Review: Royal Rose Hydrating Serum by Valentia

This past month, I've been experimenting with a new skincare routine. First off, washing my face regularly! I get super lazy at night, but I've been trying to start the routine before I'm too tired to care. Second, I got La Roche-Posay's Eau Thermale on super-sale at the local drug store. It's basically French mineral water in an aerosol can. Très chic and perhaps très silly. It feels nice, though.

Lastly, I added Royal Rose Hydrating Serum, sent c/o Valentia. I've only been using it for about 7 days, but so far I'm really happy. It's definitely good for sensitive skin, as they claim. I haven't seen any increase in redness and no rash, which is always a risk for me when I try new products. They recommend using it at night, but since it's so lightweight, I like to wear it under my make up.

Benefits:

It smells lightly of roses

It's lightweight and absorbs quickly

Soothes & calms

Contains only natural ingredients

If you have sensitive skin, I really do recommend giving this one a try!

Sponsored by Brand Backer

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Review: InstaNatural Argan Oil Products

Hello! How is your 2015 so far? Mine has been fabulous. I've been super-motivated to get my apartment in shape. It's been driving me bonkers, so a new year felt like the perfect reason to refresh my living conditions, my wardrobe and my personal health! I bought some new jams (Sam Smith & Nicki Minaj) and I've been cleaning up old projects & organizing closets; I took a bags of stuff to Value Village and Buffalo Exchange, and now I'm focusing on inner and outer health.

 As always, I'm a huge proponent of organic beauty products. The more natural, the better! This latest Brand Backer campaign I've signed up for involves some generously-sized samples from InstaNatural. 

Over the summer, I fell in love with Josie Maran Argan Oil, but at $48 for 1.7oz., her product is not something I can afford to buy all the time. While InstaNatural's Argan Oil isn't as glam as something from Sephora (I got it through Amazon), it's just as naturally good for your skin, and the earth, as any other brand. (Or so the site claims). It's certified organic and you get 4oz for $19! That's a crazy-good deal.

The one downside is that it has a weird smell. It's cold pressed and unrefined, so you're getting pure argan funk. The smell doesn't last, though, and with use, I'm getting accustomed to it. I use it all the time. It's perfect for my sensitive skin, so I wear it under my make up. I also use it as a hair conditioner, pre-blowdry hair smoother, body lotion, bath oil, etc. etc. And I have so much of it, I don't mind sharing anymore!

The company also sent me a giant tub of their Argan Oil Hair Mask. It's super thick and smells like orange creamsicles. You're supposed to leave it in for 5-15 minutes, but I rarely have that much time in the shower, so I reserve it for my weekend baths. My hair has certainly felt softer and has been very shiny. I just have to be careful to thoroughly rinse everything, or else I'm left with hair that's a touch too shiny, if you get my drift. I wouldn't recommend it for fine hair, unless it's processed (permed or bleached). It doesn't seem to strip the color from my hair, which is another plus, but the product description doesn't say anything about it being color-safe, so be careful if you color yours.

A clean apartment, soft, healthy hair, some new accessories and new (thrifted) duds, and I'm ready to take on the rest of 2015!
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Review: Djaouida Skincare

Let me just begin with how soft my skin is! It's incredible! Feels like velvet, but not in a fuzzy way. 

I suppose I should explain things a little better. Today I had the pleasure of meeting Djaouida, a tall, charming esthetician with huge brown eyes and, you guessed it, perfect skin. I also had the pleasure of getting my very first facial. I wasn't totally sure my skin could handle all that cleansing and scrubbing and masking, but Djaouida knows what she's doing! I'm hooked! My skin looks and feels amazing and it was one of the most relaxing 75 minutes I've had in a long time. The facial also included an arm and hand massage, which was the clincher for me. Honestly, include some sort of massage and I'll do just about anything. (Dental fillings with a free neck massage? I'm there!) 

Lately, I've been having some minor problems with my skin. It just seems more reactive and I see rashes more frequently. I was a little worried about this, so I scheduled a European facial, which was listed on the site as suitable for sensitive skin. Turns out I made the right choice, as the European is perfect for customizing. All the other facials come with predetermined lotions, masks, etc., but the European can be tweaked for any skin type. The fact that Djaouida uses all natural products also helped dispel any worries about reacting to perfumes or harsh chemicals.

How gorgeous does my skin look now??

Along with the European Facial, Djaouida also offers more decadent facials. I had to keep reminding myself when I was choosing a facial that "Catie, you don't get to eat these. They're just facials."

Click for more info!

Moroccan: Featuring pomegranate, yogurt & honey

Pumpkin: Detoxify & renew with pumpkin & clay

Hawaiian: Featuring coconut & tropical fruits

Goddess: All I have to say is CHOCOLATE

Definitely worth the drive out to West Seattle!

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Clarisonic: Is it worth it?

(Image Source: Seventeen)

It's seems like in the world of cosmetics, the more money you spend the better the product and the better your skin will look. This seems to make sense, but is it always true? I've never tried La Mer, but it's such a huge seller, and at $275 per 2 oz pot, I imagine it's doing something!

I figured the same must be true for the Clarisonic Care System (which sells like hotcakes despite costing $119), but have never given it a serious thought until SkinCareRX approached me to do a partnership. They wanted me to *gasp* review the Clarisonic. I thought "I can't afford that, what am I gonna do??" but Jillian at SkinCareRX reassured me I wouldn't be required to purchase a system and encouraged me to be creative. I'm not at a point in my life where I can really afford to try it out for myself, but this seemed like a good opportunity to do some "research" and gather opinions from friends who actually own the system. Below, I've compiled a list of Pros and Cons, as well as whether the system was actually "worth it" in the end.

Pros: 

Holds a charge for a long time

Can be charged while wet

Great for removing heavy make-up

Clears up black heads

Exfoliates and works well on acne-prone skin

Comes in several colors

Can be used twice a day

Cons:

Price ($119 to $235)

Replacement heads are expensive and have to be replaced every couple months

Can increase the redness of dry and/or sensitive skin

The PLUS has only one button, which makes it tricky to change the settings

Takes 4 hours to charge

As for whether it was really worth it, the consensus was split pretty evenly. One friend loved it and raved about how much it had improved her acne-prone skin. Another friend was rather ambivalent and said "I like it, but I don't need  it." Of course, she has naturally great skin, so she doesn't really need anything. The third friend said, had she not gotten her's for free, she probably wouldn't have been happy with her investment, since it made her dry skin more inflamed. It did, however, improve the texture and reduce the appearance of black heads.

After taking this all into consideration, I think, if I had the funds, I would definitely give the Clarisonic a try, but I can imagine it would go unused once I ran out of replacement heads. I'm cheap, haha.

What about you? Do you own one or would you buy one? I want to know!

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