Monthly Capsule Reviews: April Drugstore Picks and Misses

So, I kinda went on a shopping binge at the drugstore this month.

Mascaras

NYC Big Bold Mascara ($5.99 CDN at Rexall): Terrible for thinner lashes, the bristles are too wide apart to be effective. MISS

Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara ($9.99 CDN on sale at Loblaws): Clumps at the tips of lashes, giving a chopped off feel which makes my eyes seem smaller. MISS

L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Waterproof Mascara ($9.99 on sale at Rexall): Finally an awesome mascara! Gives a fluttery, long-lashed, wide eyed look. Does not smudge at all. (thanks fiber formula!) PICK! 

Face

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum ($28.00 at Shoppers): Gives a glowy,smooth look and has medium to high coverage. Lasts about 7 hours on my combination skin. An HG but very pricy in Canada. PICK! 

Essence Soft Touch Mousse($3.99 at Shopper's): I use this foundation in the color matt honey as a cream contour (It’s a good substitute for the Bourjois bronzing primer mousse). It has a lovely soft bouncy feel, and blends like a dream. Staying power is around 5 hours. PICK! 

Rimmel Stay Blushed! Liquid Cheek Tint ($5.99 on sale at Shopper's): This is actually more of a mousse and it is a HG drugstore blush. I originally bough it in A Touch of Berry but went back and bought Apricot Glow and A Pop of Pink as well. (I’m addicted!). It stays on the face for a good couple of hours and adds lots of dimension and does not pool in my huge pores (yay!). Pigmentation is also quite good, although Apricot Glow definitely is more muted on my yellow-olive toned skin. PICK! 

Lips

Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial ($5.99 on sale at Shopper's): Terribly drying with a plastic feel. I was excited because these were very hyped up at their launch but it feels terrible on the lips. MISS

Essence Stay Matt (this is how they spell matte apparently) Lip Cream in Silky Red and Smooth Berry ($2.99 at Shopper's): This is a fantastic matte lip product from the drugstore. The colors are very flattering (for some reason reds and bright pinks don’t really work with my skintone but these are the exception!) and you can't beat the price. Silky Red is what I call my Taylor Swift red lip. It sits quite comfortably on the lips (still a little drying, but far better than the NYX version). PICK! 

Skincare

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo ($26.00 on sale at Shopper's): I use this as a spot treatment and it worked pretty effectively to help shrink my giant stress nodule (which was very painful) in half the time. Expensive but works. PICK! Main Ingredient is Salicylic Acid and you get 40 mL which actually $0.65 per mL and cost efficient for a spot treatment. 

Neostrata Sample Kit ($5.99 at Winners): Contained deluxe samples of the Oil-free Moisture Infusion Lotion, Smoothing Cream Level 2 and Cleansing Gel. I mainly got this kit for the deluxe sample of the smoothing cream which I used before and greatly enjoyed (great exfoliating cream but again expensive). I was pleasantly surprised by the Oil Free Moisture Infusion Lotion (a blue gel type moisturizer) which seemed to hydrate better than my normal CeraVe lotion and felt very cooling and soothing on my inflamed skin. I haven’t tried the cleansing gel yet as I have a lot of facial cleansers.TOSS-UP as it came at around $2.00 per sample. 

Diverging Ramble: Winners is actually quite good for skincare deals and one-offs. I've found the Una Brennan Rose Facial oil there as well as lots of Marcelle, Becca and the Revlon Whipped Cream Foundation (for $7.99 which is quite a bit cheaper tham the regular price of $19.99 in drugstores). Of course the downside is that you have to go often and look for deals. Selection is limited and usually products can only be found once. 

Marcelle Cleansing Gel ($9.99 at Shopper's): Marcelle is a Canadian brand that does makeup and skincare. I particularly like their gentle and paraben free cleansers. That being said, I have tried the BB cleanser, the cleansing milk and the cleansing gel and the formulation and feel are largely similar. They are lotion-feeling cleansers that leave little residue. I always use them as a second cleanser, as they are not particularly efficient at taking off makeup. The milk is a bit thinner than the others and the gel feels lighter on the face. TOSS-UP

Marcelle Cleansing Water (free with $6.99 purchase of eye makeup remover pads at Shopper's): Not effective at ALL, has the same effect as regular water in removing makeup. Bioderma is much superior at actually dissolving and removing makeup. MISS! 

July Beauty Purchases

Hello,

Long time no see. I've been saving up my money for a trip but Shopper's Drug Mart was having a really good clearance sale and I just went for it.

Skincare-
Spectro Acne Care Vanishing Lotion for Sensitive Skin: This is a lotion of 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, which I find works for my acne best. I like the lower concentration, as 5% and above sometimes dries out my skin. It works overnight and is much more effective than what I was using before which was Neutrogena's 3 in 1 Acne Care Lotion (salicylic acid based - which isn't as effective on my skin).

indeed Labs Hydraluron: Got this based on Caroline Hirons' recommendation as well as my past amazing experience with hyaluronic acid masks. I used it once at night with CeraVe lotion on top. When I woke up, my skin had never felt softer and it looked really smooth (I usually have a pretty coarse skin texture). I didn't put on anymore in the morning just to see how it would last and the effect lasted until the afternoon. (So around 12 hours.) It's not a complete fix by any means but the effect is just lovely. I actually wouldn't purchase this full price as I think cost per use is really high, the tube is about 30 mL and I used a dab to cover my face but I could see it running out fast if I used this day and night. It's about $24.99 CAD normally, Shopper's has it for $20.99 on sale, sometimes, and I got it on clearance for $14.99.

Nail Polish-
Maybelline ColorShow in Twilight Rays: Picked this up in the bargain bin for $2.00 for 7 mL of polish. I was contemplating going for one of the other shimmery blues in the collection but like the gold shimmer in this one. On me, its more of a black than the olive in the picture. The gold shimmer warms up the black enough to work with my yellow skintone. What I really like about this polish is the wear, you can get away with 2 coats but I use 3 and it is pretty much the longest lasting nail polish I've ever used (Granted, I had only OPI, essie and Revlon to compare it to before). After 3 days I only had tip wear and no huge chips. You don't get a huge amount of nail polish but for the price I think its worth it.

OH MY GOSH nail polish in Cobalt Blue: Also, $2.00 but slightly smaller than the Maybelline at 5mL. This is an intense cobalt blue that needs 3 coats for opaqueness. I like the color but I find it very trendy which means I won't be able to get away with wearing it in a couple of months. It's not as long lasting as the Maybelline but lasts longer than essie.

I found some really good bargains at my local Shopper's in Toronto. I also go some headphones for $5.00, a yoga bra for $3.00 (!), some Spanx-like shorts also for $3.00 (!), and my bleaching cream for $1.00. Go to your local Shopper's and look around in their bargain section, there are some real gems in there alongside weird castoffs (I once found Goody Spin Pins in the bargain section for example). Just make sure to shop with a cautious and judicious eye.

My Pared Down Skincare Routine

My current skincare routine: Left to Right; Marcelle BB Cleanser, L'Oreal Eye Makeup Remover, HadoLabo Toner, Mychelle Incredible Pumpkin Peel, Rosehip Seed Oil, CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion, Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask, Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Gel.

Assessment of Current Routine: Marcelle's BB Cleanser is working well, although I have to use a separate eye makeup remover, L'Oreal which leaves a oily residue (I love Bioderma as my makeup remover but it does not do such a great job on the heavier eye makeup -gel eyeliner and waterproof mascara-that I prefer to wear). The toner is HadoLabo which helps with hydration but is difficult to apply. My masks are my favorites, the Mychelle does a really good job of exfoliating my skin, and the Antipodes is a lifesaver for irritated and infected spots. Rosehips oil so far has been my favorite of all the oils I've used (argan and jojoba). It sinks in quickly and my skin feels renewed and moisturizer without feeling too heavy or greased up. I use rosehips at night as a moisturizer and CeraVe in the day. CeraVe is a nice light basic moisturizer that doesn't make my T-zone too oily and moisturizes my dehydrated patches. I like the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Gel, which has the reputation of being one of the few salicylic Acid products at the proper pH to work. However, salicylic acid does not work as effectively as benzoyl peroxide on my acne so I thinking of making a switch.

Items missing from routine: A exfoliating toner and benzoyl peroxide gel.

Facial care secret: These face towels from Dollarama. Easily the nicest feeling towels to wash your face with for $1 each. 

Marcelle BB Cleanser

Recently, I was on a skincare kick which led to me completely rehauling my skincare routine thanks to Caroline Hirons. One of the things I switched up was my cleanser. Previously, I was using the Shiseido Perfect Whip Foam Cleanser, but it was dehydrating my skin and aggravating my acne. So as per Caroline's suggestions, I went to the drugstore in search of a non foaming cleanser that also did not contain alcohol. Finally, I found Marcelle's new BB cleanser which seemed to fit all my needs. I've been using this for about a month now and I thought I would do a review on it. I bought it for $16.95 at Shopper's Drug Mart but I have also seen it for $10.95 at Target but the section was empty when I spotted the label. The packaging contains about 200 mL of product and the cleanser is dispensed with a hygenic pump. 

Product Claims: Perfume-free, Hypo-Allergenic, 8 in 1 benefits (purifies skin, improves skin vitality, provides a luminous complexion, soothes and calms, offers immediate hydrating benefits, reinforces skin's moisture barrier, cleans pores, and protects skin from environmental stresses), 100% paraben free, and oil free.

Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Ethylhexyl Palmite, Isopropyl Myristate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Glyceryl Stearate, Xylitylglucoside, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate Filtrate, Dimethicone, Salicylic Acid, Panthenol, Anhydroxylitol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Xylitol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba (Guar) Gum, Butylene Glycol, Disodium Edta, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Xanathan Gum, Triethanolamine, Cocoamidopropyl BetainePropylene Gycol, Sodium Cholride, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Diazolidinyl Urea, and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate. 

A long list of ingredients but it does seem that some of the claims are proven. There are no parabens, although silicone is present. Oils and perfumes are also absent from the ingredients list as well as alcohol. The first two ingredients are water and glycerin so it should be a fairly hydrating cleanser. There also good skincare ingredients in here such as milk proteins (skin conditioning ingredient-listed as Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate Filtrate), aloe (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice), camellia extract (tea oil extract-Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract), and salicylic acid (exfoliating and anti-bacterial agent). The third to seventh ingredients are emollients. Overall, the ingredients list supports the claims of the packaging. 

Description: It is a white odorless lotion with an emollient texture. On the skin it feels moisturizing and calming. I find it is very hydrating when you put it on and when taken off, my skin feels clean but not overly dry or tight.








My skin is usually oily (but at the time I started using this it was dehydrated) and very clog-prone. My skin cleared up with the use of this cleanser and although I still get bumps and pimples, my skin has calmed down considerably.

To demonstrate how this cleanser takes off makeup, I have waterproof mascara on the far left, then BB cream, then gel eyeliner, and finally gold eyeliner on the right.

 Applying the cleanser. Although this cleanser is very moisturizing, I would advise the use of a separate moisturizer afterwards, even for those with oily skin.  There isn't really a film or any residual left over after wiping off the cleanser.

Finally the clean up, by taking a paper towel and wiping off. As you can see, the cleanser does a good job of removing everything but the gel eyeliner.










I would probably recommend this cleanser for a second cleanse or in conjunction with a makeup remover on those days that I am wearing sunscreen and/or make-up. I usually remove this cleanser with a damp lukewarm towel. I started off using a hot towel but my sensitive skin got very angry and bumpy so I switched to a lukewarm towel which took care of most of the problems my skin was having.

Here is the make-up reside on the towel.












OVERALL RATING: 4/5. This cleanser is cost-effective at about 8 cents per mL. The ingredients are mostly beneficial to the skin with the exception of dimethicone. Availability is kind of a pain for those outside Canada but I really love this skin friendly drugstore cleanser.