5 Fave Products of 2018

As 2018 is coming to an end, I find myself going through my makeup and skincare collection reminiscing upon this year's hits and misses while tossing some products out and re-purchasing others. Listed below are some of my favorite products from 2018 that I will definitely be using in the new year!

1. Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil

Since my skin is very sensitive and break-out prone, finding skincare products that do not disrupt my skin's balance is a difficult task. The Noni Glow Face Oil is one of the only facial oils that does not give my skin a negative reaction and since it's FDA certified organic, I feel good about what I'm putting on my skin. I like applying it on my face before I sleep, but more recently, I've been applying it before I put on my foundation as a swap for makeup primer. It instantly hydrates my skin and makes my foundation melt into my skin.

2. Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel

When my skin is doing poorly and I'm under a lot of stress, I sometimes have to deal with a new breakout every day. This stuff is my miracle worker! Every night before bed I apply a dab to any blemishes I have. In the morning, they're significantly less severe. I use it throughout the day too. I absolutely love this stuff!

3. Covergirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara (Black Brown)

My favorite drug store mascara since middle school. I used the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and Glossier's Lash Slick Mascara but I still came back to this one! Super affordable. Super great results. This stuff gives me longer, thicker looking lashes with no clumps. I like purchasing it in the shade 'black brown' so my lashes are more subtle and natural looking.

4. NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand (Green)

I LOVE this stuff. This product is the literal answer to all your prayers if you're suffering from red blemishes and/or previous acne spots. I apply this stuff wherever needed before I go in with my foundation and as a result, I don't need to use as much foundation to cover up my problem areas. It allows you to mimic great skin! Super affordable. Literal life saver.

5. Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip (Midnight Snack)

I'm a sucker for a burnt red colored lip; the type of red that's noticeable but not in-your-face. Being super pale, it's really hard finding a burnt red lipstick shade that doesn't come out looking neon or too deep. This color is everything I was looking for! I feel like it can deliver great results on any skin tone. Super pretty color, my sister even tried snatching it from me!

Why I Hated Herbivore Products

After my experience with Herbivore Botanicals, I promised myself I would no longer invest in products simply because of their aesthetically pleasing packaging. The company's simplistic glass containers look pretty on anyone's skincare shelf, but for a brand who's prices are not moderate; ultimately, it came down to the quality of their products.

Disclaimer: Throughout this blog post, I mention a great deal of disappointment toward the scent of many Herbivore products. I am aware that Herbivore Botanicals is natural, vegan, and cruelty-free which means that their products contain no synthetic ingredients such as synthetic fragrances. However, there are other brands on the market such as Kora Organics that are cruelty free, certified organic and also lack synthetic fragrances and still somehow manage to smell good! Therefore, I strongly believe that Herbivore Botanicals is more than capable of making their products smell good (or in some cases increasing the scent of their products) without violating their brand morals.

Here's what I tried: (P.S. These containers are tiny!)

• Orchid Facial Oil $64

• Rose Hibiscus Hydrating Face Mist $32

• Coco Rose Lip Conditioner $22

• Pink Clay Exfoliating Mask $22

• Coco Rose Body Polish $36

Here's why each product failed to meet my expectations:

1. Orchid Facial Oil - The minute I would apply this oil onto my skin, my face would immediately start to tingle and red blotches would appear. This oil actually worsened the condition of my skin and led to more breakouts. Not to mention, the smell is very potent and not too appealing. I was willing to overlook the overpowering scent if the results were promising but sadly, they were everything I didn't want in a facial oil. I gladly made the switch back to my Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil. *Click here to read my blog post on Kora Organics products.*

2. Rose Hibiscus Hydrating Face Mist - A product claiming to have both rose and hibiscus seems to hint at an irresistible scent but to my surprise and disappointment this mist almost lacked a scent altogether and instead, gave off a hardly detectable and faint floral scent, even after many sprays! Also, the image of this product online depicts a pink shade but in person, the mist is very translucent and does not appear pink inside the bottle at all. The only positive thing about this product is that is has a quality spritzer.

3. Coco Rose Lip Conditioner - This stuff smells absolutely icky! The product is labeled "Coco Rose" but it definitely smells nothing close to a coconut or a rose. This lip balm smells so awful that I cringe every time I have to unscrew the lid to use it. And for a tiny jar of lip balm that costs $22, this was a big let down.

4. Pink Clay Exfoliating Mask - Although this product was not as disappointing as the others, it wasn't noteworthy either. I feel like this product is very similar to the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Deep Pore Cleansing Mask which is $8.60 on Amazon for one pound of product! Like Aztec Secret, this mask starts off as loose clay and has to be mixed in with water. The clay does in fact look pink inside of the glass container but once it is mixed in with water, it becomes brown which became a sad reality for me once I applied the mask onto my face and realized that the product was no longer pink like the name advertised. If you leave this mask on your face for more than 5 minutes it becomes close to impossible to wash off. And even though it does help with exfoliating dead skin and minimizing the appearance of breakouts, there are better alternatives on the market that come in far larger containers and cost far less.

5. Coco Rose Body Polish - I used this body scrub in the shower and like many of the other Herbivore products I tired, I was let down by the scent. In the shower I like to use scented products that smell noticeably good and although this product did not smell bad, it significantly lacked a smell. I couldn't even smell it in the shower while I was using it which is a real bummer for a body scrub that costs $36 and comes in a considerably small container. And, this scrub offered no significant or noteworthy improvements to my skin or its texture.

8 Reasons Why Glossier's Lash Slick Mascara Works

This. Stuff. Actually. Works. The new Lash Slick Mascara from Glossier is actual magic! I have no idea how this overly simplistic mascara wand is able to amazingly transform my lashes especially when all of the overly complicated mascara wands I've tried throughout the years haven't even come close. Here are 8 reasons why you need this product in your makeup drawer asap!

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1. It makes your lashes appear super long. Let me first start off by saying that this mascara provides more length than it does volume. And, if you are like me, a consumer who has been trying to achieve long, lengthy lashes for years now without the use of falsies then this mascara is your new best friend. I don't know how this mascara wand does it, but it literally transforms even your shortest most stub-like lashes into super long, flirty lashes.

2. There is zero clumping. All of the super tiny bristles on this mascara wand ensure that your lashes will never stick together and clump into one big black blob that makes it look like you have three super ginormous lashes on each eyelid. This mascara wand brushes through each lash individually and immediately adds surprisingly noticeable length.❀

3. It makes it seem like you were born with naturally long lashes! I remember reading about this product before purchasing it and I recall a lot of people mentioning that after using this mascara, other people no longer complimented them on what a good mascara they were using but rather, how pretty their 'natural' lashes actually were. I was a little bit skeptical about this statement, but the minute I put this stuff on; I immediately understood what people meant. Since this mascara does not clump and since it is not jet black and overly dramatic; it makes it appear as though your lashes are naturally super long to begin with and it makes it look as though you've only applied a tad bit of mascara. Therefore, it delivers stunning and natural results.

4. There's no excess build up at the end of the mascara wand! This is perhaps my absolute favorite thing about this product. Each time you dip the mascara wand into the tube, it comes out coated with the perfect amount of product and there is never a huge clump of excess mascara stuck at the end of the wand which again, ensures that your lashes will not stick together.

5. It's super easy to apply on bottom lashes too. The slim design of the mascara wand makes applying mascara on the bottom lashes a breeze. It delivers the same great results on your bottom lashes as it does your top lashes by making them look super lengthy and never clumpy!

6. You can layer it. For slightly more volume, you can always go in with a second layer before the first layer dries up.

7. This stuff works better than two high end mascaras combined! Before purchasing this mascara, I was layering two mascaras in order to achieve the look I wanted. I would first apply the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and then I would go in with the Size Queen Mascara which was also from the brand Too Faced. Ultimately, my goal for layering these two mascaras was to achieve more lengthy lashes, but that was hardly ever the case. Instead, my lashes would become cloaked in jet black product and would often get clumped together. I would achieve a dramatic look with great volume, but my lashes still looked short! What I love about the Lash Slick Mascara is that it adds so much length to my lashes without making it look like I have a lot of mascara on.

8. It doesn't flake. With the mascaras I was previously using, I would always see flaking toward the end of the day as a result of applying the mascaras onto my lower lashes. But, the Lash Slick Mascara does not flake!

Honestly, I'm greatly shocked by the quality results of this mascara and it has now become my go-to. I have finally been able to find a mascara that is able to transform my short lashes into super long, flirty lashes. ☺