Never-ending Acne Solution || Skin B5*

 Once upon a time (not that long ago) I had what I would say, clear skin. Free from acne but the occasional pimple here and there during my time of month but a monster of some sort attacked me, and I was left with the battle scars of acne upon my forehead. 

...Okay I may be exaggerating with my love of disney movies, hoping some prince or skincare product would swipe me of my feet and help fix up my acne but obviously it aint a fairytale this time Angel *insert crying face*.

Anyways the real story of my acne started about a year or so ago. From having clear skin and the occasional blemish usually around my nose and forehead. But I noticed that I started getting quite bumpy upon my forehead and my tea tree oil pimple remedy no longer worked on my forehead anymore as it wasn't that usual pimple. That was when i did some research and found out that I was suffering from acne (papules to be exact).

Lucky for me I was contacted by the extremely friendly and lovely staff of Skin B5 to test out their acne range.

Skin B5 sells 5 different products that help with acne:

Skin Purifying Mask

Acne Control Cleansing Mousse

Acne Control Moisturiser

Acne Control Caplets

Acne Control Extra Strength Tablets

I've never really done any research or bought any products for my acne as it wasn't bugging me that bad so it was quite the surprise getting to try these out.

Left: Acne Control Caplets Right: Acne Control Extra Strength Tablets.

The real star of Skin B5 is their acne tablets.

Upon receiving the set, I was pretty damn confused on which one to take and what to be taking and etc so i did contact them via email and got a speedy answer from the staff (5 star rating for you!)

The Acne Control Extra Strength Tablets is what you should be taking if you have serious acne breakouts, taking 2 tablets 3 times a day after a meal, never on an empty stomach. While the Acne Control Caplets should be taken if you have mild acne or occasinal breakouts which is also 3 times a day but only 1 caplet after finishing the Extra Strength Tablets or after your acne has recovered to your liking.

I actually haven't tested out the Caplets yet as I'm still yet to finish the 180 tablets but you can see above how the caplet is slightly smaller than the Tablets. 

(I will keep you guys updated when i try the caplets and do a little catch-up lifestyle post in the future!)

I know a few of my friends can't swallow pills and if you're one of them or you can't do big pills, then you may have a hard time swallowing this bad boy (I found them to be quite similar in size with  the panadol tablets in the big size). Lucky for me i can swallow pretty much any sized pills so i had no trouble with this!

Top: August 16th Bottom: September 12th

Yes I know the photo date is a little early as I found that this stressful VCE work has gotten me out of trail with the whole acne routine. Im not going to lie, I did skip a few tablets so the outcome wouldve been better if i didn't but guess what? My acne has still gotten better even without taking the tablets strictly 3 times a day daily.

You never really notice how much your acne progress improves until you actually see past photos! I only just saw the pictures of my acne and it shocked me how much it improved when it felt like it hasn't made a major difference. But I can safely say that the redness between my brows has disappeared and most of the acne scarring has reduced. Majority of my acne is situated between my brows and the occasional pimple is also around that area or above my brow but you know what, a normal pimple feels a whole lot better than the dreading acne staying on my head for who knows how long?!

The Acne Control Moisturiser helps 'unclog & tighten pores, evens skin tone and prevents breakout'.

It claims to be for oily, acne-prone skin that contains natural ingrediants of green tea, jojoba oil and vitamin B5 (which is considered to help reduce acne). 

It is in a pump form so I don't have to bother cleaning out underneath my nails whenever i dip my finger into a tub of moisturiser *cringes*. I found that one pump is perfect for my big ass head as the texture is somewhat watery so it will spread evenly on your face. I can sometimes get away with less than a pump when my face doesn't feel as dry as the desert.

Sadly for me i don't really see what this moisteriser does for my acne and also my oily/combo skin. I felt as though it just maintained what i already had instead of helping it out. But it may just be the oblivious side of me?!

The Acne Control Cleansing Mousse is one of my favourites in the set as you can guess from the name, ITS A MOUSSE! Nothing more exciting than getting a pumpful of foam that looks like you're holding the physical form of clouds.

It leaves my face feeling clean and hydrated which i love. The lightweight feeling of it when I put it on my face is also a bonus as I find with the typical cream cleanser that it feels quite thick and leaves my face feeling like it got dipped in moisturiser, that may give some people the tick of approval but for someone like me, lightweight products are the best of the bunch for me.

I use this one twice a day (morning and night) and theres not really any major cons to it aside from having to take off the lid and trying not to have it slip from your hands when its dripping wet. (it is sometimes a struggle whenever i use it in the shower)

applying the mask normally onto the forehead (thinner outcome)

Leaving the best till last, the Skin Purifying Mask is the.greatest.product.you.will.ever.meet. (*hi five to people who get this reference)

To put it short, this mask works a charm in fast forwarding my acne solution. With the tablets its a slow and gradual process but this mask reduced my forehead acne like a charm.

I try to use this one atleast once or twice a week as it really helps reduce the acne in a day, magic or what?!

The texture of it isn't too thick or too thin. You can apply it thick (which is what i do) or you can also thin it out.
I usually apply it on the problematic area rather than the entire face cause who wants to waste product?! You can also use it just like a spot treatment.
It says to allow 5 minutes for it to dry but personally, i never keep track of time so Im always doing my won thing while it dries!
With all masks it has the tight feeling when it starts to dry but then washing it off, it has a refreshing feeling like drinking an ice cold beverage on a hot sweating day. I love it.
Honestly if I were to run out I would definitely consider purchasing this one.

The entire set retails for around $130 (not sure about the exact cost) but it is cheaper when purchasing the products altogether rather than separately!

Costs for the products separately:

Acne Control Extra Strength Tablets: $49.95

Acne Control Caplets: $39.95

Acne Control Moisturiser: $22.95

Acne Control Cleansing Mousse: $22.95

Skin Purifying Mask: $34.95

I have to admit the prices for each product is pretty steep but considering that the tablets and the mask  worked pretty damn well for me, I personally find the prices quite worthy for them imo. But a moisturiser and cleansing mouse for $22/23 you can probably find cheaper alternatives/dupes but if no other product works for you and you want to try something new, whats there to lose in trying these out?!

I still suffer from the occasional breakout, but the acne on my forehead has reduced about half the amount since using the products. Ive got my fingers crossed that it will fully recover when I'm done with the tablets!

Do you guys suffer from acne? What are your hg products for it?!

Skin B5

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*Disclaimer: Products were sent to me to trial + review \\ It does not change my thoughts on this in anyway.

Whitening foam magic?! || Puresmile*

Confession time: When i was a child i hated brushing my teeth, i brushed usually once a day. Sadly my parents were never the type to check my teeth after brushing just to see if i brushed them, so all my life I've known to not have the whitest of teeth compared to everyone else.

I've had multiple, teeth whitening services while at the dentist growing up yet i always neglected my teeth and they weren't the best.

But realising that my teeth should be cared for, they've been a lot better for a couple of years.

I was lucky enough to be sent a whitening product from the services of Puresmile and although my teeth isnt a stained that bad, I did want to start trying out whitening products again in hope for a whiter set of teeth, so what better time to try it than now?!

The way the whitening and cleansing foam works is by dispensing the foam onto your toothbrush and then brushing your teeth like usual with it. 

While brushing, the foam pretty much doubles in size in your mouth but you let the foam dissolve into your teeth, which gives your teeth the whiter factor.

As I'm used to wetting my toothbrush before applying toothpaste (anyone else like me?!), it was weird having to get out of my usual habits for the sake of testing the product.

But for those who question this, i did accidentally wet my toothbrush before applying it and i found that the foam turns into a gross mess, like liquidy toothpaste that didn't foam up so yes A DRY TOOTHBRUSH IS A MUST.

Clumsy me, happened to lose the lid before taking pictures.

When i first saw the pump, it instantly reminded me of a submarine periscope. It just looks huge, though I'm assuming the bigger the better..foam?

Anyways the Teeth Whitening & Cleaning Foam retails for $39 AU, which sounds pretty ridiculous but comparing it with the toothpastes sold at your local woolies or coles that claims to whiten teeth this one actually does whiten your teeth, believe it or not.

Before getting onto my whitening experience i do have to say that the foam does have a taste that isn't that great, i mean its not pleasant but its not great, it reminds me of going to the dentist which makes sense as it does include the same ingredients that dentists use. The taste makes it hard for me to not rinse my mouth after as it does state to not rinse your mouth for 15 minutes, but i like to think that the foam is whitening my teeth by the second which helps me try to handle the foam taste.

Excuse the lighting difference

I have been using the foam for about 2 weeks and it does state to use it for 10 days in the morning and night.

Though i have been using it for 2 weeks i did switch it out for toothpaste a few times as i found that my teeth didn't feel as clean as it would with toothpaste. The usual toothpaste kept my teeth pretty clean from plaque up until about after dinnertime whilst the foam had it up before the afternoon, it felt horrible and made me want to go brush 3 times a day.
Aside from that the outcome of the foam did work for me, even though the pictures doesn't really do much justice unless you look closely. I find that my teeth are noticeably whiter on my front top and bottom teeth. The surround teeth are slightly yellow but it isn't to the point that its screaming yellow which i like.
I'de have to say that out of all the whitening products I've used this one did do a little something something on my teeth, I'm surprised this one actually worked for me even though it was a slight difference. I've spent quite a lot on whitening products and services and they just never worked out for me so its good knowing not all is a sham.
I may just try incorporating this as my nightly toothpaste while using my normal Colgate in the mornings, just to see if it will whiten anymore but other than that ill be keeping this bad boy for the future when I have white teeth to maintain them.

You can check out the Whitening foam here

Puresmile
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*Product was sent to me to review. 100% honest review as always

End of a great birthday week || LOTD

Inglot Lipstick in 124

Unless you follow my twitter, you may or may not know it was my 18th birthday on the 20th.

I've had a non-stop celebration from the 20th to the 23rd celebrating with different people each day which was a blast. Cannot thank my family and friends enough for the amazing time. 

Anywho, I'de like to display one of the gifts my friend gave me which I finally got to use yesterday, it was a tiring day so I didn't get to post up the lotd yesterday but thank you so much Tarini!

This is my first Inglot product i've ever used, so its quite exciting getting out of the usual products and trying out a different brand!

Thinking of Ingot I just know them for the eyeshadow palettes that you pretty much build yourself. Otherwise, I haven't came across anyone talking about the Ingot lipsticks (they may have but Im just too oblivious to realise).

The picture here doesn't do its pink justice enough!

Opening up the lipstick, I got quite a surprise with the shade. It is not like any of my coral lipsticks I own. It has that neutrally/blue-tone pink in natural lighting but has a pink coral shade in other lighting!

It comes out with a good balance of creaminess and doesn't drag on the lips. There is slight shimmer in it but isn't enough that it looks like you dipped your lips in glitter.

The lipstick also smells a lot like bubblegum!!

Upon receiving this lipstick, my friend said she saw this shade in the store and thought it would look amazing with my skin tone and I have no idea how she has the eye for that but she was right and picked the perfect coral for me and I mean perfect!

I found with coral lipsticks that they were always too bright for me and this one has a good orange to pink ratio and it also isn't a super bright shade.

I did wear this one out to dinner at Om Nom eating both their dinner and dessert range so I did have some oily food (seared duck breast *drools*). The lipstick did last when I was snacking before going out aka water, chocolate and some jelly my friend made me, and the lipstick did not budge off but with dinner it did start wearing out in the centre of my lips. So if you plan on not reapplying you will end up with that unsightly lipliner look at the end of the day.

I assume a day with light snacking with friends, it won't need reapplying.

This has got to be one of my favourite coral lipstick shades I own.

Some FOTD pictures from yesterday

My Skin But Better?! || Beaute FX*

Have you guys been outside? cause the weather is so beautiful today!

Winter is almost coming to an end which i am excited to say although there is a hint of coldness still in the air. And we all know when the weather changes our beauty routine usually changes aswell. 

I was lucky enough to review this bad boy of a bb cream, which was sent for me to try and review.

So les get on with this review.

Ingredients

The Beaute FX BB Cream claims to have a 7 in 1 Miracle Skin Enhancer that:

Hides Imperfections

Moisturizes and Enhances

Adjusts to your skin tone

Evens your skin texture

Enjoy a fresh dewy glow

Guaranteed 24 hour hydration

UV protection from the sun

And before i talk about whether the claims work or not, can we just talk about the packaging?!

The gorgeous hot pink packaging reminds me so much of the Skin79 BB Cream except I have to say that it is more slim and sleek.

With one of my school subjects being VisCom I can't ignore the logo design (I feel like no one appreciates it enough!!), it just looks really neat, doesn't have that tacky look and we should all know I'm a sucker for packaging.

Brownie points for those who can guess the book in the bottom left corner ;)

Taking the product out from the box, the nozzle comes with a plastic cover which you can opt to chuck out but i find it quite useful to reuse it for hygienic purposes and also if i end up bringing it with me to travel, wouldn't want the risk of accidental spillage (which probably won't ever happen but you never know).

The biggest pain with a pump bb cream is having to pump the product out when you first use it. Which means finger cramps and  having the patience for it to come out. And assuming from the height of the packaging it would make sense on why it took longer than usual for the product to come out. But once the product does flow out, you get complete control on how much product you want out.

Jumping back on the 7 claims, I can agree with 5 of the claims.

The two that i question, being: Hides Imperfections and Evens your skin texture.

I do suffer from small acne on my forehead (which i only started to get this year *insert sad face). And you can see from the above photo that it didn't really hide it, but it did reduce redness. I only put a layer on my face and maybe if i did another layer on my acne would hide it some more but I really don't like having to layer product on my acne.

As for evening skin texture, it does but then it doesn't. I mean if i did two layers, it would definitely even it out but it doesn't do a terribly great job at acne coverage on that type of texture. 

The pros do out weigh the cons, I have been using this product for a few weeks now, at work and school. And it has been my go to product for the winter time!

It has won my heart over the fact that it really is a product that makes it your skin but better. 

Im all about the natural face look, rather than having the full coverage setting so I'm not too fussed over covering my acne, but i will warn you that it doesn't do a hella great job at that so it might not be the product for you if you are looking for that. But this product is a light but build able coverage, it isn't super thick like some BB creams but it has a slight BB cream texture but a lot more creamy. 

It reduces redness like a charm and once its on your face it feels like you've been hit in the face with smoothness. 

The only thing that did bug me out was the application between my brows which is where the product did cling onto my dry patch. I found that the product did cling onto the dry skin but it didn't emphasise it. I mean unless someone was right up at my forehead looking there, it really wasn't that noticeable. 

Also another downside was that it didnt last an entire day specifically on the t-zone area, though luckily with the light coverage it is hard to notice unless you have redness around that area.

I am curious to see how this product goes in the warmer times. It has become one of my favourite BB creams from what I've tried so far!

You can get the Beaute FX here

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*Product was sent to me for review

Scholl Giveaway Winner!!

With the giveaway ending on Sunday, I managed to moderate the entries and randomly pick a winner!
The winner of the giveaway is...

Fifi from Beautifying Life

I have emailed the winner

Lets talk feet?! || Scholl Velvet Smooth Review + GIVEAWAY!*

So it has been awhile, 3 months to be exact and I have missed blogging so much but with limited time I'm still trying to balance out my life to fit blogging into my timetable.

Anywho I am back though, with another review!

This is a little different as I dont think Ive ever brought up the topic of feet.

As there are a majority of people who think feet are quite gross and i have to admit i am one of those people. But when has there been a time when you think about purchasing products for your feet and im not talking about socks and shoes?!

I was contacted by Scholl and was sent 2 of their Velvet Smooth products to try out and it clicked in my mind that I dont really treat my feet as much as i do with my nails.

To be honest my feet arent that bad in terms of being dry, I just know my feet are pretty prone to getting the hard skin on feet (calluses) everytime i go out for long periods of time, my feet are slightly drier in the winter months aka now, but its not to the point where i want to drench my feet with hydration.

First off with the Scholl Express Pedi it was one that intrigued me the most with how it would work but then it also intimidated the crap out of me.

The express pedi is an electronic foot file so for the lazy people out there neglecting the use of the standard manual foot file due to the 'i cant be bothered' excuse this bad boy is quite the helper, making everything 3 times more faster (for what i think) and is also somewhat fun, though more on that later.

Equipped with a detachable microlumina roller head which contains synthetic diamonds that helps buffs off the hard and dry skin. 4 double A batteries are included so there is no need to purchase any extra.

The way to use it is by turning the express pedi on (twisting the silver ring above the handle) and gently gliding the roller head on any hard and dead skin. [Dont use the same spot for more than 3-4 seconds at a time.]

Bringing back the intimidating thought i get from this, my first impression of this was that it would feel like sandpaper grinding against my feet. Although it does look like it, i was obviously wrong and it definitely doesnt leave a mark that sandpaper would leave.

The roller head in action

 Using the Express Pedi, i found that it was oddly satisfying seeing the dry skin turn into dust and gradually fade off the feet in seconds, bonus points in the entertaining section there! 

It also doesnt feel too bad as you dont feel much happening as it is a barrier of hard skin.

The only thing i didnt like much about this product was the packaging. Even though you wouldn't think to bring it on travel, it is a bulky product and has some weight to it. The plastic cover that you put above the roller head, was a bit of an annoyance as it easily came off loose.

Other than that, it really does the job in reducing the hard skin. I can agree that it will remove the dry skin on the calluses so theyre less visible.

More info on the product [here]

The Scholl Velvet Smooth Cream is the favourite one of the two.

It's not as exciting as the first as it is a foot cream but it is like butter and heaven combined!

Containing MarineActiv, Daymoist CLR, Vitaman A,E and Omega 6, it is packed full of hydrating properties! 

With the packaging it is the typical 'hand cream' style, loving how the lid is at the bottom aswell so you can get every last bit of product without the hassle of squeezing from bottom to top. 

Its safe to say that yes this cream hydrates the shiz out of my feet and i did do a little test of using the Express Pedi on my right foot and the cream on my left and the one without the cream on did feel just a tad more rough.

But the winning factor of this was the fact that it wasnt greasy and that it absorbed into the skin so damn quick! 

Now they said on the packaging that it absorbs in 60 seconds and they need to change that cause it felt like under 10 seconds that it did its magic.

More info on the product [here]

Winter time is probably the best time to be caring for the feel as once summer is on its way, we gotta take our feet out from the boots and expose our feet into the sandals and thongs.

Luckily Scholl has provided me with an extra set of the products i mentioned above which means a giveaway!!

Terms and Conditions

• Need to have parents permission as i will be needing a mailing address to be able to send the products out.
• Must be following me on GFC or Bloglovin (i will be checking!)
• This giveaway is international so anyone can enter as long as i can send the products to your country!
• The giveaway ends on 2/8/15 at midnight

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scholl
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*Disclaimer: products were sent to me for reviewing