, I'm super excited to argue the law on this one!

Finally, here are some of the guys at my new dorm messing around with my phone while I made coffee. Rhodes didn't have enough space to house all of the incoming freshmen, so we moved 40 students to a nearby dorm occupied by Victory University. The first floor is Rhodes, the upper two floors are Victory. I'm the RA for the Rhodes students, and I've really enjoyed getting to know kids I otherwise would have never met!

Review: REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask

Like all of us humans out there, I have pores. And while most of them don't feel the need to get clogged/be obnoxious/get all gross, some of them give me issues. Namely, the pores on my nose. I also occasionally have trouble with the area directly around my nose, my right cheek (is it from my phone? I'm disturbed to think about bacteria growing on my phone and causing acne), and the sides-of-my-chin area.

And even though I wash my face twice a day, exfoliate, and moisturize properly, sometimes I need to detox my pores via a nice mask. I like clay masks, but sometimes I like to mix it up. Thus, my love affair with the REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask began.

I've been wanting to try this mask for at least the last three months. But there were a lot of damn road blocks, considering that I live near two Sephoras and regularly visit the Knoxville Sephoras, too. First, my local Sephora didn't seem to have it in stock (in reality, REN had changed the name of the mask from Pore Minimizing Detox Mask to Invisible Pores Detox Mask. They also changed the color of the packaging, from a dark blue to this olive-y green. The color change threw me off, so I thought they were different masks).

Then I went to the Sephora at Carriage Crossing, and I wasn't paying attention, so I asked for a sample of the wrong mask, one that I already own.

Then I went back to my local Sephora at Wolfchase, realized the mask/packaging/name discrepancy, asked for a sample, and was promptly told that they were out. Well, it was worse than that, really. She managed to get the SMALLEST bit of product imaginable out of the bottle and acted like that would totally work for testing a mask! It was probably enough product to cover a pencil eraser.

Then, I went home to Knoxville. My mom and I went to the Sephora in the West Town mall, where I asked for a sample of this mask. The poor beauty consultant spent like thirty minutes trying to get some product out of the bottle. It was entirely full, but the pump must've been malfunctioning.

So finally, I just bought it. I could always return it. I just feel so bad returning products: they just get returned to the manufacturer and don't get any love.

Anyways, so now I own this mask! Success. First off, I love REN's packaging. Truly. It's beautiful and practical and just awesome.

I also love the system that REN utilizes for their products. Within the plastic, there's a vacuum sealed bag. The product (in this case a mask) is stored in that bag. Every time you pump some out, the bag contracts. This method results in a cleaner product for you--you're not dipping fingers in, and there's no contamination of the product with the air, so the risk of bacterial growth is almost entirely non-existent. And to prevent the mask from drying out in the pump and making it more difficult to use the next time, there's this little cap attached to the pump. Then there's the clear plastic body. You can see how much product you have left so that you know when you should repurchase it!

Long story short, REN has packaging their products down to a science.

This mask has a beautifully natural smell to it. I'm not sure that I can describe it, but it's the sort of clean-smelling product that I could just sit around smelling it for hours. Okay, I'll be honest. Right in the middle of writing this post, I sat around for 20 minutes with the pump of this mask held up to my nose. Beauty blogger struggles, right there.

So, the instructions for using this:
1. Apply generously.
2. Allow to dry.
3. Remove by rubbing with fingers.

"Wait, what? You remove this mask by rubbing it with your fingers?" You may find yourself asking these totally expected questions.

It's true. You remove it by rubbing it with your fingertips. It's super cool and unique. I think it's a particularly effective method, as well. Think about it: if you're trying to pull gunk out of your pores, is wetting the mask to remove it going to help? No. With this REN mask, it's like the mask itself adheres to the gunk in your pores, then when you rub it, the gunk comes out and off of your face. There's a noticeable difference when I look closely at my pores.

That being said, it's not a miracle product. No product is a miracle. But ones that claim to do absurd things bother me. This mask doesn't make any crazy claims, which I enjoy. The Sephora page says, "This mask reduces the appearance of pore size and leaves the skin purified, smoothed, and toned. It draws out impurities, helping to eliminate blackheads."


I've heard a couple of criticisms of this mask, one being that it flakes while it dries. I don't know what these women are doing while waiting for this mask to dry, I don't think it would flake unless you were doing some sort of weird facial exercises. In fact, the last time I used it, I tried to get it to flake by doing just that: I contorted my face all sorts of weird ways. And not a single bit of this mask came off. So until you're actually rubbing at it, I've concluded that it isn't going to randomly start falling off of your face.

The other criticism that I've heard is that it doesn't have any lasting effects. Women basically say that it shrinks their pores for a few hours, but then it wears off. This going back to the miracle theory. There isn't a product out there that will actually shrink your pores. It simply doesn't exist. But with regular bi-weekly use, this mask will clear out your pores and help keep blackheads at bay. And that's more than enough for me.

This mask retails for $34 for 1.7 oz. It's not a cheap product, there's no way around that. But it's still one of my favorite masks, so I'm not dissuaded by the price. If you look at it in terms of other REN masks, it's on the cheap side. All of REN's masks are 1.7 oz, and the Clearcalm 3 Mask is $45, the Radiance Renewal Mask is $55, and the Smooth and Renew Mask is $37.

Overall, I really enjoy this mask. It smells great, I love the packaging of the product, it has a unique removal method, and it does exactly what it claims to.

Review: Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Berlin

I'm forever on the hunt for a good liquid lipstick. When they're good, they tend to apply easily, dry quickly, and last forever. And I prefer my makeup to not require 10 touchups throughout the day, and I've found that a good liquid lipstick can survive just about anything. A good liquid lipstick can, in fact, survive better than any regular lipstick.

I heard that the Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick was phenomenal, and I am here to tell you that it really is. But I'll begin at the beginning.

I bought this lipstick in the color Berlin months ago, but I've been waiting to post about it because I wanted to make sure that it was as amazing as I thought it was in the beginning.

The packaging is very pretty; it doesn't look nearly as gothic as some of Kat Von D's products. I'm not a huge fan of the gothic look, so the packaging of this product makes me very happy. At first I was a little bit worried about the color. Berlin just looks so damn bright. But then I put it on. And I fell in love.

It looks much less crazy bright once it's actually on your lips. It dries VERY quickly, so if you're fairly slow at applying lip product, you'll want to speed up to put this stuff on. But once you get the hang of it, you can apply it fairly quickly with ease.

One of the things about this product that I can't rave about enough is it's longevity. It will look like you just put it on all day.

This photo was taken at 4:45 pm. I had been wearing this lipstick since 11:30 am. In between putting the lipstick on and taking this photo, I was in class for 3 hours and 45 minutes. I had one coffee, one bottle of water, one brownie, and one fruit juice (that required putting my lips around the bottle's top). I had spent my Great War class (2.5 hours) talking incessantly. Yes, I'm that kid in class that won't stop talking.

Basically, this is magical lipstick.

Because I waited months to write a review on this product, I also found out one more fascinating fact: it survives nap time. Let me explain. My favorite way to test the lasting-power of any given makeup product is to take a nap while wearing it. I have a whole series of eyeliners, mascaras, blushes, and eyeshadows that surpass the nap test. But rarely does a lipstick survive a nap. More often than not, lipstick ends up all over my pillow and I'm pissed. But not the Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick. It survived the nap test, looking like I had literally just applied it.

I only have two complaints, albeit small ones. The first one you can see illustrated in this photo. While it doesn't fade on the majority of my lips, on the upper outer corners, it disappears. I think it has something to do with the way that my lips are shaped and how they fit together. If I keep my mouth closed, it's not a problem, but if I'm talking a lot, you can tell that the lipstick doesn't reach all the way to the corners of my mouth.

The other problem is a packaging issue. The lipstick will leak around the edges of the screw top, sometimes resulting in pink lipstick getting on my other lip products in my lip drawer. It's easily clean-able with a cheap toner or makeup remover, but I wish that it wasn't an issue at all.

Overall, I LOVE this lipstick. Some claim that it's extremely drying, but I didn't find it to be more drying than your average lip product. It was actually less drying on my than some products I use (Apocolips comes to mind). It retails for $19 on Sephora.com. The next color I'm going to purchase is  Lolita.