CURE Natural Aqua Gel
Purchased at Beauty Carousel — $29.84 (Before Shipping)

Claims: Best-selling skincare product in Japan for 7 years! 1 bottle is sold every 20 seconds!

A gentle, non-abrasive water-based exfoliating gel made of 90% activated hydrogen water and plant extracts of aloe vera, gingko and rosemary. Contains no fragrance, no alcohol, no artificial preservatives or coloring. Suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin.

It removes dead skin cells gently and effectively to help in skin renewal for softer, smoother and brighter skin. A basic skincare must-have to prevent skin problems such as enlarged pores, blackheads, pimples, blemishes and dull skin tone.

Discover how your face brightens up and how your make-up glides on beautifully after using CURE.

Contains: 90.66%  Activated Hydrogen Water from Purified Water, 5% Glycerin, Crosspolymer (Acrylares/C-10-30 Alky Acrylate), Dicocodimonium Chloride.Steartrimonium Bromide, Aloe Barbadenis Leaf Extract <1%, Ginkgo Biloba Extract <1%, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract <1%, and Butylene Glycol <1%. For more information on what these items are, please visit: http://www.japalang.sg/cure/About_Cure.html

How To Use: Use on dry face. Massage face very GENTLY in a circular motion. Do not use too much force as it may cause redness. Great for removing dead skin cells on the neck, armpit, elbow, back and knee too. Safe to use on alternate days or when necessary. (Recommended: 1 – 2 times a week).

My Rating: ?????
(Loved it – Will purchase time & time again).

Pros:

• Very lightweight.
• No harsh exfoliating beads.
• Instant results, leaves face super super super smooth.
• No harsh smell at all. Very very light scent if any.
• As disgusting as it is, it’s so cool to see your dead skin ball up immediately.

Cons:

• Cannot find this anywhere (locally).
• On the steeper side, but worth EVERY penny.

My Opinion:  This is my HG exfoliator. I have a serious obsession with exfoliators (due to my “bad” skin) so i’m on the constant hunt for exfoliators, regardless of bad / good reviews. But CURE offers so far the BEST and when i say best i mean the best exfoliator out there.

The first thing that honestly really caught my attention is that 1 of these bottles is sold every 20 seconds in Japan. Seriously?! And they don’t even advertise. When i first tried this product a few months back, i was very very skeptical for many reasons. One, it’s 91% water, so seriously how is that suppose to honestly clean anything and two, WHERE ARE THE BEADS?! Seriously, i have never used an exfoliator without beads. Now i’ve tried it all, big beads, little beads, soft beads, hard beads, bursting beads, and so on. You catch my drift. But this has absoutely NO beads, so it honestly once again, didn’t make any sense at how it would exfoliate. I honestly STILL can’t tell you how it works but it’s the best stuff out on the market.  As you can see from above, all those little white balls are DEAD SKIN CELLS. Amazing right?

CURE recommends you to use anywhere from 2-3 pumps but honestly i only use 1. It’s a lot of product and i’m very conservative with my stuff, so i try to use minimal amounts if possible. 1 pump is honestly more than enough so i do encourage to save this god sent product. So with the amount of product you get this will definitely go a long long way. I use this twice a day followed with a mask and it honestly has improved my skin texture a lot.

After using this only twice, i was complimented by my whole family and a few friends about my skin, saying that it looks a lot healthier, brighter, and glowing! Honestly to hear comments like that make me feel a lot better since i’ve been doing everything i can and purchasing anything i have a slight amount of faith in.

The only downfall to this product is that it is a Japanese product so you can’t find this locally. If you were like me, i hated online shopping and refused to do it due to identity theft, but now that i do shop online, it’s a lot easier for me to get this. I’ve hunted and hunted and hunted for the best pricing and so far Beauty Carousel is the cheapest i can find and ensures that it’s 100% authentic, which i can claim that it is.

For more detailed information, i highly encourage you to visit the manufactures website and to read through it all. It’s so enticing and as a devoted user, i can tell you that what they claim is 100% honest in my opinion. So for more information here’s the link: Click Here

I will continue to purchase this over and over and over and if they ever discontinue this product, i will buy myself a whole box to make sure i have enough to get me by for the rest of my life! Lol! That’s how much i honestly loveeeeeeeeeeeee this product.

Shiseido Purness – Refreshing Cleansing Water
Purchased @ Macy’s ($21.00)

Claims: A gentle water-based cleanser that whisks away the impurities, makeup, and oil that can clog pores and lead to imperfections. Maintains skin’s natural balance. Leaves skin feeling refreshed. pH-balanced formulation. Recommended for oily, combination and normal skin. Use daily morning and evening. Oil-free. Alcohol-free.

Contains: Unfortunately i threw away the box so i can’t really give you any information on this.

How To Use: Saturate a cotton pad and wipe gently over face.

My Rating: ?????
(Loved it – Will purchase time & time again).

Pros:

• Smells amazing! Like a floral scent.
• Light weight and penetrates skin fast.
• Cleans face (dirt, oil, & sebum) deeply.
• Leaves skin soft and touchable.
• Great to use anytime for any reason.
• Priced reasonably for a high-end product.

Cons:

• NONE!

My Opinon: This is an item that has totally made my HG list. As you can probably tell from the picture, i use this frequently. Part of my AM skincare routine, i actually do not wash my face since i have combination dry skin and the more frequently i wash, the drier i get. So in the morning when i wake up i just take a cotton pad and use about 2 – 3 pumps of this amazing product and wipe my face. It removes all the sebum, left over moisturizers, and creams from the night before, leaving my face refreshed and clean.

It also controls my oil. Since i am combination-dry i do tend to get oily around my nose and sometimes my cheeks, but since i’ve been using this i have not had a problem with oil at all. I have gone days without it and noticed the oil on those days but when i use it not a spot. It’s weird and i can’t really explain why it does but all i know is that this product works for me.

Please note though, this product works well for me but may not for others. I would recommend requesting a sample if you want to try it before making the purchase, or to purchase this at Nordstroms since their return policy is very lenient.

I initially wanted to do a PR on this when i had first got it, but wanted to push it off until i actually really used the product. Now i’m more than halfway through the product and this is so worth the product. It’s relatively cheap for a Shiseido product in my opinion, and lasts quite some time. I noticed that when i use this product and then continue on with my normal AM skincare routine (moisturizing and etc.) it leaves my skin a lot softer than it would be without using it.

I highly highly highly recommend this product for individuals who don’t wash their face in the morning and need to eliminate dry skin and control oil. Since i am almost out, i do plan on making a purchase of this item again and will continue to do so since this is an HG item for me.

Claims: These 10 color palettes contains the original best selling NYX shadows in one sleek case for design, storage, and mobility. Whether you are looking for various color combination or a palette suited for your particular eye color, then look no further! As with our popular eyeshadows this product offers bold colors, high pigmentation, and lasting wear.

Includes:

• 10 Eyeshadows
• Mirror
• 1 Double Sided Eyeshadow Sponge

Contains: Mica, Talc, Zinc Stearate, Mineral Oil, 2-Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Bht, Methylparaben, Propylaraben. May Contain: Cl77499, Cl16035, Cl77007, Cl77492, Cl77891, Cl77491.

My Rating: ?????
(Loved it – Will purchase time & time again).

Pros:

• Great color payoff; very pigmented.
• Huge mirror for the size of the palette.
• Cheap!
• Minimal fallout
• Very minimal shimmer, matte & satin mixture.

Cons:

• Eyeshadow sponge is very flimsy & not useful for me.

My Opinion: I absolutely love this palette. This is my first item from NYX and am very very impressed with the pigmentation it offers and love how smooth and satiny it is. It has minimal fall out which is definitely a plus for me. The colors are perfect for an everyday neutral look. It offers everything you need from highlights, crease, and outer v colors. I have not tried these colors without an eyelid primer so could not tell you if they are long lasting or crease proof without a primer, but i’ve used these both with Urban Decay Potion Primer & Too Faced Shadow Insurance and they’ve lasted me all day through high heat and sweat without a single crease, smudge, or fading. I honestly and persnally like the top left color better than my normal highlight “MAC’s Rice Paper“. Color pick-up is great. You don’t need a lot at all. I just tap my brush in the darkest color to get the color i have for my outer v (seen below). So when i say very pigmented, i really mean it.

As for price wise, it’s super affordable and worth every penny. I plan on purchasing more of these palettes in other colors since it’s super cheap and very good quality.

The palette is small enough to bring with you for travel and touch-ups (honestly you don’t need to if you have a good primer). The mirror is huge, covering the entire top lid of the palette so you don’t have to be to close up to it while applying.

I am NOT a fan of sponge tip applicators, so this applicator is really of no use to me. It seems a little flimsy to and don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing since i never use sponge tip applicators to apply my eyeshadows.

So in conclusion, i highly recommend this palette for anybody looking for a neutral everyday wearable look who isn’t looking for to much shimmer but not matte either. I would most definitely purchase another one of these if i ever run out. I do plan on purchasing more of these palettes in different colors since i am very happy with this purchase. NYX also offers these palettes in other colors, so be sure to check those out as well. Since this is my only one (so far) i can only do a PR on the one. Hope this was helpful.