themakeupnut: February 2017

February’s Topbox has arrived! This month’s box is all about skin and hair care. EEEK, I am pretty excited for two products in here. Can you guess which ones?

Mettrum Originals Hemp Lip Balm Watermelon

Full size: 5g $$3.99 CAD
Remove lid and generously apply balm directly to lips as required. Available at mettrumoriginals.com

INGREDIENTS: Hemp oil, beeswax, sunflower oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, wheatgerm oil, apricot kernel oil, calendula officinalis extract, vitamin E.

I tried this out right away as my current lip balm is now living under the driver seat of my car. The Mettrum balm is soooo moisturizing and I can feel the oils instantly plumping my dry lips. The watermelon scent is lovely as well. {Canadian company}

Bella Aura Skincare Daily Repair Moisturizer

Full size: 30mL $90
Our Multi-Functional Daily Moisture Repair provides better hydration properties than Glycerin or Hyaluronic Acid. It contains our Kamilah blend combined with breakthrough technology of the active Swiss botanical ingredients. Available at bellaaura.com

INGREDIENTS: Water/Aqua/Eau, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Avena Strigosa Seed Extract, Lecithin, Polyglyceryl-6 Distearate, Jojoba Esters, Polyglyceryl-3, Beeswax, Cetyl Alcohol, Bellis Perennis (Daisy) Flower Extract, Propanediol, Cereus Grandiflorus (Cactus) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Peel Oil, Nigella Sativa Seed Oil, Cellulose, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, 1,2 Hexanediol

I am really excited to try out this Bella Aura moisturizer. I previously tried the Bella Aura Antioxidant booster and fell in love with it. I babied that trial sized sample for weeks. Now I am going to baby this one as well. I need to win the lottery so I can get the whole line! {Canadian company}

Caudalie Instant Detox Mask

Full size: 75mL $45
The Instant Detox Mask helps bring stressed, city-dwelling skin back to life. Its 99.3% natural clay formula sweeps away impurities and toxins. Grape Marc: detoxifies and drains, Pink Clay and Coffee: purify, Papaya Enzymes: delivers immediate radiance, Eight Essential Oils: nourish skin. Available at Sephora.com

INGREDIENTS: Water, Bentonite, Glycerin*, Acacia Senegal Gum*, Xanthan Gum, Benzyl Alcohol, Alcohol*, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract*, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil*, Sodium Citrate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract*, Coffea Robusta Seed Extract*, Citric Acid*, Papain*, Cupressus Sempervirens Oil*, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Oil*, Commiphora Myrrha Oil*, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil*, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil*, Petroselinum Crispum (Parsley) Seed Oil*, Carbomer, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Algin, Limonene, Linalool. *Plant Origin.

This was the other skin care item I was pumped to see. I only tried the Caudalie water before so trying a mask is awesome. YAY.

St. Tropica Hot Oil Treatment Botanically Infused Coconut Oil

Full size: 3 pack/$25
Advances the amazing hair benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil by infusion it with powerful organic botanicals such as Biotin, Horsetail, and Amla to nourish & strengthen your precious hair. Locks-in moisture to help eliminate split ends and frizzy hair. 100% of the ingredients are Certified USDA Organic. Available at StTropica.com

INGREDIENTS: organic virgin coconut oil, organic biotin, organic horsetail, organic amla, organic hibiscus, organic green tea, organic coconut butter, organic coconut fruit extract.

This looks so interesting. You can feel the hardened oil/butter in the package. You are supposed to heat up the unopened package in the microwave for 20 seconds then apply to hair. At first I am thinking this may just be souped-up coconut oil but we will see.

Bonus sample: Smashbox Cover Shot eye palette sampler. My sample has 4 shadows from the Golden Hour Eye Palette. Pretty neutral everyday colours.

So that is the 'regular' Topbox for February. What item did you like the best?

Topbox is a monthly Canadian beauty subscription for $12 plus taxes ($13.65).

No comments

{Disclaimer: I was sent these products for review}

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening Shampoo, Conditioner and In-Shower Lightening Treatment

First post of the year Woohoo! Today we are talking about the John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening Shampoo, Conditioner and In-Shower Lightening Treatment.

This particular Brilliant Brunette line is designed to subtlety lighten your hair without leaving your hair bleached or orange. When I first got these, I was thinking in my head Yes, DIY balayage! Ummm no...I think my expectations were a bit cray-cray. Silly rabbit.
Let's first talk about the In-Shower Treatment. The In-Shower Treatment is a lightening product that comes in a dual squeeze tube for easy application. It is supposed to be a quick and easy way to lighten your hair. You fold back the plastic tab to reveal a small opening to each tube.

‘Squeeze the product out and apply to wet hair concentrating on roots or all over. Rinse off hands’.

I opted to do this part out of the shower. I brushed and then wetted down my hair. I squeezed the product out directly out on to my wet hair. I paid special attention to applying this solution to the front edges and the lower portion of my hair. It wasn’t too hard to apply to the desired areas although it wasn’t precise. The product, a thin gel consistency, allowed me to squeeze the product out in straightish lines down the length of my hair. Then I patted and stroked it on to the strands.

John Frieda In-Shower Treatment

The whole time, I was either holding my breath or taking breathes through my mouth only. The In-Shower ~~gasp~~ Treatment ~~gasp~~ stinks horribly! You only need to keep it on for 5 minutes and then rinse off but holy crap I don’t think I would have been able to handle being enclosed in a shower with that ammonia-rific smell. I dye my hair all the time and this treatment was possibly the strongest smelling solution I have tried in a long time. Not a fan of the smell.

After the five minutes were up, I jumped in the shower and rinsed off the lightening agent and breathed deep. Then I washed with the Visibly Brightening Subtle Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner. I was pleasantly surprised that the shampoo was ashy gold colour. The colour will give brunette hair a golden boost. The conditioner was beige cream and worked wonderfully. My hair feels pretty good right now. Smooth and soft. Plus I like the smell of the conditioner. All these products are infused with honey and marigold extract. I am not positive what marigolds smell like but I am envisioning they smell like this conditioner.

Now for the moment of truth; does the Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening system work? Yes I have to say it does. It is subtle, I will say that. It will not give you any sort of balayage situation (what was I thinking? Haha) but your hair will appear a tiny bit lighter and in my case the chestnut tones took on a slightly more golden tone.

Before and After In-shower Treatment

I can attest that the In-Shower Treatment is safe to use on colour treated hair. I recently touched up my roots about a week prior to using the In-Shower Treatment and did not see any ill effects other than my ends were a bit drier than before. But what hair colouring/lightening system won’t do that?

Brilliant Brunette Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner

I have only used the Brilliant Brunette Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner for about a week but I can still only see the change in tone that that the initial In-Shower Treatment gave. Now my roots have a lot of grey so I am interested to see what this does to that. Will it make them yellow? Brown? I am curious.

What do you think of the Brilliant Brunette Visibly Brighter Subtle Lightening In-Shower Treatment? Do you think you want to give it a try - smell not withstanding?

Available at Walmart.ca LondonDrug.com Well.ca

No comments

Mettrum Originals Hemp Lip Balm Watermelon

Bella Aura Skincare Daily Repair Moisturizer

Caudalie Instant Detox Mask

St. Tropica Hot Oil Treatment Botanically Infused Coconut Oil

Spicy Blush

Welcome to themakeupnut

Follow

recent posts

Sponsor

Blog Archive

My Instagram Life