DR. BRANDT SKINCARE CC Glow Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Back to makeup/skincare reviews. Lately, I've been noticing that there are a lot of products that are more of a two in one type of product. They are great skincare benefits and also give you makeup qualities. CC creams are all the rave right now especially now for the summer. Its a light weight, nice coverage, SPF color correcting cream. I love being able to just wear CC creams because it usually means that my face is acting right and I don't need the extra coverage. I also like to use CC creams when I am tanned. Its because a lot of CC creams come in limited colors which means that a medium would probably blend in enough for when I am tan and not tan. I don't go sun crazy on my face when I get sun during the summer. I usually put SPF 20-45. This protects my skin so that I don't have to worry about wrinkles in the long run. Now that I live in NYC, I definitely do not go to the beach as much as I did when I live in Puerto Rico. Oh! I remember when I lived there I was at the beach every weekend at least once a weekend from January to August. Those were the days! Now, living in NYC I am able to have any type of access to anything I would dream of in terms of beauty products but the 'beaches' are crap. 

If you've read some of my past posts, you know that I love the Dr. Brandt brand. I've been hooked on the Glow day and night cream for about 3 months now. This stuff is amazing. It has made my skin look more radiant and the retinol has definitely been cleared up any blemishes that I had and also my wrinkles which aren't a lot but I do have laugh lines along with wrinkles around my eyes. This Glow line also has a CC cream that is available. It is like the Glow daytime lotion with a CC cream. So it comes in the color 'natural' which is a good color for me if I am not tanned but I do think it is too light for me the second I have some color. This is the only bad thing about this stuff, it only comes in one color. But if you are part of the lucky ones that are light to medium complexion, I would definitely recommend this for you. This cream illuminates and brightens your skin with the same ruby crystal complex that is in the Glow cream. This also hydrates your skin so that your skin is smoother which makes your wrinkles and lines diminish and also has SPF30 as an added layer of protection.  It also has a concentrated amount of Vitamin C which does wonders to making your skin more radiant. The tint in this conceals imperfections and it evens your skin tone more naturally because its not a heavy caked on coverage. 

You can find this CC cream online or in +Sephora. It retails for about $39 and I know for CC creams this is expensive considering there are a lot of drugstore brands that are as good in color correcting creams plus this isn't for everyone considering it is only available in one color. I do recommend if you don't have the Glow day cream considering this basically is the same cream but tinted. Hope this review helps you decide whether you need to buy this or if you've been eyeing it but couldn't splurge especially since its a pricey CC cream. 

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Garnier Ultra-Lift Transformer Anti-Age Skin Corrector

Today I go back to just a drugstore product that I saw +Amelia Liana talk about in one of her videos and she said it was definitely a "must buy". She doesn't have to tell me twice. I went out looking for it. I realizes that I bought a wrong one before actually ending up buying this one. I saw it this weekend when I went to Rite Aid. This product is a skin corrector and its suppose to transform your skin. The product is in a cream form and when it comes out its white but the minute you rub it into your skin it turns a skin color. It blends easily and doesn't sit on top of your skin. It automatically seeps into your skin leaving you with a nice finish. This auto-adjusting immediately corrects your skin and also give you a brightening effect. You know I love brightening anything. 

This cream also has anti-aging elements in it since it has Pro-retinol which helps boost natural cell renewal and since its hydrating your skin isn't going to dry out because of the retinol. The retinol helps with the wrinkles and firms the skin. This is obviously

something that happens over time and not automatic but its better than other "bb/cc" creams that are around now. I personally think this is more of a bb/cc cream since it does give you color. Lately, thats all I've been using. I've been taking care of my skin so much lately, not that I haven't done this since forever but honestly I am wearing less makeup because my skin is nice. Since this product has that color transforming feature, I've been using it as a foundation and then I just add concealer since my dark circles are really acting up lately since I don't sleep. Then I add my blush and bronzer but no foundation which for me is a lot for me since I've been using foundation since my highschool days. 

This product retails for around $15 and its not a small size. I think for a drugstore purchase, this is a good product. You can apply it with your hands or beauty blender. There isn't really a "specific way" to apply this and it has SPF20 which is great for these days that its not summer but the sun is actually doing damage. 

Let me know if you've tried this and if you have anything like this that you like using.

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Morning Time Routine

Skin care routine!! I know many people have different things that they do but this routine works for me. I've noticed that ever since I've been writing this blog I keep up with my skincare routine even more because I always think about writing what I do and what works. I wanted to give you an insight about what I do every morning to keep my skin looking the way it does. I wake up each morning and drink a glass of water. I brush my teeth and then wash my face. 

I them move on to cleansing my skin. I don't always use the same things for months and months because I've notived that I need to switch up my routine to keep my skin from breaking out. Lately, I've been using the +olay Pore Refining Cleansing scrub in the morning and I make sure my skin is clean from all the moisturizer I put on at night. I use my +Clarisonic Mia brush. The brush head I has is the normal one and I added the Cashmere Satin precision brush around my eyes. I think this helps my moisturiser seap in deeper into my skin so that my eyes can get all the nutrients that my cream has. 

Once I pat my skin dry, I move on to moisturisers. I know a lot of people don't think people with oily skin should be using moisturizers but like I explained in my Beauty Oil blog post, you need to put it on to be able to trick your skin into producing less oil. At this moment, I've been really wanting radiance and glow since we are moving from Winter months and going now into Spring weather. I like to be able to strip my skin of all the winter dullness. For this, I put on Dr Brandt Ruby Radiance Glow day time moisturizer. I go into more detail on a previous blog. But I really do like what the retinol at night and along with this moisturizer is doing for my skin. This moisturizer has illuminating sheen to it and it gives you a nice glow. 

I have to moisturize my eyes a little bit more than the rest of my face because for some reason my eyes are always dry by the end of the day. For now I've been really liking the L'oreal Eye Defense. I didn't really read reviews on it before I bought it but I am glad I bought it. On the packaging it says that it reduces puffiness, dark circles, and lines with Liposomes. I am not that old so I was not looking for something that was going to go crazy on wrinkles. I was sold once it said puffiness and dark circles. This is what I am trying to minimize the most at my age. I used this and I saw results instantly. I like the hydration that this cream gives me. I went on and read some reviews and I saw that you can refrigerate so that the puffiness goes down faster. I did that and I didn't see that much of a difference but I do like the way it feels. 

After I moisturize my face completely, I can't forget about the SPF. I don't really care if for that day I decide to use a foundation with SPF already but just to be careful I add on a sunscreen. I posted the one I personally like to use in one of my other posts. I like the Coola Face SPF 20 with Rose Essence. It has some of a tint to it but I like the absorption it has. It doesn't leave my skin greasy and its great since it has the SPF 20. I also put on a lip balm so that my lips are moisturized by the time I add my lipstick. This is my routine for right now every morning. I add makeup but thats not my skincare routine. 

What do you do to get your skin prepped in the morning? Do you have any special things you can't live without? Anything that you do specifically for the Spring time?

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Loreal Visible Lift CC Eye Concealer

More make up reviews!! I don't think I've talked a lot about concealer but I think it's probably the one beauty product I use every single day even on those days that I don't really want to put make up on and just add like a BB cream and go. I inherited my mom's and her father's dark circles under our eyes, yay me!! It's just one of those things that I have to deal with and I much rather start on that now than later. A couple of months ago I saw +Nicole YoungWildandPolished haul this and I'm not really sure how much she likes it and if it's something she uses everyday but when I saw it in the store, I went out and grabbed it. It's the Loreal Visible Lift CC Eye in light. It's a rollerball form and I really think that's the best way to put concealer on since it the metal ball is supposed to help cool the bags under your eyes and in that reduce them. This is one of those unsung heros. I use this every single day and is basically the #1 concealer I used unless I'm going out or a special occasion and then I use my MAC Pro longwear. I think the Loreal CC concealer is creamier and less drying than the MAC Pro Longwear concealer. I have really oily skin but under my eyes the skin is really dry. I use Loreal Eye Defence eye cream at night and in the morning but not sure why this area in my face is so dry. I'm still looking for my 'holy grail' type concealer but for now, I do like this one. I like how this one applies and how it brightens my under eyes. Since I usually have really bad bags under my eyes, I do like that this one covers them up almost completely. I usually just set it with ELF High Definition UnderEye setting powder but other than that I'm really good to go. As for the Visible Lift part of this concealer, I'm not sure if I see a visible lift but I guess it's because this is probably made for older skin and I use it more for the coverage.

I feel like I needed to mention it since it's one of those products that even on my no make up days, I tend to wear a bb cream and then this to conceal since I usually have really dark circles.  This retails for about $7.99 and you can buy at your local drugstore and I do believe that this is not limited edition because even though they are mostly sold out, I do see them there in the aisle and not in the display area if the drugstore. The color selection is minimal so is you find one that works for you, I recommend you pick it up. I am a medium complexion for the most part so I use the shade Light as my concealer to brighten everything up.

Are there any remedies that you use? Anything that you find is your hy grail for concealers? Tricks of the trade? Let me know, I'd love to hear what works for you!!

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Tarte CC Primer Stick Review

As you know if you've been reading, Tarte is really one of my favorite makeup brands. They came out with a CC primer stick a couple of months ago and I was all on it. I always love a good primer and that has colors to correct my pigmentation? I'm in! I went to the my local +Sephora and started swatching because normally I would go straight for the medium and be done with it but after reading reviews I saw that they were on the darker side. I went back and forth between the light and medium and since the girls that work there went on the mood to actually work so I had to just go on my own opinion. I went with the medium, went home and put it on and didn't see it being that dark but after a while u did realize that it was a tad too dark. I went back returned it for the light. I am definitely comfortable with the light on this one. This isn't very pigmented to begin with so I wasn't that worried.

So when you look at the primer you will see that there are four triangles-- two are the actual light color and one is green and one is purple. The green one is to balance off the redness on your skin and the purple if to help out the discolorations while brightening the dullness. This goes on smoothly when you put it directly on your face. The instructions say to apply directly on your skin on your T-zone, cheeks and chin. This allows the product to evenly go on your skin and you can blend it with your fingers. I recommend your fingers and not a beauty sponge or brush because since the coverage is so light, this helps the product stay on your face and not rub off on the sponge or brush applicator. Once this is on your skin you automatically feel that it feels very soft on your skin. This gives you a light light coverage. I can probably just go out with this and concealer but I prefer more coverage for work. Since this is made with the famous amazonian clay that Tarte is all about now, this is also good for your skin. You will see your skin brighten up and more hydrated after using this product for an extended amount of time. 

Once you've applied this, you will notice that your foundation goes on so much easier. It glides on and it gives you an overall smoother look. I love this and since it has the light coverage, this is what I use for the weekends. I definitely recommend this primer stick to anyone who loves light coverage and for those who need a color correcting primer, this is it. It retails for $34 and you can buy it at +Sephora, +ULTA Beauty, or +tarte cosmetics.

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Coola Face SPF 20 Rose Essence Tint First Impression

O-M-G!!! I bought this a while back, like a long time ago, with my FSA that I get from my health benefits. I hadn't spent the money and needed to use it up and this stuff qualified since it was SPF and sun care related. I had heard of the brand before but hadn't tried it. I saw that this had tint so I thought, hey this would be good for weekends when I don't really want to wear makeup and it has SPF so I was good to go. In my never ending desire for it to be Spring, I decided to pop this on as a primer since I used my retinol this morning and most of my foundations, sadly, don't have SPF. I shook the bottle to make sure that nothing had settled since its been sitting for about 3 months. I put a little on my fingers and started to rub it in and O-M-G! This immediately absorbed into my skin and there was a hint of color. Although it didn't give me the coverage that I would like for work it did faintly cover some dark spots that I have around my jaw line. I love how this didn't make my skin oily and it immediately absorbed. I have to say that I might need to stock up on this because its so great. It says its suppose to have a Rose Essence to it and honestly I didn't smell anything. I don't think it smells like anything at all so not sure if the rose essence is meant for the smell or if its meant for something that does great things to your skin. 

All in all-- I have to say at a first impression this stuff is amazing. I never have had a sunscreen that absorbed into my skin so quickly and didn't leave like an oily feel to my skin. I would say that it matted my skin a bit since it absorbed so quickly. This product is all natural, vegan, not tested on animals and organic. I would recommend this to anyone who needs to wear SPF which should be everyone anyway but if you don't wear it now, I think this is the one you should start with. It retails for $36 which is definitely on the pricey side of sun screens but definitely think its worth it. If you have FSA benefits with your health care provider, this qualifies under that and you can get it on Drugstore.com or Walgreens and I'm guessing any other drugstore that carried higher end merchandise. This will totally change you thoughts on sunscreen-- ugh the white glow that they all leave, the oily feel-- yuck! Definitely not my cup of tea! Coola definitely nails it on the head with this one-- its tinted, fast absorbing and doesn't leave your skin feeling oily and has 20 SPF! This is probably all you need for Spring/Summer whenever it decides to arrive here in NYC.

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