Winter Travel Skincare

When I packed (last-minute, of course) for Canada, I really had select what I consider to be winter essentials to cram into a teeny suitcase.

I recalled my spring break in New York and realized how fricking dry my skin gets in the chilly weather. So of course, my travel stash has a strong emphasis on moisture-retention and hydration.

Starting with cleansing, I chosen a cream cleanser, because cream cleansers are known to be richer than other face washes. I picked up Salma Hayek's Nuance Chamomile Facial Cream Cleanser in hopes that it won't overstrip my skin's oil, which is my body's natural way of maintaining moisture.

Next up is exfoliation. I find that daily exfoliation has a larger role in skin clarity for me than even cleansing. I have oily/combination skin and my skin regenerates quickly. I find that if I even skip a day or two of exfoliation, my skin gets scaly quick (especially my nose) from dead skin cell buildup and bam! Clogged pores galore. :(

If you live by daily exfoliation too, try to look for a gentle physical scrub, meaning fine grains. I'm
using up my St. Ives Green Tea Scrub, which works pretty well.

Before I left, I was sure that a hydrating serum would be my savior in the weeks to come. I was dead wrong.

Serums always end up costing more than the rest of my skincare, sometimes combined. Eeek! I always figured they were worth it. But sometimes, I wonder if serums are some sort of marketing ploy to convince us it was worth paying an obscene amount of money for a tiny bottle with a glass dropper.

There's a weird glorification of serums, and we expect some magical transformation from it like it's a potion from Harry Potter. I'm not saying serums don't work, but they aren't the ones doing your heavy lifting. It would be like saying toners clean better than face wash or that Garfunkel is more important than Simon. It's moisturizers FTW, baby.

I'm using Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Serum. It's pretty cheap for a serum, only around $8 for a set of four 1-oz bottles and I got it in a BOGOF sale. Score. It offers a boost of hydration. But I'm fine if I hadn't brought it with me.

Before I left, I picked up a tube of German-made Nivea Creme to try because of the raves I read online, especially, Rae's. I was after an uber rich moisturizer that would work in sub-zero (seriously) conditions. The stuff I used in California just wasn't going to cut it. I'll write more about it soon but it's an amazing moisturizer. Because I'm traveling, it doubles as a day and night face cream. It keeps my wind-chapped face supple. My face is cold and numb here, but it sure ain't dry!

Most importantly, I brought sunscreen with me. Even though I only see the sun every three days (never thought I would miss it), I want to practice constant vigilance against sun damage wherever I go. Plus, the Badger SPF 30+ Baby Sunscreen is super rich and thus functions as an additional moisturizer. I would never use this in California, but it works perfectly here.

Lastly, I brought along an eye cream, because the skin around your eyes is extra delicate and prone to damage. I usually use anything my mom gives me. Currently I have RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream.

Sorry for my serum rant, I don't know what came over me, lol.

Do you have any skincare travel staples or recommendations? Your thoughts!

ByTowne Cinema

We went to this theater last night to watch Shame. Man, is that so not a date movie! Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

Review: Jane Blushing Cheeks in Blossom, Dupe Alert!

I see that the R&R blushes are almost wiped out since the commencement of the sale last night. But Spank has been out of stock for longer. 


For those who did not get to partake, there's an identical dupe for R&R Spank!

I heard of this through theymightbejenny's review of R&R Spank on MUA. She said Jane's Blushing Cheeks in Blossom was virtually the same shade as Spank. This was before I myself got ahold of Spank, so I thought it was a great idea to try Spank on the cheap before I invested big. 

I picked up Blossom at Rite Aid for $4.19. This is 3.4g worth of product.

I really loved it! It's just as the name indicated, it looks like my cheeks are blushing. In the pan, it looks like a flat rosy color. It really transforms itself on the skin. It's a vibrant pink. Just like R&R blushes, it's super-pigmented. The texture is silky, but in a different way than R&R. It has a more plastic-y feel, but not unpleasant. 

When I got Spank, I compared the two side-by-side. 

I was so shocked, they even look similar in the pan!

As you can see, they're pretty much the same color. theymightbejenny says Blossom is more yellow-toned. I think Blossom is more pigmented than Spank. It only took two swipes to get the swatch of Blossom, whereas it took four swipes for Spank.  In addition, Blossom shows up more lively on my cheeks than Spank. In a way, I can understand the hype over Spank. I definitely love the color that Blossom provides. I also found Blossom much more portable. It's tiny compared to the R&R compact, so there's no way it can't fit into a makeup bag. And the cost is sweet on your wallet. You don't even have to wait for a sale to get it. You can buy five Blossom's for the price of a half-off Spank!


I definitely recommend Blossom over Spank. This definitely shows you don't have to pay a lot to get a quality product. I'll be getting a back-up.

Have you tried either? Both? Your thoughts!

Daamn, R&R Sale Back with a Vengeance / How to Buy 2 R&R Blushes for $18.16 or Less

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in with the infamous sale!

It's back, hide your wallet!

The best part is you can stack a $25 credit on top of the 50% off you'll receive for signing up with R&R after you have been referred by someone else. For people who have been having issues with using the $25 credit, myself included, it seems that the R&R site has fixed that bug and the $25 credit will show up in checkout, where it previously disappeared.

I just completed my last R&R blush haul by buying Shameless and Seduce tonight for $18.16. You can buy them for even less, if you don't live in California since they won't charge you sales tax.


I was referred by Tao and that how I found out about this fabulous offer. I'd be happy to refer you. I would get a $25 credit if you make a purchase. You could also ask Tao, since she should get the credit for informing me of the ingenious savings idea. For some reason, she deleted that post.  

The cosmetic line must be really in trouble, if the sale has been on-and-off. So I guess haul while this still exists, if you're interested. You could also wait for the designer sales sites to restock them, but the $.99 shipping and $25 credit is pretty handy. At this moment, all blushes except Call Me (of course) and Spank are in stock.  Click here to see the blushes.

If you would like a referral, comment on this post with your email. I've set commenting to mandatory moderation, so I will delete your email after I sign you up for a referral and it will not be visible to others.

I think this might be my last post on R&R since it's saturated my blog for a while... unless something crazy happens. Let me know if you would like a review on Shameless and Seduce.

Happy Hauling!

Rock & Republic Collective Haul and Review

Sorry for the delay in reviewing! Midterm season is well upon me. :/

Onwards!

My R&R haul actually turned into three hauls. Funny how that can happen. ;)

I got my first four blushes (Immoral, X-Rated, Kinky, and All Nighter). I loved them so much that...

I set about getting more. But they were all sold out online by the time I was ready to order again. I managed to snag the last Bedroom for haul #2 when they restocked a few colors mid-September. 

Finally, I went to Los Angeles on a spontaneous weekend getaway with bf in late September. We decided to stop by the R&R freestanding store on Robertson. To my shock, they had the entire makeup line and they were all 50% off. Unfortunately, the much-coveted Call Me shade was unsurprisingly sold out. But I managed to snag Foreplay, Tease, Spank, and Lust at half price. :D 

 My R&R haulage from LA. The bag is with my LA bestie since she liked it so much, lol.

So, I give you,

The Blushes

Packaging 
Like everyone has said, the packaging is super luxe. Of course, that means bulky. It's in a round cardboard box that is triple the size of the blush. It's actually not that large or heavy. It's definitely larger than your typical blush, but not much larger than a foundation compact. 

 They all come with a plastic sheet cover. I still kept them, because I don't want to throw away anything. These are my first high end cosmetics, lol. I'm such a virgin. :P

 
This is the coveted R&R blush after Call Me, according to MUA. It's already sold out on the R&R site, even after the sale was over. I definitely had high expectations in buying this. I'm sorry to say that it's just hype for me. This matte baby pink blush was definitely pigmented, but not as much as the other blushes. The lasting powder is not as good. You can definitely find something similar for cheaper.  I've adjusted the lighting in the pics to reflect the true color to the best of my ablities. 

I don't understand why this blush doesn't get much love. A lot of people think it's too dark. But it's perfect for my skin, giving my cheeks a walking-in-the-cold flush! It's a beautiful matte, berry  color.

I think this is comparable to Spank, but I definitely prefer this. It looks like a light lavender, but it goes on more as a cool pink. It has better lasting powder and shows up better on my skin. I like it. 

 I got this just because I can't resist orange blushes. This has more of a hint of red than Immoral. It's gorgeous, and the shimmers are very subtle. I still prefer matte blushes. But I definitely like this. 

A close-up of All Nighter so you can see the shimmers, very finely milled

I got this, because jessicalee422 said it was a matte version of Call Me. It's a gorgeous subtle peachy pink color that is buildable. I LOVE it. 

I got this because Pink said it was an awesome peach matte blush. It's a pretty peachy brown color, but I definitely could have duped it for cheaper. I like it.  

People seem really fascinated with this shocking pink color. It's definitely a sheer, true highlighter pink in the pan. Honestly, it doesn't show up that well on my skin. The color is nothing special once it's on the skin.  

 This is shimmery, rosy brown color. It's a bit dark on my skin, but with a light hand it makes a wonderfully glowy cheek for a nighttime look. I'm sure people with a darker complexion will give it more love than I can.    

I got this because Tao loved it. And I am sooo glad I did! It is a-mah-zing! It is construction-worker orange in the pan, but a strong coral matte on my cheeks. This is definitely the R&R blush I can't live without.

Swatches

 My Final Thoughts


Leave: Spank, Kinky


Try: Tease, Foreplay, All Nighter, Lust


Haul: Immoral, X-Rated, Bedroom


Despite some meh's, I definitely don't regret my purchases, but it'll be a while before I buy something that expensive again. My wallet's still hemorrhaging blood, lol. 


Let me know what you thought of the blushes! :D

New Rock & Republic Coupon Code

I got an email from R&R yesterday, but haven't checked my email until now. But there's a Friends and Family sale ending today. You get 30% off of your purchase (not including new arrivals and sale items) if you use the coupon code "FF30". It`s a great way to spend less on cosmetic hauling now that the 50% sale is over. I've gotten my haul (it`s a big one), so be on the lookout for my R&R blush review this week. 

Happy hauling!

Rock & Republic Blushes Back in Stock and On Sale :O

Like everyone in the blogosphere, I've been eying the R&R blushes since they've been raved over by so many bloggers in late August. I was super bummed when they went out of stock so quickly! I tried looking for it on HauteLook, Editors' Closet (and getting bombed with their emails), Ebay, and MUA swap. I went to Nordstrom Rack to look for it since Catherine said she found All Nighter there. But no luck, though I picked up a Paula Dorf red blush and a Stila smudge pot.

I even contemplated making a dupe with TKB Trading pigments, despite having no knowledge of cosmetic formulating or knowing what the blushes looked like. :P Yup, I went nuts.

But I maintained self control, even when the last blush went out of stock on the R&R website last night. (I did whimper a little)

I was rewarded for my patience. :)

Now the full range of R&R Pressed Blushes (except Call Me) is back in stock today (for now) and with the coupon code "rockcosmetics" is 50% off plus $.99 shipping. Thanks to Muse for providing the code! <3

Click here for the page.

I've placed an order for:
All Nighter because of Catherine
Immoral because of Tao
Kinky because of Lulu
X-Rated because of Tao

Thanks, ladies! Even though my wallet is significantly lighter at the moment. ;) I went for the cra-zazy colors, since the other colors will probably be dupable in a cheaper form. I really hope it's not all hype.

Now you don't have to subscribe to those invitation-only online sales that spam your email like I did, lol!

Will you be hauling any R&R?