I’m constantly switching up my routine for morning and evening in hopes that I find the best products for my skin each season and because I simply get tired of using the same thing over and over.
The last few weeks I’ve been testing some items sent to me from Garnier that I’ve worked into my morning routine.
Let’s start with my first step; cleansing. I love cleansers that have citrus scents especially to help wake me up in the morning and the Clearly Brighter Gentle Smoothing Scrub* is really nice for that.
I don’t usually do exfoliating cleansers everyday because of their rough texture but this is surprisingly really soft and gentle on my skin. The formula is like a gel cleanser with argun nut shell. I find the the shells feel really smooth. Garnier claims that this can be used for all skin types including sensitive skin.
It helps to smooth my skin and prep it for my next step which is whatever face spray I have at hand.
Recently, I’ve been using a sample of Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist. This spray is really nice to hydrate my skin and prep it for moisturizer. 
It has a beautiful rose scent that I personally like. I also love the mist this creates, it’s very fine but wide so two-three sprites will cover my whole face.
My next step after that is moisturizer. There usually isn’t a moisturizer I don’t like and the Moisture Rescue* is no exception.
This is simply a great everyday fragrance-free and oil-free moisturizer that feels really light on the skin and absorbs really quickly.
It has Vitamin C and E and an SPF of 15. I appreciate the SPF, even if in the summer I’d want a bit more, I like that it has any coverage.
My stand out product for the morning is the Ombrelle Ultra Advanced Tinted Lotion with SPF 60*.
I did try a tinted lotion last year from Clinque which I quite enjoyed for my face but this one from Garnier has a higher SPF. This is non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores), water resistant for up to 80 minutes, and hypoallergenic. I also LOVE that this is fragrance free. I really don’t like the smell of sunscreen so I’m glad I don’t have it here. This is a mineral sunscreen which is new to me.
Upon further reading I found that unlike most sunscreens mineral sunscreen doesn’t get absorbed into the skin but instead sits on top and reflects the suns rays. I mostly just love this because it feels really nice on the skin and the tint gives me a little bit of coverage. For the summer I move away from foundation so I use mostly BB Creams to add a bit of coverage and then use concealer around my eye area or where I need more coverage. This does the same thing but has a really high SPF so I won’t need to worry if I’m out in the sun all day.
My next steps after this are to add my makeup which I might post since my makeup over the summer is pretty minimal but great for those who like to rock a simpler look like I do!
What’s your morning routine like? What steps do you take?
Lots of Love,
Dal
The first is the GlamGlow Thirstycleanse Daily Hydrating Cleanser which I really enjoyed. I used this about 4 times before the sample ran out. It’s not a product I’d use everyday though so I’ll probably not purchase a full size but I would definitely get another sample.
The next item is my Dr.Lipp Nipple Balm. I love this balm! I got it in my 
It’s unfortunate because I love this smell. It was strong when I first applied it but it did diminish throughout the day and left me feeling fresh. I have other deodorants I’m using right now but I will probably repurchase this.
If I’m leaving my hair to dry naturally I’m likely to use the shampoo and conditioner as well as the Caviar CC Cream. These three together made my hair more manageable. It’s really pricey, so I might be leaving this for Christmas and Birthday ideas 😉
Price
Colours
Application, Wear & Longevity
Breakdown
Hurray! More brushes from Royal Langnickel! These brushes are so soft and couldn’t have come at a better time because I was looking for new shadow brushes. The Omnia collection is available on the Royal & Langnickel website March 2017. The Gold brushes are natural hairs and the Rose Gold are synthetic. Both are very soft and beautiful looking brushes.
I have never tried Makeup Geek shadows but have heard that they are some of the best shadows that are cruelty-free and super affordable. I swatched these colours on my hand and I was instantly impressed with the pigmentation. They are both super smooth and feel really blendable. Prom night is described as a pale purple with hints of grey and a shimmery finish. Cherry Cola is described as a deep brown with strong red undertones and a matte finish.
This gloss has organic acai & goji berries, agave and minerals to create this interesting shine. It looks really coppery and metallic in the tube and my swatch below show a lot of gold shimmer. I wore this on the lips and it’s not as intense as the tube leads you to believe. The copper appears sheered out on the lips and the glitter just adds a bit of shine. I can see myself actually wearing this colour. It’s also very comfortable and nourishing on the lips. It feels like a lip oil. Also, I’m in love with the smell, somehow the mix of all these berries mentioned above smell like Terry’s Chocolate Orange to me, yum!
This scrub alone made my 3 month subscription worth it! I had to check the Sephora website to be sure that this was indeed $79 US which it is. This is made for all skin types to target, dullness, wrinkles, and blemishes. It also has a 4.5 star rating on Sephora and mostly rave reviews. I’m really excited to see if it’ll make a difference in my skin.
If you’ve ever created your own palette, you’ve probably considered getting a Z Palette. I usually prefer the Makeup Forever magnetic palettes because they are cheaper but I’m really happy that I have an extra magnetic palette on hand. This size will fit about 9 standard size eye shadows and comes with adhesive magnets that you can actually stick to the bottom of your shadow pan. This was designed exclusively for Boxycharm so it has their cute white border and heart design on it.
My Thoughts
This product is pretty interesting. It sticks inside most sinks with suction cups to keep it steady. The mat is portioned off into eye and face with different textures to quick clean, deep clean (refine) and rinse the brushes. I found that each section did help with cleaning the brushes better for sure.
I only had my beauty blender solid cleanser to test this out with but what I did was wet my brushes and wipe them on the solid cleanser to pick up some soap.
I then used whatever appropriate side. In the case of the photos, I was cleaning a dense face brush so I used the face washing side to work the lather into the bristles.
Afterwards, I would rinse the brushes and use a towel to help remove any extra water on the barrel and bristles and hang them to dry. 
One trick for drying brushes is to hang them from your towel hanger (if you have one). I use a elastic hair bands to tie the brushes upside down on my towel hanger and leave them until they are dry. 
I really enjoyed using the Sigma Spa Express Brush Cleaning Mat. What I really liked about it is that I didn’t constantly have to keep my hands under running water to wash the brushes and I needed to use a lot less soap because the mat helped to work the soap into the bristles better than if I was to use my hand. It took half the time to clean my brushes and I’m not left with any extra soap residue. This worked really well for my fluffy brushes, the denser ones needed a bit more work in the refining texture, but I still got really clean brushes in the end. Overall, I’m really happy with this product and would recommend it.
The ergonomic design allows for easy handling and more stability when applying liquid liner. The top of the liner has a dip that I was able to rest my index finger on and extend my thumb to stabilize application closer to the felt tip.
One thing I’ll note is that I’m right-handed but this made applying eyeliner on my left eye much easier than most other liners. Also, I really love the deepness of this black, it dries matte and doesn’t smudge. I also love that the felt tip is long and has a precise point which makes creating thick or thin lines easy. 
I think with any new product you need to practice a bit to get the hang of it. I’m sure that someone new to eyeliner will find the learning curve with this shorter than a standard liner, but for me I think I’ll just stick to what I know.
What it does
Packaging
