Thursday, April 26, 2012

Kawaii x Couture & {e.motion in: motion;} Facebook Pages!

My Handmade custom decoden phone case, jewelry, & accessories store Kawaii x Couture is now on Facebook! If you love all things decoden and would like to keep up-to-date with my store and get sneak peeks on new items before I list them on etsy, announcements on new cases to come, and occasional coupon codes & giveaways, please LIKE my page! :)





Also I'm working on posting more actively to my Facebook fanpage for this blog, so if you'd like to stay in touch with me through FB, feel free to LIKE my FB page! :)


Thank you everyone for your support!<3

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Review: Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub

So I figured since I had a stellar experience with Simple's Facial Cleansing Wipes, I would give another one of their products a try. I opted for their Smoothing Facial Scrub and didn't think to give the ingredients a quick once-over before purchasing it. Unfortunately I was rather disappointed :( Read on to find out why!
Price: $6.97 from Walmart

What they say:
Our Smoothing Facial Scrub gently lifts dry, dead skin cells to help your skin look brighter and more even textured, plus it's a perfect blend of our purest possible skin loving ingredients with added vitamins.

SIMPLE GOODNESS
  • 2 ADDED VITAMINS: PRO-VITAMIN B5 known to help restore, soften and smooth, VITAMIN E known to moisturize to improve skin condition
  • 1 SKIN LOVING EXFOLIATOR: RICE GRANULES help gently exfoliate and brighten
  • NO DYES
  • NO ARTIFICIAL PERFUMES
  • NO HARSH IRRITANTS to upset skin
  • Dermatologist tested
  • Noncomedogenic
  • Hypoallergenic
  • PRODUCT SIZE: 5 FL OZ (150mL)
What's in it: Water (Aqua, Eau), Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum, Huile Minerale), Coco-Glucoside, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Powder, Polyethylene, Vegetable Oil (Olus, Huile Vegetale), Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Acrylates Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Dipropylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben

The good stuff:
  • Natural ingredients
  • Did seem to smoothen and soften my skin
The low-down:
  • Feels greasy on skin, even after washing it off
  • Smells terrible!!!
  • Contains mineral oil and vegetable oil
  • Not as exfoliating as I'd like
My take: The first thing that really stood out to me about this product was that after going over the list of ingredients, I found that "vegetable oil" was on the list. This just made me think of vegetable cooking oil, and it was just an instant turn-off :/ Also mineral oil was second on the list. Although I've had some success with cleansers with mineral oil as one of the main ingredients, it's still an ingredient I'm wary of, as it sits on your skin and can clog your pores.

To me, this cleanser has a greasy sort of feel to it, that stays on your face even after you wash it off. There is not enough rice granules in it and they aren't rough enough to have much of an exfoliating effect in my opinion. I did seem to notice that my skin looked a bit smoother and more even textured after using this cleanser, but I only used it for about a week before I noticed I was starting to break out. Now, I partially attribute this to my raging hormones (aughhh), but I do think the fact that this cleanser is mostly mineral oil contributed to my acne. After stopping using this cleanser, the severity of the breakouts lessened.

Another thing I don't like about this cleanser is the smell!!!! I understand that there are NO perfumes or dyes in this cleanser, but I can only describe the smell as... terrible. It literally smells like bleach to me, and it is VERY strong in my opinion. I just can't stand the smell combined with rubbing such a greasy feeling on my face... this cleanser's just not for me :/

Would I repurchase/recommend?: I personally would not repurchase this product... I still have a pretty full tube, actually :/ I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with oily skin, anyone who knows they are sensitive to mineral oil, and anyone who doesn't like strongly scented products. Perhaps if your skin is not sensitive and you're interested in natural products, it would be worth a shot to try this cleanser out, as it does seem to have some skin-smoothing effect as promised.

The Rundown:

Packaging: 5/5
Standard squeeze tube.

Product: 2/5
A nice concept but just didn't work all that well for me.
Plus I hate the smell!

Price: 5/5
Wallet-friendly.

Overall:

[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]

Review: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

I've been using these makeup removing wipes for awhile now, ever since I stopped using my usual Epielle Face wipes. I used to LOVE those for the variety they had, the price, and how well they worked. But after awhile I felt like they just weren't doing the job like they used to :( So on a whim I decided to try out the Simple skin care brand since I'd seen a few commercials and ads and I was attracted to the all-natural and essentials-only philosophy.
Price: $4.97 from Walmart

What they say:
Our Cleansing Facial Wipes refresh and nourish your skin plus remove waterproof mascara. Our wipes contain a perfect blend of our purest possible skin loving ingredients with an added vitamin.

SIMPLE GOODNESS
  • 1 ADDED VITAMIN: PRO-VITAMIN B5 known to help restore, soften and smooth
  • NO ALCOHOL, NO OIL
  • NON DRYING and NO GREASY residue
  • NO DYES
  • NO ARTIFICIAL PERFUMES
  • NO HARSH IRRITANTS to upset skin
  • Dermatologist tested
  • Ophthalmologist tested
  • Safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers
  • Hypoallergenic
  • Noncomedogenic
  • 25 wipes
What's in it: Water (Aqua, Eau), Cetearyl Isononanoate, Panthenol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Ceteareth-12, Sodium Citrate, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

The good stuff:
  • Inexpensive
  • Removes all traces of makeup
  • Gentle on skin
  • Does not irritate my eyes at all, even with contacts
  • Leaves skin feeling refreshed and clean
The low-down:
  • Nothing I can think of!
My take: I completely ADORE these cleansing facial wipes. The sheets are much larger than the Epielle wipes I used to use, so one sheet is more than sufficient to remove all my makeup. It even removes waterproof makeup and lash glue without having to harshly scrub it off. I also feel like these wipes leave me skin feeling really refreshed and clean, without leaving behind any kind of film or stickiness. In addition to it's superb makeup-removing properties, it also DOES NOT irritate my eyes and make them itchy, burn, or water like some other makeup removers have done for me. Even when I have contacts in, these wipes do not bother my eyes at all and are totally gentle on skin!

Would I repurchase/recommend?: YES! I have been repurchasing these wipes for the past few months now and I still LOVE them! I would recommend these to anyone looking for a makeup removing wipe that completely removes all traces of makeup while being gentle and refreshing on skin!

The Rundown:

Packaging: 5/5
Resealable packaging keeps wipes moist without making the ones on the bottom over-saturated with makeup remover.

Product: 5/5
Excellent! Removes all traces of my makeup and feels extra gentle on skin. Does not irritate my eyes at all and feels refreshing.

Price: 5/5
Wallet-friendly!

Overall:

[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]