Project Pan Them All | September Empties

Another month has gone by, meaning it's time for another empties post, and I have used up quite a few products, yey!

I have always had a thing for SPAresource Hand Creams ever since I first tried them - I just love their amazingly thick and rich texture that never leaves hands greasy and that moisturize my dry and eczema-prone hands super quickly. SPAresource hand creams are made with shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, aloe oil, vitamin e and honey extract - talk about wonder ingredients! Oh, and did I mention the scrumptious and insanely juicy smell? OMG!

I received a sample of AHAVA Skincare Mineral Hand Cream in my February GLOSSYBOX and at first sight, I thought this hand cream would be a nice size to keep in my handbag or in my locker at work but after trying it on... no. This is just too light and it doesn't feel moisturizing at all on my dry and eczema-prone skin. I was expecting much more from a $22 hand cream that contains Dead Sea minerals! 

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme seems to be a staple among a lot of beauty bloggers and as much as I love everything about it - its citrusy smell, its thick and creamy texture, how well it moisturizes my parched cuticles, its super cute tin - I'm just too lazy to remember to apply it on my cuticles and nails every night so most of the time, I simply use it as a hand cream before bed before slipping on some cotton gloves because it tends to get a bit greasy, but it works oh-so well on my eczema! 

I am rarely disappointed by Burt's Bees products but as much as I tried to find a way to use Burt's Bees Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil that would make it work for me, it just did not do it - my skin just doesn't feel moisturized after using it, and it fails to calm the itchiness due to my eczema.

I was sent Pai Comfrey & Calendula Calming Body Cream in October of last year to help my eczema and even though it appeared to really help at first, I'm not sure if it's because my skin got used to the product but the effect quickly wore off and I had to rely on my steroid creams again, which is never good. But again, maybe it's because I ran out of Rosehip & BioRegenerate fruit & seed oil blend, which was supposed to be used together...

I mentionned Burt's Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After Sun Soother in my Summer Essentials post and raved about it but I never got to review it before using it up - what can I say, this stuff is purely genius! I have always overlooked after-sun lotions because I'm lazy and I figured out that a normal body moisturizer would work just as well but this product completely changed my mind! It was not until I got a really bad sunburn on my chest, arms and belly - I forgot to re-apply sunscreen after going swimming - that I realized how this product was a miracle worker - my sunburn was completely gone within only two days and my skin never showed signs of sun damages!

It's weird how I actually liked Beyond Coastal Kids Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+ the first few times I used it because it glided on the skin nicely without leaving white residues behind but now that the tube was almost empty, I found it hard to properly apply and rub on my skin because of its now thick texture, and my skin was left with random white patches of sunscreen, not to mention that I felt a bit sticky until I washed off at the end of the day. I don't understand what happened - could it have gone bad? I only got it this summer though, weird!

I quite enjoyed LUSH Satsumo Santa Bath Bomb because as soon as I entered the bath, I instantly felt my skin being smooth and moisturized - it was amazingly silky! After the bath, I could really feel my skin being nourished, and I couldn't believe that the dry patches of skin I had on my elbows were almost all gone - and that's not a light statement, having struggled with eczema almost all my life. I wish the delicious fruity and fresh scent wold be strong enough to linger in the bathroom or on my skin after the bath, but I'm used to such disappointment with bath products in general.

I don't use mouthwashes on a daily basis and I have given up on finding the perfect whitening mouthwash because nothing works on my naturally yellow teeth! However, I know I can always go back to Scope Outlast for a super long lasting fresh breath that no other mouthwash can provide.

I have been incredibly disappointed by Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat* as it does not fully dry in 30 seconds - of course - but the worst is that no, it absolutely does not live up to its claim of no-chip shine for up to 10 days. I think I'm definitely done with top coats!

*This product is NOT cruelty-free

What Am I Bringing In Camping?

It's that time of the month again, when a couple of my friends and I head to our favorite camping, Camping Ô Cascades in Rawdon, for the week-end! Well in my case I will be staying one day because of work but that's OK because when you party so hard on day 1, you just feel like sleeping all day the next day!

I have seen a couple of those festivals posts on the blogosphere lately and I like to see what people bring with them in such events, so I thought, why not share with you what I'm bringing with me in camping? It's nothing much really, just a couple items just in case.

Let's start with the most important thing for me - sunscreen! I chose to bring these Beyond Coastal samples that I reviewed recently because they are a handy travel-size, they are natural and cruelty-free, and because they are moisturizing, I don't need to pack a separate body lotion. I also like hoiw the Face Stick is fuss-free, I can just smooth it on, put on my sunglasses and I'm ready for a day of lounging at the beach!

Another essential for me - lipbalm with SPF! I recently bought Carmex Cherry Flavoured Lip Ointment on sale for an unbelievable $1.99 because I loved the Original Carmex Jar so much. This one just smell yummy and to be honest, the fact that it has SPF in it is just my excuse to buy yet another lipbalm in my already overflowing collection.

Maybe I don't need to carry an extra body lotion with me thanks to my moisturizing sunscreen, but a face cream is something I can't go without. I chose to bring Elemis FreshSkin Softly Softly Daily Moisturiser and Elemis FreshSkin Dreamy Sleep Night-Time Moisturiser not because they are the most amazing moisturizers I have tried, but because of their handy travel size. My skin is a bit dry at the moment because I recently had a reaction to what I suspect to be ground up beetles AKA carmine in one of my eyeshadows and I'm not sure these moisturizers will do the job really well but I guess they will be OK for one days.

Least but not last, I call these items my "fresheners" because we all know what happen in camping - there are not always showers available so you have to count of a few products to keep you looking - and smelling - presentable.

Personally, I can't touch my face or food without cleaning my hands beforehand and last year, I absolutely forgot to pack a hand sanitizer and let me tell you, I was mortified. But have no fear, I have learned from my mistake and I have packed Assured Instant Hand Sanitizer with Moisturizers that I have found at a Dollar Tree when I was in Wildwoods some years ago.

I don't remember if I brought my toothbrush with me last year but I really doubt so, and I don't think it would have a been a good idea anyway so I decided to simply bring Scope Outlast Mouthwash instead, which must be one of my favorite mouthwash. Oh, and just look at that super cute travel-size bottle - awww!


I know I won't be gone for long but I figured out I would take Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo with me just in case - greasy hair is never acceptable, not even in camping! ...OK, the real reason is that I'm not a huge fan of its heavy floral scent and I want to use it up as fast as I can.

I was super lucky to receive a bottle of Evian Facial Spray in my GLOSSYBOX swag bag last week, and I thought that coupled with Kaia 100% Natural Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloth, they would do an OK job at making me look fresh, and not ungover.

Finally, to help me smell relatively good, I found that I had this super cute sample of Lady Speed Stick Infusion Strawberry Splash* laying around and because it smells sooooo yummy, I figured it would be a shame not to take it with me! I'm also bringing Bath & Body Works Mini Fragrance Mist in the scent Sweet Pea (not pictured), which must be my absolute favorite Bath & Body Works fragrance.

Of course, I'm not forgetting headache pills and a few other essentials when you are heading in a week-end of party. I'm off for a 40-minute drive now so have a nice week-end ladies!

*Lady Speed Stick Infusion is NOT cruelty-free

CLOSED - Giveaway: Fun In The Sun With Beyond Coastal!

I received a great response on my Beyond Coastal review post, and now I want one of my lovely reader to have the opportunity to try these great products for themselves!

Rules:

• This giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry!)
• You have to follow Gaby's Beauty Blog either via GFC, bloglovin or Hellocotton (you don't need to have a blog) and leave a blog post comment answering the following question: “What is your family’s favorite fun in the sun activity?”
• Giveaway/freebie "hunters" or blogs made solely for giveaways will be disqualified (my giveaways are to thank the lovely ladies who truly read my blog!)
• This giveaway ends on June 5 at  12:01 am.

To enter (mandatory):

• Fill out the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post

Good luck!!!

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This giveaway is sponsored by Beyond Coastal.

Beyond Coastal Sun Care - Protects, Nourishes, Hydrates, Repairs

Summer is, of course, my favorite season for many reasons - no school (I'll be done with uni this summer, yey!); I get to lounge around in my backyard in bikini, sipping on alcoholic drinks all day long, trying to achieve the slightest hint of a tan; I go to the beach with friends and family; but the best part? Every past summer, I have been incredibly lucky to be able to travel to the US for a few days.

Last summer, my mother and I drove to Wildwoods (very original, I know - but the (almost) two days drive to Myrtle Beach is a b***h!) for a week and we had tons of fun! It was great to be just the two of us, reading on the beach all day and shopping at night - hey, we are girls after all!

My mother and I are contemplating to go to Wildwoods again this summer - it's just a bit more complicated with my job but I guess they can survive without me for a week - and I was very happy to be given the opportunity to try some natural and cruelty-free sun care products from Beyond Coastal.

As a company and signatory of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Beyond Coastal are committed to offering your family the cleanest, healthiest sun care products possible at a reasonable price. Their formulas are crafted to offer true broad-spectrum protection and are packed with moisturizing botanical antioxidants that nourish, repair, and hydrate your skin. All Beyond Coastal products are gluten-free, cruelty-free, fragrance-free, oxybenzone-free, paraben-free and oil-free - what more could you as for?

I received a cute little bag of Beyond Coastal samples that I could not wait to try! Of course, being an absolute lipbalm junkie, the product that first caught my attention was the Citrus Grove Active Lip Balm SPF 15 ($2.99 / 0.15 oz), which smells sooo deliciously citrusy that I had to taste it - silly me, it does not taste yummy at all - and despite the fact that it contains beeswax, I was happily surprised to notice that it does not goes on the lips super waxy like, for example, Burt's Bees Beeswax Lipbalm. It glides very smoothly, leaving my lips nicely moisturized and a bit glossy.

I must admit I have never been a fan of face stick sunscreens as I'm lazy and I prefer to use the same sun care product all over my face and body, but the Active Face Stick SPF 30 ($6.99 / 0.5 oz) comes in a very handy little packaging which makes it quick and easy to use. It does leave my face a bit greasy but I personally don't mind when I'm a the beach.

I was mostly happy with the sunscreens, although  I was a bit disappointed when I used the Natural Clear Sunscreen SPF 30+ ($7.99 / 1 oz) and the Active Sunscreen SPF 30+ ($5.99 / 1 oz) for the first time as I found them both hard to properly apply and rub on my skin because of their thick texture, and despite their "clear" claim, my skin was left with random white patches of sunscreen, not to mention that I felt a bit sticky until I washed off at the end of the day. I did not have this problem with the Kids Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+ ($11.99 / 2.5 oz) though, as it glides on the skin very nicely, without leaving white residues behind. All of these sunscreens did leave my skin nicely moisturized too.

Be sure to check ouy Beyond Coastal's store locator to find a store near you!

Disclaimer: One or more products were sent to me for consideration to review. I am not affiliated with this company and the fact that the products were free absolutely does not influence my opinion.