Review: Avène Cicalfate Skin Restorative Cream

Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in a while. I'm still awaiting the good camera (getting it tomorrow from my dad!) but I'm relaxing after my audio project so I figure I would do a little review.

A quick backstory to this product: About a week and a half ago, I woke up with a large bump on my left cheek. Completely my fault, since I grabbed my mom's anti-aging moisturizer and thought it would be fun to try it. My skin doesn't break out unless I change my products and every couple of months I like using myself as an unpaid guinea pig. While I don't have troublesome skin, when I do get a blemish, that bitch of a pink mark will stay there for months on end.

When I got back to school, I remembered that I had a tube of this Avene Cicalfate Skin Restorative Cream in my skincare hoard. I had read some good reviews online and decided to slather it on and hope for the best.

Basically, this cream is amazing for damaged (bolded for a good reason) skin. The next day, the bump was almost gone and by the second and third day, it was just a small pink patch. I've been slathering it on that area for more than week now and it has prevented any post-breakout damage. The skin in that area is completely smooth, albeit a little pink. However, I'm not going to pick on that considering that it literally started off as a cystic bump.

So last Saturday, I decided to use this cream as an all over moisturizer. I was pretty happy on Sunday and Monday, I was glowing and my skin was even and poreless. However, on the third and fourth day, I noticed two little bumps appearing on my skin overnight. Nothing too bad, a night or two in DDF Sulfur clay smoothed both of them away. However, I do think the this cream clogs your pores if you use it as a daily moisturizer.

I pulled up some reviews and articles online and the cream was made for damaged areas after burns, irritation or post surgery. So it's great for targeting areas with pigmentation marks, acne or dry skin but do not use use it all over your face. What I've been doing now is just using it on that pink area and any other places that are a bit dry or irritated from the shifting weather.

Overall, this is a fantastic product to keep in your stash. Not necessary for everyone, of course since it's more of an emergency product. I am going to bring it with me during reading week in China because the winds there can cut like a knife. If you are interested, there are more reviews here and I found a full list of benefits on Avene.com.

Indication

• Cuts, scrapes, scratches
• Burns
• Cracked skin
• Stitches
• Hair removal
• Diaper rash
• Post-treatment

Benefits

• Helps speed the skin recovery process
• Provides a healthy skin environment to minimize a potential infection
• Prevents signs of scarring
• Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal
• Fragrance-free, preservative-free, colorant-free
• Avène Thermal spring water to soothe and soften the skin
• Hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic

If you live in Canada, you can pick this up from Shoppers for around $23. You don't need a lot so it'll last you for ages! :)

December Luxe Box!

My December Luxe box came! For anyone who doesn't know what the Luxe box is, it's a beauty subscription box where you pay $10/month (including shipping) for a deluxe samples. That way you can try out new products without spending an arm and a leg.

I opted out for November but I signed back on for December because I missed getting self-paid presents in the mail. For the October reviews, please click here. :)

So the holiday package branding was adorable! Every month they give you a little card that tells you what you're getting and describes the products for you. This month was a snowflake motif. Very fitting for the season!

So this month, we got:

1) A full bottle of China Glaze X-mas nail polish

2) Lise Watier lip plumping gloss in Plumpissino

3) Keratase Elixir Ultime sample

4) Prada Milano Infusion D'Iris Fragrance sample

5) Prada Candy Fragrance sample

Pros:

1) I love love the Prada perfume samples. They're pretty pricey so these two samples (enough for probably a week or two depending on how often you spritz) made me really happy. Prada Candy is a very sweet scent and despite the tacky bottle (the real one, not the sample), the smell makes me feel cozy and relaxed.

2) Prada Milano Infusion D'Iris Fragrance is a cleaner, older fragrance. I get that Prada Candy is aimed towards late teens and early 20's while this one smells more mature. I've actually always liked the this version (it comes in one or two other variations, I think) but my personal preference is more towards the fruitier scents. I feel like my mom would really like this one.

3) The Keratase Elixir is awesome! It's a blend of oils that you pump out and smooth into your hair. I brushed it into damp hair yesterday and my hair is all kinds of awesome today! I might get this one full sized.

Cons:

1) This con is kind of a pro BUT I was pretty impressed that they gave us a full size bottle of a China Glaze polish. I'm not big on nails at all but I think China Glaze is known to be one of the pricier brands. Unfortunately, I do not like nail polish. I like watching people wear it but I do not like putting it on myself so I have no use for it. It is definitely a pretty color. From far away, it's a purply shade but when you look closer, there are silver sparkles in there.

I tested it out before wiping it off quickly and god damn, that is one sparkly polish!

2) I. do. not. like. Lise. Watier. I've never liked any of their products and this is no different. This is a plumping gloss, so it tingles when you put it on. The color is a nudish toffee shade that is very unflattering, in my opinion. I'm a little confused why Lise Watier samples tend to be unflattering shades. A pinkish color would have been more universal?

However, this could be more of a personal opinion. I'm on the paler side so any nudes I wear need to be pink and I just can't pull off brownish nudes. So perhaps that is why I was so *facepalm* towards this product.

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As per usual, if you would like any of my "Con" products, please message me!

Online shopping: Luxe Box / Glymm Box Packages

I'm secretly procrastinating from studying. Can you tell?

Remember my online shopping post from September where I talked about my Luxe Box and Glymm box subscriptions? Well, I got my October subscription boxes on Monday so I took some pictures to show what I got from each package :)

I have to say, it was very nice getting presents in the mail, even if you did pay for it yourself. I'm undergoing Hell Week 1.0 (2.0 is in approximately 2.5 weeks) and unraveling these boxes gave me a nice endorphin shot.

Luxe Box October 2011: $11/month

Moroccan Oil

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume sample

Calvin Klein Euphoria body cream

Olay ProX eye cream

Pur Minerals Primer

Lise Watier Flash Lift cream.

Pros: Over all, I loved the Luxebox. The packaging was beautiful, they had everything wrapped beautifully and they placed black stickers printed with your name on the tissue paper. I think the general quality of what I received from the Luxe Box was higher than what I received in the Glymm box. It also has a higher ratio of things I use. I actually have the full sized version of Moroccan Oil so I love that I have a smaller bottle to take with me when I go home. I've never used a primer in my life so I'm not sure when I'll use the Pur Minerale primer. However, I do want to trial it out on my nose since I get shiny there sometimes.

I'm also using the eye cream (which is really good!) and will be trying out the Lise Watier flash cream tomorrow!

Cons: I've always loathed Calvin Klein's Euphoria. I'm not into heavy, woodsy scents that exude ~ sensuality ~. If anyone wants this, please let me know.

Overall: Love this whole package. Excellent brands, large samples (the Morroccan oil isn't even a sample. It's the smaller version that is retails for around $17 in hair salons) and I'll be continuing my subscription indefinitely! ^_^ I know I didn't like the CK sample but their brand affiliation is promising.

Glymm Box October 2011: $10/month

Lise Watier moisturizing lip stick in Rouge Flamingo

Principessa Lipbalm

Vasanti eye shadow

Caudalie Premiere Moisturizer

Glymm box trick or treat jelly beans (-_-)

Pros: The Caudalie sample was nice, since a full bottle retails for $150. I've been getting dry patches lately and it's quite good for targeting those areas. However, it really is no better than my Neostrata smoothing cream. I've been using it because it's handy and while I am happy that I get to sample an overpriced moisturizer made from grapes from France (I'm being mean here, I've just never tried anything Caudalie), it really doesn't make a huge difference.

Ah, now I sound like a downer and this is a Pro section.

What I mean is that getting a sample from Caudalie is impressive but I feel like they could have saved that money and gave their users better things. However, most of their things were actually full sized! That was nice to see.

Cons: Full sized or not, the quality of what I received was far lower than what Luxe Box provided and has less of things that I actually use (although it isn't their fault). The Principessa lip balm smelled and tasted horrible and the Lise Watier lip stick was the weird glittery product that I'm sure proved to be unpopular amongst consumers. Overall, I got the general feeling that even though they provided full size packages, they were stuff leftover because nobody wanted them.

Also, The glymm box treats were cute and everything but really? -_- (face of disapproval, fyi)

Overall: There have been some past Glymm Boxes on youtube that had excellent products. Perhaps they're having an off month. I think I'll keep my subscription for next month just to see if they improve. If they don't, I'll unsubscribe for December. :)

Requests

If any of my friends/classmates (same thing in my small faculty, really) would like of the following items, please let me know :)

These are:

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume sample

Calvin Klein Euphoria body cream

Lise Watier moisturizing lip stick in Rouge Flamingo

Vasanti Eyeshadow in Tokyo (pinky brown with gold sparkles)

I've swatched the lip stick and the eye shadow once but that's about it. I promise I won't be passing on any contagion like diseases.

Online shopping Package #1: Kate Somerville

One of my all-time favorite products is Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion. I've used it for years and years and I'm a loyal addict. I use this product like the dermalogical equivalent of Buckley's. It comes in a little glass bottle and has salicylic acid floating on the top and calamine lotion at the very bottom.

I don't generally get very many blemishes (oh god, knock on wood) but I do sprout some blotchy patches or small bumps when I'm stressed out. Badescu's drying lotion is great for clearing redness but I always find that it can be too drying. I read some reviews online and Kate Somerville's EradiKate (the name is adorbs) was said to yield better results without drying out your skin.

It arrived last week and I've attached a picture below. I took a few shots with my iphone but the quality was terrible so I pulled this one up online.

My consensus is that I like this a lot, which is a shame because it was very very expensive and came with a Cost of Delivery that was almost as much as the product. Next time I purchase this, it'll have to be off Amazon or a location that is much more local.

It does work very similarly to Badescu's Drying Lotion but I feel like it just works much faster. I was quite exhausted by the end of yesterday and had a few dry pink patches. I slathered this across the right side of my face and it was completely clear and smooth by this morning.

The downside is that I don't know if this would work on actual pimples. If you have sensitive skin and suffer from pink splotches or uneven skin tone, I would highly recommend trying it! If anything horrific does happen, I will definitely update :)

The good, bad and the undecided

The Good

Etival Oil-Free Care cream

Secret: I hate moisturizers with a passion. Up until a year and a half ago, my skin just never got dry. I used to run every day in sub zero weather in eskimo wear and it just never got dry. When people complained about getting flakey skin during winter, I viewed it as the dermalogical equivalent of Big Foot.

It just did not exist.

Thanks to hormone changes, I am now subjected to combination skin and must moisturize/exfoliate like a crazy mofo or my cheeks will get dry and my blush will look funny. I've spent a good portion of the past year trying to find a good moisturizer.

Trust me, when you've never needed to moisturize for most of your life, the frantic search for a good moisturizer is comparative to finding the shiniest needle in the haystack. Not only is it difficult but it's also subjective.

Biotherm smelled like rotton fruit, Lancome smelled like rancid flowers, Clarins felt like I was putting lard on my face. I could go on.

BUT Etival Oil-Free care cream is extremely light. It smells fresh and lovely, shrinks my pores and gives me a nice glow in the morning. I've used half the jar over the past month and a half so I think I'm pretty safe in giving it a solid A +.

The Bad

Etival Clarifying Cleanser

DEVIL PRODUCT BE GONE. I don't know why I bought this cleanser, to be honest. I've used Cetaphil's gentle skin cleanser since I was 12. I think a part of me (*playing a tiny violin here*) always wanted a three step system but never found the right one. The aesthetic lover in me always wanted to place a three step system on a beveled glass plate, like some kind of a decorative routine.

I used this about 5 - 10 times and every time, I'm left with dry and splotchy skin. I tried very hard to like it so I attempted to use it again two weeks ago. It got worse and gave me little pink patches on my face. Luckily, I have Wolverine skin so they all went down in an hour but I'm basically never touching this again.

Bright side: It does smell gorgeous.

The Undecided

Revlon's colorburst in Papaya and Etival Clarifying Toner

Revlon's Colorburst in Papaya

I don't like talking about my general dislike of drugstore cosmetics because I always come off as snotty and high maintenance. I do have a few products I use occasionally but it comes from years of trial and error. I do believe drugstore eye products (Shadows/mascaras/eyeliners) are a great alternative to Mac or Sephora brands but when it comes to lip and cheek products, I haven't liked anything in years. The reason I tend to veer off drugstore is because I find that their colors aren't very good or they fade very fast and have flimsy packaging. The amount of money I've spent breaking drugstore products could have bought me something solid that I can use daily for at least half a year.

Revlon Colorburst in Papaya is a nice coral pink and reminds me of Nar's Love Devotion. Unfortunately, it lasts about 5 minutes on your lips and you have to constantly reapply throughout the day. While I don't really mind reapplying, the formula also has larger sparkle chunks so after 5 reapplications, your mouth looks like an orange glitter ball.

The one good thing about this is that it adds a really nice kick to an existing lip product and it is a really pretty color. Undecided, will keep in my stash to use sporadically.

Etival Clarifying Toner

I don't usually use toners because 97% of my skin doesn't need it. However, my chin can be a scary place if I don't take care of it so I've been using this toner on my chin only. I'm undecided on this product mainly because it turns your skin (or in this case, my chin) very pink for a good 10 minutes BUT on the other hand, it is very good for preventing breakouts and calming any pink spots. So it's like "Oh god, I look horrific" vs "Oh, look it's morning and the pink is gone"

I would put this on the further side of undecided, more towards the Good.

One thing I'm always going to say: Etival clarifying products smells amazing. If they made a perfume, I would buy it.

Friday Reviews

Make-up used today:

1) Clinique SPF 15 Almost make-up in Fair (It's the only tinted moisturizer that fits my pinkish pale Asian skin to a T)

2) Revlon's Cream Blush in Rosy Glow (It gives you a light rose-tinted glow)

3) Stila Smudgepot in Kitten (You can barely see it but it magically makes you look awake)

Love: Beauty Blender

I bought this little neon sponge of fun today. It's a Beauty Blender. I dabbed it in a bit of my Clinique SPF 15 Almost Make-up and brushed/stippled/bounced a light layer over my face. The sharp tip is OSM for under eye area. I like precise things in cute packages.

I'm back to playing with make-up that doesn't look like make-up again.

Happy stippling!