New Skincare Spotted at Walgreens

Today I was at Walgreens and spotted a few new skincare items! They were in the regular skincare area, not in the section with the new products (just a tip in case you're looking for them). First, I spotted a new Micellar Cleansing Water from L'Oreal ($9.99). It comes in three formulas...

• Waterproof Makeup Remover for all skin types (blue)
• Purifying and Mattifying for Normal to Oily skin types (green)
• Hydrating and Soothing for Normal to Dry skin types (pink)

 I own the Garnier Micellar Water with the blue cap (waterproof remover) and this one is very similar...it's also a dual-phase formula and it's completely unscented just like the Garnier version. I'm willing to bet the formulas are nearly identical since L'Oreal owns Garnier, but I bought the blue one to compare with the one I have at home so we'll find out soon enough!

Also in the L'Oreal section there was a placeholder for a new line for dry skin called Hydra Genius. There isn't too much information about it other than it gives your skin 72 hour ultra-light, intense hydration. The bottle says it's for "normal to dry skin", while the jar says "extra dry skin". I'll keep you guys posted as to when I find the actual products in-store but for now, I just wanted to let you know it's coming!

Also, I reposted this photo from @beautylogicblog on Instagram last week and kept meaning to talk about it here on the blog. Garnier is also coming out with a Micellar Water for normal to oily skin types that's supposed to purify pores and mattify the skin (similar to the L'Oreal one above). I saw a placeholder for this at Walgreens as well, so it should be arriving very soon!

Also in this photo, there's a "Gentle Sulfate-Free Cleanser in the background that's also new!

What do you think of these new products, will you be on the lookout for them? I have to say I'm happy to see them because I feel like we haven't had any new drugstore skincare launches in a while! :) 

NEW Garnier SkinActive Skincare Arrives at Walgreens

I have a bunch of brand new Garnier skincare launches to share with you! I spotted these at my local Walgreens last night and there's a ton of new products as well as a few existing products in new packaging. All of the new skincare is called SkinActive and there are different formulas for different skin issues. Let's take a look...

Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Cream and Eye Cream Spotted at Walgreens

Garnier has just launched a new line of skincare products called Ultra-Lift Miracle and I spotted them at Walgreens tonight.  The line includes a Miracle Sleeping Cream and Miracle Sleeping Eye Cream. I've been wondering when drugstore skincare was going to catch on to the Korean trend of Sleeping Packs/Masks.  Let's take a look...

Sleeping Creams make sense because that's when your skin regenerates and products have a chance to work the best.  The Miracle Sleeping Cream ($17.99) is anti-aging and anti-fatigue so it hydrates and brightens your skin and also reduces wrinkles!  I took some photos of the box so you can see what all of the claims are:

There is also a Miracle Sleeping Eye Cream ($17.99) that's supposed to fight dark circles, firm, hydrate, depuff and give your eye area a rested look.  It has a gel-cream texture so it's hydrating like a cream, but lightweight like a gel.

I purchased the eye cream for review and I can't wait to start using it (starting tonight!).  What do you think?  Will you try these out?

Garnier Color Styler spotted at Target

There's a new temporary hair color popping up at Target called Garnier Color Styler. It's a clay-based liquid that's supposed to last 2-3 shampoos and comes in fun shades. It's non damaging since it's not actually dye. It is also used on dry hair which is so much easier than wet since you can see where you're putting it while your hair is already styled how you would normally wear it.

The box tells you that it may last longer on damaged or color treated hair which is absolutely true! I once used an Aveda color conditioner in brown on my damaged blonde hair to see what I would look like brunette and thinking it would wash out. Well let's just say I was a brunette for a couple of months! So be careful when using temporary products if your hair is damaged because it's porous and will soak up the color and hold on tight!

Here are photos I took of each shade (click on any photo to enlarge it):

Here's the rest of the box with instructions and description:

What do you think, would you use this? I would possibly try the bronze one since it's the closest to a natural hair color (boring I know!). I could use it to add some lowlights to my blonde. I'd be too afraid to use a bolder color in case my hair absorbs it too much and I got stuck with it.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily Eye Roller Review

This review is for the new Garnier BB Eye Roller that has a really loooong name- Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily Eye Roller (think I'll just stick with BB Eye Roller). It claims to have 5 benefits, making it an all-in-one solution for tired eyes.

I first spotted this at Walgreens and posted it to my Facebook site earlier this week. 

 According to the packaging, its supposed to:
1. Correct Dark Circles
2. Minimize Puffiness
3. Awaken Skin
4. Even skin tone
5. Hydrate

I got mine at Walgreens but I found it online at Ulta for $13.49. It comes in a cute little tube with a rollerball to apply it with. I like rollerball eye products, since they usually make it easy to apply and just quickly blend with your fingers. This one wasn't as liquidy as L'Oreal's CC Visible Lift roller, so it took several passes back and forth to get enough product out.

 I chose the shade Fair/Light but it also comes in Light/Medium. The fair shade was a tiny bit darker than my skin, but not too bad. If you're fair, you'll definitely need to use the Fair/Light- and I'm not sure why they didn't make a dark shade.
Here it is after applying it under my eye. I found it to be creamy yet lightweight and it blended in easily and seamlessly with no creasing or accentuating wrinkles at all! It also didn't sink into wrinkles throughout the day either.

Below are my before and afters. I don't have a ton of darkness under my eyes but you can definitely see some, plus my under eye area just looks tired as well.
Keep in mind, this is not a concealer, but an eye brightener/anti-puffiness product so its not going to cover anything too dark. It didn't cover my freckles at all, but it got rid of the reddish-purple under my eye and made the whole area seem brighter and more awake.

Here are my eyes side by side- here's where you can really see the difference (sorry I went a little cross-eyed looking at the camera, haha)! The eye on the left side of the photo has the Garnier BB Roller and the eye on the right side has nothing. You can see how the left one looks more awake and fresh, while the one on the right has some darkness and a little bit of a bag underneath.

So does this live up to it's claims?

1. Correct Dark Circles- Yes, to a certain extent. It probably won't cover moderate to severe ones though.
2. Minimize Puffiness- Yes definitely!
3. Awaken Skin- Yes, my eye area looked much more awake.
4. Even skin tone- Yes.
5. Hydrate- Yes somewhat. It won't take the place of an eye cream, but it wasn't drying or cakey so it must add a little hydration.

Overall I love this new Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Roller! It's perfect for those days when I don't feel like doing makeup- a few quick swipes and my eyes look instantly better! Even when I do break out my makeup bag I'll probably still use this under concealer because I won't have to use as much, minimizing the heaviness.
Thoughts?

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Eye Roller @ Ulta:

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Eye Roller

Garnier 5 Sec Blur Review plus Swatches and Comparisons

There are so many new primers on the market these days!  From Garnier to L'Oreal to Almay all are promising to blur away imperfections, make shine disappear and fill in pores. But even though they do similar things, they are different in their own ways in terms of texture and how they feel on the skin.  

Garnier's new 5 Sec Blur is the latest primer to crop up and it definitely reminds me of another very popular (and expensive) primer, so read on...more on that below!

First, the details: 

5 Sec Blur comes in a pink tube that holds a full oz of product, so it will last quite a while, especially since you only need a little bit. The tube has a tapered tip that makes dispensing the primer easy. 

Here are the packaging shots and ingredients: 

The formula is light pink and opaque, with a fluffy texture similar to a mousse, but with a silky silicone feel. 

It does a great job of smoothing my skin, filling in pores, lines and wrinkles, blurring minor imperfections and controlling shine.  Compared to the others I've reviewed recently, Garnier 5 Sec Blur has the silkiest texture. The Almay CC Primer  feels more like a light lotion.  L'Oreal Pore Vanisher comes close in terms of silkiness, but once applied it has more of a powdery dry down, while the Garnier retains the silky feel a bit longer.

The pink color and mousse-like texture made me think of two other primers- L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base and Mally's Perfect Prep Primer.

I swatched all three to do a side-by-side comparison.  

From left to right: L'Oreal, Mally, Garnier

The L'Oreal one was very thick and paste-like compared with the Garnier, so I can't really call it a dupe.  But look at Mally Perfect Prep next to the Garnier- they looked and felt exactly alike!

I've been using Mally's Perfect Prep for a few months now ever since I saw it on QVC, and I love it but it's $35/jar- yikes! At $16.99, Garnier 5 Sec Blur is an almost spot on dupe in terms of texture and feel.  Mally Perfect Prep does have peptides in it for firming the skin, so that's one thing the Garnier formula lacks.  But if you're using skincare products to firm your skin and don't really care if they're in your primer too, the Garnier 5 Sec Blur primes the skin just as well as Mally's Perfect Prep, in my opinion and feels exactly the same.

I'll definitely be pinning this to my Dupes Board! 

Garnier Ultra Lift Transformer Review Spring 2014 New

Last week, I posted pictures on my Facebook page of some new Garnier products that have hit the shelves.  I spotted these at Walgreens, but they are also available on CVS's website if you don't have them near you yet.

Today, I wanted to talk about the Ultra Lift Transformer, which is a cream that hydrates, protects, and over time reduces wrinkles.  Garnier states that this cream gives both instant results (color correction and brightening) and long term results (boosting cell renewal and preventing dryness to combat wrinkles).  It contains Pro-Retinol from Nature, which is in their other Ultra Lift skincare products (I really love their night cream- see my review here).

So here's my review and I'm also going to compare it to another similar product- Miracle Skin Transformer to see if this could be a dupe!

New Garnier Cleansing Oil Review Spring 2014

Garnier has launched some new cleansing products for Spring 2014 (as well as some new skincare that I posted on my Facebook page last week and will be reviewing soon). 

The new line is called Clean+ and they have some acne products as well as some for dry skin.  

One that particularly intrigued me was the cleansing oil. Cleansing oils have been around a while- I used the DHC one years ago and the high end brands like Josie Maran, Dr. Perricone and Nude have also had them for a while.  They don't foam up like other cleansers but instead, they dissolve dirt and makeup from your face and whisk it away without stripping the oils in your skin, hence why they're great if you're dry like I am.

I've actually been using Josie Maran's Argan Cleansing Oil for a while now, because there were no drugstore options.  At $32 for a 6oz bottle, I wasn't looking forward to repurchasing it (although I got the most recent one with a birthday Sephora gift card).  So I was super excited to see Garnier release one for $8!

So I thought I would compare the two to see if Garnier cleansing oil could be a dupe for Josie Maran's. Read on to find out!

First, how they're alike:

Both come in clear plastic bottles with a pump for easy dispensing.  They both say to apply to dry skin with dry hands and massage into your face, then add water to emulsify before rinsing.  This makes these hard to use in the shower, because even if my face is dry when I step into the shower, my hands get wet pretty much right away.

How they're different:

Garnier's is 4.2oz for $8 and Josie's is 6oz. for $32...quite a big difference! But, the biggest difference is in the ingredients. Josie's is all natural, while Garnier's is full of mineral and petroleum oils with some natural ones mixed in. This is why there's such a big price gap, as these petroleum oils and filler materials are far cheaper than natural oils.  Josie's ingredients aren't listed on the bottle, so here they are:

Argania Spinosa Kernal (Argan) Oil, Polysorbate-20, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Here's Garnier's ingredients:

The Garnier version is also much thinner than Josie Maran's.  When I pump it into my hand, and apply it to my face, it tends to run and drip, while Josie's is very thick.  The thickness really helps when massaging it onto your face, as it stays put while you work it in and emulsify it. 

Garnier's has a very mild pleasant scent, similar to soap or shampoo. Josie's has an orange creamcicle scent that I  love which actually comes from the Grapefruit peel oil, so it's a natural scent as opposed to Garnier's which says "perfume" in the middle of the ingredient list. 

Now, do they work?  Yes, both took off my makeup and cleansed my face without drying it out.  But I like Josie Maran's cleansing oil a bit more, due to the natural ingredients and thickness of it which makes it easier to work with. However, it is very expensive, so in a pinch, Garnier's will work just fine.  I'm really glad that there's now a drugstore option for cleansing oils!

For an all natural dupe of Josie's that uses Soybean, Sweet Almond and Sunflower Seed Oils, check out this one from the Body Shop- Chamomile Silky Cleansing Oil.  It's on sale now for $13.50 (reg $18). Shop The Body Shop 

 I'll add this to my dupes board on Pinterest since it is a dupe for more expensive cleansing oils.
Have you used oils to wash your face, and if so, do you have a favorite?

Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Review

I've always had a hard time finding the perfect shampoo and conditioner for my hair type, because it's fine/thin and dry/damaged.  Volumizing formulas never offer enough conditioning, yet dry/damaged ones are usually too heavy and weigh my hair down.  
I've been seeing Garnier's Hydra Recharge line in the drugstores, but last week, I finally picked one up and read the label to see what it was all about.  Turns out, it's for dry hair, but promises to add weightless moisture.  I've seen products that have promised this before, but I was intrigued enough to buy the shampoo, conditioner, and leave in conditioner, especially since CVS had them on sale 3/$10. 

The Hydra Recharge Shampoo has tiny blue beads suspended in the product that contain goji berry and passion fruit to hydrate the hair without weighing it down.  The first thing I noticed about the shampoo is how thick it is.  I ended up rubbing it between my hands first before applying it to my hair to break up some of the beads.  The rest dissolved as I shampooed.  Despite the thickness of the product, it rinsed out of my hair completely, without leaving the feeling of residue.  

The Hydra Recharge Conditioner also contains goji berry, passion fruit and kiwi and is meant to deeply hydrate without adding weight. It was a medium thickness- not as thick as the ones I use for dry/damaged hair, yet not as runny as volumizing formulas.  I was able to coat my hair from root to tip and let it soak in for a few minutes.  When I rinsed, my hair felt silky and smooth, but at the same time, I didn't feel like my hair had a coating on it.

I debated whether to use the Hydra Recharge Moisture Whip leave-in conditioner after using the rinse out conditioner, because I was worried about too much moisture.  But in the end, I figured it would be the ultimate test to see if I could pile on the products and still have weightless hair.  I used one pump, which was plenty for my shoulder length hair.  It starts as a foam and turns into a serum when  you rub your hands together.  

I was pleasantly surprised at this line, because not only did it hydrate my hair enough, but my hair had more volume than any thickening product has given me to date- no greasiness or weight.  I even had more volume than I would get using a mousse or volumizing spray and I didn't use any styling products whatsoever!

 I was more impressed with how thick and full my hair looked than anything else, so it's weird that the product description doesn't play that up more, but instead they choose to focus on the moisture aspect.

So if you're looking for something to give your hair volume, I would highly recommend this, even though it's not a "volumizing" product, it has the added bonus of giving fine hair quite an amazing boost while giving dry hair much needed moisture.  I can't wait to try the deep conditioner next!

Have you tried this line yet?  I'd love to see if anyone has had the same great experience I did!