Tag Archives: clean beauty

Oct20

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

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TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Hello!!! During my Tuesday afternoons, I have an hour and a half or so in between shifts of time to kill. Usually, I will spend it posted up in a cafe working on the computer. If I don’t have much to do online, I will read a book or graphic novel OR go to TJMaxx as it is right next to the cafe. I’m sure you all can guess what my preferred option is! This past Tuesday was one of those days where I didn’t have much of anything to do and nothing to read, either. So, TJs it was to knock out some holiday shopping! I completed purchases for several people on my list and I didn’t even look at clothes – shocking, I know. I did, however, need to reup my skin care stock pile so I walked away with some goodies for me too:

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^^^ All of these products are cruelty free!!

Nothing will ever please me more than a good clothing haul. Skin care is a very close second, though! I absolutely love the skin care department of TJMaxx and it is a very rare occasion that I don’t find everything I need and then some when it’s time to replenish products. My general rule of thumb when it comes to skin care is to get three of everything – moisturizers, serums, and eye creams. Then, I don’t have to keep returning back every month for more (No matter how much I would like to!). I haven’t had a skin care haul since the end of May and according to my normal time frame, I was right on time to find what I hope will be some new favorite products and brands!

When I started perusing the skin care department, I was already a happy girl. The shelves were stocked to the brim with bottles and jars and it was like the staff knew I would be in for a visit! In no time at all, my cart was full of five dollar or less products to keep my skin care on lock beyond the new year. I ended up with three moisturizers, two serums, two eye creams, a cleanser, micellar water, and some desperately needed lip balm. I realize this doesn’t follow my rule of threes but my stock pile wasn’t completely bare before this haul. I am really looking forward to trying the Dirty Works moisturizers because I have never used that brand but have always been interested in testing it out. What I am most excited for is the lip balm, though. In this past week, I have finished almost all of the lip chap I have been painstakingly working through which was highly inconvenient albeit highly satisfying. 😀

Stay tuned for new product reviews coming soon here on lifewithlilred and we’ll find out what works and what doesn’t together!

How often do you shop for skin care? What is your favorite skin care brand? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May27

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

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TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Hello! This past Tuesday, my mom and I enjoyed a fabulous shopping trip at TJMaxx. TJs is our happy place and, although I like to go by myself, it is SO much better with my mom. These shopping outings have been a tradition since I was little (What can I say, I’ve always loved popping tags lol) and I don’t plan on breaking it ever! My main priority at TJs was restocking my skin care hoard because it was getting quite bare. Nothing pleases me more than a skin care haul because I love testing out new products and I got exactly what I wanted. Check it out:

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When I am shopping skin care, I like to get a three month supply for my moisturizer, serum, and eye cream. While that may seem a bit impractical, it is one of my money saving techniques. Trust and believe I could go to TJs monthly to restock my skin care, but I would most definitely end up buying more than that! My requirements for which products I pick are pretty simple, they must be non animal tested and they have to have at least one ingredient that I am partial to like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, retinol, or collagen. Last time I had a big skin care haul, it was difficult to reach those parameters because the shelves were pretty depleted. This time around, it was smooth sailing and it was awesome!

For my selection, I was able to find some new to me brands like IZMO, AllAboutSkin, Skin Assistant, and Purifect. I am particularly interested in trying the Purifect serum because the packaging is ridiculous and it spoke to me. I already tested out the IZMO lip mask and it is so very nice! I also scored some new to me products from familiar brands like Provence Beauty, Clean Beauty, and Vital Beauty. I guess I am drawn to brands with Beauty in the name lol. In total, this haul costed less than sixty dollars and you just can’t beat that. I don’t even want to know what the grand total would be if I paid full price and, as a full fledged maxxinista, I never have to. 😀

Tune in tomorrow for more skin care as we discuss my May empties and be on the look out for reviews for some of these products coming soon!

What is your favorite skin care brand? Where do you get the best deals on skin care? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct30

October 2023 Finishes

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October 2023 Finishes

Hello!! October is drawing to a close which means it’s time to discuss my beauty product finishes for the month. Although I wish it could be Halloween season all year round, I am pretty excited about November lol. Am I the only one who has been craving Thanksgiving food something fierce?! 😀 In October, I used up a lot of products that I have been working on for a while and most of them were A-okay in my book. Take a look and let’s get to it:

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Would I Use Again?

Bath & Body Works Gingham Gorgeous Lotion: MAYBE

Bath & Body Works Poppy Shower Gel: YES!!!!!

Pearlessence Dewy Glow Serum: YES

Clean Beauty Deep Hydration Moisturizer: MAYBE

Evoluderm Micellar Water: YES

The Body Shop Shea Butter Hand Cream: MAYBE

Renew Intensive Skin Therapy Hand Cream: MAYBE

Why/Why Not?

B&BW Lotion: I love the lotions by Bath & Body Works and think that they work marvelously. However, I just could not get behind the Gingham Gorgeous scent. This lotion smelled like a flower shop on steroids and it was a bit much. While I normally never really care about a lotion’s scent because I only use it at nighttime, I was SO ready for this one to be over! Of course, I’d use it if I got it as a gift but I wouldn’t select Gingham Gorgeous for myself again. It took over one month of daily use to finish the bottle.

B&BW Shower Gel: Now, Poppy was a scent that I would definitely use again! It was fantastic and Johnny loved it too lol. Poppy was fruity and sweet but not overly so and it was so nice to use every morning. I really enjoyed the notes of pear and I was sad when I ran out. This is a scent that I think anyone would like and I would happily use it again. It took over one month of daily use to finish the bottle.

Pearlessence Serum: The Dewy Glow Serum by Pearlessence is one that I use frequently from TJMaxx and it hits just right every time. This serum is a bit thicker in texture, but absorbs really quickly and sits well under makeup. I think it definitely helps to revitalize my skin in the morning – especially when I am feeling super tired. I love how fresh my face looks with each use and will always get myself a bottle of it when it’s available at TJs. It took me about a month of twice daily use to finish the bottle.

Clean Beauty Moisturizer: I am kind of torn about the Clean Beauty Deep Hydration Moisturizer. On one hand, I am a huge fan of its value. It took me at least five and a half weeks of twice daily use to finish the jar. On the other hand, I have never noticed mind blowing results from this moisturizer. This is not the first time I have used it and I had similar sentiments every time. If there is nothing else available at TJs, I’d buy it again but otherwise I would skip on it.

Hand Creams: I have been steadily dwindling down the random hand creams I own and both The Body Shop and Renew creams were fine. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to get them again. Neither of them exceeded my expectations in any way, but they would be nice to have handy on the go during the wintertime.

I am really pleased with my October empties overall. Although there were several “maybes” none of them were completely awful and I consider that a GREAT SUCCESS!!

Which products did you use up this month? What are your thoughts on any of the above products if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

 

Dec31

December 2022 Finishes

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December 2022 Finishes

Hello everyone!! It is the end of the month and year here on lifewithlilred so let’s close out 2022 by discussing my beauty empties for December. This year seriously flew by and thank you so much to everyone who has spent time on my page! This month, I went through lots of products and was forever on the hunt to soothe my dry winter skin. Some worked well, some not so much so let’s get to it:

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Would I Use Again?

Why/Why Not?

EOS Body Cream: This was a Christmas gift from my bestie and it has helped my dry skin so much this past month. I would apply this cream every night and would see and feel a noticeable difference every morning. When my hands get dry, they get really red. The EOS Heal + Repair cream stopped the redness in its tracks every time it came cropping up and that was a huge plus. The pomegranate and raspberry scent was also nice and light, which is always preferred by me.

Vital Beauty Eye Gel: This is my second jar of the Vital Beauty Cooling Eye Gel that I have used and it has impressed me yet again. It took me over three months to finish it, which I thought was an excellent value. I love the gel texture, the super fast absorbancy, and the improvements it has made to the delicate skin around my eyes. There has definitely been a reduction in fine lines and designer bags and I would happily buy it again.

Clean Beauty Moisturizer: It took me close to five weeks to finish this moisturizer and it was just so so for me. The gel texture was calming and cooling and it absorbed really well. My skin also felt well hydrated after each use. However, I didn’t notice any mind blowing differences to my skin once the jar was complete. It was a good moisturizer but not great and I would use it again if it was one of my only options at TJMaxx.

B&BW Lotion: I received this lotion as a freebie during one of my Bath & Body Works trips and the Happy Birthday scent smells exactly like what you would think: A delicious cake with vanilla icing. Although the scent was pretty pungent, I still liked it because I’m a fan of anything vanilla! It took me about two weeks to finish the travel size lotion and it left my hands feeling nourished and smooth with every use.

TBS Drops Of Youth: My mom picked me up the Drops Of Youth by The Body Shop during one of her TJMaxx trips. I was excited because I had never used the serum before and expected it to be a miracle worker because I have heard nothing but good things about it. It took about one month to finish the bottle and, unfortunately, I was less than impressed with the results. For such a small bottle, the texture of the Drops Of Youth was relatively thick and you needed a decent amount to cover your face and neck. For value’s sake, this is never a good thing. I also didn’t see any major differences to my skin so I’m glad I know that I can skip on it if I ever see it at TJs!

Several successes in my December Finishes seems like the perfect way to wrap up 2022 here on lifewithlilred. See you tomorrow in 2023!! ❤

Which products did you use up this month? What are your thoughts on any of the above products if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov30

November 2022 Finishes

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November 2022 Finishes

Howdy!! It is the end of another month that simply flew by and you all know what that means – it’s time to discuss my monthly beauty finishes! November brought me lots of new products to try out and that was so fun for me because I was feeling pretty blah with my skin care routine. Things definitely got shaken up with two new moisturizers and two new serums, one of which was a hit and the others… Not so much. Let’s get into more detail:

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Would I Use Again?

Why/Why Not?

Clean Beauty Serum: This serum took me about four weeks of twice daily use to complete and it was pretty good. It lived up to its name of Deep Hydration because my skin definitely felt more hydrated and soothed after using it. However, there are a lot of serums out there that can do that and more so I can’t say that I was blown away by it. I would use it again if it was available at TJMaxx and nothing else spoke to me but other than that, this is a product that can be skipped on.

Clinique Serum: My aunt gave me a goodie bag of Clinique skin care samples and it took me four days of twice daily use to finish the Clinical Repair serum. While that isn’t enough time to see a product fully work its magic, it was enough for me to know that I couldn’t justify a price tag on a full size bottle. This serum was kind of weird in texture. It was thick but also runny if that makes sense? You also needed a quarter size or bigger dollop to fully cover your face and neck and even then, it still didn’t feel like enough. Who knows? Maybe this product is liquid gold but I just wasn’t seeing it.

Clinique Moisturizer: This moisturizer took me six days of twice daily use to finish the sample size jar and it was alright. I really liked that it had SPF 15 in it because that’s so important – even in the winter months! My skin also felt well hydrated after using it. Having said that, the Clinique Smart moisturizer features one of my biggest product pet peeves: It did a lousy job fully absorbing and I’m talking well over an hour. That is something that really bothers me because I hate feeling any type of residue on my skin, making it an instant no go for me.

Pearlessence Moisturizer: While the Clinique moisturizer I sampled was a dud, I cannot say enough good things about the Pearlessence Big Sky Cloud Cream. I paid six dollars for this huge jar and it took me over five weeks of twice daily use to complete, which is such an amazing value. My only regret is that it didn’t last longer! This moisturizer was the perfect happy medium between a cream and a gel and it made my skin feel so good after every use. I loved how soft it made my skin as well as making it look completely radiant. I would happily buy this product again and want ten of them to have on back stock! 😀

Although there were a few no gos in my November Finishes, it was still a nice treat to try out so many new to me products. If you are looking for a good moisturizer this winter, I can’t recommend the Pearlessence one enough… Buy me a couple of jars too lol! ❤

Which products did you use up this month? What are your thoughts on any of the above products if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun12

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

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TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Hey! During my last TJMaxx outing, one of my main goals was to restock my skin care stock pile. I was currently on my last jar of moisturizer from my last skin care haul and the timing was perfect because I had lots of birthday gift cards to spend. Although they didn’t have any micellar water or eye creams that looked appealing, I did purchase the following:

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^^^ Clean Beauty and Pearlessence are both Leaping Bunny certified!

During my last skin care restock, I began using serums by Pearlessence and am a huge fan. They are effective, long lasting, and nice and light making it perfect for summer. I was happy to find the Dewy Glow serum, which I haven’t tried yet, and was also surprised to see so many moisturizers by Pearlessence too. I just had to give them a try and couldn’t believe the six dollar price for the huge jar of Big Sky Cloud Cream. The name, itself, sounds delightful and I can’t wait to try it out!

Now, take a look at each new product that I purchased and you will notice a theme: So. Much. Hyaluronic. Acid. About two years ago, I began researching the best skin care ingredients for late twenty somethings and the advice was almost unanimous – Products with Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid are the way to go. I haven’t strayed from these findings (Obviously!) and try to incorporate each of these ingredients in some way to my skin care routine.

It wasn’t until I was lining up these products to snap a pic that I realized it was a Hyaluronic Acid kind of day and I wasn’t mad about it! Pre pandemic, I loved visiting TJMaxx whenever I needed new skin care and it’s so nice to be able to do that again. It’s such fun for me to try out new products and I am eager to test out the moisturizers and serum from this haul!

What is your favorite skin care brand? Which ingredients work best for your skin? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah